Thanksgiving

This weekend was the 2nd Thanksgiving bash I've attended and I have to say the food & drink completely surpassed my expectations again.
We left Prague on Friday night with Duke to drive down to David's cottage in Southern CZ, where we joined up with David, Maureen & the others who had driven down already. Later we were joined by more friends from Prague and when Will joined on Saturday we had 18 for dinner.
Dinner was a collective effort of almost everyone in the house on Saturday although Tennille and I managed to escape with David & Martina to enjoy a walk in the woods.
Dinner included many different regional favourites as our different American friends added their own little bit to each of their recipes.
Jalapeno mash, meat stuffing, sweet potato pie... the list goes on and they all complemented the turkey & ham wonderfully.
Sitting up playing board & table games until the wee hours this morning, it brought home more than ever what a lovely bunch of people we have met and become friends with in Prague.

Barcelona

The IT Services football team joined the Euro Fives tournament last weekend in Barcelona, following up when we previously entered their tournament in Prague last year.
These tournaments are extremely well run and we had 2 teams entered on this occasion and we all had a blast.
18 of us headed to Barca on Friday, and after checking in at our downtown hostel, we headed off to have a look around the city & try some local Paella & Sangria.
The tournament on Saturday went well with both teams have mixed fortunes and the Reds (my team) winning the plate trophy. It was great fun & with the temperature in the 20s and the thought of snow back in Prague we had a brilliant day.
The tapas on Saturday night was excellent at the Trip-advisor acclaimed Ciutat Comtal and then onto Marmalada to meet up with the rest of the teams for drinks & pool.
Sunday was spent down at the harbour & then onto the Nou Camp to see Barca Vs Getafe (1-1).
The flight back included 18 subdued boys & a million noisy Spanish school kids - Gracias!

London

It was a Bank Holiday in Prague this weekend, allowing us an extra (Mon) day over the weekend, so we decided to head for London to see Candice & Chris. And what a great weekend we had.
Chris and I headed for Twickenham on Saturday, whilst the girls headed off with Mel to look at Wedding Dresses. It was an Australian day though, as Australia easily beat the English and the girls apparently found a likely candidate!
Chris, I and a few friends headed into town on the Saturday night, which meant that Sunday's Lamb Roast was extremely welcome and Chris & Candice really did excel in the kitchen. We were joined by Ben & Lorenza who recounted their tales of touring South America, which only served to get Tennille and I more excited about our big trip.
Monday was spent in town at a very nice fish restaurant before the late flight back to Prague and back to work... and the gym...to burn off the excesses of the weekend.

A weekend at home

Tennille and I arrived in Edinburgh from a windswept Central Europe to find Auld Reekie in fine form for the weekend - blue skies & not even that cold!
As I settled in for my flight from a torrential Frankfurt on Thursday night, knowing Tennille had just made her connection in Luton by the skin of her teeth, I feared what the weather was going to be like for the weekend... However, the unpredictability of the weather does work both ways and this weekend was a fine early winter day.
We went to see the latest Bond flick and did the majority of our Christmas shopping this weekend. It went a bit too fast seeing as our flights on Sunday had to be at 2pm in the afternoon but we had a great time none the less.
Back in a few weeks time at which time we have the helicopter flights booked - I expect them to be rained off again ;-)