Since most of my readers are American friends, I don't need to explain the significance of the holiday or what one does on Thanksgiving as I have been for the Brits over here, but I will recap what I did. Happily, many of the activities were very traditional Thanksgiving or at least "American."
Thanksgiving Day we:
- Ran a 5k Turkey Trot
- Watched the Macy's Parade on TV
- Took a nap on the couch while watching the Macy's parade
- Cooked up our dishes for the meal (all things yams, potatoes and sweet potatoes)
- Shared Thanksgiving with 17 people, 9 bottles of wine (yeah, they were lightweights), and another 9 desserts!
- Drank warm Winter Pimm's and cider
The day after Thanksgiving, Brea and I watched her friends play in a game of flag football, went out to lunch, did the obligatory, but no less exciting, Costco shop and then hit the stores. I scored big on the sales, buying this ring (at even less than the current online sale price is....)! I also bought a few pairs of shoes and other necessities at Macys.
Friday night, Brea and I enjoyed a 6 course meal with wine pairings at the Top of the Hub on the 52nd floor of the Prudential building. It was a clear night with beautiful views of Boston and the meal was fantastic. Our favourite course was the seared foie gras. Someday, I'm sure I'll feel bad for all those poor little ducks...but not yet. Afterwards, we met up with Maneesh for some port at the bar, and then a few rounds of creative cocktails at City Bar in the Lenox Hotel. I've been to this bar three times throughout my Boston visits, and it never fails to deliver. It was a late night, so home at 3 am....we enjoyed a nice sleep in until 12 noon on Saturday.
Saturday was much more low key, but no less enjoyable. We drove out to the burbs to attend a three-year-old's birthday party (Brea knew the parents/kids from her time in China). Not having much of a connection to the family, I found most of my excitement by playing with the Nintendo Wii for the first time and eating all sorts of weird American foods that seemed like gourmet to me, just because of their scarcity here. I scarfed down on taquitos, root beer, ginger ale, and that weird orange cheese ball with the nuts on the outside. Yeah, you know the one!
Around 5pm we drive back into town to prep for the BIG GAME. This was the Mizzou (Missouri) vs Kansas game. The second oldest college rivalry in the country, and the game where they were both ranked towards the top, this was big. Mizzou won, much to the delight of Brea's boyfriend, Nathan, and to the rest of us (we don't want a sad Nathan!). All pictures of the weekend are on my smugmug, but this one from Saturday pretty sums up how I felt towards the end of the weekend:
So Sunday we went to church, met up with my friend Gabriela for lunch (friend from Santa Cruz who now lives in Florida) and packed up the suitcases. This was my first time coming back to the UK that I met each suitcase's weight limit, just barely. The airport was quiet, the flight was uneventful and despite having a rocky start to the week, breaking my suitcase handle and getting to the office later than planned, I'm doing pretty well now!
I had a fantastic weekend with good friends, a good dose of Americanism and as always, love the shopping!
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