Zanksgeeving!

Today was maybe the first day since I've been in France that I have really, honest-to-God wanted to be in the US more than in Paris (and on Long Island, too, of all places...). Thanksgiving is by far my favorite holiday (food! it's only about food!), and I've been having actual dreams about my Uncle Dave's sweet potato purée. Today was just like any other Thursday, which means that I woke up at 6:30 AM, went to two classes, wolfed down a kebab sandwich thing, and then took a longgg nap. The whole time, all I could think about was my normal Thanksgiving routine, which is waking up late, rolling out of bed to the best cooking smells in the whole world, and spending the whole day relaxing, reading, talking to my family and then EATING so many of my favorite things all in one meal. And afterwards spending a leisurely evening digesting and, every so often hoisting oneself towards the dessert table to pour another cup of coffee and squeeze one last sliver of pumpkin pie (or one last spoonful of whipped cream) in on top of several helpings of turkey and stuffing and potatoes and cranberry relish and oh... oh. Just the best.
That said, Sweet Briar did their best to make it up to us by hosting a program dinner at Altitude 95, the restaurant on the first level of the Eiffel Tower. The food was nothing to write home about (pumpkin-esque soup, turkey stuffed with... more turkey, potatoes, green beans, some chocolate-raspberry-vanilla pastry cream thing), but it was the first time I've been up the tower (or even anywhere high) since being in Paris this time, and the first time ever at night, and all of us were giddy with the novelty of it all. Kate and I took the bus there, a route I had never been before, which hit a lot of the major sites -- the grands magasins, windows already decorated for Christmas, the old Opéra, a quick peek down the Champs Elysées, a tour around la Madeleine, and a quick hop over the Seine, Eiffel Tower twinkling away -- and then took the elevator up with the group. The view, of course, was wonderful -- I do love Paris at night, and now that I know the city better I can actually make some sense of the pigeon's eye view and where things are in relation to each other ("I can see my house from here!") -- and it was really nice to spend a few hours eating and relaxing with my friends on someone else's tab. So the day wasn't a total loss, I suppose.
Of course, if anyone wants to cook me a mock-Thanksgiving when I come home (four weeks from tomorrow!) I won't say no. I'm looking at you, Roger Turner.