Gifts From Home

We love getting packages.  I have a daily routine of walking to the post office at lunch to check our mail.  I love seeing the little white slip in our box telling me we have a package.  We especially loved receiving our packages at Christmas.  Since we were away for Christmas and had some bad weather, we didn't receive our Christmas packages until New Years Eve.  But, opening our Christmas gifts from home ended up being a great way to start our New Year's Eve celebration. 

We got lots of stuff that we needed like cozy sweaters, gloves, warm running gear.  They also sent super helpful things like travel guides, which we can't wait to put to use!

This card made me smile!

Christmas in Paris

We arrived in Paris on Christmas day.  Rather than transferring to another train to take us directly to the hotel, we decided to walk.  This longer than expected walk took us through the gardens surrounding the Louvre, through Concord Square and the Christmas Market on the Champs Elysées, which was just opening in time for us to get a crepe salee. It was a cold day but it was Christmas in Paris!  It was a dream come true.  Our hotel was a quintessential Paris hotel; The Hotel Napoleon.  The tiny, charming room seemed like the perfect place to spend Christmas.    

 What a perfect way to spend Christmas.  We explored the streets of Paris.  We have both been to Paris before.  Ryan while on a high school trip and me for work.  Paris is a very different city when you are there with someone you love.  We walked through two Christmas markets, watched the ice skaters at a tiny rink near the Eiffel Tower and sipped coffee in a cafe.  Later, we had a romantic dinner at a beautiful restaurant. 

  The next day, we continued to explore the city.  We took the subway to Montmartre and walked about a million steps to get to the Basilica and then up to the bell tower.  The view was well worth the walk. 

We left the Basilica just as the sun was setting.  We couldn't have planned it more perfectly.  The sky was the most stunning amber.  We stopped and watch sunset then walked the tiny streets of Montmartre in search if dinner.  After dinner, we walked to the Christmas market for crepes with nutella and banana.

On our last day we went to the Louvre and I finally got to ice skate in Paris!  Doesn't every little girl dream of spending Christmas in Paris with the love of her life? Well, I did.  Thank you Ryan for making another dream come true.

Christmas in Wiesbaden

Our first Christmas in Wiesbaden was beautiful.  We didn't actually stay for Christmas Day but with the Christmas Market just a few steps outside our front door, it felt like Christmas for the whole month of December.

We walked down to the market several days after work to look around and have some gluwien (hot, mulled wine- YUM!), which always seemed to hit the spot.  Or, we would go after dinner for dessert or just a frigid evening walk to look at the lights.

Living in the city in the winter was fantastic for us.  We both wanted to live in the city but I don't think either of us realized that it meant we could walk just two minutes to a party every evening.  There were lights at every turn.  Every store and restaurant was decorated or over-decorated.  When it snowed, which was often, it was like a winter wonderland.  It was the perfect place for us to spend our first winter in Germany.

We didn't have a Christmas tree since we were not planning to be home for Christmas so we claimed the city tree as our own...

Thanksgiving Day 2009

We were still living in the Mainz Hilton on Thanksgiving Day.  The Mainz Christmas market had just opened.  With an invite to a have an American Turkey Day dinner with friends, we decided to spend the morning in the Markt Platz at the Christmas Market.  This was our first Christmas market experince.

There were stalls selling Christmas decorations, wine, honig (honey) in very yummy sounding flavors, various handmade Christmas gifts, gluwein and lots and lots of very unhealthy German treats.

We thought we would have a little snack to tide us over until dinner.   Crepes with banana and nutella and gluwein were just perfect!

We had a delicious introduction to the German Christmas Markets.

We found a wine stall with pretty baskets to pick something up for our Thanksgiving dinner hosts.  This was a very different Thanksgiving for both of us and we loved every minute of it!