I felt really homesick on Thanksgiving. But luckily, the day ended on a yummy note. Check it out by clicking “read more,” to see pictures.

On Thanksgiving, I worked the standard Bloomberg day, (6 a.m. to 6 p.m.,) and I was somewhat sad because it was, after all, Thanksgiving.

…To explain it to my colleagues I said, “This is like working on Christmas!”

But I was sent out to gather quotes from American tourists about the drop in value of the dollar – and that made it all better. At first, I wondered how the heck I was going to find Americans to interview on Thanksgiving Day.

Wouldn’t they all be home cooking? In little isolated pockets of Americanism?

I was wrong. As my high school history teacher said, “Americans are like dirt. They’re everywhere.”

Sho ‘nuff, there were lots of Americans at the Tower of London. (What better way to celebrate the day than learning about beheadings and torture?)

It felt really good to go around talking to my fellow countrymen.

And here’s another shocker: Americans are SO EASY to pick out! I had no trouble identifying them in the crowds of tourists.

WHY? I never quite understood it before. And I still can’t pinpoint it. But here are some non-verbal clues.

Baseball caps. Sweatshirts with logos. White sneakers.

American tourists don’t throw on high heels and glam up to be tourists – and so they stand out.

After work, I picked up two pies and two bottles of wine from Marks & Spencer’s. Then I headed to Kris and Mark’s house near Oxford Circus.

After walking for what seemed like forever, I got frustrated. I had forgotten how to get to their house from the tube, and instead of calling and asking, I just tried to find it on my own.

I stopped a rick shaw driver and asked him, “Do you know where Conduit Street its?”

- Turns out I had passed the street 8 blocks ago. And he said, “Get in, I’ll give you a free ride.”

How freakin’ cool.

Next thing, I was bumping down Regent Street in the back of a rick shaw. Double-decker busses and cars whizzed past us, and I tried not to let the wine bottles crash onto the street below.

I took a video that I’m afraid to post for fear of crashing my blog.
Here’s a photo instead:



He took me all the way to Kris and Mark’s place – free! What a ride.


Thanksgiving Dinner was awesome. Mark’s Mom and cousin flew in from the U.S., and cooked us a homemade, American-style meal!!! That alone made me feel very blessed.

THANK YOU TERRI AND EILEEN AND MARK AND KRIS!!!

Kris gets a call from her family


The women


The Hermaphrodite Carrot – our centerpiece



I walked home that midnight under a bright full moon.
This is Nancy’s house, and the top floor windows are my bedroom.