Thanksgiving 2015

I know Bill already posted pictures of us at the parade, but here are a few of the other happenings on Thanksgiving Day.

It started with us thinking we needed to move the car.  There were no parking signs saying Thursday mornings were street cleaning.  So before we headed to Manhattan for the parade we wanted to move the car to another street to be safe.  Hmmmm…trapped by an ambulance with no trace of it's driver. We joked about ringing doorbells asking if they could delay their medical emergency for a few minutes while we moved the car…? But then a local told us that there was no street cleaning on Thanksgiving and we were able to go on our way.

Bill posted his parade pix but I have a few more.  This was the first float we saw - from inside the Pret where I was getting tea.

Power Ranger. 

Reflection - frankly I thought this was more interesting than the parade.

I got weirdly excited about the Pillsbury Dough Boy.  At least he was someone from my childhood as opposed to all the video game characters from the 90's.

Once the parade was over we started walking.  And walking. And walking.

Until we found a nice place in the Village for lunch.   Chez Jacqueline.  Despite the french name we both had pasta.  Delish. 

Fast forward to dinner with Anthony and Kelly!!  We all had turkey with cranberry and stuffing.   Then Anthony bought tequila shots to do with Bill.  Kelly and I were not expected to partake.  Doesn't she look thankful for that?  

Cheers!

I'm happy to say that Bill downed it like a man.  Anthony, on the other hand…

I'm still not sure what happened here.

But he rebounded for a group photo. It was a really nice way to spend the holiday.

Anthony and Kelly even brought us a little bit of the UK!!  They brought these goodies all the way from England for us - beer, shortbread, candy, tea.  A really lovely surprise.

So much to be thankful for this year - Bret and Zoe's wedding, Joey's graduation, and, of course, our wonderful friends and family. 

Float On

Times square.  Not our favorite part of the city, but Jennie makes it look ok.

 Watching the Hello Kitty float through the Pret a Manger window, while the fantasy of Mickey Mouse  has been shattered.

 Jennie's least favorite float - Ronald McDonald.  

 The mother on the right walked away to buy a falafel, leaving her kid standing alone on this stone pillar.  The kid looked like a contestant on Survivor.  A police officer came over and scolded her.

We love Sponge Bob.  Angry Birds, not so much.

 Paddington looks like the fastest bear in the neighborhood, but in reality he moved like he was running in water.

 Pillsbury dough boy was one of our favorites, making us realize that these floats could use some updating.

 Jen said this is the Elf on a Shelf, but it looked more to me like the Elf on the toilet.

 Winner of the worst float.  This sad little candy cane was peppered with patches and missing paint.

 We hung in there until the end to see Snoopy.  Jen went to the bathroom and made it back just before it passed by.

 Santa! Santa!

Check Macy's parade off of the life list.  Lovely day.

Happy Thanksgiving 2015

Happy Thanksgiving!!  I hope everyone is having a lovely, cozy Thanksgiving.

Wednesday night we met up with Anthony and Kelly.  They had just arrived from London but were ready to roll.  Anthony wanted to go to a real American bar with chicken wings and burgers.  We managed to find one not too far from their hotel.  It was big and loud (even though this picture makes our little banquette look like a British pub!).  Anthony was amazed at how long the list of beers on draft was.  This is America - everything in abundance.

Then Bill brought out the camera phone and started documenting the evening.

Anthony made the unfortunate choice of loading up his burger with a blue cheese sauce that he didn't like.  "I went to America to have a burger and I failed!"

Bill started to get artsy with the table craps.  My fave is the onion ring frame.

It's pretty amazing to think that three years ago Bill had a beer at the Datchet Golf Club (where Anthony worked) and now here we are having Thanksgiving together in NYC.  The world is getting smaller all the time.

Hopefully that small world won't be over run with Times Square type billboards - really, these are hideous.

Brooklyn Jazz

Bill and I are spending Thanksgiving in New York this year.  Remember Anthony, Bill's young bartender pal from the Datchet Golf Club when we lived in Eton?  He and his girlfriend arrive tonight and we meet up on Thursday to see the parade and enjoy Thanksgiving dinner.  

When we were planning this trip the buses and trains were already quickly selling out and the prices were sky high.  "Let's drive," Bill suggested and it sounded like a good idea.  I'm sure halfway through the 6-hour commute he was probably regretting that statement.

Our reward at the end was Bar LunAtico.

 

I should add that we also struggled with accommodation - the hotels were crazy money and decent airbnbs in Manhatten were hard to find.  We ended up in Brooklyn  - the price was right, the place was beautiful and had great reviews. We checked in and hustled out to get a bite to eat.  This little gem was around the corner.  A 3-piece jazz band was playing and the menu had charcuterie and local beer.

 

 The band was terrific!  Just accordion, bass, and drums.  It wasn't until they finished their set and got up for a drink that I noticed the drummer was blind.  He had just played an amazing solo!  I guess playing an instrument is something you do more by feel than by sight but this really impressed me.

 

Dinner!

Bill and I will both work on Wednesday (I love being able to work from anywhere) so we aren't on holiday yet.  But for now I'm just happy to be out of the car.

Revisiting the Summer of 2014

Bill and I spent Monday evening packing to head to NYC for the holiday.  It was past my bedtime when I realized we didn't have a blog.  We have 30 blogs in "draft" but they are horrific.  Believe me, there was one so cringe-worthy I thought all 7 followers would immediately gouge their eyes out after reading it.  Then I found this.

It's from the summer of 2014.  We may have even posted these pictures before.  But I liked it enough to think that maybe you would like it too.  I like the expression on Bill's face and the way this first shot has a 70's polaroid feel to it. I love the scenic shots of the highlands.  I love the color of Mr. Dibley against a blue Scottish sky.  There isn't much of a story here.  Then again, each picture is worth a thousand words…I'm just not telling you what those words are.  Decide for yourself.