So as you may have surmised from my last post, C & I are in the US. We arrived here after a whirlwind week which involved me waking up extremely early for work all week long, arriving back home at 9pm Thursday night and then leaving for the airport at 5am Friday.  20 long hours later, we touched down in Northern Minnesota. Minus C's suitcase - I seemed to have passed my baggage curse on to him.

Oh, and did I mention our US wedding reception was the next day?  Good thing I had him pack his suit in his carry-on.  Seriously, why I thought this insane week was a good idea is beyond me.  Though I guess to be honest, I was never that hot on it in the first place, but we were talked in to a Thanksgiving Saturday reception so that friends and family wouldn't have to trek back to MN two weekends in a row.

But no matter, it ended up being an absolutely lovely day** and I felt very blessed to finally have been able to introduce C to my dad's family.  He was a big hit with the ladies, and I got so many compliments on how handsome and kind he is.  It is oh-so-true and I hope it is something I never take for granted.

So no Thanksgiving for us, but we sure do have so many things to be thankful for this year.


**The day was made even more lovely by the fact that I was at the last minute able to convince my mother that a Taco bar was not a good idea for a wedding reception.  I was highly perplexed by the idea - why on Earth would any one think tacos and wedding dresses go together?!  Not to mention that C hates eating with his hands...  But apparently Taco bars are all the rage in MN - my aunt told me the last three weddings she'd been to had them. Go figure.  Instead, we had the good ol' MN standbys of mini-ham & turkey sandwiches, potato salad, cut up fruit & veggies and wedding cake.  Which C has taken to like a mo-fo.  I swear he has eaten at least 20 pieces in the past few days. Good thing the man is a bottomless pit.

Gobble Gobble

Can you believe it? Thanksgiving is one week away! Which also means many of us American are scrambling to find a turkey.

If you haven't had time to pre-order one from the local butcher, life might have just gotten a little bit easier thanks to two fellow expats - I heard from both Leah & Lisa yesterday that Picard (the busy woman's best friend) is selling whole turkeys for the holiday season. And en plus, they are stuffed with a mixture of prunes, chestnuts and Armagnac. Talk about Miam. Picard's website says they serve 8-10 people, and the price - at 7.95€ a kilo - is right too.

Happy eating y'all!

For those of you in/near Paris looking to fill your Thanksgiving cravings, check out this comprehensive list over at the HiP Paris Blog - it's got stores where you can buy your fixins', restaurants serving T-day dinner, and even a cooking school offering a special Thanksgiving class in English.

To London I go

So, guess who almost just missed her train to London? Yep, that would be me. Here I thought I was doing good and leaving much earlier than I would for a normal train, and I end up almost missing the damn thing. Check-in was already closed by the time I got there, and I had to do some major sweet-talking (read: begging and pleading) to get them to let me through. It was pretty much like checking in for the airport, what with customs and luggage scans and duty free shops and all. So FYI for anyone else taking the Eurostar for the first time - make sure you get there more than 15 minutes in advance like I did, or you'll be out of luck! Also, double check your departure time before you go because some of the trains have been advanced, delayed or cancelled all together- mine left an entire 30min before the departure time printed on my ticket.



And now a quick word about Thanksgiving - I had such a good time last night with everyone, and the food was absolutely delicious. It was a real American Thanksgiving with all the trimmings. And major props to Sarah for hosting us all - there were at least 15 of us there and she really was the hostest with the mostest! Not to mention the massive turkey she found for us... There are pics are up on Facebook, I didn't have time to post any here before leaving. It's probably a good thing I didn't though, or I really would've missed the Eurostar!

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What I am thankful for...

Happy Thanksgiving to all the Americans out there. As I lay in bed this morning, having been abruptly woken up by a client (because alas, with the way my job is, I unfortunately have to work on both American AND French holidays), I thought about what I am thankful for. We all know this hasn't been the easiest of years for me - in fact, it probably ranks up there with one of the worst years of my life. But it's all about keeping things in perspective, isn't it? And so, I'm going to list out all the thinks I'm thankful for on this Turkey day:

• I have a home - it may not be perfect, nor permanent - but unlike millions of other people out there, I have a roof over my head
• I have made some fabulous friends here in Paris, for which I will be eternally grateful. Without all of you guys, I likely would've packed up my bags and left long ago
• I have a job that I enjoy and that challenges me everyday, and that gives me enormous flexibility with my scheduling
  
• Even though it's been tiring these past few weeks, I'm lucky to be able to travel as much as I do, and I've got a couple of more exciting trips coming up over the next few weeks
  
• The Company bought me a plane ticket home, and I am so happy to be spending Christmas with my family this year (as opposed to the very-un-merry Christmas I spent with Fab's family last year)
• I am able to put money away, bringing me a little bit closer every month to my goal of buying myself a small apartment here
• And last but not least, I am grateful for my Finnish classes. It's so nice to be able to do something for myself again, and to have rediscovered one of the passions I left behind when I moved to France

I hope everyone has a wonderful Turkey Day no matter where you are in the world - I myself am looking forward to eating a fabulous T-day dinner chez Sarah. I plan on stuffing my face with turkey and all the other goodies everyone will be bringing.

PS. In case anyone has the Discovery Channel, I just found out they're doing a Thanksgiving piece featuring The Company in their "How Stuff Works" Series. On top of that, the turkey that President Bush pardoned yesterday (and who will be the Grand Marshall in today's Thanksgiving Day Parade) also comes from The Company. How random is that?