Roma - With Dave Albert

This post is long overdue.   This October we went for a long weekend in Rome to celebrate the inimitable Dave Albert's birthday.   The weather was as beautiful as I have ever seen - not a cloud in the sky.   Best of all we spent an entire Saturday with Herr Albert, walking Rome - from the Spanish Steps to a secret cat sanctuary and finally, a late night drinking session in Trastevere.   An epic trip.

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Thanksgiving - Puy L'Eveque 2012

Yvette and I got to pop down to Puy L'Eveque for our first Thanksgiving in France.
Highlights:
  • French turkeys looks like they have been running for their lives since birth.  They are all leg; with high, muscular chests.  The opposite of US birds which tend to a uniform, steroid-informed shape
  • Lawrence - establishing a new record for whipped cream-to-pie ratio making it hard to even see the pie on his plate.
  • Victor - schooling (or shaming) me in the economics of eyewear - comparing his €6.99 Chinese, unbreakable specs to my hand-turned wooden ones whose cost is indeed ridiculous.  I made a helpless plea that they were part of my job requirements.   Weak.
  • Michael - breaking out the saw at the end of the evening.   Next stop:  France has Got Talent.
  • John - once again proving (and on two continents) that Thanksgiving meal can still be a hotbed of innovation with his persimmon/walnut mash...(not sure what to call it but it was good!)
  • Alistair and Jonathan - proving that eight year olds can wait table 

Yvette and I brought stuffing, mashed potatoes and two chickens that we were able to cook in our house.  That is the most use it has gotten from us since we bought the house.   We are currently focused on renovating the kitchen.  By this Summer we hope to have a proper setup...

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