London calling Again! Not that I'm complaining😉

Danny has this extra week of Christmas break and Jer has meetings in the U.K. -- I call that kismet!
We popped over on the Chunnel this morning, and I'm sorry, but I never get over thinking "how cool is this?!"  when we drive our car, onto a train, and it drives us under the English Channel! After a quick rest stop to grab the loo, some £'s and some coffee we hit the wrong side of the roadway and were off!

Hampton court palace is our first stop. The apartments of Henry VIII are closed for two weeks--downside=they are closed...upside=tickets are half price! And believe me, there is more than enough to see there. And this also provides the perfect excuse to return in the spring when the 700 fruit trees and million bulbs,etc are blooming. A chilly Wednesday the week after Christmas must be the slowest time of year here, we had much of the palace to ourselves, especially at the start of the morning. We began in Henry's kitchens. Mainstay of the diet was meat, which jerry and Danny loved hearing about! They had six enormous fireplaces with multiple spits on them in the roasting room. They are so much meat they got scurvy from lack of fruit and veg! Fun fact we learned; they didn't eat any meat at all during the 40 days of lent and on the other holy days and Fridays of the year, and this was a problem. So they classified geese as fish, because they lived on the water and they classified beaver as fish, because "well, they acted like fish" HILARIOUS! We loved the chapel, with its original ceiling from the 1500's, and charming older docent who wanted to tell us special facts! We also went through the life of young Henry, the Georgian apartments, the various courtyards and the cafe. Nothing says "You Are In England" like Steak pie and mushy peas! We finished up with the maze, a delight with only a couple of other people running through. Settled in to our homestay in Shepards Bush and watched Great Railway Journeys on BBCOne. Life.Is.Good!

Christmas and The New Year(just found this didn't publish last year!)

We had a lovely first Christmas in Belgium. We celebrated on Christmas Eve with a big pork dinner with lots of trimmings and then went to mass at 16:30. Danny did the readings, our family led the singing and I was a Eucharistic Minister.  What a blessing to get to be so involved in the mass! Afterward we came home and had a delicious dessert and opened a gift....what a surprise...new pajamas for all!

Christmas morning was a lovely family time with coffee, overnight baked French toast and melon, lots of gifts and laughter (the bad German!). In the afternoon I invited some friends that were also in Waterloo for the holiday to stop by for a drink and some gingerbread cake. Of course I went a bit overboard and had loads of cookies, oatmeal cranberry bars, chocolates, cheeses and sausages from the Christmas market, dips and pates, you name it--our table was groaning! The Foster came by first and were with us for an hour, allowing us a chance to get to know their older son Mike who is a college senior in the U.S., in Iowa. Then the doorbell started ringing and we had French and American friends filling the house! You know me, this is just what I love, and I was so happy to share our Christmas joy with others. On the 26th we ran and hung out, cooked a bit, played UNO, all the happy day after Christmas things. The 27th, Bright and Early, we were all at Zaventum airport to pick up Samantha Stewart. The funny thing is that that exact time, exactly one year ago to the day, our family landed in Belgium. As we watched people coming through the customs doorway we imagined how we must have looked 

Vacation to Mallorca es Muy Bueno!

Aww yeah! The tasty coffee at Lavaaza in the Palma airport! That moment when you are checked out of apartment, security deposit returned in cash, taxied to the airport, checked in to flight, all bags taken free of charge, and through security in no time--and you can relax and reflect on a great vacation! Even sprung for Winter lattes for the kids--with nutmeg and orange and plenty of whipped cream!

This was a great trip!

Aww

We loved Mallorca, it's warm climate and easy pace were just what we needed after finals week.

There were things to do, but not ok much! Again, just what we needed. We even enjoyed watching Peter Pan in Spanish on TV one night! I will share some more photos, including the awesome sea kayak we got to use on our last day!

I 💗 Palma Aquarium!

Molly decided that she wanted to visit the aquarium and everyone else decided that sounded good too! A bit of a long bus ride, but the transportation is great, we wait no more than 30seconds for the #3 bus whenever we are taking it! The trip doesn't disappoint. This is the off season in Mallorca, so although the hours are shortened, there is no one here, so we can really enjoy the exhibits. When we attend the talks, we are one of four families and have lots of time for questions! We see the Sharks fed, the stingrays, Darwin, the rescued turtle that is being rehabbed for release and finish by feeding the koi fish. Have you ever done this? It is pretty cool, the koi have no teeth, so they just hoover the food pellets out of your hand...the sucking sound is really audible. All of the exhibits are very well presented. There is a touch screen at each tank and you can choose which language to read in, Spanish, German, English and more. So we were able to learn a lot. I made Dagwood sandwiches on fresh baguette and we had a picnic midway through. We caught the 3 back to the centre, Placa Espana, and bought a freshly made bag of hot churro a from our favourite stand. Oh my goodness, they are tasty! Back at our flat we relax with some Spanish beer and coffee, before dividing up. Charlotte and I stay home and relax and eat, while the other three head to a Brazilian steak house. What a feast! Empanadas, ribs, potatoes, pizza, flank steak, sausages, and bread with dipping. The best--reports the crew!

Beach and pool on 20 December!!

Life is good on the Mallorican Coast! A leisurely breakfast on the terrace as we watch the sunrise, coffees in hand

A mass in Spanish for the fourth Sunday of Advent. We couldn't understand the ho,ily but the priest was very passionate. We stopped at the market and grabbed pastries...after all it is Sunday! Then we played and lounged at the beach and poolside all day.c

I made a chorizo sausage and pasta dish for dinner, with a big salad and baguette. And of course there was UNO!

Saturday in Palma, Old Towne

Well we walked about 8 1/2 miles today, and really got a taste of the flavour of Mallorca. The twisting streets, gorgeous Mediterranean colours on the buildings, the sunshine, the peaks of the sea as we walk....we're certainly not in Belgium anymore! 

Charlotte and jerry overlooking the harbour

Jerry and Danny find the store of their dreams!

Outside the palace walls

Our first planned stop is the Cathedral of Santa Maria of Palma is a Gothic Roman Catholic Cathedral built on the site of a pre-existing Arab mosque. It is 121 metres long, 55 metres wide and its nave is 44 metres tall. By way of comparison, the height of the central nave reaches 33m in Notre Dame de Paris, 38m in Reims, 42m in Notre-Dame d'Amiens and 48m in Saint-Pierre de Beauvais, the highest of all Gothic cathedrals.

Designed in the Catalan Gothic  style but with Northern European influences, it was begun by King James 1of Aragonin 1229 but finished only in 1601. It sits within the old city of Palma atop the former citadel of the Roman city, between the Royal palace  and the episcopal palace. It also overlooks the Parc de la Mar and the Mediteranian Sea.

The story goes that James looked like he would be beaten in the battle and pledged to our lady to build a church if he was victorious...and so he did! There is a wonderful audio tour that even the girls could manage. It was a great combination of fact and stories and art work, perfect for our group. The setting, looking out the main door to the harbour, is breathtaking. 

We also visit the Arab baths, a bit of history included below, but in actuality they were a bit underwhelming. Oh well, as jerry says, everything can't be a home run! The 10th century baths are virtually all that remain of the Arab city of Medina Mayurqa (now known as Palma)They were probably part of a nobleman's house and are similar to those found in other Islamic cities. The tepidarium has a dome in the shape of a half orange, with 25 round shafts for sun light, supported by a dozen columns.

each of the columns is different - they were probably salvaged from the ruins of various Roman buildings, an early example of recycling. Hammams were meeting-places as well as wash-houses, and the courtyard with its cactus, palm and orange trees would have made a pleasant place to cool off after a hot bath. The garden outside is very pretty, and the twisting streets to get to the baths are really neat!

We also popped in and out of four other gorgeous churches, one of which we thought was the cathedral because it was so grand! One of the nicest parts of touring was strolling in our summer clothes. It isn't as warm as Molly and I like, but is is lovely. The stores are decorated for Christmas and that adds a lot. We visited two Christmas markets, one of which specialized in the elaborate manger scenes which we see everywhere. They Re designed to look like they are built into hillsides, and families and churches must add to them year by year. The pieces are really neat.

With cathedral in the background

Beautiful door, above, and famous Rose window below

Christmas Vacation!

Yay! After a two hour delay caused by an electrical issue at Zaventum, we took off southward to Mallorca. By noon we were in the apartment, taking pictures on the terrace with the sea behind us! What a view, what a breeze! Sunshine, temp of 20c--just what we were hoping for.

We headed to the beach, and in spite of the water more closely resembling Lake Superior than the Mediterranean, brave souls Molly, Jerry and Danny went swimming. Charlotte and I sunbathed! We went to the market for food, made baguette sandwiches and ate on the terrace watching the boats go by. After lunch we went to the pool, also unheard, sadly, and again, the brave three jumped in. The natives at the poolside bar, in their puffer jackets and scarves, laughed and asked us where we were from. They would never swim in December! We took a long walk to a boat basin and saw some lovely yachts. Two minutes from our flat we stopped at a great middle-eastern place for dinner and then had cookies at home as a treat. Early bed(since we were up at 4:30am!) and then off to the Center of Palma tomorrow to visit the cathedral and see what else we can see☀️☀️