Pilgrims in London

Thursday, November 25th
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
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Although Thanksgiving is considered one of America's most special holidays, here in London the fourth Sunday in November is just another day.  I can understand why they don't acknowledge it; it's the day we Pilgrims said "see ya" to the English...can't blame them if they're just a bit bitter.  Although this might be the case, it did not mean that we were not going to celebrate it to the fullest!  Unfortunately, Lauren and I had a full day of work ahead of us when we woke up.  I was the first in my office this morning, the next person being my boss.  She asked if I was celebrating Thanksgiving tomorrow (they truly don't care, clearly) and I told her I was actually having dinner tonight.  "It must be so odd for you to be in an office in Thanksgiving?  It's almost sacreligious for an American to do that!"  When I nodded in agreement, my spirits were lifted for a minute in the hopes that she might say I could have the day off, but when she turned around and walked back to her office in silence, I realized I would have no such luck.  Oh well.
My day was spent helping Roz, the woman who sits next to me and who, quite conveniently (or inconveniently, however you want to look at it), is in charge of the company's food line.  I had to enter data from various taste tests she had done in the office in the weeks before and figure out what products were the most popular.  As there were many that had to be done it took the whole of my morning.  When lunchtime arrived, I excitedly headed to Whole Foods to meet Lauren (my friend from Wake who is living with Maggie and Ashley) and Sierra (my other friend from Wake who was visiting London from Athens!!).  We all love our one in Winston Salem, but once I took them through the High Street store, they were amazed; it does not even compare in size!!  We all enjoyed Mexican (Sierra almost cried she was so happy...Mexican cuisine is apparently not a strong point in Greece) and chatted for a bit until I reluctantly headed back to the office.  My afternoon was spent on various little tasks, including cleaning out all of the old food samples and neatly packing them up to be stored for future references.  At 5:30 I said goodbye to everyone and made my way back to Courtfield to get ready for the night!

Happy Thanksgiving!

My mom has been asking me since probably no more than a week after my arrival where I would be making Thanksgiving dinner reservations.  Well, today was the day, and I have made my mother proud.  After getting pretty, (our) Lauren, Sierra, Maggie, Ashley, their friend Elizabeth (who was visiting from Rome), and I made our way on the tube to Covent Garden.  We arrived at PJ's Bar and Grill just in time for our 7:30 pm reservation.  This cozy little restaurant is known for its pre theatre fare, but when I discovered they had a 3 course Thanksgiving meal for 20 pounds, I knew it would be the perfect place to spend our holiday.  Joining us after we sat down were my roommate from Wake, Molly, and her mom!  Mrs. Riazzi was kind enough to skip her usual holiday trip to Dayton and fly across the pond to spend the weekend with me and Molly, and we (especially Molly) could not have been happier!  After we had all greeted and hugged each other, we started into our meal.  Soup, turkey, vegetables, mashed potatoes, and bread and butter pudding/pumpkin pie for dessert...even though PJ's is in the heart of London, they sure do know how to make a wonderful American meal!  We were all so happy to be eating our favorite Thanksgiving foods, and although I think we were all missing our families, we enjoyed each other's company immensely.
Completely full - just the way one should be on Thanksgiving - we bundled up again and decided to take a quick stroll around Covent Garden Piazza.  We walked through the market stalls (although all closed) and admired the Kissmas Tree (it lights up when you kiss under it!) and the giant topiary reindeer.  We didn't stay for too long though, as that cold front made the air just a little too nippy.  While the rest of the group headed back to Courtfield, Sierra and I joined Molly and her mom at the Grosvenor House (where they were staying...so posh) and enjoyed some wine before heading back to South Ken on the tube.  Once we reached home, we collapsed in our beds, well into our turkey comas.
Although Lauren and I were missing our beloved Thanksgiving traditions, we both agreed that our holiday abroad was a wonderful one.  It was so amazing to be able to spend it with friends from home, school and ones that we have made here in London.  I am so thankful for them and my family - I don't know what I would do without them!
Happy Thanksgiving!
    xo Carolyn