The entire Thanksgiving-in-Paris experience proved to be stupendous !

It started with several imported goods (i.e., imported in our luggage)… fresh cranberries, boxes of stuffing, turkey bags, recipes, Turkey napkins (thanks Mom for reminding Pamela)… then a trip to the American store here aptly named ‘Thanksgiving’ for a pumpkin pie & the ever-necessary MARSHMALLOWS. Finally, I ventured into a boutcherie & ordered a fresh turkey (in French of course…) The couple who owned the store were very lovely, & seemed delighted to help an American with her Thanksgiving turkey. At 12.95 euro per kilo, it is no wonder! I had no idea how many ‘kilos’ I wanted (since in the States ‘kilos’ is only used to describe cocaine measurements!!!) , but when I explained I had 10 guests coming, the butcher happily showed me the size of bird I would need… complete with some feathers/wings & the head still attached. I explained with some alarm that I would like MY turkey to be prepared “sans tete, sans plume” (without head, without feathers); thankfully that translated well. The wife wrote my name in her order book, & we decided on a time when I would pick it up the next day. She kindly told me how long to cook it, & at what temperature (in Celsius). That information came in VERY handy later! Finally, I had to pick up several kitchen utensils & even a cooking dish for my apartment’s ‘fully-stocked-kitchen-for-a-bachelor-who-eats-out-all-the-time’.

Due to the limitations in the size of my apartment, I was only able to accommodate 10 guests, & that was pushing it! I could have (& would have liked to) invite several more people, but that wasn’t possible, so I kept the guest list basically limited to my immediate classmates. Even so, we had many people sitting on the floor on pillows eating at the coffee table.

We had a very good delegation system for the day. Stefan did an incredible job at supplying us with fabulous wine & champage for dinner (Veuve Clicquot..mmmmm). Via text-message, I assigned James the task of finding whipped cream… leaving him the challenge to figure out how either to say ‘whipped cream’ in French, or more likely, to have the opportunity to mime it out in the store. Soenke picked up disposable plates & utensils for everyone, & very kindly arrived early to help in the kitchen. We know what it means when men try to ‘help’, so we went out to buy baguettes instead. [Soenke I’m kidding! I appreciated your help a lot.] Pamela was my kitchen lifesaver… we were a tag team & getting all the dishes cooking (& not burning) at the right times. She also is excellent at cleaning up as you go, which was imperative in a kitchen of this size.

We discovered quickly that French electronic thermometers were not designed to remain IN the oven with the turkey. 28 euros down the drain in about 4 minutes.

The guests arrived with a lovely array of hostess gifts that both greatly surprised & touched me! Chocolates…room fragrance… ROSES. A very nice start to the evening.

Just before dinner, I was very happy to have a phone call from my family back home, who had just gotten together to enjoy Thanksgiving day. I spoke with my Mom & brother, then my 5-year-old nephew got on the phone to say “I love you Aunt Sis”!

All the dishes turned out quite well (except for a bit of dryness with the turkey). I had a difficult time convincing my guests that marsmallows-on-mashed-sweet-potatoes is NOT merely an eccentricity of my family, it is a national dish! Tim made my night by saying that it was the best meal he’d had since he got to Paris. Mirjam also delighted me by asking for the sweet potato recipe!

Everyone seemed to really like dinner. Now…things got interesting when I served the pumpkin pie. This was a new experience for everyone. I topped it with the whipped cream & sprinkled ground nutmeg. We had a roundtable discussion regarding the pie, where I asked each person’s comment. Here is what I got:

“It’s not awful.” - Soenke
“It goes down.” - Stefan
“It’s not too pumpkiny.” - Noel
“Beautiful, mate” - Irene
“Smells like soup.” - Stefan
“It looks good.” - Mirjam
“I’m eating it aren’t I?” - James
“I need some orange juice.” - Tim
“No!” - Alex
“It’s interesting, or rather… fascinating!” - Tim

I guess next year I will try apple pie ???????!!!

In conclusion, it was a very fun experience, & a great time was had by all !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mom, Here I am holding GIBLETS :

Pamela works on the bird:

Our guests (except Mirjam):

James & Miriam:

Roses from Stefan:

Here go the marshmallows!

Eating Indian style (??):

More eating:

And then the triptophans kicked in…

Didn’t seem to affect Stefan…

Saying goodnight !!!

21 Nov

Sally returned to Germany Sunday bearing some *fabulous* new perfume, new Moroccan plates, & 2 big bags of CHEETOS (thank you Franprix). I think she is well stocked now.

Saturday we had a heart-stoppingly expensive lunch near the Notre Dame with my German classmates (Soenke, Tim), with whom Sally was, of course, able to converse perfectly in German. We searched in vain for the bronze plaque that is supposedly out in front of the Notre Dame, marking the absolute center of Paris, from which all distance in France is measured. I have read that if you stand on the plaque & turn 3 times around, making a wish, your wish will come true. I couldn’t pass up that possibility. However, Tim astutely pointed out that I didn’t know which way you turn… clockwise? counterclockwise? If you turn the wrong way does the opposite of your wish come true?? I suppose it’s a good thing I couldn’t find the plaque, & perhaps have made a *terrible* error.

In the afternoon, Sally & I went up to the Arab neighborhoods & prowled about. For dinner, we chose a chic Eurotrash-Moroccan restaurant nearby, where we were served by the first gay Moroccan I have ever seen. Sunday we browsed the fantastic food shops of Rue Montorgueil, & Sally had the opportunity to practice her Arabic, much to her delight, & that of the shopkeeper !! It was very cool to see his amazement. I left her at the Lufthansa gate at CDG at about 2:30pm with big hugs all around!

I came back to the apartment & put up a string of Christmas lights to liven up the place. I then contacted Soenke & Tim (who were in the Louvre) & we decided to rendevous at chez moi (my place) for dinner. I suspect they knew I had cable TV, as they had been suffering terrible media withdrawals all week.

In a flash of brilliance, we decided to go out at about 8pm for a trip to both the Eiffel Tower & the tunnel where Princess Diana died. What a fantastic expedition. Soenke led us directly to the tunnel, where we observed/contemplated/photographed. There were many sentiments on the wall there. Incidentally, there was also a pre-existing gold flame monument of the Franco-American relationship there. Hmmm, based on a little French feedback I’ve gotten, I’m a little surprised that flame hasn’t been extinquished for the meantime… But that’s ok, even nations can agree to disagree.

Back to the expedition. As we were watching the incredibly beautiful lit-up Eiffel Tower from across the river, it started SPARKLING all over. It was incredible!!!! JE L’ADORE… We walked over the bridge to the tower & went all the way to the top, where I confronted my own personal fear of heights (last time I was in Paris, I went to the top & immediately descended after about 1.4 minutes). This time I even made it to the railing & looked down without fainting.

I’m wondering…. could things be BETTER here in Paris ? Everything has been so perfect already….

At Princess Diana’s tunnel:

At the Tour Eiffel:

At the top with Team Lufthansa:

Obvious evidence of an alien spaceship landing, as taken from the top of the Tour Eiffel: