The last week of November was quite festive, but also a lot of work, especially for my wife. Every year we put on a Thanksgiving dinner for our local friends, who love coming to our house for all the exotic food–turkey, green bean casserole, pecan pie etc., all washed down with lots of good wine. This year was no exception. We do the party on the actual day, Thursday, even though it is not that practical since it is of course an ordinary working day here in Spain, as is the following day, Friday. But my wife insists on doing it that way.
47_1
It is Thursday evening, and our guests are arriving. Here, Dalaal and Malika (both of Algerian origin, one living here, the other in Paris):
47_2
My wife brings in the main attraction:
47_3
Before the dissection, Cani and Eliot take pictures of the turkey:
47_4
The my wife got down to business. She had been working on this dinner since Monday, and clearly enjoyed the culmination of her efforts:
47_5
47_6
But it is not all turkey. The side dishes are a big part of the joy of a Thanksgiving dinner:
47_7
And of course the pecan pie:
47_8
Our Thanksgiving dinner ended around 1-2 a.m. (this is Spain, after all), but Friday morning I was at the office. And at noon we celebrated the last Friday of November in our customary fashion, with a drink and some munchies at noon. Here, Antoine (French) converses with Paloma (Spanish) and Kasia (Polish):
47_9
Two of my usual victims, Carolina and Tamara:
47_10
More victims, Stephanie and Paloma:
47_11
A new “victim”, our Polish trainee Olga, speaking with Eri:
47_12
47_13
But the main attraction of this Friday was the appearance of Anne-Sophie. She has been on maternity leave for several months and will not be back until after the New Year, but she did stop by the office for this occasion:
47_14
And of course she had brought little Selma with her:
47_15
The usual oohing and aahing ensued:
47_16
I experimented with a different kind of baby portrait:
47_17
On Saturday morning, I was out on my bicycle as usual, cycling the beautiful road from Aigües to Relleu:
47_18
The view of the town from a couple of km away:
47_19
The citrus season is starting now here in southern Spain:
47_20
47_21
I took a break in the centre of Relleu, taking in small-town life for a few minutes:
47_22
Continuing with the canine theme, the vestibule of our supermarket provided me with some nice images this week. For once, a properly sized dog, very calm:
47_23
These two cuties were much more animated:
47_24
On Saturday evening, I drove to the centre of Alicante to have a first look at the Christmas decorations on the Esplanada de España, the main pedestrian promenade. Lots of people were out strolling in the mild weather:
47_25
The big ball is beautiful in its own right, and it also provides for funny photos of the people:
47_26
47_27
47_28
47_29
A final grab shot from Saturday night, a shop window in Playa San Juan:
