Muscles from Brussels

So that I wouldn't be alone on the holidays, Caroline saved up all of her money and flew across the pond to see me! We decided to make the most of her trip and visit three different countries. Our first stop, Belgium. We planned to meet in the train station in Brussels and walk to our apartment together from there. Neither of us realized how big the station was and we didn't have any form of communication. But, somehow it worked, we found each other! Thankfully, Caroline had our route all mapped out and we found our apartment without any problems. Originally, we were only looking to rent a private room in this apartment, but ironically the owner went to the States for holiday so we have her entire apartment to ourselves.

We got settled in and decided that we both needed a pre-dinner siesta. I researched some good places to eat and we found this Italian restaurant off the beaten path. I got directions and we headed out into the city. We ended up getting lost (I later found out that I was looking at the wrong pinpoint on the map), but we discovered a lot of the city that we might not have seen otherwise. We witnessed a late night marathon and several Christmas markets. We found a busy street with several Thai places and decided to eat there instead. 

The next day we went to the Belgium Comic Book museum. It shows the history of famous French, Dutch and Belgian comics. Neither of us knew what to expect so we were pleased with our decision to go there. That night we were determined to find that Italian restaurant. I figured out the rest way to go this time and we were off. We walked about 30 minutes to a neighborhood outside of town only to realize that it was closed, just our luck. We walked back into town and ate at an authentic Italian restaurant. It got the job done for two famished girls. 

Yesterday was another proactive day and we went to the Museum of Natural Sciences. It was a thirty minute walk to a neighborhood called Ixelles, where Audrey Hepburn grew up. We ventured through a new part of town and came across some more beautiful sites. The museum was a success. Later that night we had plans to meet up with a native who knows some friends of Caroline's from the States. He showed us the spots were all of the locals go and gave us some good inside tips! So far Brussels has been a success and I am looking forward to venturing to the other famous Belgian cities!

A French Christmas

This is the first Christmas in 22 years that I have not spent it with my family. There have been sick Christmases and there have been stressful Christmases, but we were always together. Even though I have spent the past few days walking around the Christmas market, listening to Christmas music and wearing my Santa socks, it still didn't feel the same. Nothing can compare to spending the holidays with my family - baking with my momma, Maw Maw's annual cook out and Christmas eve at Aunt Lynne's.  Even though I missed them terribly, I knew what I was in for when I told my parents that I was determined to experience a "French Christmas." It all began Monday when Leslie got a call from her parents informing her that they were taking an earlier train and would be arriving in Avignon 2 hours early. We had already written a long grocery list and had scheduled our day down to the minute to prepare for their arrival. However, this news came in very unexpected and we had to scramble to make up for lost time. We had to make three stops in order to get all of our groceries. The first was in the next town over but we knew it was a necessary stop because of the cheap prices. I strapped on the "party pack" (hiking back pack) and we hopped on our bikes to save time. We got all of the items from the first store and shoved them in the party pack without any problems. Our second stop was a boulangerie that we have gone to several times before and we knew it would have everything on our list. We bought three different kinds of breads and an assortment of pastries. Here, we encountered our first problem, how to transport the carefully packaged pastries without ruining them. Thankfully, Leslie had brought a band with her so we strapped the box of pastries to the back of her bike, problem solved. Our final stop was the grocery store. Leslie was smart enough to write the list in order of the aisles (we are pros at grocery shopping now). We had it through the store checking every item off our list. However, here is where is got really tricky. As we were unloading all of our groceries, we realized that we had to fit all of them in the party pack and ride our bikes home. We semi-successfully fit everything in the party pack (which weighed at least 50 pounds) and two grocery bags. We get out to our bikes and realize that there is no one we will be able to ride them home. I wasn't about to back down so close to the end of our journey, plus time was running out!! I throw the back pack on (okay, throw is a bit of an exaggeration) and shove a baguette through the pocket of my Patagonia and we walk our bikes home. It was the longest walk of my life. I couldn't even stand up straight because there was so much weight on my pack, I felt like a 90 year old woman with a hunch back. But we did it, we finally made it home with plently of time to prepare snacks and signs for Leslie's family. We showed them around Avignon then Leslie and I made them dinner while they rested from their long day of travel. After dinner, we prepared Christmas breakfast then went to midnight mass at the church on our street. It was the first time that I have been to a midnight mass, in France or the states! The church was beautiful and the architecture was more incredible. Even though there were some traditions that I didn't understand, it was still a really cool experience and comforting to know that we were all there to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. This morning I woke up, pulled on my Santa socks and headed for the kitchen to put Christmas breakfast in the oven. We made a Greek-styled quiche, monkey bread, french toast bake and a fruit bowl. It was great! Not as good as momma's but it was good enough for seconds! After we had our first feast, we walked around for a few hours then came home and feasted again. I skyped with the family and opened my presents and watched them open theirs. Even though I couldn't hear 20% of what they were saying and they looked pixilated, it was so good to see their faces on Christmas day. It made me realize how blessed I am to have such an awesome family and how I can't wait to see them again soon :)

Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Christmas vacation is finally here! Laura abandoned us last week and is spending Christmas in England with her family. Leslie's family gets in tomorrow night. We have been anxiously awaiting their arrival by making grocery lists, putting together French welcome baskets and lists of games we can play. However, there is only so much preparing you can do before driving yourself crazy. In order to escape boredom in Avignon, we planned a day trip to another surrounding town. Châteauneuf-du-Pape is a renowned wine producing region that is located only 17km away from us. We tried to go there last week, but it turns out there is not a train station and the bus runs at very odd times during the day. Good thing we invested in bikes, problem solved! We took the train to Sorgues and biked 7km to Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Great decision. The bike ride to the village was lined with beautiful vineyards and countryside. Once we got there, we parked our bikes and walked around for a few hours. We climbed to the top of the town where the château is located then ventured back down to the center of town. Since it is widely known for its wine, we knew we had to buy some before leaving. We tasted a white and a red, and after much debate, Leslie bought a white for Peter, another great decision. After walking around for a while longer, we hopped back on our bikes and biked the 17km back to Avignon. Before reaching the city walls, we made one last pit stop at a boulangerie for some yummy treats to celebrate our proactiveness and our 24km bike ride.