Traditional Toys
Tucked in a corner of the historic Chelsea Green off the King’s Road, and on a charming street amidst other lovely shops, is a small but perfectly stocked toy shop called Traditional Toys. Here you can find the very best brands of wooden toys, designer dolls, stuffed bears, dress-up clothes, and other specialty European toys.
Traditional Toys is my favorite toy shop in London. This is where I go whenever I need a birthday gift because I know it will be unique, special and well-made — something that will last forever. It is here where I buy all the Schleich animals (even the big ones like whales and dinosaurs), Fagus vehicles, wooden trains, and Plan Toys pieces, etc. I even bought a bug catcher kit there which was a huge hit this past summer! (more…)
Niou
I love, love, love the Villlage St. Paul, which is a great place to know about if you are in Paris for the weekend, as it is one of the few areas open on a Sunday. Sandwiched between the rue St Antoine and the Seine in the 4th, The Village consists of several little courtyards which are all interlinked and filled with little shops. Most of them are antique dealers, but you can also find Niou there, a lovely little toy shop.
It is the best place for me to go if I am looking for a present and want to find something unique and fun.
Niou stocks the Wheely Bugs , PlaySam, Automoblox and lots of other toys we have reviewed here on Babyccino.
The other day I was having a browse around the shop and I was listening to the owner show a friend of his the new stock he had received. He was excited like a kid to have all these great new things in his shop. For me that was the best advertisement for Niou; it is the kind of place in which you feel that the shopkeeper has hand-picked every single item and loves what he does.
-Emilie
De Bakkerswinkel
These days we just love meeting friends for breakfast or brunch on a weekend morning. Breakfast is probably my favourite meal of the day to start with, but besides that, early in the day my kids are still well rested and thus more enjoyable (as opposed to overall crankiness at dinner time)! Also, like every other parent with little children, we’re awake early anyways, so we might as well start our social schedule before noon! (Of course the friends we are meeting have kids too – the friends without kids would be crazy to leave their beds before noon on a weekend morning! In fact, it should be forbidden – what a waste!)
My favourite breakfast place is ‘De Bakkerswinkel’ (The Bakers’ Shop). Not only can you buy yummy breads, cakes and scones at the counter of ‘The Bakkerswinkel’, they also serve a wonderful (Dutch style) breakfast, lunch or tea in the restaurant area, which always has a very cozy and homey feel to it! Think jars of honey and home-made jams on the table, big cups of cappuccinos (small cups of babyccinos for the little ones of course), baskets filled with delicious breads, scones, etc. The menu is big enough to have something yummy for everyone’s taste! (more…)
Carluccio’s
With more than 10 different locations across central London, Carluccio’s is a good ‘go-to’ restaurant for decent Italian food, friendly service and great accommodations for kids!
While Carluccio’s is not the most original choice of restaurant, it is kid-friendly without being obnoxious, and comfortable without losing its charm. It’s a great family dinner spot where you can share a bottle of wine with your husband, while your kids stay entertained! (The happier the kids, the happier the adults!)
The kid’s menu, which includes breadsticks, entreé, a drink, and ice cream for dessert, comes as an activity set with cute wooden coloring pencils, a color-your-own puzzle kit, and other fun games. It’s super cute, and my kids LOVE it! (more…)
El Resentin
This restaurant has a story with a happy ending!
El Resentin* used to be a wine-bar, or better a “grappa” bar open ’til late every night, where actors from the nearby theatre could find a quiet place to have a drink after the show. It opened 25 years ago on the ashes of a bistro that had been there since the 1920s. But in the spring of 2007 it closed down.
Then Rome-born Eros Ramazzotti, the famous singer, who lives nearby in the Brera neighbourhood and used to have breakfast in a café on the other side of the street, noticed the closed windows and thought it could be nice to open a restaurant to build even stronger roots in Milan and in the neighbourhood that had always made him feel welcome.
He bought the place and last September the “new” Resentin opened for business. The idea was to have a nice and welcoming place where one could eat like at home, and where families could feel welcome.
The menu is simple with a few starters, about five “primi piatti” of pasta and rice, about five mains (meat and fish), a few nice salads and very good desserts. Complemented by a serious wine list. The selection is modern and traditional at the same time, quite a good mix! (more…)
L’Apriori tea room
In Paris there are very few obvious kid-friendly restaurants. However, when you start scratching the surface a little bit, there a lots of little places tucked away that are first and foremost friendly; and so, by default, good for kids.
One of such places is the L’Apriori lunch and tea room in the Galerie Vivienne — a beautiful, glass covered Gallery off rue Vivienne in the 1st arrondissement (thanks to Marie from LFG for introducing me to this gem). It is super close to the Musee en Herbe, and is a little oasis of calm in the middle of frenetic Paris.
It is run by a lovely American lady and the food is amazing. Scones, crumbles and tarts are all presented in a old-world style. Another wonderful thing, and very unusual for here in Paris, is that they offer half potions of all their divine cakes, crumbles and scones… perfect for small and yet hungry stomachs! I have also heard that the brunch is divine, though I myself have not tried it. (more…)
Our Great Cities!
We were all in the mood for another theme week, so we thought it would be fun to devote an entire week just to our cities! This week we will fill you in on some of our favorite places to go and things to do in each of our five cities (including New York)!
Each day of the week will have its own specific theme. Today, we’ll be writing about kid-friendly (but still chic!) restaurants. Tomorrow we’ll write about great toy/deco shops, Wednesday we’ll each write about a fun outdoor activity, Thursday we’ll write about a favorite kid’s clothing/shoe shop, Friday we’ll list indoor activities, and Saturday and Sunday we’ll write about ‘Things to Buy or Try’ (meaning products specific to our cities that you can’t find elsewhere).
We’re really excited to represent our cities, and we hope it will inspire you to pack your bags, grab your kids and come visit! After all… traveling with kids doesn’t mean you have to give up style, culture, shopping or good food!
We hope you enjoy, and we would love to receive comments with your own suggestions and ideas.
-Courtney
