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Friday night: Anne-Marie and Michael hired a babysitter and took me out to dinner. Because it all started with some cheese fondu, they took me to a Swiss restaurant where we had cheese fondu.  It was so nice of them to take me out.  We enjoyed great conversation and some great food. 

Saturday: I took the bus downtown to do some shopping before meeting the girls at the train station. I met Sabina and Dominika and we went to Trier to the Christmas market. We had originally wanted to go to Strasbourg, the biggest Christmas market in France, but it was a lot more expensive and farther away. One day I’ll make it back for that market.  The Trier market was really nice. They had food stands and ornament stands.  It was a lot of fun to walk around!  However, it was FREEZING.  We stayed for a couple of hours and then headed back to Luxembourg. No one was ready to go back “home” so we went to the Luxembourg Christmas market and walked around some more - again FREEZING. There wasn’t too much left to do and it was starting to snow so we headed our separate ways. 

Sunday: Sabina picked me up and we went to the International Bazaar with Anna and Dominika.  There were so many countries represented.  It was incredible to walk around and experience the different cultures.  I had Sri Lanken food.  Sabina and Anna bought us some soda from Sweden that is only available at Christmas time.  Then Dominka bought some Polish cake for us to try.  I would have bought them some American food but they were offering nachos, chili dogs, and brownies (Really?).  We continued walking around wishing we had more room in our stomachs for other foods.  We headed downtown for one last time (well for me anyway).  Walked around and I finished my Christmas shopping!! Hooray!  Dominka has to go so I said my goodbyes or as I put it “until we meet again.”  Anna, Sabina and I decided it was probably time to head back. However, we were getting a little hungry so we decided to stop back by the bazaar for some Thai food!  Sabina dropped me off and once again said “until we meet again.” 

Monday: I said goodbye to the girls and Anne Marie dropped me off the airport. I was all ready to drop my bags off when my flight got cancelled. I then pleaded with the ticket counter to put me on some flight, any flight that day.  Best they could do was Tuesday. Well if that isn’t a little anti-climactic I don’t know what is.  I called Sabina and she came to the rescue once again! She picked me up and we went with her house mom and kids to Ikea for a Swedish lunch! Meatballs!  It was nice to be with her for one more day but I was kind of in a foul mood b/c I was all set to go home. Everyone at the house was very surprised to see me... ha. 

Tuesday: The rescheduled flight was for 6:50am so I took a taxi to the airport. Cost a fortune but what can you do.  I was very nervous this morning that the flights would be cancelled.    

I made it home about 4pm. I'm still recovering but glad to be home! And thankful for the experiences that I could have in Europe! 

A Jessica

Quick story about Charlotte:

Last night Charlotte was eating dinner and AnneMarie told her that I would be leaving soon. She asked why and AnneMarie said because I needed to get back to my mommy and daddy and brothers. Charlotte said "I have a baby and a sister and a mommy and a daddy and a Jessica."  :) Everybody needs a Jessica!

Thanksgiving, Brussels, and Snow

I trust that you all had a great Thanksgiving. It was very weird having my first holiday away from my family and friends. And not to mention, a holiday that isn't even celebrated over here. There were no days off of work or school... life went on as normal.  However, Michael did buy a turkey for me to prepare.  I made my first ever turkey, pumpkin pie, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, and green beans.  It ended up being just the three of us: Michael, Anne-Marie, and myself. It was a nice dinner, and their first ever pumpkin pie!  At the end of the night, I got to talk to all of my family back home via skype!

Saturday morning, I took the bus to the train and the train to Brussels. There was some confusion at the stop in Brussels as to how I was getting to Waterloo to meet the Hoggards. But I finally made it and was greeted with warm smiles and a warm meal.  Ruthanne, Terry, and I went to downtown Brussels, making a few stops along the way for pictures.  It was a very chilly night but very enjoyable!  We went to the Grand Place where there was a beautiful Christmas tree and music playing! We had hot chocolate and enjoyed the atmosphere, as well as did some shopping! It was a great evening! 

Sunday we went to church at the International Church where they used to be pastors. It had frosted that morning and their neighbor Marianne couldn't get into her car. She is an elderly Dutch lady who lived through WW2. We took her to church. Church was incredible. To see so many different nations worshiping together was amazing.  After church we went to a local Chinese restaurant. Yummy. Ruthanne then took me to the place where the battlefield of Waterloo took place. 

We stumbled upon a chocolate market... which gave out free samples! We took Terry to the airport and then Ruthanne and I went out to dinner. We had a cheeseburger and fries (oh yeah). We went back to the house and watched a movie (and maybe fell asleep on the couch just a bit).  Monday, we got up and went to get a nice breakfast. The conversation was great!  About 11 we headed for train station :( I could have stayed a lot longer... and was very tempted. All weekend I felt at home, the conversation was great and inspiring, and even though we didn't do anything particularly spectacular, it was fun! I had such an amazing weekend :) I took the train back to Luxembourg and arrived to crazy snow. It took me almost as long to get back to my village in Luxembourg as it did from Brussels to Lux.  

Today, I went out in the snow with Charlotte. It makes everything look beautiful! 

My Birthday/ Burgundy

Last Friday we drove down to Burgundy. It was a very looooooong car ride.  When we arrived we fed the kids, did baths, and put them to sleep.  Then I still had to decorate Charlotte's cake.  At this point, I'm tired of dealing with conversions and ingredients that just aren't the same. I'm ready to be back in my kitchen ;)

Charlotte really wanted a Dora cake but that's kind of hard without a pan and with substandard ingredients and tools... so we convinced her to have a balloon (much more do-able). She wanted a pink balloon so I decked it out :) She loved it!

About that time the other families started to arrive. I really do enjoy their friends :) We had a cheese platter for dinner and stayed up talking.  By the end we were comparing American to British phrases. Quite hilarious.  The word fanny has a whole different meaning to me now....

Saturday I got up early to take the train to Dijon.  There I was picked up by Alex Miles, a retired pastry chef.  We went to his house (tiny) and met his wife.

We then started making dough. Puff Pastry was first on the list. Alex had already made the dough the night before because it needs to be refrigerated for many hours. We then the layering part... Lots of butter put in the middle, then rolled and folded many, many times.

We then made a Pate Brisee Ambassade (pie dough) and a Pate Sablee aux Amandes (Tart dough with almonds). That concluded the dough section ;)  We followed it by Creme d'Amande (Almond cream), Creme Patissiere (Pastry Cream), Creme Anglais (English Cream), and Creme Citron (Lemon Cream).

We took the pie dough and made an onion quiche.  We took the tart dough with the almond cream and pears and made a pear tart, and we took the tart dough and lemon cream topped with Italian meringue. The lemon tart was by far my favorite!  

Overall, I learned A LOT. However, I wish the class would have been more hands on for me.  I did a lot of "observing" which is not as fun, but I'm excited to get back to my own kitchen to test out all the recipes.

I took the train back to Beaune and walked around the town for a little bit.  I then took a taxi back to the house because I couldn't get ahold of anyone to come pick me up. AnneMarie had a chef make the evening meal and then we warmed it up at the house.  It was definitely not my first choice for a birthday dinner but it wasn't my choice at all ;)  We started out with prawns in a tomato soup with a lobster mousse. Then we had vegetables and chicken stuffed with escargot. Followed by chocolate mousse for dessert (best part by far).  I probably would have enjoyed the dessert more if I hadn't been on a sugar high from the pastry class ;) 

Sunday was spent sleeping in.  We all went out for lunch.  I ended up riding back with Rachel and Keith and their one daughter Evie.  It was a much more peaceful ride and more room!  Sunday night I went to a Scorpions concert with Sabina.  It was nice to get out, but not my cup of tea.  

I am now almost down with my second to last full week.  This weekend I'm heading to Brussels and very excited to go to Belgium.   

London

Sunday morning I left for London... which meant taking a bus to Frankfurt/Hahn airport then flying to London Stanstead and taking a bus into the city.  What I thought would be fairly quick turned into a long day of traveling.  I made it to the airport in London by 12:15 but by the time I made it through customs (b/c the UK is not part of the EU), took the bus, and FINALLY found my hotel it was nearly 5pm. Luckily, London being the large city that it is, there were plenty of things to do.  However, it was dark already which was kind of annoying. I took the tube (underground system) to Picadillly Circus! Kind of reminded me of Times Square.

(OK I really wanted to get this up tonight b/c I'm so excited to tell you all about it but it's just taking too long... I'm tired. I'll do it tomorrow as soon as possible)

As soon as possible. Ha. That would be now... at 9 pm. I usually get more breaks in the day but of course today would be the day that I get diarrhea all up my arm and have to clean it off of Alex's back and the day that Charlotte refuses to take a nap. Yeah that's been my day.

So back to London...

I walked around for awhile but I was getting tired. I headed back to my hotel on the tube, but first I stopped at the local pub for some food. Fish n' Chips, of course. It was really good!






It was right across the street from my hotel.  I went back and talked with my parents.  I had a king size bed to myself... no screaming children. It was heaven! I slept so well!

The next morning I was up early to make the most of my day.  I really wasn't looking forward to sightseeing by myself, but I was in London!  I left the hotel, a little later than I had planned.  However, God was certainly planning my day for me! I got on a sightseeing bus about 8:45 or so... and went up to the top level so I could take pictures. Sitting on the top deck was another lady sitting by herself.  We kind of exchanged glances... but neither one of us said anything. We both got off at the stop for the walking tour for the changing of the guards. We were about 45 minutes early and went separate directions to kill the time.  I bought some souvenirs and a English Kids Christmas CD for AnneMarie since they aren't available in Luxembourg. When I came back for the walking tour the "lady" was there as well.  This time we said hello and started talking. Her name is Jodie from California. She was supposed to leave London on Sunday but hadn't finished her sightseeing. Her husband was working so she was by herself for the day.  It couldn't have been more perfect.  She is a high school History teacher.  Our tour guide for the changing of the guards was great!

The changing of the guards was different than I expected... A much bigger production than I would have imagined. 

After getting to know each other a little better on the walking tour (and complaining about the cold) we decided to spend the rest of the day sightseeing together! We got some tea and a sandwich to warm up and then headed back to the tour bus.

We took the bus to the tower of London!  The tower of London is one of the first castles of the kings and queens, where the crown jewels are held, and where a bunch of people were put to death (including Anne Boleyn).

After the tower we took the boat tour (which was included with our bus ticket) from the Tower to the London Eye.

By this time it was about 5pm, cold and dark.  Jodie offered to buy me dinner (SO NICE) at the pub back by her hotel.  We walked back (checked to see if her husband was in yet) and then headed to the pub.  We shared some food and had some more great conversation. Her husband showed up as I was leaving. Jodie was truly a gift from God for my day.  It was amazing to have someone to share the London adventure with.  I said goodbye and headed to Harrods.  I couldn't leave without seeing the famous Harrods.  It was beautiful! And expensive. ha. After Harrods I made my way back to my hotel to enjoy another night in the wonderful bed and peace and quiet!

Tuesday morning I got up and checked out of my hotel.  I took the tube to the stop nearest the bus that was going to take me to the airport. I bought a few more souvenirs (London is an easy place to spend money) and had breakfast.  I finally located the bus stop.  There was about 6 other people waiting for the bus... and waiting... and waiting... and waiting. We had the time table and by this point about 4 buses were supposed to have come by... but nothing. It's now going on 10:45 and I'm panicking because my flight is at 12:55 and it takes 80 minutes to get to the airport... you do the math. Another shuttle to the airport pulls up and agrees to take us (for more money of course)... but cheaper than a taxi. I made it to the airport just an hour before my flight.  Everything worked out... back to Frankfurt Hahn and then the bus to Luxembourg.