The holidays and the end of the year bearing down upon us! At the end of last month we were excited about our trip, seeing that side of England is exciting in new discoveries. Bath is famous for its historic wellness and mineral springs. And Sally Lund buns, a brioche with a cream filling. I dipped into Wikipedia to find out who she was for our information and discovered she was rather a bit of myth:
The Sally Lunn Eating House in Bath, England, claims that the recipe was brought to Bath in the 1680s by a Huguenot refugee called Solange Luyon, who became known as Sally Lunn,[5] but there is no evidence to support this theory. There is little historical evidence for Sally Lunn as a person. It is in 1827 that a historical person is described by a correspondent of William Hone using the pseudonym “Jehoiada“, who says she had sold the buns on the street “about thirty years ago”.[11] A baker called Dalmer had bought out her business and made it highly successful after he composed a special song for the vendors,[11] who sold the buns from mobile ovens. The earliest evidence of commercial production is an 1819 advertisement for the Sally Lunn “cakes” sold by W. Needes of Bath, bread and biscuit maker to the Prince Regent.[5]
There is a passing mention of “Sally Lunn and saffron cake” in a 1776 poem about Dublin by the Irish poet William Preston.[7] The first recorded mention of the bun in Somerset is as part of a detox regime in Philip Thicknesse‘s 1780 guidebook to taking the waters at Bath.
The building now known as the Sally Lunn Eating House was originally occupied by the south range of Bath Abbey, and the lowest floor level dates to the reconstruction of the abbey after a great fire in 1137. The masonry oven in the basement dates from that time.
The property has been a Grade II* listed building since June 1950. The summary states that “Sally Lunn, a pastry cook and baker, was a tenant in 1680” but cites no source to confirm that information. It is possible that the English Heritage saw the sign on the wall (erected c. 1970)[22] and took the claim at face value.
So, interesting and our hotel was situated right next door to the building.
It was a lengthy trip to Bath. First hour and a half on the Eurostar through the Tunnel which was delayed in leaving by 30 minutes, then a second hour and a half stint on a regional train from Paddington Station to Bath. We got to the hotel at 6pm, unfortunately having missed their 4-6pm reception, and met a very charming young check-in woman named Monika. She checked us in, pointed us to our room and even recommended a place for dinner.
The hotel, named Eight, is in a little alley off of a main square, which is off a main road – it was a 6 minute walk from the train station. Once in the small cobblestone alleys, you lose the feel of the modern square you’ve left. Our room was on the first floor (which like France is actually the second floor, their floors being 0, 1, 2 etc) and it was the first room, looking out over the street/alley in front and the opposite windows overlook the street/alley behind. Nice colors, decor and a couple of comfy armchairs too. G was enamored with the TV set-up that was at the foot of the bed and rises up. Never saw that before.
We dropped our bags and went back out to find that the hotel was next to a smaller square which had a Christmas market. There are quite a few Christmas markets in Bath. Since it was a Sunday, they were closing up earlier than usual – other nights they stay open an hour or two more. The restaurant, just a few steps away, was called The Crystal Palace – no idea why – and it was packed, although we were able to get a table as another couple told us they were leaving theirs. We shared a plate of roasted pork loin and a blade of beef. The sides were mashed potatoes with steamed veggies on one and roasted potatoes and veggies on the other. Everything was very tasty – good comfort pub food.
OK – a whole bunch of History coming your way :
Bath, a World Heritage site, is an interesting town. Like Lille, it has a knot of a center which retains its originality of Georgian architecture and then became surrounded by the modern growth. It has two universities. Jane Austin called it home in the 19th century and shots of where she resided are beautiful.
To start the timeline of Bath, the Romans arrived in 43 AD, building a complex of baths, pools and a temple on a sacred Celtic site, operational by 75 AD. It was built up over the next 300 years and in 480 A.D., when the Roman Empire collapsed, they departed Bath, whereas the baths fell into ruins and were eventually buried.
The Bath’s Abbey, was established as a Saxon convent, appearing in historical records as early as 675 AD. Osric, an Anglo-Saxon king, gave land near Bath to the Abbess Bertana, to establish a “Convent of Holy Virgins”. John of Tours, the Bishop of Wells, was granted the city of Bath by King William Rufus in 1088. He decided to move the seat of the bishop to Bath, as it was a bigger and more important place. In 1090, he ordered work to start on a new cathedral, to replace the original Abbey. Then in 1499 a new Abbey was built on the site, replacing that cathedral. Most of the old cathedral building has disappeared.
Next, in the early sixteenth century, King Henry VIII ordered monasteries to be closed, forcing the monks to leave in 1539 and the Abbey fell into decay. Thirty years later, the ruined Abbey was given to the city of Bath. Building work on the present Abbey took nearly 120 years to complete, finished and functioning as a parish church by 1616. Today, it continues to be an active working church in the community.
The Roman Bath was rediscovered and explored in the late 19th century, with an official grand opening in 1897. The complex sits below the current street level, extending below ground level under adjacent streets and squares. Upon entering the Roman Bath to tour, you enter at the Terrace level and look down onto the great bathhouse. An interesting aside, just in 2012 on an archeological dig, 30,000 Roman silver coins were found about 500 feet from the bath.
And that’s the historic timeline of Bath.
The next day, after a thoroughly relaxing morning, we went out to the Christmas market. It was spread all over – as we continued to navigate the center, we would come across different strips of it, so it wasn’t just one market – it was like dandelion weeds; here, there and oh, more over there – kind of thing. It was nice not to see the mass produced items we’d seen often repeated. The hand crafted goods are yarn or felt-based items from ornaments to hats, scarves, gloves, a good amount of handblown glass, wood work and jewelry. We were surprised not to see any pottery. And G was impressed to stumble upon a “Dr Who” style phone booth, with a working phone!
We had a wonderful lunch at a highly rated Italian place, in an underground cellar, called Sotto Sotto. I had the fresh handmade fettuccine with butternut squash and pork belly bits. G had it with a lamb ragout. All so tasty and memorable. Fortified properly, we went about, window looking.
We stopped at a Marks & Spencer. They used to have a small one in Lille Flandres train station before Brexit created the issue of needed EU extra screening on their English products, which made them close all of their French stores. G loved their sausages. He was crushed that he couldn’t even take them back by train. Anyway, it was two stories and while walking around, I picked up a large span, full umbrella and a large span, travel umbrella – both sorely needed. We lost the one, full good one we had and our current one is a way-too-small travel umbrella, with a broken spoke. Pretty pitiful to be truthful. Next was a tour of the Roman Baths near by, which we have already covered.
For dinner, we ate next door at Sally Lunn’s and had another nice meal of veggies with the famous Lunn bun topped with a pork stew and a beef stew. Loads of winter meat and potato dishes to be had in the UK.
Next day we took the train to Bristol – the trains run every 30 minutes and it’s a 12 minute ride. It’s a working city, although it had bits of older architecture. The old city center is very small and there is not much in the way of older buildings. It’s truly a modern town and port – not a seaside port but via the River Avon and a levy at a point where Bristol developed. It was much colder than Bath – the temperatures just over 30° but with wind, was closer to 25°, which made me regret leaving my gloves back in Bath. We walked through the town center and then through the old town.
They had a small, modest Christmas market that we passed through before we stopped at a large pub called the Fish Market where we shared a fish and chips plate. The fish was fresh and the batter and frying was perfect. It’s the batter that a majority of places don’t get right. This was thin, crisp and adhered to the fish. Most are too thick, sometimes doughy with not the freshest of fish or just badly constructed. And the fries were great too. An education, like Louisiana cooking – done fabulously there, poorly elsewhere. This was really just perfect and if I could get this version every time, I would definitely make it a regular habit.
Thoroughly frozen, we took the train back to Bath, napped before dinner – a Spanish tapas place, again in a bricked cellar. They make the best of the small spaces since the buildings are old and small in square footage. Had a great fried potato dish called Patatas Bravas, with an aioli sauce, a flavorful sausage on a soft bread, a baked Manchego cheese with walnuts on toasted baguette and warm Iberian pork slices, medium rare. All delicious and especially when washed down with a jug of Sangria. It all was a bit much and required us to walk a while before returning to the hotel.
The last day in Bath included a tour of the Bath Abbey, also covered – which by the way has the most wonderful, lengthy bell ringing in the evenings, that I wish I had the tech savvy to include here.
We came across a wonderful bookstore, cozy and warm on a cold night. We love a good bookstore. Also, the world cup craze was in full swing and England won a match during our visit – people were celebrating on the streets. You really have to enjoy the enthusiasm, it’s infectious. On the last night we grabbed dinner at a pub and watched the Polish/Argentina match which was a very good game. Interesting to us that we can tell now which team is dominating the field, not having been soccer (called football) fans before relocating to France. The rules, however, still remain rather complex and confusing to us, especially offsides calls. Using the internet to delve further into the rules, left me with a migraine. We just need a good drinking buddy who will explain the Cliff version of the rules, over a few pints.
Back to Lille, we did the regular readjusting; laundry, grocery shopping, cleaning. We asked our neighbors over to help do a bit of holiday decorating, but really as a good excuse. As usual, we planned to get a lot more accomplished than we actually were able to do and had to adapt. We started first with the menu and got everything done but had to jettison making a pumpkin pie, which we’d planned. We got the tree up, got the lights on, put the ornaments out and strung the hall with the blue lights. We had to jettison half of the decorating and put that off until after the party.
Of the five we’d invited, we had three who could come. Poor Audrey on the top floor, was sick with the flu. One of the four flatmates, Louise, was in a traffic jam coming back from Brussels, visiting family. It was the three we didn’t know as well and we started by giving them a tour of the apartment because we are all curious about the lay out of the others, since they are all so different. And we talked about putting in the kitchen cabinets, which surprises everyone in our building who sees it, explaining it was mostly the result of Pandemic time out. Just couldn’t cook with what little kitchen counter there was, when we both like to cook and with forced quarantine plus too much time on our hands – voila!
We all relaxed over wine and appetizers, getting to know each other. We were laughing about odds and ends by the time we finished up. Then G got them up to put ornaments on the tree, which they thought was rather endearing (or they were being tolerant – hard to say). It was a nice segue to the holiday season and we spent the following week, finishing the apartment decorating.
One cool thing we got excited about was, oddly enough, a dental appointment. I know, we are so easily amused. G had an appointment to work on getting a crown. He came back really impressed about a tech gadget she used in the process. She moved a wand across his teeth and it translated it into a 3 D computer model, showing the entire mouth, the teeth from top to bottom of root, the gums and the bite. He was utterly amazed. I tell you, when they develop such great technology, it’s really something to admire.
So, it really got cold here – in the first two weeks of the month, it hovered between 30° and 40° with a wind chill dropping that further, 5 to 10 degrees. As we approached the last two weeks, it became a window of 20° to 30°, again with a windchill factor. We rarely get snow in Lille but we did see a few flurries.
We had two last tutor sessions with fabulous Émeline, who will leave for maternity leave in March. We signed up for the next session of French language class, which runs from Jan 9th until the end of March and arranged to have two of Emeline’s tutor sessions twice a week. It’s a heavy load we are signing up for but we felt that we needed to make some headway in this endeavor. Of course, ask me in February how tenacious I feel. I might be getting ready to flee the city.
In the holiday spirit, we made pumpkin pie and eggnog – delivering some to everyone. Even strung popcorn for the tree. It was wonderful to see the town filled with visitors for the Christmas market and shopping, especially when we remember the empty squares with closed shops and restaurants during the 18 months of Covid quarantine. It’s great to see it all bustling again.
We got caught up in watching the World Cup matches. The more we watch, the more impressed we are with the athletes. The foot work, the twisting of their bodies – flying, running at top speeds – all mesmerizing. A lot of long quiet spaces of just up and down the field but when they need to work the ball into tight spaces, around opposite team players and to the goal – it’s intensive. We would love to be in a pub, cheering with other people like we did the first year we were in France – but with the virus, we don’t want to chance it. It’s a shame – the games are meant to be watched with the company of other cheering folk. And cheering and packed they were. We watched it at home; France made it to the final match, then lost to Argentina. It was a well matched game and suspenseful right up to the end.
On the 20th we began our trip to Vienna, for the Christmas holiday. Of course the journey was not without our regular silly mishaps. Our first train from Lille to Strasburg had assigned seats and was a very pleasurable, relaxing 3 hrs. We changed trains in Strasburg and it was so packed that we didn’t have a chance to determine which coach was ours and grabbed the seats we could get. The very first train we’ve ever ridden where the aisles were full of standing people because there were absolutely no seats left. It was a sardine ride for an 1 hour to Mulhouse. In Mulhouse we changed trains for a 2 hour trip to Zurich and that was a night and day’s difference. Big seats, leg room and the coach pretty empty. At this point all we’d had to eat were chips. The gap between the arrival in Zurich to the train change for Vienna was an hour, in which we picked up a bunch of empanadas and a couple of beers from a Christmas market situated in the large station. They were closing, which was a shame because their handmade goods looked so original.. We were lucky to snag the food and knew the sleeper to Vienna wouldn’t be serving food at 9pm – it was a good call.
Got in our cabin, got situated and sat down at the table, enjoying the first real food of the day, relaxing. We did make the discovery that there were no charging outlets so we had to turn off our phones to save batteries. The assistant came by to check our tickets and pick up our breakfast choices for the next morning. We spent some time going over the list – each of us choosing different items so we could sample what they had. My sleep wasn’t great because I kept worrying about waking up on time, since without a phone, we had no alarm clock. Sure enough – we woke up when the assistant knocked on the door with the breakfast trays, which meant we had an hour before arrival. Despite our time spent on food choices, we got the exact same thing, a roll with two slices of ham and a slice of cheese. Oh but they did give us the two coffees a piece which we asked for.
Ate quickly and jumped in the shower. The shower was so tiny that it made our small apt shower look gigantic, which I never thought was possible. I stepped in and the person before was clearly much taller, I got a full blast of water straight in the face – spot on. Hello and good morning! Adjusted that thing, got dressed and packed with ten minutes to spare. That last train ride was 11 hours long. Overall, I’m grateful that sleeper coaches were available and the mishaps were small in comparison to having to sleep in upright seats.
In Vienna, it was truly cold on arrival. We’d passed snowy landscapes on the way but there was none in the city. The cab driver said that the city of Vienna had not really had snow for the last 10 years. Took the cab to the hotel and fortunately had requested an early check in, which enabled us to go directly to the room. We were checked in by a delightful young woman so petite, she could have easily been a fairy masquerading as a human. Her neck was the width of my forearm. Her eyelashes must have weighed more than her head. I was mesmerized. Anyway, got into the room, first thing was to plug everything in and refresh all of the devices.
After a rest, we leisurely strolled along a main street, visited two Christmas markets in the daytime and one at night. We actually prefer them at night when they are all lit up. The first market was completely art themed and there were tons of kids in groups at the stalls, listening to how the items were crafted; wood, leather, stones used for jewelry, glass blown things. It was like they were having an outdoor class – it was great to watch. We shared a hot ginger wine drink – interesting but a bit sweet and a flat fried potato disk that was hot and garlicky but a bit salty. We have noticed that things are salted much more than we are used to. We even bought two tin ornaments for our tree before we moved on.
Then we stopped for lunch at a nice, cosy place to warm back up and hit another small market on the way back to the hotel. Napped, relaxed, had some wine and pretty much what amounted to our dinner in appetizers; meatballs, salmon quiche bites, cheeses and cured meats. We braved the cold again to walk to the St. Stephan cathedral, enjoying the lights, the crowds and the stalls. It was beautiful at night and then when we saw it during the day, it was simply magnificent.
To the reason for our journey here, Vienna is known for its Christmas markets. There were at least 9 Christmas markets in the city area and we viewed most of them and did some window shopping as well. We went to the biggest market, Weiner Christkindlmarkt, at night. The lights were over the top, they had rides for the kids and an ice skating rink. On the walk back to the hotel we talked over our favorites and it really had nothing to do with size. The first art themed market has been our favorite here. The last big one was too crowded for us and the goods sold were mass produced.
The weather was mostly below freezing and occasional rain – it’ll be that way for most of our stay. It didn’t snow but it was certainly cold enough to do so. But then online we watched the terrible weather sweep the US – Polar Plunge and Bomb Cyclone. It was inconceivable to read the fast temperature drops – just incredible like Denver dropping 40 degrees in an hour and the frostbite dangers. We had the sense to stop whining about our 20 degree weather and sent our well wishes to our loved ones on the other side of the pond.
We talked about the variety of Christmas markets which we’ve been to over time and favorites. We also came to the conclusion that we had pretty much finished our fever to see them. So few are the individual, hand-crafted vendors compared to the mass produced, all the same goods. It can be compared to the sameness of an American suburb – the main area will have; Best Buy, Home Depot, a Supermarket, Old Navy, Subway, Gap and so forth – undistinguishable from the next suburb. We exclusively travel by train over here so we can’t speak to the suburbs in any particular country. But that’s probably why we developed a love of big cities so much. San Francisco, Seattle, Denver, Chicago, Houston, Atlanta, DC, Boston, Manhattan – all so very distinct and flavorful. So, to a point, in a European Christmas market, when you see so much of the same China, Taiwan produced ornaments, knitted hats & scarves and whatnot, you easily come to the point that they aren’t interesting. Still, we’ve enjoyed the ones that were very individual, are still enjoying ourselves and do believe this year was the year of the Christmas market. We’ve certainly gotten our ‘ya-ya’s’ out.
During our stay, we went next door to a restaurant called Das Schick, recommended by a very good Denver friend. It strictly served a choice of four, five or seven courses, with wine pairings. No exaggeration to say that every bite was sublime. It was heavenly. Of course, even with the four course choice that we made, we were exploding by the end. I do believe by the time we left Vienna, I resembled a Beluga whale.
On the 23rd, we took a train to Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, an hour’s journey. We found the Christmas market had closed the day before and as a result, many shops were closed, since the tourists were gone. It was extremely cold, empty and quite bleak – rather like a 40’s Berlin film noir movie. We discovered the train we rode stopped short of the town and we needed to bus into it. Then we just missed one of the trains going back and had to wait an hour for the next, in a station which was also bleak and cold. It made for a long, tiring day. We’ve a dear friend who loves Bratislava but she went in the summer – quite a different experience. Still, never been to Slovakia. We suspect that it was closed-up and quiet since the Christmas Market had closed. It felt a bit depressed, which added to the somber day. It was a day trip, so we were there maybe four hours with an hour there and back on the train. Left Vienna around 10, got back around 4. And the next day was Christmas eve.
We were to have Christmas eve dinner and Christmas day dinner in the hotel but after viewing the dining areas where they would be held, we decided to cancel our reservations, trying our luck elsewhere.
Getting out the next day, we enjoyed a delightful change in weather – it got up over 50 and was very pleasant. We walked around the city, through a few parks, paused at an Australian pub for a pint. We saw a sweatshirt that said “There are NO Kangaroos in Austria”. I asked the bartender if people were so ignorant that they didn’t know that and sure enough there are truly people out there that are that confused.
We found a nice Italian place for dinner with great service. In the evening, back at the hotel, we watched a fun movie and before we turned in, I gave G a little fun child’s toy that I’d found. It was a small flashlight with three rotating disks that you can slot in and shine images on the wall or ceiling. We turned off all of the lights and looked at several space related images – rockets, planets, astronauts. It was a hoot for a 5 € investment. I believe I’ve already owned up to the fact that we are easily amused. Anyway, it was a nice day all the way around.
Christmas morning we stayed in our pjs until noon. Up and out, it was another beautiful 50 degree day. Walking everywhere, we saw people were sitting all along the way because it was such nice weather. When dinner arrived, we tried a steak place which was a bit of a disappointment. The lighting was terribly bright on our particular table, the steak, although cooked perfectly, had no real flavor. More walking and before turning in, we went up to the lounge for a glass of wine to toast to a quiet, relaxing day.
Overall we had a very nice trip but we realized we missed being in our own place for the holiday. As exciting as it sounded “Vienna for Christmas”, it was not a holiday I would choose to be traveling during again. Just missed all the home feel, despite how nice a time we had.
We also tried a new idea that utterly failed for both of us for the same reason. Our idea was to buy our own presents and wrap them for the other to open to see what we picked for ourselves. But as we got down to the day, we both admitted that we hadn’t gotten anything. The pleasure of gift giving wasn’t there and everything we saw for ourselves we would each think, ‘well, I don’t need that’. It was an interesting idea on both the travel and the gift exchange but neither lived up to a desire to repeat it. Glad we tried it – we still had fun. The take away was that the best part of Christmas was enjoying each other’s company and home was the place to do that best. Yep, officially geezers now.
It was time to go home. We got up at 6am for the 7:20 train to Zurich. In the next eight hours we were treated to breakfast and lunch at our seats and also to the most stunning landscapes as we traveled through Marchtrenk in upper Austria, passing through the dramatic Austrian mountain peaks before reaching Tyrol and finally Zurich. We tried time and again to get good pictures, without success. It was an incredible treat to see and beyond our capabilities to capture this breathtaking experience for you.
About an hour from Zurich, the train’s last 6 coaches were dropped off at one of the stops, which we’d never had occur on the trips we’ve taken. The plan was that after we arrived at 3:30pm, we would check into our hotel and spend the late afternoon walking the downtown area. Zurich is a beautiful city. When we arrived however, it was raining – not just raining but monsoon type rain. It was raining so hard we shamelessly took a cab from the station to the hotel, which was only a four minute walk – and thankful we did.
After check in and relaxing in their lounge, we did a takeout from the lounge kitchen to our room for dinner, as room service was not available according to the literature in the room. We watched a movie on Netflix while we ate – it was all very good. But it really rained all night. So much for our plans.
The last leg of the trip, with a change in Paris, got us to Lille around 5:00. I’d left a big container of chicken soup in the freezer, which is my go to ‘welcome home’ comfort food and it truly fit the weather. However, so much for plans, G was wanting some take out, which he picked up on the way home. I went ahead to open up the apt, turn on the lights and start laundry from our suitcase. When he arrived we settled down to relax. He confessed that he thought he might have caught a bug, which we both really work hard not to do. I wear a mask constantly and we carry antiseptic wipes which we use on every hard surface of our train places. Hand sanitizer in my coat pocket at all times, which I use exiting a shop, a metro and after any handrail. One really can’t do more, unless you want to forego travel or wear a hazmat suit. G admits to not being as diligent regarding mask wearing.
By morning it was clear that he caught something for sure. His head was stuffed, he was coughing and sneezing. He had a bit of the chills and then a running a bit hot – so as it turned out, it was a flu. I made sure he was ensconced on the couch with water, chicken broth, tissues and, of course, his trusty iPad. And I began washing my hands constantly.
While G was flat on his back all day and miserable. I went shopping. I got some basic items but it was mostly fresh vegetables on my list. I was surprised to find a last whole turkey at the market because they only had them at Christmas and I was sure they’d all be gone by our return. So of course, I threw that in, thinking what a great aroma it would give the apartment. At home, I cooked short ribs and roasted veggies for that night. Took good care of G. Went to bed feeling satisfied and productive.
The next day, the 29th, I awoke to find I had caught G’s flu. I opened my eyes slightly and felt I’d been killed in my sleep, but they hadn’t quite finished me off. I croaked mono-tonal responses to G which pretty much translated to leave me the hell alone. Don’t think I got out of bed until late afternoon, laid down on couch, went back to bed. Chills, fever – got up to 103.7 That was it – no eating, just drinking water. He was feeling incrementally better – still coughing hard with a splitting headache – so he took it pretty well whenever I insulted him. I was back where I was the month of November; coughing up organ donations, splitting headache, body aches, cold, hot and crankier than Scrooge.
Friday, second day I could stand a bit, ate a bowl of yogurt with blueberries thanks to G. He also tried to get me to eat some dinner, but that was a no go. Drank a lot of water, spoke barely above a whisper. Had used up all the tissue boxes in the apartment at this point and pulled out a big bag we had of travel tissue packets. G was more mobile and his discomfort was less of the flu and more of an autoimmune allergy response he infrequently gets. His right eye was swollen shut, as were his lips and he was still coughing. We sounded like a pair of mating moose. OK, admittedly, I really don’t know what that sounds like, but if I had to make a guess – that sound would be it.
And that, as Paul Harvey used to say, is the rest of the story. And the reason why this month has posted so late. It is now 12 days after our return and we are both in sad shape.
Oh – and that marvelous turkey? Well, in a heroic stand of solidarity, one day at noon, we washed, patted it dry. Together we slathered it with duck fat and salt and peppered it and threw it in. It’s what we’ve been subsisting on since the chicken soup from the freezer, is long gone.
G had to include this last picture of someone trying to open some really BIG doors in Vienna, although if you look to the left, you’ll see that they also have a normal size door.
As we are posting December and we are already half way through the month of January, we started a conversation of what this blog looks like when we aren’t traveling for periods of time. Continuing a monthly commentary on things like putting away the holiday decorations, doing the laundry, grocery shopping and such, would bore the heck out of us – we can imagine what it would do for you.
So, we are going to scale back what we post to fit the times we do travel. We don’t expect any large trips this year since we will be concentrating on our language classes but we do plan to take the regional trains to towns on quick day trips. Those jaunts we can share easily and you can come along for the rides.
Happy New Year everyone ! We have high hopes for the New Year. Our first wish? Good health, thanks for asking. 😀
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