6.10.12

A Little Taste of Home

by Jessica Cropsey

Yes, I'm embarrassed to admit that even though I live in the land of great dairy, cheese, and bread, I stooped to taking my family to McDonald's for lunch.  During our year back in the States, our children came to love McDonald's.  It become our go-to place to eat while traveling on the road since I knew my kids would actually eat the food.  (Plus, the new Happy Meal toy kept them entertained for quite a while in the car!)

The kids were pretty excited when I broke the news to them about our adventure for the day.  As you can see from the video below, Elise doesn't have very much confidence in our French skills yet.  (Can you also tell that someone has had the traumatic experience of not being able to play in the PlayPlace because she didn't have socks?)


Since we don't have a car, it took a little more effort to actually get there.  Once we acquired some bus tickets (still owe you 3€, Eric!) and found our target destination on the map, we headed out.


Upon arrival, we were shocked at the number of people there.  It was jam-packed!  We actually had to wait for somebody to leave to find a seat.  A few observations from our visit to the Golden Arches...
  • High-tech!  You can place your order on 1 of 6 different computer kiosks and stand in line to pick up your order.  We hit quite a few McDonald's last year in the U.S. and this was new to me.  
  • Their drinks are significantly smaller than the drinks that come with your meals in the U.S. and I'm pretty sure you don't get free refills.  
  • One item on the menu that is probably unique to McDonald's France:  the McBaguette
  • You can order beer with your Big Mac! 
  • Chicken nuggets are definitely crispier than the ones in the U.S.
  • A sweet young lady (smartly dressed in her McDonald's uniform) came around offering additional little gifts for the kids in the restaurant.  I saw another lady going around refilling hot beverages for people.  Wow!  Was this really a fast-food establishment?  
All in all, it was a fun little outing and something familiar for the kids to enjoy.  Little Sammy loved his first chicken nugget and downed an impressive amount of fries.    




The Happy Meal boxes have since been transformed into a pony stable and car garage.  They've received more attention than the toy itself.  

We love you, McD's!