Travel

Paris
Children's Books about Paris
Trip to Musee D'Orsay
The Louvre
The Tuileries
Views from a Ferris Wheel
Things that Caught my Eye
Pierre Herme
Highlights
The Pompidou Center
Paris Days and Nights
Disney Paris

France
Metz
Strasbourg
La Clusaz - skiing, market
Rodemack

Germany
Saarburg
Rothenberg ob der Tauber
Europapark
Fussen - Neuschwanstein Castle
Trier
Christmas Market
Christmas Market 2008
Trier, of course
Trier (It is in Germany)
Fabric Market
Circus


Austria
Innsbruck

Switzerland
Grindelwald - Part 1, 2, 3, 4

Belgium
Gent
Interesting bits
By Boat
By Horse Carriage
Brussels
Atomium
Natural Science Museum
Food
Grand Place
Bruges
Reflections
Bits of Bruges
Beer
Redu
Picking Raspberries
A Book Town
Bouillon
Day Trippin'
A different Bouillon
Bastogne
Bastogne
Day Trippin'

The Netherlands
Amsterdam
Keukenhof Garden
I heart Amsterdam
The Hague
Escher Museum
Czec Republic
Prague
Interesting Bits
The Castle Quarter
The Jewish Quarter
The Charles Bridge
Old Town Bridge
Getting Lost


Ireland
County Clare
Dingle
Dublin
Dingle Bay
The Burren
Wrap-up
Brown Bread

Italy
Rome
Famous Sites
St. Peter's Basilica
The Vatican Museum
Day 3
Day 2 - Spanish Steps, Pantheon
Day 1 - Trevi Fountain

Venice
Magical Venice
Through her Eyes
From the Gondola
Buonasera

Florence
Boboli Gardens
Overview

Pisa


Morocco
Agadir
Taroudaunt

London
More London
Those Cheeky Brits
London Calling

Chips and Crisps

**This list will reside over on my side bar under the button "Travel"

2009 in Pictures

. . . and a few words.

What a huge and eventful year.

January

~ a Luxembourg resident ~ Trier Circus ~ charm quilt exchange ~ Eva turns 5 ~

February~ little differences ~ Italy ~ charm quilts ~

March

~ reversible patchwork bags ~

April
~ Amneville Zoo ~ Amsterdam ~

May ~ Switzerland ~ in-laws visit ~ butterfly garden ~ Bernard Massard Caves ~

June ~ my mom's surgery - Seattle~ Neil Young in Cologne ~ 10 year anniversary in Paris ~

July ~ Seattle ~ Skykomish ~ Paul & Ann's wedding ~ pool party~ Pine Cone Drive-in ~ Audrey turns 3 ~

August ~ plums ~ Jeff & Em visit ~ Belgium ~ trampolines in the park ~ schueberfour ~

September ~ Disney Land Paris ~ Parc Merveilleux ~ owl pellets ~ Julie visits ~ Paris ~

October ~ Julie and I go to Italy ~ Aunt & Uncle visit~ AWCL Halloween ~

November~ Neuschwanstein Castle ~ Bavaria ~ Innsbruck ~ my birthday ~ St. Nicolas Train ~ the flu ~

December~ nephew is born ~ Hawaii ~ Paris ~ Trier Christmas Market ~ in-laws visit ~ bryce's birthday ~

2010 it's nice to meet you. I look forward to getting to know you better.

The inspiration for this post was seen here.

Trier Christmas Market

On Sunday we went to the Trier Christmas Market. We had such an enjoyable time last year, Bryce and I were excited to share it with his parents. The train ride was pleasant and uneventful. The only added element this year was snow, it didn't stick, but still - SNOW! Although incredibly cold, it really did put us in the Christmas mood. Who can worry about cold when there is hot, steaming mugs of Gluehwein to be had? I must confess that I skipped the Gluehwein this year and had a latte spiked with Baileys instead. Slurp. Grandpa and the girls
Traditional German Christmas Cookies

found underfoot Baseball sized marshmallows. "I want that one."

Got it. Carousel ride!

Christmas Book Favorites

Ah, back at home. Feels so good. That added ocean crossing definitely added another day of jet-lag to the trip. Yesterday felt almost dream like. Today I'm a bit more conscious. Tomorrow I hope to be human. We're going to the circus tomorrow here in Luxembourg. I'm just as excited as the girls. Last year I was just so blown away by the Christmas Circus we saw in Trier. I can hardly wait to see what this one is like. Sunday we're headed to Trier for the Christmas Market. It is nice to have the in-laws here to share some of the local holiday traditions with them.

Speaking of traditions, our Christmas books are out and we're all really enjoying them. I LOVE the book we added this season. If you're looking for a gift or for a book to add to your own Christmas book stash I highly recommend, Mr. Willoby's Christmas Tree by Robert Barry (first published in 1963.)

The story starts with the delivery of Mr. Willoby's christmas tree. It is perfect in every way except it is too tall. So, Mr. Willoby's butler chops the top off of the tree and gives the top to the maid. The maid sets up the tree top in her house and discovers it too is too tall so she cuts off the top. That top is then given to the gardener. And wouldn't you know, the tree is too tall for his house as well. The story continues on like this until the top finds it's way into a mouse house. The text is a lively rhyme. The illustrations are whimsical pen and ink drawings. This is a must have.

Here are a few of our other favorites, mentioned last year.

The Gingerbread man retold by Barbara McClintock

Santa's Book of Names by David McPhail

A Firefly in a Firtree by Hilary Knight

Trier (It's in Germany)

The last day trip we took before Emily and Jeff headed home was to Trier, Germany. Settled along the Moselle River, Trier bills itself as Germany's oldest city. Although we'd been to Trier several times - Christmas Market, circus and fabric fair - we have never explored the city. Now I'm wondering what took us so long.

Trier is a beautiful city with much to see. It has several Roman structures, beautiful cathedrals, a "Palace," beautiful gardens, museums, and a great pedestrian walking zone. It is only 45 minutes away from Luxembourg City!

We started at the Palace of Trier, mostly enjoying the beautiful garden in front of it.

We walked to the Amphitheater, one of the Roman structures Trier is known for. It was a long (for kids) HOT walk. Honestly the Amphitheater didn't do that much for us. Maybe it was the heat. We did enjoy sitting in it's courtyard sharing enormous bottles of Fanta that we bought for only 80 cents. I think the Roman Baths would have been a better choice that day.

Next we toured the Cathedral of St. Peter. It was magnificent. The courtyard outside was glorious as well. Emily had the girls pose by some beautiful old doors a couple times. After that Audrey wanted her picture in front of every door we passed.

Our last stop was the pedestrian zone. We ate pretzels (called bretzels here) bought postcards and ended the day with gelato.

If you're planning a trip to this part of Europe I highly recommend a stop in Trier.

The Trier Christmas Market

Walking to the market

It was such a pleasant day - a peaceful train ride and then a festive tour of one of Germany's famous Christmas Markets. Here are some highlights:

There were wonderful German handicrafts and Christmas merchandise to purchase. I couldn't resist these wooden Christmas decorations.

The food and merchandise vendors were each housed in these little cute wooden houses. Each house was ornately decorated and very festive looking. Here is a peek at their roof tops.

Gingerbread hearts decorated in true Bavarian style.

Gluehwein or Glow wine is sold and served in these mugs. It is served warm and was just the thing to take the chill off as we wandered through the market. The mugs can be kept as souvenirs or returned to the vendor in exchange for 4 euros.

There were many street musicians as well as performances put on by the Market.

We were at the market on St. Nikolas day so naturally he made an appearance there. We were lucky to catch him right as he was starting to greet children, so Eva was able to say hello and get a chocolate.

This was one of 2 carousels at the market. Eva eagerly hopped on, but Audrey needed a little convincing.

Coincidently I read another blog post today about a Christmas Market in Munich. Lookie here. More pictures from our trip here.

Perfectly Transported

Ah, we found it! The perfect way to travel with a squirmy, wiggly toddler - the train! We had a wonderful train ride to Trier. It took about 45 minutes, just the right amount of time. We had comfy seats, a huge picture window, snacks, books and most importantly for Audrey - no carseat. We saw some cute little towns, lots of woods, and rolling green hills. We made it to the Christmas Market in no time at all and arrived relaxed and in high spirits. The Trier Christmas Market was incredible. Definitley the most fun we've had since we've been here. Look for all the festive details this week. There are a few more train pictures here.

A Window of Curiosity

I can't walk past this window without stopping to look. It contains quite an interesting menagerie. It appears to be a window of someone's apartment not a store. Somehow that makes it even more intriguing.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Tomorrow we're off to Trier, Germany to visit their Christmas Market. We're also going to get our Christmas tree. Happy weekend to you all!