A Good Thanksgiving

I hope everyone's Turkey Day was filled with good food, good company, and good napping. In our new determination to make the most of every single vacation day, we went on another trip, this time to Paris. We didn't even attempt to seek out a turkey dinner, but we did head to the Hemingway Bar at the Ritz. I'd read an article about the bar's renowned head bartender, and with our love of PX (blogged about here) back in Alexandria, we thought this place sounded right up our alley. We'd already decided to make this our after dinner stop, and while at dinner, we overhead the table of Americans next to us discussing their post-dinner, drinks stop. One person suggested the Ritz, and another replied, "Sure, if we want to spend all our money in one place." We decided that we did, indeed, want to spend all our money in once place and dutifully headed over. Once past the long hallway lined with luxury goods, we tucked into a cozy, wood paneled space with low tables and pictures of Ernest Hemingway on the walls - we felt like we were back in Key West, where we lived for a couple of years. Little did we realize that the Hemingway Bar is THE hangout for Americans in Paris, or at least it seemed like it since American voices rose from most of the tables. And once again, we found proof of how small the world can be. In chatting with the couple next to us, we found that the wife was from Key West. When Nathan mentioned that we moved to Italy from Alexandria, VA, a man from the table behind us came over to chat - turns out, he lives in Del Ray, a charming neighborhood just over a short bridge from our townhouse in Alexandria. As I was talking to him, Nathan met another couple at the bar with some other interesting connection that I have now forgotten. While we thought the highlight of our night would be sipping fancy cocktails at the Ritz, the real highlight was making connections with fellow Americans in a foreign country on our holiday that emphasizes family and friends. And so, while we were far from our own family and friends, we passed a good Thanksgiving, indeed.