Traveling with all the kid gear is tough enough.  Finding a quick, affordable solution to jet-lagged hunger - especially with multiple appetites - is added misery.  Instead of late-night room service, or a plastic packet of blah, we've found another solution that has worked for us everywhere we've been so far: if possible, find a hotel room or apartment with a small, ensuite kitchen. 

What it (sometimes) removes from the charm, a kitchen adds in peace-of-mind, as well as savings.  Real Simple recently noted, "Even if you have to pay a bit more for the accommodations, you’ll easily save money by not taking your family out for breakfast ($5 a person), lunch ($10), and dinner ($15)."

The Hotel Henri IV in Paris was one of my favorites - its closet kitchen was amazing in terms of how much was packed into a small space.  We were able to warm up a snack, store drinks (many rooms have [...]More

Made it.  Something more than 20.5 hours, all told, but made it.  The child was actually really good, except for a couple incidents on the Paris-Atlanta leg.  Those were exacerbated by the Flight Leader, who wouldn’t allow me to walk him in the aisles.  She also woke him up from his Benadryl-induced nap, just to mess with his pillow. 

 

That's the summary; now the details:  The kidlet was pretty happy during the ride to the airport, pointing out taxis and cars and then airplanes.  He was thrilled to be on the plane, nose pressed to glass, reporting on all the

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