le jour de la dinde

Last Thursday wasn't the first Thanksgiving I didn't spend at home. Four years ago, while my darling family was enjoying turkey, sides, and most importantly, time together, I was feasting on the delights of southern Chile. Even so, that same professor who hosted the trip also hosted a traditional dinner. Her and her family had spent some time living in the United States and were aware of the best holiday we were missing :).

This past Thanksgiving, I woke up to just another fall day in Paris I happened to be especially grateful for. In just four hours I was at the Melia Alexander Boutique Hotel greeting my mom and little sister. 

After helping them bring their luggage to the hotel room, we took the metro to Invalides for a campus tour.

They were pretty hungry though. And so first, we stopped into Le Bar du Central .

I had to order for everyone since neither my mom nor my sister speak French. This, of course, continued throughout their visit, and yes, I did feel cool with my incredibly important role. I also adored my Norwegian-style eggs benedict at our first Parisian meal together. Following the meal, I introduced them to each AUP building before sending them up the Eiffel Tour. I promise I would've joined had I not had class.

Thankfully, the timing was perfect. By the time they saw the rooftops of Paris and came down again, I was out of class. We took the bus this time, from the 7th to the Arc de Triomphe to their hotel to freshen up a bit. 

Then we hopped on the metro towards Le Saint-Martin for Thanksgiving dinner at a French bistro. But not before a quick stop at "my park." I needed to borrow some wi-fi to double-check the address.

[Entrée: pumpkin soup]

 [Plat: turkey, stuffing, green beans, mashed potatoes, homemade cranberry sauce]

[Dessert: apple, pumpkin, or pecan pie]

 

It was no Thanksgiving at home but it was certainly tasty and beyond amazing to have my mom and sister by my side. I felt like the luckiest American in Paris. Afterwards, I brought them back to their hotel to sleep and ran to my apartment to finish up a paper. They needed the rest as much as I needed to not have assignments to worry about, especially because we had non-stop goodness from Friday on... to be continued...