Thanksgiving dinners were always a big thing in our family. It was not uncommon for Marla to cook Thanksgiving dinner for 25 people. My favorite dinners were actually Thanksgiving leftovers of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy. Leftover pumpkin pie was of course a big bonus!

Thinking of food this week has transported me to food markets and unusual restaurants from travels around the globe. We live on such a diverse planet and food is always front and center wherever you go. The photo above is at a restaurant in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. One of our textile mills treated us to lunch,…and it was not like anything we had ever experienced! I really do not enjoy fish which stare at you like the one in the foreground!

The staff rarely had visitors from the west so we were a cause for celebration.

Fresh eels anyone?

We enjoyed a day tour to the fascinating city of Suzhou and visited a local market. It was interesting to see stacks of vegetables on the pavement!

A merchant with live crabs, fish, turtles, and eels.

A colorful assortment of grains and beans.

A stall at the Suzhou market.

Ah,….the street markets in Paris! The open air market on Rue Poncelet in the 17th Arrondissement is home to one of the capital’s best! The adjacent food stores are amazing as well! This is a foodies dream!

And, check out these mushrooms!

We are at the Ubud morning market in Bali, Indonesia. I can vividly remember all the chatter of the sellers and of course the smells.

On one trip to Bali Marla and I hired a guide and cycled around rural areas near Tanggayuda. This was activity during a morning market in a tiny hamlet.

A basket of beautiful red Dragon fruit.

Chickens for sale. Many Balinese are masters at weaving baskets.

A fruit seller at the morning market. The bananas look great!

On a trip to Hanoi, Vietnam, I saw this unique method of transport for pork to a small meat market.

An enterprising woman cycles around Hanoi selling fruit.

A tiny Hanoi meat market.

Our first trip to Myanmar was so enlightening on many levels. A private guide drove us to the small city of Bago. This is a meat seller at the morning market. A cloth is used to keep flies away. She has put Thanaka paste on her cheeks which is a common practice in Myanmar.

Fried crickets are a common food in rural Myanmar.

Marla and I explore the main covered market in Rabat, Morocco.

The sellers at this mini meat store in the old medina of Marrakesh, Morocco, use a little merchandising to highlight their offerings.

A vegetable seller in one of the souks in the Marrakesh medina.

In the fish market in Essaouira, Morocco.

They say “Necessity is the mother of invention” and it was on display in a Beijing Hutong.

We visited a grocery store near one of Beijing’s Hutongs. It was fascinating to see all the different meat products for sale.

Well, all of this has made me famished! I can’t wait for some Thanksgiving leftovers! May you have a wonderful Thanksgiving week of gratitude and celebration.

Photos; Dick Gentry. Not to be used without permission.