Accion de Gracias

I think Thanksgiving just might be my favorite holiday. It's like Christmas without the stress of presents and the financial strain that comes with them. There's something about eating copious amounts of traditional food while reflecting on what you're thankful for that makes it the perfect holiday.

This is the second Thanksgiving in a row that Saul and I have spent alone. Little Nugget is kicking away these days but you get my point. While I definitely miss spending the holiday with our families, I love that being away has allowed us to get comfortable in the kitchen. Not only comfortable but we actually really enjoy it. Saul actually said to me after we had finished preparing everything that cooking has become one of his favorite aspects of the holiday (it's true, I have husband that helps in the kitchen).

Last year in Samoa we had the Turkey Run (can't believe that was a year ago). We prepared our first Thanksgiving Feast without much trouble and everything turned out pretty flawlessly. This year we were confident in our ability. However, it's a bit more difficult to find typical Thanksgiving staples in Spain than it is in Samoa (weird, I know).

There's a little shop here called "Taste of America." Oh man did I feel lame going in there but we did try to use our newfound Spanish abilities to create the illusion that we're Madrilenos craving some good 'ol American Thanksgiving food.  Wishful thinking. Anyways, we were able to find canned pumpkin and canned cranberry sauce albeit for four euros each! The tiniest container ever of McCormick's nutmeg cost eight euros so we passed on that and found it elsewhere. They had boxed stuffing but we were in an over-achieving type mood and decided to make it from scratch. Turkey is pretty much non-existent in grocery stores, though you are able to special order it from the butcher. Being the unemployed cheapos that we are we decided to opt for two whole chickens. No, we didn't make one for each of us (c'mon you know we share everything); we wanted leftovers. 

Sooo we took the day off from school on Thursday. No way was I going to be sitting in Spanish class on my favorite holiday. We made the double layer pumpkin cheesecake and prepared the veggies for the stuffing on Wednesday night. On Thursday we started cooking pretty early and made: mac n'cheese, stuffing, two roast chickens, potato bread rolls, candied yams and gravy. Everything turned out amazing. We even managed to find a tablecloth and candles to set the table with. Along with our pumpkin cheesecake and cranberry sauce, our Thanksgiving Dinner was perfect. In true Madrileno form we didn't eat until 8:30pm or so (well, true Madrilenos would have eaten at 10 or 11 but 8:30 was late for us).

The day was absolutely perfect. This year I'm especially thankful for this little human inside my belly that has already brought so much happiness into mine and Saul's lives.

-C

Saul made the stuffing and it was perfect!

The beginning of our candied yams (brown sugar, butter, marshmallows all melted together).

Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake. Nom worthy.

Candied Yams

He's officially a pro-carver.

How we managed to make our little table feel romantic... I don't know.

Handsome husband always eats too much.

In Love in/with Paris

We finally fell in love with Paris!

Don’t get me wrong. We had always been impressed with the city. It had just never struck us as one of our absolute favorites. I never had that taken aback moment in the city until now. The feeling like you’re seeing something you had no idea existed for the first time.

The first time I went I was too young to really appreciate it. The second time (and first for Chelsia) we were only there for a short stay, which felt even shorter since we were at the end of a long tour of Europe. Last time we were there, we were under a lot of pressure to see all of the sites in a short period of time (standard pressures of a bus tour). We were able to hit a lot of the sites and museums last time we were there. Those are time-consuming activities, and on a short stay time consuming activities can limit your experience. Visiting a museum, going to the Louvre Museum to see the Mona Lisa for example, is an all day affair. Too many all day affairs in a short span doesn’t leave time to see the little things that make cities like Paris such wonderful places.

This time, there wasn’t any pressure to see all of the sites and Museums since we had covered a lot last time. Places like The Louvre are must see sights, and if you are going to Paris I suggest that you do visit the major museums and historical monuments. I’m just saying without the pressure to do so (if you are returning or have a longer stay), take some time to explore some of the less famous aspects of the city.

We still did a few touristy activities. We took a walking tour of the Montmartre district on our first night in Paris and a bike tour of the major sights of the city.

The Montmartre district is the area in the hills in the North of Paris where all of the famous artists used to live. We saw where Picasso and Van Gough lived during their time in Paris, and some of the bars and cabarets they used to frequent. We also saw a beautiful basilica commonly known as the Sacre-Coeur Basilica, which sits at the very top of the hill overlooking Paris. At the end of the tour, we took another stroll around the neighborhood and ate at an amazing local restaurant called Ou Pied du Sacre Coeur. It was a small place with a romantic ambience, and everyone in the restaurant was speaking French. They also had some great food!

On the bike tour, we visited the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, outside of The Louvre, Napoleon’s Tomb, and Love Lock Bridge. We took a break and had a nice lunch at the Rue Cler Market, and took a ride down the bank of the River Seine. The bike tour was a great way to get ourselves oriented with the city on our first morning there, and left us the entire afternoon and night to explore on our own. That night we took a stroll down Champs-Elysees to the seasonal Christmas Market. It seemed like a great place to go Christmas shopping and enjoy some good food and drinks. I had myself some hot-spiced wine and Chelsia had a gofre (waffle) with Nutella and cream. After the market we went to dinner at another local spot and had another fabulous meal.

On our final full day, we checked out of our hotel early, left our bags, and explored the city by foot and metro. We made a stop at Love Lock Bridge near the Notre Dame Cathedral to place our lock on the bridge and throw the key into the river. We also took a walk through Luxembourg Gardens and had another stop at the Eiffel Tower to marvel at it one last time. On the way back to the hotel to pick up our bags, we made a stop at the Arc de Triomphe to see it up close and take a rest on its foundation.

The highlight of the day was our food(ing). We had crepes from two different places for brunch, crème puffs, pastries from a bakery near the Eiffel Tower, and before leaving the city to go to our hotel for the night we grabbed some falafel in the Jewish/LGBT district at the most famous falafel house in Paris (Lenny Kravitz had eaten there, so it must be good… right?). Then we grabbed some macaroons at Pierre Herme and headed to our hotel.

I wouldn’t usually say anything about an airport hotel, but if you have to stay at an airport hotel and a CitizenM hotel is an option, I highly recommend it. It feels like a hotel of the future. Everything is automated, there are tablets in the room to control everything (the windows, TV, lighting, alarm, etc.), and all of their movies are free.

Overall, it was a great weekend trip. We had some amazing food. We did a lot of walking and got to know the metro system intimately. Best of all, we finally discovered a love for what we now know is an amazing city. It finally clicked. We got the feeling of being overwhelmed by the beauty of a place you are seeing in a different light. The sinking feeling you get when you realize the scope of something. It’s a rare feeling, and now we can associate it with what we now consider one of our favorite cities.

-S

Day 1

Walking to our hotel, right near the Arc de Triomphe 

Waiting for our tour of Montmartre near the Moulin Rouge 

View of Montmartre

Sacre-Coeur Basilica

Sacre-Coeur Basilica

French Onion Soup - Yum!

Chelsia's Duck

My Rabbit

French Creme Brulee - which is not like Creme Brulee in the States

Day 2 - Bike Tour

Fontaine Saint-Michel 

Notre-Dame

Oldest Bridge in Paris (Behind Us)

Love Lock Bridge

Delicious Quiche!

Chelsia at the Rue Cler Market

Chelsia taking someone's picture at the Eiffel Tower

Vertical Garden

Place de la Concorde

Day 2 - Afternoon

Wedding Photos outside of Notre Dame = Beautiful!

Day 2 - Evening

HUGE Perfume Bottles at Sephora

Sephora on Champs-Elysees

Hot Wine (Vin Chaud) from the Christmas Market

French Onion Soup Again :)

Chelsia's Steak

My Duck

Amazing Apple Dessert!

Gofre!

Goofre!

Day 3

18 Weeks Pregnant

Our love lock is in this picture.

Kissing and throwing our keys in the river!

Creme Puffs

Luxembourg Gardens 

At a Bakery Near the Eiffel Tower

My Model Wife at the Arc de Triomphe

Best Falafel in Paris

Pierre Herme

Au Revoir Paris

CitizenM

Complimentary drinks (Chelsia was upset that mine was way more expensive).

Delicious quiche at the airport.