the big freeze

A week ago I was telling people in the southern hemisphere that while it was freezing, it wasn't actually snowing in Luxembourg. I spoke too soon! The city is covered in the icy cold white stuff that is perfect for making snow balls. With little wind, we went for some lovely long walks in the weekend to enjoy a different kind of beauty - verging on monochromatic - and blending nicely with Phil's hair!

The ponds are frozen, even with the fountains still running, and it amazes me that the birds can still find food. In fact, with few leaves anywhere, winter is turning out to be the best yet for bird watching. We've also been studying up on our snowflake forms, and can report that we have alot of dendrites - aren't they lovely!

white out

We just had our first white Christmas - well almost. Does the weekend before count? In our books it was near enough.

We woke at 5am on the 19th Dec to find 2cm of snow around our apartment; As we headed across Belgium toward the coast it became alot heavier. Driving in the snow (and ice!) without AWD and good tyres, is, shall we say, a tad stressful. It was also cold, as our car registered a low of minus 13 C outside. We met chaos in Calais (below), with mountains of backed up traffic in an eerie sea of white and grey. But after a mere four hour delay, while we waited for the tunnel to re-open, we made it to England.

Christmas week for us was a lovely time of catching up with old friends and family, meeting new people, Phil making funky snowmen, a few more hairy moments driving through snow on the M4, being 'iced in' in Holt, Whiltshire, which seemed to avoid the snow in surrounding parts, and long walks with Uncle's dogs in the country side where moats and even the mud was frozen.

Christmas day was a reprieve as the sun shone through to melt the ice on the driveway and we had a grand time eating roast turkey and trimmings including heaps of roast parsnips from Farmer John across the lane. Need I mention my fondness of parsnips?

Boxing day included a fun game of boules on the village green and Morris dancers, which (as I realised last night while watching Black-Adder re-runs) is a very old tradition from coal mining days. For the uninitiated this means dancers with bells on: men dancing impressively with big sticks and hankies hanging out of their pockets, women dancing more graciously while waving their hankies, all with lots of good music.

The last leg of our break included the obligatory sight-seeing in London. Highlights were the Tower of London, big blingy diamonds, the incredible mosaics in St Paul's Cathedral, enjoying a host of amazing paintings at the Courtald and National Galleries, and John Harrison's revolutionary marine chronometers at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich . The richness of history, culture and art was almost overwhelming at times.

Suffocating is a word that came to me often in London - people everywhere, and at times unbearably so. Imagine a huge crowd four people deep trying to look at Van Gogh's Sunflowers, or a 45minute queue to get into the latest exhibition on dinosaurs at the natural history museum... (we had to queue just to get into the museum!). Fortunately, Phil was only interested in looking at rocks and crystals, of which there were many. We hope to go back when the crowds aren't quite as thick - after all, we actually do want to look at those sunflowers!

Happy new year from us!

Christmas markets!

It snowed yesterday! We feel like kids that are seeing it for the first time. We've never actually lived where it snowed, so it is strange and exciting. Little freezing drops that dissolve as soon as they touch your face. Tiny white balls that cling to hats and jackets as you walk.

The best thing about the snow is that it brought some sunshine with it, which is the most we have seen in two months. So this week it is VERY cold but there is no rain - can't complain about that.

Christmas markets are a german tradition, and in every town they are a little different. The one in Trier had lots of Christmas wreaths and mistletoe for sale, reindeer made from pine branches, gingerbread, a merry go round covered in garlands, and a giant windmill in front of the church. They typically sell local handmade gifts for Christmas presents, but it seems alot of imported goods are now for sale as well.

So far the only downside of the markets is how many people one must wade through - they are jam packed full of people that want to stand outside in the cold (make that literally freezing!) eating hot food and sipping mulled wine.

The markets are prettiest in the dark (which we have alot of at the moment), as the christmas lights warm the heart. Last night we walked into town to watch the Luxembourg Christmas Parade, complete with freaky blow up snow-man, dancing girls and santa bringing up the rear. Sadly, not a sign of what Christmas is really about.

The last photo is from Vienna, where Phil went a couple of weeks ago. It brings new meaning to the phrase 'lit up like a Christmas tree'. Thinking back just a year ago, our situation couldn't be more different - try 30 degrees difference in temperature for starters. Phil is enjoying the cold (how weird is that?), while I am coping and secretly dreaming of the tropics! We are both really enjoying the new experiences.

food glorious food

It's something we do every day, but people do it differently all over the world and it's always interesting to see how! I've got to say that the food on display in Luxembourg often looks as if was made for artistic pleasure rather than mere consumption. From lunch time fare to party treats, the attention to detail is often exquisite.

I've been told the french influence is the greatest in regard to food, although the heavy sausages and pickled vegetables are undoubtedly german. I certainly need alot of german and dutch/flemish at the supermarket to read the labels (I'm very thankful for little pictures at times)!

We haven't tried all of these delicacies (yet), but we can say that the bread is the best we have ever eaten, and the pastries are VERY good. Filled baguetes are sold in their hundreds for lunch every day, and I see lots of people walking out of Patiserre's with pastries in the mornings. The most common breakfast pastry is one filled with chocolate - not a particularly good start to the day. I doubt that anyone actually bakes here given that there are so many beautiful and sweet goodies for sale; I'm surprised that the average waistline is not bigger.

There is a patisserie just a few doors down from our apartment that makes the most amazing creations (photos below). They vary from week to week, as the decorations on the tortes reflect local celebrations and events. I try not to loiter too long outside, but they literally are works of art.

Oh, and the guy at the top is eating a fresh waffle laden with strawberries and cream - waffles are a big thing here too!

Spanish retreat

What do you do to find relief from the seemingly endless gray skies of autumn? Flying to southern Spain seemed a good idea to us! I have wanted to go to Spain forever, and it did not disappoint. White washed villages perched on ridiculously steep hills, story book castles, monumental churches, glorious hand painted tiles, beautiful andalucian horses; It was wonderful.

While sharing an old farmhouse with friends on a rocky outcrop near Tarifa, we managed day trips to Gaucin, Gibraltar, Cadiz and Sevilla. The most striking experience was the Real Alcazar in Sevilla, which we stumbled into not even knowing what it was. The beauty of the moorish design and detail almost brought me to tears. And the expansive gardens were spectacular, with a myriad of secret places, a maze, pavilion, fountains, huge decorative walls and endless new views.

The Spanish actually do take siesta's between 2 and 5pm. I had wondered about this while living in Chile, where shops were open for about 12 hours a day. After the wonderful distraction of the palace, I realised at 1.45pm that we only had 15 minutes to race to the ceramics district across the river! (This was to fulfill another dream of mine, to buy hand-painted ceramics). Fortunately a few shop owners hadn't gone to lunch and we made it there just in time to snap up a few pieces of pottery that are now giving me joy.

We also spent a day on a rock belonging to England - Gibraltar - which was kind of an odd place to be while in Spain. It is a very big rock, riddled with tunnels and barbary apes, and has spectacular views of Spain, the mediterranean and the Riff mountains in Africa.

With all of our tripping around we didn't actually get any siestas, but the bank of memories has had a significant deposit that will hopefully provide us a mental vacation of blue skies and colourful tiles for quite awhile.