Lisa –

The inspiration for the blog, the original gal pal who first insisted that I meet her in Paris each year, lives in London but is originally from Australia. I honestly don’t remember how long she has been meeting me in Paris but I know it’s at least nine years in a row. “Lee Sah” as she is affectionately referred to speaks like and cooks like Julia Child and when she has a few “bevvys” as we call them then she really sounds like the Dan Akroyd Saturday Night Live version of Julia! She calls me “Praaa cill aah” and refers to Paris as “GayPree”. Do you have the picture yet? She is the mother of two incredibly talented daughters and married to the ever patient Michael. We love Michael!

Lisa is by far the most fun person to enjoy a holiday with simply because she loves to eat, loves to drink and loves to shop but mostly loves to sit around with the girlies and laugh – I laugh the most when I am with her – full stop – as they say in Lisa land.

We never know when the last gal pal trip will be together – “When will the boys cut us off?” we always think , so when we meet in Paris we hardly sleep. I mean what if this is the last time we are sitting at a café drinking this fabulous wine and chatting about world peace and how the Americans are very lovely people but screw everything up leading to the conversation about why the Brits have not yet figured out that they don’t rule the empire anymore and nothing, simply nothing is “British” anymore?! Trust me, the Lisa/Priscilla annual late night Paris Summit is chock full of highly intelligent conversation and the later in the evening it gets the more intelligent we think we sound!

Karen –

The newest gal pal, this rookie will add some huge southern spice to the group for sure. We look forward to indoctrinating her into the fold and teaching her about our traditions. She promises to be ultra flexible – let’s hope she has reviewed the rules before she arrives. ;)

Christine –

Charming, sweet, flexible, art-loving gal pal who always has great ideas of new places to visit culturally. She laughs easily and mostly at us. She is married and the mother of an adorable little girl. After a bit of a hiatus, she joins the January, 2013 trip as a veteran.

Clare –

Our Mississippi girl with a Georgia peach accent, Clare joined the gal pals in 2007 and provided us with some of the gal pals greatest belly laughs. Paris has really never recovered from that trip. People still stop Lisa and me to ask, “When is that famous celeb Clare returning to Paris?” We have been banned from the only Rugby Pub in Paris because of her, but we love her and miss her. She has earned an automatic spot for future trips.

Elizabeth –

Show tunes singing, full of energy, always smiling gal pal who is den mother to us all is a joy to take along on any occasion. She was there for the time when my son broke his ankle and I was so sick about it. I felt better just because she always has the right things to say. She is a great bargain shopper and has the stamina to hang with Lisa the most of all the gal pals. Perhaps it’s their shared shoe fettish! This all gives her preferred gal pal status! This will be her third Gal Pal trip this year.

Rachel –

2009’s gal pal who is missing her calling as a fashion consultant. She has excellent taste and lets me know if something makes my butt look too big. Practical but flexible, she says, “Yes!” to everything and is very fun to have around bantering with Lisa. She is a diplomat which comes in handy late at night! She also has a permanent spot on the team.

Corrie –

She has been part of our family for many years and the best darn babysitter on record. She makes Mary Poppins look like Joan Crawford in that scary What Ever Happened to Baby Jane movie. She has been the biggest supporter of the gal pal trips since I have been taking them. She took care of my boys for years and now that they don’t need a babysitter, I am happy to report she was the first one I called this year to join the gal pals. She is married and now has two boys of her own. Her growing family means she can’t return with us for a while. When she is ready, a spot will be saved for her first!