I've Transported My Kids to America!

OK, maybe not.  But look at this next picture and tell me it doesn't look like visual evidence supporting my title.

But now look at this picture.  How more French can you get?  It's February and cold (don't let the sun fool you).  And it's just a normal Thursday afternoon.  If there's 1 thing French people hate, it's fast food.  If there's 1 thing they love, it's McDonald's.  And if there are 2 things, it's that and eating outside...even in the dead of winter.

A few notes on McDonalds:

• They serve beer.  No wine, though.
• To us Americans, McDonald's is cheap and fast.  Here, its neither.  It's cheap-ish and fast-ish.  I've never waited in a drive-thru longer in my life.
• And to me, a Big Mac tastes the same here as it does back home.
• No, you can't get a 64 oz Coke here.
• Speaking of Coke...Europe tends to call it Coca.  It sounds weird.
• Europe is soooo concerned about the environment.  But then you go to a McDonald's.  The packaging!!!  If you get a meal, they give you a whole box.  If you get a drink, they give you one of the 4-cup-holder things...without asking.  They even give you a tray with a paper liner (dining in) even if you just get a muffin.
• The menu isn't nearly as large as it is back home.  But there are some nice regional treats, like chocolate mousse, Parmesan burgers, croque-monsieur, etc.  Oh!  They have potato wedges instead of fries (only if you want)!  They're great!
• Thankfully, they keep the American tradition of free wi-fi.  The lack of free wi-fi in Europe is devastating.  Yes, devastating.

Carnaval: This is like their Halloween (without trick-or-treating).  See Aiden as a cowboy (part knight)...

See Aiden on crack...