My Oh My, Pumpkin Pie

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Thanksgiving is my absolute favorite holiday and it fills me with such joy and happiness. I love everything about it: spending the day with my family, the smell of the cooking and baking, the warmth and laughter that fill the house and a little bit of organized chaos make the day just perfect.

Casual family t-shirts

This year, Friendsgiving 2014 was a huge success! Shelley, some of her graduate friends and I had Thanksgiving this past Sunday. Armed with recipes from home and online, we split the grocery lists and set out to recreate an American Thanksgiving in Paris. Since ovens and turkeys are hard to come by in Paris we bought two rotisserie chickens which allowed us to free up the oven for the other necessities (ie the dessert). We spent Sunday afternoon in the kitchen cooking, baking and preparing for Thanksgiving dinner. We sat down to eat at around 6 pm and our dinner menu included chicken, fresh cranberry sauce, green beans, mashed potatoes, sweet potato puree and stuffing with craisins, apples, celery, onions and walnuts.

Our table, my plate and our feast

After dinner, we watched "My Best Friend's Wedding" while we waited for dessert, which included chocolate pecan pie and Nana's Pumpkin Pie, which is one of my favorite desserts. My grandma's recipe is near and dear to my heart, and is the best pumpkin pie you will have. Her pie reminds me of home, family, the fall and Thanksgiving. Spending Thanksgiving away from home is always hard, but having the family pumpkin pie recipe, allows me to always have a little bit of home wherever I am.

Nana's Pumpkin Pie & Chocolate Pecan Pie

I am so glad that I got to spend Thanksgiving with these girls. The day was filled with amazing food, fine wine and a great group of people!

On Thanksgiving, I was able to skype with my family. My mom's family travels to NY as Thanksgiving is the one holiday that we all spend together. This year 25 of my family members were able to make it and as always, they were having a blast! Being able to see and talk to everyone made my day! As I was skyping with James, I heard everyone get ready for for the annual football game and it made me feel like I was right back at home. Although I was so sad to miss it, it was great to "join" everyone for a little (thank goodness for skype!)

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, a few of the things I am thankful for:

• My loving family & amazing friends
• My health& freedoms
• My life
• The fall season
• Good food & fine wine
• The ability to explore & see new places
• Skype/Imessage to keep in touch

Armistice Day

"This nation will remain the land of the free so long as it is the home of the brave."  

-Elmer Davis

Happy Veteran's Day!!! Thank you to everyone who has served and is serving to keep our country safe. The sacrifices you make are extraordinary and your hard work and courage are beyond belief. I really appreciate everything you do for us. Thank you.

As it's Armistice Day here in France, I thought a trip to the Paris Military Museum, Musée de l'Armée: Hôtel National des Invalides was appropriate. I left early Sunday afternoon and decided to walk as it was a beautiful day. The Museum is located on large beautiful grounds and is quite stunning. After a few wrong turns and missed entrances I came across the museum from the side, and am sure glad I did! From the left side of the museum you have a perfect view of the Tour Eiffel in the distance.

View of the Eiffel Tower, the military museum would be on the left

I didn't have time to see the entire museum so instead visited The Contemporary Department, which focuses on the Two World Wars and the Dôme des Invalides which houses Napoleon's tomb. Although quite large, the museum felt very manageable. Each wing of the museum housed a different era, allowing you to easily choose the sections you would like to view while bypassing the others.

I began with the Contemporary Department. The exhibit was very well done and was laid out by year over a course of a few floors, making it easy to follow. The  evolution of the two wars was very complete, and not only did they have French uniforms, weapons, etc. but they also made sure to encompass a large range of other countries and regions such as Russia, The east (Japan and China), The Army of Africa, European countries and the United States. Therefore, visitors are able to see how uniforms and weapons changed by country over the course of the two wars. I found it very interesting to see what the different country's uniforms were like at the time and how they adapted and changed in meet the demands of the wars they were fighting. The Museum had a few sections on America's involvement with some really interesting pieces, such as WWI Recruitment posters and what an American soldier carried during WWII.

World War I Recruitment Posters

World War II equipment and rations

A little over an hour later, I found myself at the end of the exhibit and headed over to the Dôme des Invalides where Napoleon I's tomb is located. Due to the stunning architecture and details it is known as the Emblem of the Museum. The chapel was built from 1677-1706 under the reign of Louis XIV and is considered one of the best examples of French Baroque Architecture. It was designed by the architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart and was inspired by the Dome of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

The Military Museum with the Dome behind

During the Revolution, under the reign of Napoleon Bonaparte, the Dome was converted to a Military Pantheon. In 1815, Napoleon was exiled to the British island of Saint Helena outside West Africa by Louis XVIII. Although Napoleon died while in exile,  in 1840 after years of negotiation with the British government, King Louis-Philippe had his remains transferred back to Paris. Today, the Dôme des Invalides houses Napoleon I's tomb along with several other famous French Military officials.

Napoleon's tomb, inside the Basilica, the dome, and a scaled
version of the Dôme des Invalides

Faire le Pont (a long weekend in Paris)

I've been living in France for two weeks now and continue to work towards settling in. I am hoping the last few things on my checklist will soon be crossed off! November 1 was All Saints' Day, a national holiday in Paris, allowing for a three day weekend. As Thursday was Halloween, I felt a little pull back to Sleepy Hollow and the fall season in New York. I love how into the season our town gets and how festive it becomes. That night after work I met up with Shelley, Jeannie's friend from University, at her apartment for a Halloween party. It was so nice to see her and I had such a great time!

Scenes from around home

Saturday I was able to meet up with Allie's best friend from school, Danielle, and another one of their sorority sisters, Lauren. We spent the afternoon wandering the streets, chatting about moving abroad and checking out the little stands that line the Seine. After hearing so much about Danielle, it was so great to finally meet her!

Danielle & I outside the Notre Dame & Allie's response

Sunday, was a busy day. I started off the morning with a small 5k around Paris, in an attempt to find some new running routes. I then began to work on my to-do list of the day (which I still have to finish tonight...) Mid-afternoon I took a small break and headed to the Muséum National D'Historie Naturelle, where I visited the Grande Galerie de l'évolution and the Paléontologie et Anatomie Comparée.

The species represented in the Gallery of Evolution are from the former Gallery of Zoology, which opened in 1889. Therefore, they had a huge selection of animals and did a really great job of exploring the diversity of life overtime by different terrain. Over the four floors they showcased marine habitats, terrestrial habitats, man's role in evolution and the evolution of life. The museum was really easy to navigate as it is much smaller than the American Museum of Natural History and everything was quite centralized.

The Gallery of Evolution

From there I headed across the Park and into the Paleontology and Anatomy room which showcases hundreds of fossils. The room was draw-dropping (albeit a little overwhelming). There were fossils everywhere so I didn't know where to begin! The collections around the room showcased the evolution of different species, such as man-kind, and parts of the body, such as the skull. The fossils in the center aisle were all large animals and mammals that really drew your attention. The only downside was that since everything was so close together it was difficult to really get a good look at the fossils in the center.

The Paleontology & Anatomy room