Happy Thanksgiving!

Sure, we've been away from the United States for nearly three months but I can't say I've ever fully felt acclimated.  Each day we have enjoyed new experiences, new sights but we recognize that we've been visitors since we got off the plane in early September.

This week certainly emphasized that feeling as we've been thinking about Thanksgiving week and the holiday atmosphere it creates. 

Naturally London has no such aura of Thanksgiving so this week has felt like any other week.  It made me miss Thanksgiving week even more, with the anticipation of a long weekend spent with family, playing football in the chill autumn air and the quasi-nausea after dinner from eating too much but still able to put down a few slices of pumpkin pie with whip cream.

We did plan a quiet Thanksgiving dinner.  Turkey was WAY too ambitious given the cooking tools our apartment offers (not much) or that even a small turkey would be too much bird for us.

Fortunately Alisa's cousin Nicola was able to join us for dinner.  We had missed her during the Guy Fawkes celebration with her family in Northampton at the beginning of November, but were happy to catch up with her here.

Our turkey equivalent this year was duck (and despite being away from America, we still used America's Test Kitchen for a great recipe) and we also made an apple crisp from the apples picked at Nicola's parents house!  The wine was from our host in northern France.

It was a simple but enjoyable dinner.

We are thankful for our families and sad to miss celebrating with them in person but also thankful for this special opportunity to explore so much of Europe.

We wish you all a happy Thanksgiving with the warmth of family and friends.