This afternoon I am catching the train to Paris then flying out to Dubai. I am still in my PJs, but I must quickly jot down some stuff about Christmas. It was just great. No problems with the train to Paris Montparnasse, bus to Gare de Lyon, then train to Grenoble where Ruth, Jennifer and Andrew were waiting for me. It was so good to see them. The McCarthys live in St Egreve which is sort of like an outer suburb I guess. We didn't try and do touristy stuff while I was there - that wasn't the idea. It was about having a family christmas and it was so good doing just that. Jennifer and Andrew's son Aidan had his 5th birthday on Christmas Eve so that added a bit of extra excitement. Over the 4 days I was there we did walks, went to a very large supermarket, got the bus into town and strolled round a bit, went to Ikea, and generally sat around the table talking. Nice. Grenoble reminded me of Queenstown. It has quite a dramatic landscape with rugged, rocky hills and mountains encircling the whole city. There was no lake, but there was a river!
We were going to go up in the gondola, but the queue was snaking outside the building, down the steps and then some, so we left that for another time! :-) Despite the cold we didn't have a white Christmas, although the snow came down quite low, so it was a close thing. My contribution to Christmas Dinner was to have another go at a pavlova. Jennifer had some stuff you put in the cream to make it whip. So.... Actually, the pavlova itself was rather nice, despite it being cooked in a gas oven - I'm a bit inexperienced there! But the cream still didn't whip!! When I plopped it on to the pavlova it blobbed and slurpled over the pav and on to the plate. With the berries it was agreed that it looked a little bit like a Pizza! Never mind. It was very edible.
So that was Christmas. I really had a good time. I have repacked my little suitcase and this afternoon I will once again get the bus to the station and sally forth.
Have a great new year's eve and all the best for 2009.
3 comments:
Lou Maguire says
Hi Alison, great Christmas letter and exciting times for you. Nice to hear the family news from you so thought I'd catch you up on ours in case no one else has. Rose had baby boy number 3 on Dec 15th called Joe. Have just been up to Chch for Christmas with Mum and Dad, Cint,Chris and Rose and families. As you probably know Jo is travelling with her family and is in Paris I believe for New Year, lucky girl. And lastly Clare, she is awaiting baby three. Likely to be induced on January 9th so not long to wait.
We are back in Dunedin and it is roasting hot in typical Dunedin fashion! We are going camping for New Year and then off to Cromwell for our boating holiday ritual. Can't wait. Lots of Love and take care as you go. Lou x
Great to hear from you Lou and thanks for the news. I'm in Al Ain right now, and it feels just like a New Zealand summer. Swam in the sea in Dubai yesterday! I really needed a break from my second winter in a row and this will 'restoreth my soul' I'm sure! Enjoy the rest of your holiday break. Love Alison. xxx
mmm while you were eating pav i was tucking into more hot christmas pud with custard :D.
its great you got to have a family style christmas. the kids and i did an AK triangle - weymouth to howick to mt albert and back - to see as many people as we could and still come home to our own beds. santa managed to afford a second-hand PS2 which comes in mighty handy in the middle of the day when its far too hot to be outside.
enjoy the swimming in dubai! Love to you from us three.
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