I have an interesting family. We are not all globed together in one city, let alone one state. I have grandmas in California, aunts and uncles in Australia, cousins in New Jersey, Alaska, Texas, and New Zealand, and even more family members in Canada, South Africa, Croatia and Switzerland. Sure we have very few family reunions, but being spread-out across the globe gives us the chance to travel, a fact I know I have made use of on more than one occasion. That said, with me living in Clermont-Ferrand, I was bound to get some visitors.
In November, my cousin Christina from Alaska came to stay. She had been staying in Europe for the 5 previous months and she finally had some time to visit me. In total she stayed with me for 3 weeks, which had the potential to be strenuous with both of us in my small apartment, but it was fantastic! It was so nice to have someone to cook for and eat with.
I introduced Christina to my many friends and my partying lifestyle. We went out quite a bit, drinking and dancing until the wee hours of the morning on many occasions. My dear friend, Brandon, and I decided to host a traditional Thanksgiving dinner party chez lui for the big day! We managed to find all of the necessary ingredients, except for cranberries which apparently don’t exist in Europe, and even a 5 kilo turkey, which is huge by European standards. Baking pies and doing some of the prep work the night before helped lighten the load for the following day.
Christina and I were at Brandon’s by noon to start cooking! The turkey was the first order of business: luckily it was plucked and ready to go (you never know here). We buttered her up and popped her in! Then came the hard part: Brandon’s kitchen is much smaller than any kitchen back home, so preparing a meal for 13 people required some strategy and planning. But by the end, everything worked out to perfection! Yum!
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| What a beauty! |
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| Marshmallow perfection! |
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| Homemade pies on the window sill... |
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| Looking good! |
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| Dinner! Bon appetite! |
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| The finished product.... SO GOOD!! |
Come December, the Christmas market was in full swing at Place de la Victoire! There were booths selling all sorts of goodies: candles, chocolates, ornaments, clothes, scarves, roasted chestnuts, mulled wine, and everything Christmas-y. Eating a piping hot plate of Truffard—the local potato and cheese dish—while the snow fell was amazing and made it even tastier!
One afternoon we went to Royattonic, a spa in a nearby suburb. As the delicate snow fell, each unique flake falling with grace to the snow covered ground, we plunged into the warm waters of the spa! The spa included indoor and outdoor pools of warm water, hot tubs, hammams, saunas and an ice-cold frigidarium… it was heaven! Being warm while the snow feel around us was incredible and beautiful! We left feeling clean, warm, rejuvenated, and simply fabulous!
In November, my cousin Christina from Alaska came to stay. She had been staying in Europe for the 5 previous months and she finally had some time to visit me. In total she stayed with me for 3 weeks, which had the potential to be strenuous with both of us in my small apartment, but it was fantastic! It was so nice to have someone to cook for and eat with.
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