I grew up about 20 minutes from the original Disneyland park in Anaheim, California. As kids, we enjoyed going with our parents - I have heard that Sue and I particularly enjoyed the Dumbo ride ;)
In college, my roommates and I all got annual passes to Disneyland, which was one of the best ways to avoid homework and spend quality time with your best girlfriends. There were few corners or tricks of the park that we didn't know by heart. On Saturday nights, Kim and I would religiously head to Disneyland to swing dance at Carnation Plaza with a great group of people who ended up becoming close friends. We would watch the fireworks at 9:30pm, dance until 11, hit some rides until the park closed at midnight, and cap it off with hot chocolate on main street, which stayed open until 1am. These were very special days in my life. I haven't had an annual Disneyland pass since moving to DC in 2004. It's honestly been one of the things I missed the most about living in California (besides the fam, of course), and almost every time I visit home I make an excuse to go. But as of this Christmas, thanks to my awesome hubby, I am now again a Disneyland annual pass-holder (though obviously to the one in Paris)!!! I did consider blowing our dinner plans to head to the Park on Christmas afternoon, but I restrained myself a whole 24 hours to yesterday.
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This is the first year that we have spent Christmas without our extended families, just the two of us. Last year we traveled to California for the holidays, and next summer we'll be traveling to both coasts for a month of home leave, so we decided to stay put this year and enjoy a few quite weeks together in Paris. Our apartment has been decorated for Christmas for at least a month, as I'm a huge sucker for the lights and festivities of the season. So this is how we spent the big day. Morning(ish): Santa came! We opened presents, made gingerbread cake, and fired up some hot wine. Afternoon: Watched the Griswold family Christmas Vacation (for me, the first time ever!), and took a walk around the neighborhood for some fresh (cold) air. Evening: Christmas dinner, Moroccan style. Thanks for the placemats, Mom!
Le Bon Marché is something of a Parisian institution and is often cited as the first ever department store, having opened its doors in 1852. Though some argue that the first department store was actually in the UK, the Bon Marché (which means "the good deal") is still alive and kicking as a shopping destination. Michael and I visited the Bon Marché yesterday, which also marked the first day of my 2014 Christmas vacation - yay all around!! The building itself dates from 1869, so it's impressive for the age and significance; but otherwise, it's just kind of an older mall that sells expensive clothes and perfume. The best part is the affiliated La Grande Epicerie de Paris, which is a fancy grocery store where you can buy anything from spices and coffee to $4,000 champagne. We did a lot of looking, and a very little bit of shopping. And then there is the Galaries Lafayette, which we visited today (lots of looking, no shopping). Check this baby out! Why place a Christmas tree in the middle of your store when you can hang it from the ceiling instead? I would also highly recommend this department store to anyone looking for a Parisian shopping experience. As you can see, the building itself is absolutely gorgeous - the glass dome and art nouveau staircases were completed in 1912. This is where the ladies (and gentlemen) spend the big bucks.
This past weekend, we were invited by some lovely German friends to partake in the time-honored Christmas tradition of Feuerzangenbowle. It all starts out innocent enough. Red wine is mixed with spices and citrus and warmed to perfection. And then the Germans take it to a whole new level by dousing a sugar cone with rum and lighting it on fire, letting the melting sugar drip into the wine punch and refilling it with rum and fire until sweetened to perfection. Take a look. After about 15 minutes of rum and fire, the sugar has completely melted, and warm Christmas flavors are poured into a mug and shared among friends. For the second round, Michael took over as chief pyromaniac - not too shabby for a first-timer!
We are feeling the love from home with a few fantastic packages that arrived this week! Thanks Burns-Emory family :)
If you would have asked me a year ago if I thought I would be back at an APEC meeting before, I don't know, say 2020, I would have laughed you out of the room. I spent around four years working on APEC for the US government - including 2011 when we hosted the year-long series of epic meetings, which was one of the most stressful, pressure-filled and emotional years of my life. But there were also incredibly rewarding aspects. Everyone working on the US APEC team that year shares a special bond of traumatized accomplishment - yes, we were under tremendous pressure and there was never enough time, but we were in it together. Which is why it was so awesome to see these smiling faces last week in Manila: APEC has always been special because of the people who you meet and work with along the way. That is the part I miss about my previous job. But this is a small world, and an even smaller community of people who work in this field - I'm sure this won't be our last reunion.
On top of the actual work-related meetings, and in spite of the typhoon - which had melted into a tropcial storm by the time it reached Manila - I got out a bit on a mini-tour to explore the city. This was my first trip to the Philippines, and I have to say that the aspect that was most impressive was the people - Filipinos are seriously friendly people. I didn't take many pictures, but here are a few from my outings and the meetings: The typhoon is on its way to Manila, but we had no problem getting in from Hong Kong yesterday.
In fact, a full 24 hours later we are still waiting for the wind and rain. Hopefully it won't be severe, but we are safe and sound in the comforts of the hotel compound. So I'm headed to the Philippines tomorrow to participate in the first meeting of their APEC host year. Unfortunately, so is typhoon Hagupit. The meeting was originally going to take place in Legaspi on the east coast, but they switched it to Manila yesterday after the weather models showed a super typhoon headed that way. Turns out, the typhoon has now shifted north to that lovely forecast shown above - it's been downgraded from a super typhoon.
My guess is that we'll make it our first leg to Hong Kong and then either just sneak into Manila before the rain and wind, or that we'll be stuck there staring at a board of cancelled flights to the Philippines. Either way, I've never knowingly headed towards a natural disaster. In high school (ok, and before), Boyz II Men were hands down my favorite band. And so when a friend here in Paris suggested a girls night out for dinner and a Boyz II Men concert, I was all in - especially, having missed the DC girls night out to see the boyz last year !! They did not disappoint. We seriously had the best time ever singing along to the classics, and even there new stuff is pretty good. By the end of the night, I barely had a voice from singing at the top of my lungs for a good two hours.
The pic on the right was during "I'll Make Love to You" - and yes, they handed out dozens of roses to screaming women in the front row. I bet they've been doing that for years, but honestly, why fix it if it ain't broke. Well played, guys. Even though it was a bit delayed, we hosted our first Thanksgiving dinner in Paris over the weekend. Things started out a bit rocky with Mr Turkey when we picked him up last week from the local American market (which is fantastically named The Real McCoy). It turns out they don't do the whole nicely-sealed frozen turkey thing here, so this big boy arrived wrapped in butcher paper fresh as a daisy with a few feathers to boot. We ended up putting him on ice for a day and then letting him defrost in the fridge so that he made it to Sunday. The next obstacle was our roasting pan - turns out, it doesn't fit in our small oven. And neither did the turkey with his stiff legs stretched out. I actually googled "turkey rigor mortis," which is definitely a thing, but was't apparently the source of our problem. When it came to cooking him, it was really anyone's guess if we'd be able to actually fit him in the oven. Armed with some good string, elbow grease, and sheer determination, we did it. His legs ended up hanging over the pan we used to set him on, and if he had been a pound (or kilo, as it were) bigger, we would have had to take him to the butcher and beg to have him cooked on the rotisserie. Mr Turkey ended up being named "MacGyver", as Michael and I had to seriously improvise and bend a few well-established kitchen rules to make it happen. Our next hurdle came when it was time to set the table, which normally seats 6 and needed to stretch on this occasion to 10. A few strategic folding chairs from a friend and we were in business. We also turned the hutch into a cocktail bar - complete with holiday-appropriate drinks: "Plymouth on the Rocks"; "The Mayflower"; and "Squanto's Revenge".
In the end, it all turned out great. We got to celebrate Thanksgiving at our apartment in Paris with some pretty great people we've met over the past year. For that, I am truly thankful. |
AuthorBecause why not get married and move to Paris to really kick off your thirties? Archives
December 2016
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