Aude and I went to Washington, DC for the Thanksgiving holidays. Since nothing was open on Thursday morning, we decided to see those sights which we could see from outside, mostly down on the Mall.

One of the highlights of our morning was a trip to see The Awakening at Hain’s Point.

We parked by the Lincoln Memorial, toured the memorial and the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial, then headed back to the house via Massachussetts Ave, to see all the embassies.

In time-honoured tradition, I held a traditional American Thanksgiving celebration for my friends here in Canterbury. I enjoy the celebration, and it confuses the heck out of my foreign friends, which gives a certain satisfaction of its own. 😉

For those of you keeping track, the menu this year was:

• Roasted turkey stuffed with orange & onion
• Wild rice stuffing with cherries, cranberries, apricots, sultanas, pecans, and onions
• Baked sweet potatoes
• Roasted carrots and parsnips with a honey & cinnamon glaze
• Buttered green beans & corn
• Apple pie

My guests embraced the occasion. We at until we could barely move, and stayed up talking until nearly 2am. Or ‘midnight’, if you’re using Julien’s sense of time.

Peace and quiet at last…

Calypso was looking particularly cute today. I thought I should share the moment.

Well, it was a busy day. After crossing the Channel, I dropped off Aude at Cite Europe to do some shopping while I continued a bit further down to Montreuil to buy my wine. The weather was a nightmare — sunny one minute, pouring with rain the next. I must have looked suspect, because I was stopped by French Customs officials as I went through the tollbooth on the Autoroute, although I’m not quite sure what contraband they thought I might be carrying.

Shortly after my run-in with French law enforcement, I was nearly hit by a learner-driver coming out of a side street. (And yes, before all of my French friends try to explain the French right-of-way rules to me, I definitely had the right of way…) I think they’re trying to punish me for visiting their country.

The Wine Society’s shop was fantastic as always. They managed to collect all my selected wine, charge me for it, and load the car in about 20 minutes — not bad for a order of six mixed cases. I’m impressed with the size of the trunk in my car — we managed to fit everything in.

Just as well. We did tons of shopping at Cite Europe. We’ve got enough food and booze between us to feed an army. We stopped into our ‘regular’ restaurant in Calais for some dinner, then caught the last train home.

There’s not much to do on the train except play with your mobile phone…

…or take pictures of the car in front of you!

In an unprecedented feat of technology, I can show you what we’re going to be doing tomorrow even before it happens! (If you’re really curious, I’ll tell you how I’ve worked my magic)

That’s right, I’m down to my last few bottles of wine, and Aude wants to do some of her Christmas shopping on the other side of the Channel. So we’re off for a day trip to France tomorrow with a few friends. The girls will hit the shops, I’ll head to the wine merchant, then we’ll meet up later in the evening for dinner. If I’m clever, I might even take a few photographs for the website…

Bon voyage!

Well, it looks like autumn is finally here. As you can see, the trees outside my house are just beginning to change colour. And it’s a crisp, clear day here in Canterbury — a big change from the rainy, miserable weather we’ve been having for the past month.

Oh, and you can tell a train is crossing the tracks around the corner. Traffic is at an absolute standstill!