I was lucky enough to be invited to two Thanksgiving dinners. The first, on a Sunday, was a family affair. It involved menus, appetisers, an actual turkey-looking-turkey, and many of the aforementioned deserts. I also had a place setting made from a cork which is happily preserved on my desk. We were also invited to write on a piece of paper what we were thankful for. It was very difficult to imagine writing anything else but FOOD, because ohmygod was the food delicious. This led to quite a lot of lost in translation explanations of what the purpose of the paper was, but that just added to the fun.
Overall a wonderful, wonderful meal which I'm very grateful to have been invited to. Thank you Ashley and Inigo for letting me come along!
The second Thanksgiving was a potluck occasion, featuring - once again - an actual turkey. After a brief ( not brief at all it lasted like 2 hours) power cut in the flat, we were able to leave with semi-prepared mashed potatoes, patatas bravas and pan tumaca; absolutely none of which was made by me and probably tasted all the better for that. My planned contribution was sage and onion stuffing, but it turns out that sage doesn't exist in Spain.... I did however bring two bottles of (fake) Baileys!
Here we all are pre the food/drink induced sleepiness which followed.
The Baileys may have been the reason (definitely was the reason) I thought it would be a good idea to try and name all the US States on a map. I had done this exercise with several classes already during the afternoon, I was pretty confident I could remember some...
And this is what happened.
I'm almost as embarrassed about my spelling as I am about the actual state names.
Apologies to everyone from the US
At the earliest available occasion, when the mix of alcohol and opportunity is just right, I will be forcing several inebriated Americans to name all the countries in Europe. Consider yourselves forewarned.
The past few weeks have also included a very glamorous trip to the ballet and a whirlwind visit to Barcelona! Most of my pictures of that weekend seem to have been taken inside a club, so apologies for the lack of photos. We had a lovely weekend - made possible by the generous hospitality of some friends of friends. It also involved a trip to The Hard Rock Cafe: literally the easiest way in the world to make me happy!
Having traversed the British Isles to make it to my 21st birthday, Kerensa spent last weekend voyaging across the Iberian Peninsula. In her own words, it's definitely my turn next! Kerensa and I wasted little time, returning to the Sparkly Bar in glory, not once, not twice, but THRICE! Which made for a lovely prolonged trip down memory lane.
Birthday chai lattes (my Starbucks cinnamon latte replacement)
As it was also the aforementioned Texans birthday (a number too big to be made public now, I feel.) Which meant that we got to go to La Mas Barata and demolish a massive plate of rice.
The guilt on my face is not accurate - I was proud.
And here you have, what I feel, is a remarkably wonderful birthday present. From me to the birthday girl. (She is obsessed with owls.)
All in all it's been a very busy few weeks in Oviedo. I have to admit that I am looking forward to getting home! I'm very keen to visit the Christmas Market in Edinburgh. Not to mention I've heard tell of a Christmas Tree maze - that just sounds too good to be true!
And here, as always, is the show-stopper. She's getting prepared for my visit at the weekend. A whole five days with me taking care of her.
I'd be scared too Messi....
