Happy Thanksgiving from Nepal

Before we left for this trip, we wondered what it would be like spending our first holidays away from our families while on the road. Having just watched the sun go down on Thanksgiving Day in Nepal (which is really just any old Thursday here), we can report that it was sort of uneventful in a very good way. And the pressing question on this holiday of course is, "What did we eat?"

We chose a restaurant called New Orleans Cafe in the heart of Thamel, the tourist district of Kathmandu. We put in some effort combing the neighborhood menus for something that sounded like good homestyle comfort food. Our only stipulation was no curry or momos (dumplings). I honestly never thought I would say that. I can normally eat dumplings daily but I think I overdid it on our trek.

We decided on New Orleans Cafe for the effort they put in to their special Thanksgiving tasting menu which included:

• Starter of tortilla chips and salsa, vegetable tempura and pumpkin soup (we loved the mix of Mexican, Japanese and new American influences for the appetizer course)
• Choice of entree including Australian lamb (Jake's choice), vegetable quiche (Em's choice) or unspecified pork chops (no one's choice); each entree was also served with fresh whipped mashed potatoes and a vegetable medley
• Dessert of milk coffee (or tea) and a slice of pumpkin pie

We also treated ourselves to a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile. We were quite pleased with the feast overall, having rolled out feeling almost as full as we do on a typical American Thanksgiving though thankfully unable to raid the fridge at 10 p.m. to really overdo it. Jake is sad he won't be able to "Uncle Bernie" as easily here in Nepal, though something tells me our hot date with the only English TV channel will solve that problem immediately. It usually runs a fine selection of Stephen Segal or Jean Claude Vandamme films, although last night we got Law Abiding Citizen with Gerard Butler!

We are thankful for our friends and families who are enjoying the start of their Thanksgiving Day right this very moment. We're also thankful for the friends we are meeting soon on the trip who have had a head start to their holiday and are also celebrating in expat fashion. We love you all very much and cannot wait to see you soon!