Thanksgiving in Paris LIVE

Another Foggy, Misty Day in Paris

9:00am - coffee with some of the ladies from school -- including one other American. We discuss what kind of dinner we'll be creating tonight to simulate Thanksgiving. We gush about the smart friends who drove 45 minutes to the Paris Costco to buy stuffing and a few large pies. Why didn't we think about that?!

My plan is to look for a pumpkin pie in some of the bakeries and international food shops in my neighborhood. Turkey is out, as they don't eat that bird here, but maybe chicken?

10:30am - a trip to three markets and nothing at all. Christmas food is everywhere, though. So I've changed to hamburgers -- because what's more American than hamburgers!? I thought briefly about buying a rotisserie chicken, but we're leaving tomorrow for the weekend in London and I didn't want to deal with all the leftovers.

11:00am - realizing that I haven't made really anything for Thanksgiving is years, as this is my mother-in-law's holiday. So I don't even have "tried and true" recipes that I want to attempt. This is good news, I guess. Though some years I've made pie. Oh well.

11:30am - David doesn't want red meat again tonight, so he's suggesting we go out or order in. So, there goes all that planning. However, I would still like to do something at home. Alice has requested mashed potatoes, which is easy to find here. They love potatoes! So, keeping the hamburgers as a backup plan.

11:50am - high-protein smoothie for lunch and getting ready for my CrossFIT class this afternoon. I'll stop for potatoes, maybe some Brussels sprouts and a few baguettes on the way home. There's a little market down there, so I might get lucky with other treats.

12:30pm - time to head to CrossFIT. I did clean the sink so whatever I end up making, will at least be in a clean kitchen.

3:00pm - wished my French coach a "happy Thanksgiving!" and stopped by the grocery shop near the gym to see what Thanksgiving-y food I could find. Potatoes procured. But nothing else. Interestingly, I see a few "Black Friday" sale signs on some shops along the way home. So, that's a thing here.

5:30pm - Alice is starved and she can't eat anymore baguette or she'll burst. No David in sight, so time to start the mashed potatoes. I find out he's been tied up with parking the car for the weekend.

6:30pm - Thanksgiving dinner of mashed potatoes, hamburgers (from British cows!) and corn. Thinking about the Thanksgiving we're missing in New Jersey and all the very delicious food that is always offered by Dave's family. And the beach walk we always take before the turkey is ready to eat.

8:07pm - Dave is trying to get the football games up on the TV services we have here. It's a struggle. We're also trying to get packed and cleaned-up before we head out for the weekend.

So that's Thanksgiving in a country that doesn't celebrate this holiday. A little anti-climatic.


Related posts: 
Past Thanksgiving Day posts