Day: December 23, 2010

Thanksgiving with a French Twist

So for Thanksgiving week, I decided to share the all important American tradition of Thanksgiving with our French friends.  As such, a C-130J flew down from Ramstein for a static display of the USAF and the Officer’s Club cooked up a true feast.  I and the other Americans set up and hosted the evening.  Although it felt a little like a wedding,  from my perspective everything turned out great.  Here are a few photos from the event that were made by the base photographer.

Here’s an image of the social hour.

As a way to infuse the evening with as much Americana, we set up a video projector to show highlights of American football games.

Nate and Robin are friends and Americans who made the trip over (they live about an hour away, so it was nice they could make the trip).  As you can see, their boys are apparently big fans of the sport.

The general talking with some visiting VIPs who also came to share the celebration with us.

A view of everyone sitting down.

The general and I gave the opening remarks.

I read a bit of President Obama’s Thanksgiving Proclamation.  In French and English.  Our French friends had no idea the president makes a proclamation for Thanksgiving every year.  They seemed equally fascinated to learn a little about the history of the holiday.  For example, it was started in it’s modern form by President Lincoln in 1863.

The general saying thanks. 🙂


Some of the highlights from the email (retouching done by the guys in the photolab).  We had as much of a traditional meal as was possible.  The food was ordered and cooked by the French Officer’s Club staff, but the recipes and drinks were American.  So, it was Thanksgiving with a French twist.

One of the three whole turkeys we carved.

They were very popular.  If you look closely, you can see Dustin (one of the USAFA cadets) and the head chef all serving the turkeys.  In fact, all the USAFA cadets were a huge help setting up, clearing and cleaning up.  The night would not have been a success without them.  There were many other people who helped a ton as well (notably, Christine) and please know you have my gratitude.  Thank you all!  🙂

Well, that covers it for Thanksgiving.  Next up are images from a 2-week tour of France with the the foreign cadets and French cadre.  It was a blast, but I’ll only subject you to a handful from Reims, Paris and Normandy.

Until then…

–Jim

Belgium with friends

The weekend before Thanksgiving, I decided that it was high time I got up to Brussels and hang out with Tom.  Although we had seen each other at Halloween, I wanted to make it up before he left.  Anna and I had planned on going up several times, but things kept getting in the way.  This time, I was determined!

So, Tom was gracious enough to offer his place to stay and Lauren (one of Tom’s friends who is living in Sweden) was kind enough to share Tom with me for the weekend.

When I flew in, we decided to head over to the Atomium.  It’s one of the landmark sites in Belgium and truly sits over Brussels.  It was built for the World’s Fair in 1958 and like the Eiffel Tower, not intended to last.  However, the 100+ meter behemoth has endured.  What is it, you ask?  Well technically, it’s the shape of an iron crystal … magnified 165 billion times.  However, it was intended to represent hope for the future, peaceful use of nuclear technology and a faith in science and technology.  Today, 52 years later, it is still inspiring.

Here are a few images from our visit.

A street view of the structure.

The postcard view.

Tom and Lauren, gliding down the escalator from one sphere to another.

Here we are hiking it down to the last sphere … and trying to avoid a traffic jam!

Tom and Lauren by an original Starbucks logo.  Apparently, it’s pretty rare to see the original design … but I’m no expert.  Lauren and I also sampled coffee from 67% of the Starbucks in Belgium in one day (Tom’s not a coffee drinker).  However, before you start getting impressed, or distressed (dependent on point of view), there are only three locations in the country.

This image is from our day trip to Antwerp … a highly underrated city.  I believe Lauren made this image, but I can’t say for certain.  For this trip, I didn’t have my big camera (weight restrictions), so she was very accommodating and allowed me to borrow hers … which I did, to the point of hogging it.  Thank you, Lauren!  These next few images were made by her as well.

Tom had the eye to catch this hilarious moment (if you know the song).

This is a statue of a little piece of Antwerp folklore.  This giant is the Lange Wapper who, apparently, used tricks to appear as a young child and steal/take breast milk from women.  Conversely, he was used as an excuse for men to stay at the bar … presumably the only place they were safe from the Lange Wapper.  In any reading of the story, he is an interesting, if unsavory, character.

One of the boats from outside the national maritime museum.

Another boat… I’m on a boat!

This is an elevator from the early 20th century.  The timing was a little off on the hand rail and stairs.  So, Tom decided to try and remain attached to both for as long as possible.  This is about at the end.

Since it looked like so much fun, I decided to give it a try.  I didn’t do any better than Tom.

This final image from Belgium was homage to Tom’s Halloween costume.  He was Chiquita.  So, when we came across the store … I had to had a photo.  🙂  Tom was, as usual, a good sport.

That wraps up the images for a great (albeit too fast) trip to Belgium.  Tom has moved on to a new location.  Fortunately, he will be much closer to his girlfriend Olga.

The important task Anna gave me while I was in Brussels was to buy more chocolate from Mary’s.  I accomplished the mission and maintain that Mary’s Chocolate is the best in world.  However, Tom, Olga, Lauren and the Belgian Royal Family all contend that Wittamer is the best.  I guess we’ll have to buy more and continue to evaluate.

So, that does it for this trip.  Up next will be the Thanksgiving celebration for the base.

Till then…

–Jim