Saturday, December 4, 2010

On Friends and Food

The snow is coming down in Paris and I can feel the rise of nostalgic sentiment brewing as the Christmas music plays, the gingerbread bakes and the twinkly lights glow (insidee the apartment :)). Forgive the sappy verbage but I've finally succumbed to warm glow of the holiday season...it's too late now.

It all started last week when my dear friends Brooke and Justin came to visit me (oh and Yann!)here in Paris. Ohhhh how I've missed friends!!! What is life without the people who know you best - your history, your faults, your triumphs? The answer: It's sad.

Yes, I have made some good friends here and I am very very grateful for them but there is something to be said for the people with whom have shared a history and who help you to grow. They are rare gems and I have never been so grateful to the friends in my life as I am now - 5,000 miles away from Seattle.












Anyways, Brooke and Justin were here and we had a lovely time eating our way through Paris. Part of the food exploration included a Thanksgiving feast with a lovely gathering of 7: Brooke, Justin, Carole, Guillaume, Annaelle, myself and Mr Yann.

It was a meal that began and ended with a little French zest - morning trips to the market for produce, cheese and to pick up our bird (you have to order in advance here as they don't do turkey much), a stop in at the wine shop and of course a break at home for a cafe. We finished the meal with cheese and then dessert in front of the TV watching a rugby match (the closest thing to football!)

During the meal, as we went around the table to say a few words about what we were thankful for (ahh yes, they were good sports my French friends who were experiencing turkey day for the first time!), I thought about where I would be without the support of my friends, new and old, and how life is just so much richer with them in it - especially for those moments when you share a meal that includes hot buttery gravy and garlicy mashed potatoes.