Bonjour from Paris!

Thanksgiving is likely my favorite American holiday.  It's basically the same as Christmas with better food, no presents and football...so it's really a no-brainer. Unfortunately, it didn't make sense to journey back to the land where Thanksgiving was invented, so we compromised and had the Kelly clan meet us (somewhat) half way in Paris. 

I wasn't sure what to expect in Paris.  I figured it might fall somewhere between the other two major European cities- London (which I love) and Rome (which I hate).  Surprisingly, Paris was much closer to London for me than Rome, even though it felt nothing like Thanksgiving and was a bit on the chilly side (and even snowed).  Sadly, there was no turkey trot in the morning, none of Nana Kelly's biscuits in the oven and no Quincy Christmas Day Parade, but we managed to enjoy our holiday in France...and here's how we did it:

Turkey and the Patriots make Lisa one happy American.

Good Company- If you were in Quincy this weekend and it felt empty...it's because TK and MK were not there!  Shocking, really, but they actually left their beloved homeland for a few days to see the Parisian sites.  The traveling Poles clan and Euro-Shawn joined us and, although it felt a lot like National Lampoon's Vacation, we all enjoyed ourselves.  Sure, TK almost got us tossed from our Thanksgiving Dinner for demanding more sound and the Patriots game on more of their TVs, MK still hasn't learned that in France, Germany and Italy they don't speak Spanish and the Poles' make you want to smash all of their cameras, but overall it was a unique Thanksgiving.  We managed to meet some memorable folks along the way, such as Jack and Pauline from Melrose, MA and our waitress from the Yukon Territory (people actually live there?!). 

You can take the Kellys out of Quincy, but not the Quincy out of the Kellys!

Delish Food- If you're able to eat normal food unlike me, you'll probably love Paris.  Crepes, croissants, bread and waffles were easy to find on every corner.  I had to settle for french fries, which, for some reason are a million times better than in the States.  We took a Rick Steves suggestion and found a place that served french fries on top of salad (I was in my glory!).  And when in Paris, you must have creme brule, even if you have no idea what it is and think that it looks like pizza.

French Fries...in France!

Museum Pass- If you plan to see anything in Paris, you'd be silly not to get the Museum Pass, which covers almost all major attractions (except for the Eiffel Tower).  We were able to see so much in two full days, including:
Notre Dame- Gargoyles at the top were amazing/strange/neat.
The Louvre- Museum is seriously too big.  Mona Lisa is less disappointing than the Leaning Tower of Pisa, but she's in a really bright room on a stupid wall in the middle.  I expected her to have a better home.
Arc de Triomphe- My fav. arc in all of Europe with great views of the ET.
Versailles- A true palace...more ornate than Buckingham, Kensington or Neuschwanstein.
Army Museum and Napoleon's Tomb- We ran out of time here, but the museum had a great display on WWI and WWII and we wished we had more time.

Eiffel Tower- Sure, I've seen it in pictures, but nothing prepared me for the great site of Paris.  I literally took a picture every time I could see it, which was very often.  Unlike Big Ben or the Coliseum, you can see the ET from everywhere in Paris.  It teases you into taking pictures in the day, at night and when it shimmers.  (Did you know it shimmers for 5 minutes at night every hour on the hour?!) 

Location, Location, Location- Since we had a large group in the city, we rented an apartment instead of staying at a hotel.  This was probably the best travel decision we've ever made.  Although it was small and we ran out of hot water after the 4th shower one morning, it had so much character and was located on a busy market street in the Latin Quarter.  We were able to enjoy some of the wine, cheese and desserts sold right outside our door in our Parisian flat.  The metro and some major sites were only a short walk away and the best part was that is was only slightly more expensive than a hostel would have been! Best. Deal. Ever.

Speak No French- So I thought I was bad at Italian.  Turns out, I'm actually so much worse at French.  I couldn't even pronounce menu items correctly.  I literally know "Thank You" and that's about it.  For a major tourist city of the world, I was surprised at how many things were only in French (like signs in the Louvre?!).  I was also spoken to by people several times in French and couldn't for the life of me even say that I had no idea/didn't speak any French. My French was so bad that when I ordered french fries at one place, I ended up with three packages.

Laugh at Each Other- Perhaps the most memorable part of our weekend trip was how ridiculous it seemed that the Kelly Family was in Paris on a major American holiday.  It was hard not to poke fun at each other...and laugh often.  Like when MK tried to pour a glass of water at dinner and spilled it all over the table to the horror of our French waiter...or how the only French phrase book we had was full of dirty phrases....or how TK tried to call his hotel for an extra bed and was told "it is not possible" because the room was only big enough for just one bed and no more...or when Kate almost got hit by a car in the middle of an intersection because she needed the perfect picture (ok, maybe that's not really funny)....or how we were all suppose to go to dinner and met up way later than we planned and left Shawn outside waiting...or how we all managed to smile for the thousandth time when Joe took out one of his ten tripods for pictures that I'm sure came out tres bien.

Live, laugh and love...Happy Thanksgiving from the Quincy Kelly's in Paris.