We rang in the holidays with a Thanksgiving feast courtesy of our American friends in Bergerac; complete with turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie.  It was a gathering of American, British and French and proved to be a delightful afternoon immersed in the taste of nostalgia.

Though we had expected to stay put post-Africa, as it turned out, friends and family from the UK decided to take a trip to Bruges, Belgium to visit the famous Christmas Market.  We decided to make the two day trip to catch up and enjoy some libation with a commitment we would be staying pretty much put in France for 2025…hopefully.

We stayed at one of our favorite, classic hotels on the way; all done up in a festive manner with the impossibly high ceilings and the ambiance of a classic chateau; this helped us get into the Christmas spirit.  And thankfully, unlike last year, the weather wasn’t a contrast deluge of precipitation.

The next day we met up with the folks in Coquille near Calais for a nice meal. We then ventured the next morning into Belgium. Unfortunately, it was rather cold and windy which put a bit of damper (excuse the pun) on our visit, but found Bruges to be rather charming all the same.  And we managed some lovely Belgian Waffles (with the best chantilly cream!) and some chocolates (I mean we are in Belgium!).  

Bruges is a place worthy of exploring outside of the holiday season and we hope to get back up there someday to meander the lovely streets, shops, restaurants and canals.  So much to see!!!

What goes up must come down and when Paris just happens to be on the way home…well it makes sense to do a “drive by” because one never tires of the City of Light.  

We stayed south of Paris (who wants to park in Paris😁) at the Holiday Inn Paris Velizy not far from Versailles and caught the T6 tram line (walking distance from the Holiday Inn) to the RER C train which was actually pretty seamless; we disembarked at Invalides and voila – you exit the underground next to the Seine and into Parisian glory that warms you on even the coldest and grayest of days.  

The Christmas Market is located in the Tuileries next to the Place de Concorde which is about a mile away.  It  was nice (seems most fitting for those with children), but there are so many distractions in Paris that you can easily get sidetracked for vast periods of time.  

We arrived right after the opening of her majesty Notre Dame, but weren’t able to get tickets.  I guess we’ll have to go back (ha!); it was lovely seeing the spires from the river though.  

We then made our way up the Champs de Elysee to do some shopping (mostly window really), and happened upon a lovely cafe attached to L’Occitane (yep, the same one you are thinking of).  Here we indulged in a Parisian high art dessert…this is what has always impressed me about France – especially Paris; it’s as if they have to compete with those in the culinary theater to exceed all expectations.  So there!

After traversing a good 8 miles of eye candy, window shopping and taking in the festive sights of the Parisian streets all dressed up for the holidays – under the watchful eye of La Tour Effiel, we headed across the always astounding Pont Alexander III to the metro. 

We vowed to come back in the spring for several days – you just can’t do Paris justice on a drive by and we need more gawking time.  This despite this being our fifth time in the City of Light!!!

On our way back we realized our ignorance of how certain Paris Metro zones work; what we didn’t know was that the central Paris “metro” zones (1 and 2) don’t work on the outer zones (like the airport and Disneyland and well…also Versailles) so we found ourselves in a bit of a pickle at the final turnstile at the Viroflay Left Bank RER C line…so…Bob had to “jump the fence” to get a ticket so I could get out😬 We will be purchasing “point to point” tickets under these circumstances from now on.  

No matter where we have wound up in the world – we get where we need to go eventually.  

Next, we headed to Bordeaux, thankfully blessed with dry and partly sunny weather for which we were grateful.  

We found the Bordeaux Christmas market very appealing and close to the CCF/HSBC office where we closed down our account after two years of poor service and having to go to the branch in Bordeaux to take care of business (I could rant forever on this one).  It turned out to be a pretty seamless operation considering the complications we were subjected to, and they seemed glad to write off the Americans and their burdensome FACTA paperwork.  

I decided to partake in some fabulous (Vin Chaud) mulled wine (Bob can’t do oaked wine) that is not only mulled, but then placed on oak for an extra kick.  Leave it to the French!!  The weather was clear, and as night fell and the market lit up, we felt like we were in a fantasyland of sorts.  It wasn’t too busy as it was an off day and we walked along munching on roasted chestnuts and listening to traditional carols – that, by the way – are mostly of American origin.  

On our way out we stopped by the Bassins Lumieres – an astounding video exhibit (if you’ve been to the Van Gogh exhibit it’s a similar theme).  This exhibit is presented in the old WW II submarine base and the show is reflected from the water in the holding pens.  We saw many of the Dutch masters and then contemporary art set to music – it was an incredible experience.

I’ve included a reel of the Christmas Markets here for a short visual of our voyage. 

We’ve done a lot (again) this year that included the barge trip in Wales. And of course Africa which was a dream adventure that took a year of preparation.  

In light of the last three years of intense transition, we have vowed to take it easier in 2025 – like a gap year – and complete our pool project (fortunately the major work is finally completed after 1.5 years) and some of our more simple projects including do-it-yourself landscaping.  And some local travel to the coastal regions with the idea we will primarily stay “in-country.” And I need to finish the protracted process of getting my French Driver’s License which is no small feat. 

But heck, otherwise we will take some time with friends and family lounging around the pool – an alien concept up until now.  

The human condition seems to warrant the idea of reflecting especially as the year closes out, like the pools that surround us, mirroring the effects gone by and contemplating our place in the world.  

Despite our otherwise “dreamlike” lifestyle we are not immune to the laws of entropy and have suffered much loss over the last year.  It began last December when we got the news a dear friend in California passed suddenly from complications to surgery – the shock reverberated through the household for months as he was expected to join us for the Tour de France and was like a brother to Bob. Then Bob lost three aunts in the span of a few months and then the lovely Yvonne (Bob’s sister-in-law) lost her interminable battle with cancer the night before we left for Africa.  We turned around within a few days after returning and flew to the UK for her funeral.  

Then…soon after I received news that my Aunty Alice passed away quietly in the night at 99 years old.  This loss closed a final chapter in the Eugene, Oregon legacy that brought such fond memories, and made me feel like a child again. 

Finally, while all this was going on, my brother was diagnosed with dementia; this heartbreaking news from the States will warrant a trip back – the only time we will probably venture out of France in 2025. 

We mourn their passing and are grateful for the time we have spent in their presence.  

Auld Lang Syne will have a new meaning for us this year as we stare into the reflecting pool of life and continue to cultivate gratitude for the time we have left on this earth, and pray for better times for those who are less fortunate than us.