Thanksgiving Abroad!

For the past decade or so, I've celebrated Thanksgiving somewhere else in the world on more than a few occasions - Paris, London and Sydney.  Thankfully, there are large American populations in all these cities so it's not difficult to find a traditional meal and some camaraderie.

Although I'm home in Chicago this Thanksgiving, celebrating the holiday elsewhere has always lead me to beautiful spaces and places.  In 2010, my friend and colleague Rachel Piercey and I celebrated in Paris.  It was the coldest winter on record in Paris for more than 80 years and so being inside this day was especially important.

The Musee D'Orsay became our Thanksgiving home of choice and we spent almost the entire day there strolling through the various halls within the museum viewing collections of sculpture, paintings, photography, graphics, objets d'art and architecture.

We dined in the historic Restaurant, located on the first floor of what was once the Hotel D'Orsay, first opened in 1900.  It was incorporated into the museum when it was converted from railroad station to cultural icon in 1986. The building has a fascinating history - you can read about it here.

We were lucky enough to have a table right on the windows, where we could look out over the grounds surrounding the museum and across the Seine to the Place de la Concorde.  The day began quite overcast and yet we were treated to a golden view as we settled in to enjoy our very non-traditional Thanksgiving meal!

Today, I can hardly remember what we ate, and yet, there was room for dessert and so on this day of celebration and giving thanks, we indulged!!

OMG!! What a treat and decidedly not what one might expect to close out a Thanksgiving meal with - but scrumptious nonetheless!!

As you might expect, this was probably one of my most favorite Thanksgiving celebrations. I've had them in London and Sydney, and while I always manage to find fabulous food when I travel, it is this Thanksgiving in Paris that has etched its way in to my heart and soul.

It was a week where we celebrated Thanksgiving twice with nontraditional meals. Earlier in the week, we visited Jim Haynes at his Sunday night salon and celebrated Thanksgiving with a home cooked meal that was Spanish in origin.  It was a night of making good friends and finding others celebrating the holiday in an international setting - much like the first settlers who gave us this holiday. For them, America was an international setting and they were far from home!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone - wherever you are in the world - be thankful and enjoy!!!

PS: Here's David Lebovitz' wonderful Cranberry Sauce with Red Wine & Figs recipe.

On The Road … to London … Vicariously

It's a different 'on the road' story than usual.  I'm in downtown Alexandria, LA visiting with the team at Freedom Tours LLC this week, catching up on all the latest happenings.  While I've not been jet-setting around as usual this fall, they have been winging off to some of my favorite places and so I'm living vicariously through them as a way to connect my travel stories with their current experiences.

Today, we're going to London to enjoy some incredible food. Incredible food? In London? But, of course. Most folks think pub food - but think continental, think cutting edge, think nouveau cuisine - think back to the early to mid-90s and that's when you'll find the food scene changing in London.

Now, when people go to London, they find every imaginable world cuisine there is and Michelin stars abound. You've seen Gordon Ramsay's various TV shows and probably know his many restaurants so you know how much the London food scene has changed. It all began back in the early 90s, when chefs from the Continent began to invade London - many because they couldn't find places to cook, to dream, to experiment - France and Italy had long been the places turning out haute cuisine and young cutting-edge chefs. Market saturation drove many young chefs across the English Channel to London and beyond. Those of us who love London, and those who live in England and across Great Britain, have benefitted greatly as a result.

Scottish Lobster at
The Greenhouse
Photo Courtesy of
The Greenhouse Website

I remember my very first meal in London.  Having heard the stories of British food being bland and awful, I was not looking forward to this first meal. Growing up in a food family in New Orleans ensured that I would be highly critical. I lowered my expectation and proceeded to The Greenhouse in Mayfair for a late lunch with friends. OMG! What a treat - a beautiful vegetable tart, savory with a lovely custardy texture, followed by the most tender, melt in your mouth - and tasty - beef in a puff pastry and a dark chocolate mousse to die for … it was as good as anything I'd eaten in New Orleans's finest restaurants. A pleasant surprise and I raised my expectations for food options in London.

This new tradition of modern, contemporary cuisine continues today throughout London, and I'm happy to report that after 20 years of eating around the city, my expectations have always been met!! I've enjoyed wonderful meals in some of the best food in places you would never expect - like the Cellarium Cafe in Westminster Abbey or St. Martin in the Fields' Cafe in the Crypt, where I've enjoyed many a dinner before an evening of Jazz or a classical concert. I've stumbled into restaurants by simply following the aromas while passing by - Kazan on Wilton Road not far from Victoria Station - is one of those that I've gone back to a number of times because the food is fresh and amazing and the service is top-notch. For chocoholics - their Chocolate Pyramids are a trip to heaven!

Dim Sum at the Mango Tree
Photo Courtesy of Harrods Website

What makes the London food scene so fabulous is that you can find good food anywhere in the city these days and much of it is in places like Harrods, the Whole Foods on Kensington High Street and places that are easily accessible as you move through the city. I love the fact that most of the food is simple, yet layered with flavor to entice and surprise at every turn.

My travel colleague, Brenda White from Freedom Tours LLC has a completely different perspective. She recently returned from 10 days in London, walking the city from top to bottom, while enjoying a variety of foods - both traditional and modern. Enjoy her blogpost, 'On Holiday, As They Say!' and experience another side of 'foodie London' for yourself!