Christmas Markets 2008 - Bruges, Belgium

Oh how I love Europe's Christmas markets!!! I visited two Christmas markets last year in Frankfurt, Germany and Cologne, Germany. It was my first exposure to the Christmas market scene I had heard so much about.

For those unfamiliar with European Christmas markets, here is a little background:

Christmas in Europe is a time for elaborate pastries straight out of a medieval cookbook, for lyrical midnight masses in Gothic churches, and for the upholding of quirky local traditions—in many countries, Christmas just isn’t complete without mischievous pixies, kindly witches (Rome), treacherous demons (Salzburg), or an 8,000-pound fruitcake (Dresden). However else Europeans celebrate the Yuletide season, Christmas still centers around an Advent market that, in most cases, has filled the square before the cathedral each December for hundreds upon hundreds of years. Many markets start on the Friday before Advent, which is four Sundays before Christmas Eve; most end on December 24, especially in Germanic countries, where Christmas Eve is set aside for trimming the tree at home. Others keep celebrating until Epiphany on January 6.

These markets are where the romance of the holiday comes alive in grand tradition—smells of gingerbread and roasting sausages waft through the cold air, handmade ornaments adorn ancient fir trees, master glassblowers and other artisans ply their crafts in wooden stalls, shoppers bustle past Gothic church facades and half-timbered houses, pausing to sip their glühwein, heavily spiced and mulled "glow wine"—the piping-hot beverage of choice at any self-respecting Christmas market.

Entertainment, usually around 5 p.m., can include choral serenades or trombone recitals from a balcony overlooking the scene. Food and drink take account of the fact that these markets, contrary to all logic, are held outdoors in the middle of winter. It leans to roasted chestnuts, hot sausages and hot spiced wine. Bock beer is another specialty of the winter season.

This year, we decided to visit other markets besides the ones in Germany. I heard Germany has the best Christmas markets, but I wanted to draw my own opinion. And what is my opinion, you may ask?? Well, I agree, Germany has the BEST Christmas markets!

So, the first stop on our 2008 Tour of Christmas Markets was Bruges, Belgium. I absolutely love the little quaint town of Bruges. However, this was not a good market. It could have something to do with the fact that we took the dogs (first mistake), it started pouring down rain (so I carried Maxie to keep her from getting soaked and stepped on), and the shopping just plain stunk. I told Pam this day had to go down in history as a day the two of us went shopping and bought absolutely nothing. Not. One. Single. Item.

Anyway, I did snap a few shots...just for a little photo proof that we were there. The sun came out for about 10 minutes so we took these photos and left!
Maxie and I...
Pam and Zsa Zsa...
They did have a really cute ice-skating rink.
Zsa Zsa wishing she could slide around on the ice!
We were outta there!

By the way, Day 2 of our 2008 Tour of Christmas Markets was much better.

Dream Vacation

If you are an avid reader of this blog, you know how much I realize just how blessed I am to have this incredible opportunity of living in Europe. I have traveled far and wide to places I never thought I would ever step foot in! This has really been an amazing ride.

However, my time of living in Europe is coming to an end...only 3 months left!

I am curious so I have a few questions for you...

What trips have you enjoyed most that I have written about?
If money and time were not an issue, where would you travel to?
Describe your dream vacation?
Where have you been that was just amazing? Tell me about it!

I look forward to hearing what all you have to share!

Celebrating Thanksgiving in Brussels

I celebrated Thanksgiving in Brussels this year! My friend, Regina, who lives in Milan, Italy was in town for work. She organized a group of Americans and non-Americans to join the American Club of Brussels for a traditional Thanksgiving Dinner. It was held at a hotel in downtown Brussels and about 150 people were there including the US Ambassador to Belgium. It was such a treat to be with a lot of Americans on this day when I was away from my family.

It was really fun to share this American holiday with non-Americans who were so interested in the traditions of this day. We had people from Germany; France; England; Belgium; and Dubai, UAE as well as a couple of Americans. Here was our table: This is my friend, Regina, who is originally from Memphis, but has lived in Italy for over 20 years! Even though this was a 'traditional' Thanksgiving dinner, the traditions were still different from what I have in my own family, as well as what Regina had growing up! For instance, the first course for this dinner was New England Clam Chowder. Now, in the south, we skip the starter or appetizer and head straight for the main course!! However, another American lady at our table always started with some type of soup.
Each table was given their own turkey to carve. Here is JR from Dubai taking a stab at our bird! I shared with this group how my dad cooks our turkey for the holidays....by frying it! (By the way, if you have never had a fried turkey, you are so missing out!)
The table was set so nicely. Again, in my family, we are not so formal!
The side dishes were served family style, which I thought was a neat touch. We had sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green beans, corn pudding, beets (seriously, who has beets at Thanksgiving?!), stuffing, and get this.....cranberry JELL-O. Yes, I said JELL-O! See, you cannot get cranberries in Belgium to make traditional cranberry sauce, nor the canned stuff either...so they did the next best thing and made Jell-O!

This is where the conversation got interesting. Regina and I are from the south and we have cornbread dressing instead of stuffing for our holidays. We had another American who only had stuffing growing up and had never heard of cornbread dressing. When my family was in Brussels over the summer, I was craving mom's cornbread dressing....so she made me some! For those who have never heard of it...here is a picture! YUM!
This is a little sample of our dinner.
My plate....YUM! I did try the stuffing, and quite honestly, it was the nasty! I mean, really GROSS! Do you see the Jell-O?!
Then on to dessert. These pies were not traditional, in my opinion and they were just ok!
This is a piece of pumpkin and apple.
I am used to this....Mom's chocolate pie!
It was so fun to share this tradition with non-Americans who have always heard of Thanksgiving, but had not actually shared in one with Americans! We all left stuffed and ready for a nap....sounds pretty traditional to me, uh?!

What are your holiday traditions?

Mediterranean Cruise - Part 7 (Venice, Italy -- Again)

After departing the cruise ship, we discovered we were really exhausted and did not want to do much (we both have been to Venice before). We could not get an earlier flight back to Brussels, so we were stuck in Venice for the night! What a terrible situation to be in, right??!! I know, it sounds so cliche'. Forgive me, please!

The hotel told us that St. Mark's Square was flooded! Now, I have always heard Venice is sinking and that the high tides cause St. Mark's Square to flood, but I have never seen it for myself. So, as exhausted as we were, we had to get out, fight the crowds, and see this for ourselves.

We were staying across the canal from St. Mark's Square. This is a picture from the front of our hotel looking across to St. Mark's. As you can see, the water was about to start flooding this side of the island too! We got over to St. Mark's and this is what we found...definitely flooded. You could buy yourself some faux rain boots for 1 euro!
Or choose to walk on risers!
It was so interesting to see St. Mark's Square flooded. St. Mark's is one of my favorite cathedrals in Europe...and it was flooded. Yikes!St. Mark's in the background!

This was definitely a site to see and I am glad we fought the crowds to see it.

That concludes my Mediterranean Cruise postings! I hope you have all enjoyed this little adventure of mine and if you ever have the opportunity to go on a Mediterranean cruise, do it! You will never regret it!

Mediterranean Cruise - Part 6 (Corfu, Greece)

I am back to finish up the cruise postings! I cannot believe it has been over a month since we left on the cruise! I spent 3 weeks in Germany once I got back, so things were a little busy on this side of the pond!

Corfu, Greece was an unexpected treat for me. I had never heard of Corfu prior to planning this trip and did not do any research on what there was to see there, so everything was a surprise. The name Corfu is an Italian word, meaning city of the peaks. I believe this is a little secret place in Greece that not too many people know about and thus it is not flocked with tourists, like the more popular Greek islands. I could definitely see coming back here for a secluded and relaxed beach vacation!

To be honest, the pictures do not capture the beauty of the cliffs and water on the island. We took a bus tour and the weather was not cooperating so most of the pictures were taken from inside the bus.

This was a little stop we made where we could get off the bus and see the water! It was gorgeous! We even tip-toed in, but it was freezing!
Pam and I tip-toeing! We were laughing so hard (can you tell?!)!

The views were unbelievable from the top!

Still laughing!

This tree is supposed to be over 2000 years old! Wow!

Pontikonisi and Vlaheraina monastery viewed from the hilltops of Kanoni.

Rosa left us a little monkey on this night! This was my favorite little creature!
The following day was our last day on the ship and we were at sea all day (with no stopping at any ports). It was also Halloween!

Remember all of the little creatures Rosa left for us each night? Well, I went to the towel folding seminar to see how these were made! It was so neat and a little more complex than the napkins!! Below you will see a turtle, elephant, swan, dog, frog, and lobster!!
After dinner, we went to the finale show. We got there early to make sure we got a good seat. I was sitting on the aisle and Pam and I were chatting when this (pictured below) came up and about scared me out of my seat. He was squatting down beside me and when I turned my head, I let out a scream that I am not proud of! Everyone in the theater was watching this unfold as they were behind us. Obviously, Pam and I had no idea what was about to happen! Everyone started laughing...as did I (after I caught my breath and made sure I did not pee on myself!)! So, of course, I had to get my picture made with my new friend!
The show was fantastic! This was the preview performance...really cool!
Then, there was this guy! Talk about some talent! Yes, he is balancing himself upside down on a wine bottle!
And on a brick...
This was our final little surprise from Rosa!
The following morning, Saturday, around 8:30AM, we departed the ship for the final time. Pam and I walked off the ship laughing about what an incredible trip and opportunity it was to go on this cruise. We made lots of unforgettable memories that we will have with us forever! I will honestly say, this was the best trip I have been on since my European Adventures began almost 2 years ago! I am so thankful and blessed to be able to live our these dreams!

Up next...our final night in Venice.

Daddy's Snow Ice Cream!

There is a tradition in my family---when it snows we make Daddy's Snow Ice Cream!

Have you heard of it before?

I thought everyone knew about snow ice cream, but apparently not! Last Sunday, I was invited over to Dan and Pam's to celebrate Maxie's birthday and it started snowing like crazy! We were so excited since we do not get much snow here in Brussels and it was really fun to watch (and play in too!).

We had dinner and started talking about how much fun the snow is. Then, I told them about what my Daddy and I do when it snows and they about fell off the couch laughing! They thought I was kidding about actually eating snow! I said, "Nope, it has not killed me in 34 years!".

That was it, I had to make them their very first batch of snow ice cream!

This is the first, and most important, ingredient----snow!
Gather up a bowl full of 'clean' snow. This can be challenging, but if you are creative, you can figure it out! I was excited because this was very fluffy snow versus the snow we get in Memphis which is sometimes very icy! (I was a little bit excited!!)
You also need milk, sugar, and vanilla (not pictured).
Start with some snow in a bowl and gradually add milk. Stir until it is all mixed together. Kinda slushy, but not too watery.
Then add sugar to taste.
Then add vanilla. We did not have vanilla extract, so we added vanilla bean (YUM)!And, there you have it----Daddy's Snow Ice Cream!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am so thankful for such a blessed life filled with wonderful family and friends! I pray everyone has a wonderful day!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Happy Birthday, Maxie!

Today, Maxie turned 3 years old! And, because I am crazy about my little pup, it is "All About Maxie" today!

One of Maxie's favorite activities is going on a walk. She even knows the word "walk" and you better be to ready to go if you mention that word and she hears you. Otherwise, she will drive you crazy until you give in and take that walk!! Since it was freezing and snowing outside, a walk was not in the plan. However, we did do her 2nd favorite thing...play with her favorite toy!!
Dan and Pam invited us over for dinner to celebrate the big day (ok, not really, just an excuse to have Dan cook for us!). Anyway, like I said before, the weather was terrible (freezing outside and snowing). I was parked around the block, so I bundled Maxie up in her coat (she HATES it, by the way) because otherwise she would have gotten all wet.

See, I told you she hated it! But, she loved it while we were walking because it kept her warm and dry!
We made it to Dan and Pam's and started the little party (which, in all honesty, meant we put these party hats on the dogs, took 2 pictures and we were done! You can see why...they hated the party hats too!
Excuse the dirty faces...they get groomed next week!! :-)

Overall, it was a good 3rd birthday for my little Maxie! It started snowing hard enough that we made snow ice cream (that is another posting by itself) and so Maxie had a tiny little bit on her big day!

Happy Birthday, Maxie!

'Tis the Season!

We interrupt this blog for a little holiday cheer!

It is that time of year again! I kept debating on decorating this weekend, but when I looked outside this afternoon and it was snowing, well, that was my answer! I pulled out the Christmas decorations and didn't stop until all 3 trees were finished!

Yes, I said 3 trees. Although I could totally have 3 regular size trees in my house, I only have 3 small trees that I decorate and put on my dining room table here in Brussels. I also put out my original nutcrackers I got in Germany last year! Decorating really got me into the holiday spirit!
Have you put your Christmas tree up yet?