MrsG1717

I am hoping to take my two teens to Paris and Venice for Thanksgiving any ideas on hotels or restaurants? We like the 6th arr.My main problem is,of course, time. I need to get from London to Paris and then to Venice and back to London in a week Am I insane?

Flyboy

I'm not clear on what you are really asking. Are you starting this trip from London because that is where you are based or are you planning to fly into and out of London from the U.S. (or somewhere else?)

ira

Dear MrsG,

Yes, you are insane, but it is only temporary.

Take your teens to Paris. That will be enough.

If you can find it, let them read Art Buchwald's column explaining Thanksgiving to the French. He called it "Le Jour pour Donnez Merci". It starred Kilometre Standish.

Lil

Hi MrsG - I too will be in Paris over Thanksgiving with my 16yr old daughter. Since we don't have a set time to eat we just find an interesting place (off the main streets) whenever we are hungry, or we ask the hotel staff where they would dine. So far we have not been disapointed. My daughters taste is not refined enough to make reservations at a 3 star restaurant.

Since we don't spend much time in our room we go the 2 star route (just like with the restaurnats, off the main streets). Also, we look for someplace that is a little "quirky" if possible, be it the location, motif, or staff.

Tell the kids to get on the internet and look for a hotel. Most have pictures of the lobby as well as the rooms. It gets them involved and saves you some time.

Have a great holiday.

MrsG1717

Thanks for your suggestions but I really need help on transport. Yes, I am probably insane but I think it would be fun(challenging) to get from Paris to Venice and back to London in six days as inexpensively as possible. We don't expect to see everythimg just a quick blast. It is a sort of if you only have this long to live sort of trip...a race between London - Paris and Venice. If the teens think it is great they can do it all again when they are older. This is just a moment out of time.

ira

Dear MrsG,

Will this be the only time you or your children will ever go to Europe?

If you persist in your delusion that doing London/Paris/Venice/london in one week will be some sort of fun excursion for which your children will thank you, then you are insane.

I beg of you, seek professional help.

LVSue

Ira, I love that Buchwald column, le Jour de Merci Donnant, first published in 1953:

http://www.people.virginia.edu/~pm9k...s/artrech.html

MrsG1717, actually there is a restaurant called Thanksgiving in Paris (cajun, it seems) Website: http://www.thanksgivingparis.com/restaurant.htm

You may be insane, or merely adventurous. Look for cheap flights from Paris to Venice and Venice to Paris.

jamikins

We booked an overnight train ride. It worked out very well ad might be an adventure for you and your teens

ira

Hi LVSue,

Thanks for the link to the column, I couldn't find it on google.

I also see that for 50 years I've had the name of the holiday wrong.

GeoffHamer

There is nothing insane about wanting to visit Paris and Venezia. The overnight trains are very comfortable and have restaurant cars and sleepers. The train leaves Paris just after eight and gets to Venezia Santa Lucia, right on the Grand Canal, in the morning. If you want to dine in Paris before going on to Venezia, then there is a night train to Milano which leaves later in the evening - you get a connection on to Venezia in the morning.

ira

Hey Geoff,

Of course not, but MrsG wants to do London/Paris/Venice/London in a week.

A sample itinerary would be
Day 1 Arrive London
Day 2 London Train to Paris
Day 3 Paris
Day 4 Paris Night train to Venice
Day 5 Venice Night train to Paris
Day 6 Paris Train to London
Day 7 Leave London

Do you recommend two nights on the train to spend one day in Venice?

GeoffHamer

Ira's itinerary is for six days - if day 1 is a Saturday, then day 7 will be a Friday. It also allows a lot more time in Paris than in Venezia. I like using overnight trains because I think it's a great way of visiting lots of places, but I avoid using night trains on consecutive nights as the facilities for washing are more limited than in a hotel or on a ship; therefore, if you were using the night trains to and from Venezia, you'd need to spend at least two days and a night in Venezia. The train journey between London and Paris next November will take around 2 hrs 40 mins, so can easily be fitted into a morning, afternoon or evening. It's quite possible to devise a week's itinerary for London, Paris and Venezia, but only Mrs G will know how long she wants to spend in each place.

LVSue

Hey, Ira! Your problem was trying to render the title in some kind of recognizable French. Buchwald totally fractured it. (maybe that's why you couldn't find it on Google) ;-)

MrsG1717

Thank you to all those folks that do have a little faith! I managed to figure it out.We can fly to London arrive in the a.m. catch an early afternoon flight to Venice - spend three nights in Venice, catch a plane back to London(doing it on the cheap with a good package)leave the next afternoon by train to Paris two nights in Paris take the train back to London, spend the night and be back at Heathrow to fly out to DC the next a.m.
For your information. I go over every six months for 10 days( I have to see a doctor there - not botox!)and I always manage a couple of days in France or Spain. I come home exhausted but exhilarated. You can't expect to see everything so you have to be selective, but a little time is better than no time at all.My problem was getting rained in or worse in Venice so instead of doing it last I thought we should do it first then I won't panic about getting back to London and missing our flight. The teens want to look at AUP and a cookery school in Paris and they have not been to Venice and we only had a week. If anyone is interested I will write and tell you what we saw and how we made out.Thanks to all those with suggestions and help.