A funny thing happened on the way to Frankfurt...

Most people know I don’t enjoy flying. I should actually stop saying that, as I have flown so much in the last two years that it increasingly feels like a really long, boring bus ride: not exciting, but at least not anxiety provoking. I know things are bad when I can compare and contrast business class amenities between four different airlines, and every week when I talk through my schedule with my assistant, we always have to review my next trip.

As noted, though, most of my flights have been boring – smooth flights (have those wing tips changed turbulence or what?) with little or no delays – if anything I would say I was averaging earlier arrivals. But then that finally changed…

My flight back from my last trip to San Francisco was changed at the last minute due to a schedule rearrangement to visit my doctors at home from Thursday night to Friday night. So instead of flying British Airways via London, I had to switch to United via Frankfurt to get off the standby list and have an actual seat on the plane. So after a week of workshops and meetings, I get to the airport to find two coworkers on the same flight as me – other coworkers are sprinkled on the Swiss Air and Lufthansa flights via Zurich and Munich respectively. Unfortunately, one was having trouble as he had been rescheduled on the flight to California due to ground fog in Munich, and his switching between Lufthansa and United had created a brain freeze in the booking system – he had a reservation on our United flight, but a ticket and no seat on the Lufthansa flight. As flight time was approaching, Mark, the other coworker, and I wished him the best and left him behind so we could get in our comfy, reserved seats and head home.

I am fine with United with the exception of one plane configuration on the 777 – the seats are just Laz-Y-Boy recliners, and the movies are on a reel somewhere so you don’t get to pick to start when you want (talk about the stone ages...). So low and behold, Mark and I get on the airplane, and it is the dreaded 777 – I gag at sight of the seats, and begin the dread of the 11 hour flight… But I am not so easily disheartened – I am exhausted from the week, and pop an Ativan before takeoff to just get drowsy in time to sleep by the time we are at altitude until we are virtually there (I have actually averaged 6-8 hours of sleep, leaving enough time from breakfast just before arriving). We are also dismayed that we don’t see our coworker – doesn’t look like they sorted out his reservation mess, at least not to get on our flight…

Well, I popped the Ativan as we were taxing onto the runway, which turned out to be about 10 minutes too soon, as the pilot turned us around and apologized – mechanical difficulty and we would have to go back to the gate to fix it. So half drowsy, I am talking to Mark about what a drag this is while he is texting others on the Lufthansa flight that they are boarding and doing just fine. Assuming all will be fine, I lay down (as much as I can in the Laz-Y-Boy) and decide to start my nap as I am sure this repair will be fast.

An hour and a half (and a good nap) later, they still can’t fix the issue, and ask us all to disembark and wait in the gate lounge to see if they can fix it or change our plane. By this time it is 9 pm Friday night – Mark is still texting the others who say there are empty seats on their plane, but with the confounded rules that you have to travel with your luggage, options for us to ask to be transferred are nil – besides, this will only take a few more minutes to fix, no?

By 10 pm they finally call it – this flight is grounded for the night, and we need to go back to check-in to get vouchers for hotels and dinner. That is right – dinner, as by now we have been served no food (and the flight was supposed to depart at 7 pm…). Mark is cursing , and I am trying to accept the situation. I ask him, as we wait in line for our vouchers, if we should try and switch to the Lufthansa flight the next afternoon. Our flight is rescheduled to 1:45, about the same time, so Mark says: why bother – you would have to figure out how to get your luggage (all you get to go to your hotel is your carry-on – it is rumored to be another two hours at the airport if you want your bags), and besides, what else could go wrong…

I couldn’t believe he said it.

I told him, anything else that went wrong was now his fault…

So we get to the hotel at about 11:30 – bar closed, no food – so I drag myself (Mark is done and goes straight to bed) down the road to the Hyatt where the sports bar is still full and work my way through a cold beer and a plate of wings and just accept my exhaustion and the situation.

After a moderate night’s sleep I awake to Mark’s text – he is downtown buying clothes to wear, and will meet me at the airport. I had decided that my existing clothes will have to do, and slowly shower and get myself down to the airport.
So here we are again, deja-vu, same passengers in the same clothes (with the exception of Mark) getting on the plane to go to Frankfurt. To my delight the plane was still a 777 but a new modern configuration – coming into the 21st century with lie-flat seats and movies on demand. Maybe this situation wasn’t so bad after all??

So rumors started that this plane was the one left behind from a flight to London the night before that was grounded due to problems with the toilet. We actually had an additional 10 minute wait at the gate due to fussing with the toilets, but I was already thick into watching “Date Night” , so a delay at this point wasn’t really going to phase me – I had my lie-flat seat and movies… Mark is even in a relatively good mood sitting next to me in his new clothes, and quickly we are up in the sky and on our way to home.

About an hour into the flight I get up to use the restroom, and low and behold I go to flush the toilet, and it does not work. What a drag, I think, and get the attendant who puts an OUT OF ORDER sign on the toilet. Mark congratulates me on breaking it, and we think nothing of it until…

A half hour later the pilot comes on the intercom – I imagine this was not a message he was thrilled to deliver – to announce that the toilet sensors were broken, thinking the tank was full when it actually was empty, and that due to FAA regulations we would have to land in Chicago to change planes.

This is not possible.

This can’t be happening - AGAIN. I turn to Mark to tell him this is his fault, as he say "what could go wrong?". He tells me it is my fault, as I broke the toilet.

So now we fly another 1 ½ to Chicago, which gives people way too much time to think about options and what to do – I am convinced at this point that I might never make it home. So the attendants come on the intercom not once, but twice, to let us know that another plane is waiting for us in Chicago, and if ANYONE stops to ask about their specific situation – transfers in Frankfurt, etc. – we will not board the plane on time and the flight crew will expire, leaving us stuck in Chicago for another night. Pity the poor person not smart enough to get the message – I think the rest of us would have lynched him/her on the spot.

So upon arriving in Chicago we literally got off the plane and got on a plane at the next gate – everyone was flawless in their execution and speed – I would say it took less than 30 minutes, and no one screwed up. Humorously, the flight crew had changed (so the expiry threats were probably to get us all to behave) to the crew intended for the plane the next day to Brazil – so they were chipper and helpful with us on-the-verge-of-a nervous-breakdown passengers. Jokes went around that the next issue would land us in Iceland…

To my dismay we were back on a Laz-Y-Boy 777, but my plan now was pure sleep. As the seats switched around I lost Mark to three rows back, and the lady sitting next to me was commenting that this was the third time this had happened to her (being stuck overnight) - so then I told her that this was her fault, as an airline-trouble-magnet…

We all slept and we all arrived. Though a few more incidents caused a little heartburn (didn’t actually have boarding passes for the flight to Basel, etc.) Mark and I willed our way through to arrive in Basel late Sunday – with the only real salt in the wound was the gorgeous weather we had missed all weekend.

Better luck next time…

Coolest City in the World

So last fall, in preparation for this spring, Eric started booking a whole slew of vacations. First there was our ski week from our last post - the next up was a weekend in Berlin, of which, in his arranging glory, he had arranged with my cousin Britta to join us there. Less arranged and more by happenstance was that our trip was the same weekend as good friends here in Basel - so a full weekend of fun, guaranteed!

The whole exciting weekend started on Friday morning, where the entire 4th grade had their science fair - Karl was so proud and did a great job with his presentation - again, all our energy is going into making our two kids future scientists!

Later that afternoon we caught the EasyJet flight to Berlin with our friends here in Basel, and then enjoyed a great dinner with them and their kids (95 euros for dinner for four adults and four kids - complete with a few rounds of beer and wine - unheard of cheap compared to Switzerland!)

We stayed in this cool apartment near Checkpoint Charlie - themed with Boxing and Chess, which really was fun - from the wall murals to the inspirational quotes above all the beds. It was quite a fitting place for such a surprisingly cool city: lots of unique boutiques (be it clothes, furniture, home decor, or even funky flea markets!) - the kids loved their beds, and Bennett's quote shown here was quite fitting for such a confident boy... And I have to say, the beds, despite their thin appearance, were the best sleep Eric and I have had in years - we have to work on all that mattress company hype - thin and hard seems to be the way to go...

We met up with my cousin the next morning (she was staying at the Ritz Carlton - I am sure her bed was nice, too), and though she has done a lot of business in Berlin working for Deutsche Bank, she actually had not done a lot of sightseeing. So off we embarked to Checkpoint Charlie and one of the remaining sections of the Berlin Wall. Eric was blown away - such recent painful history, and so well documented to try and get close to feel how it must have been. What if you were 40 years old, trapped in East Berlin with kids you wanted to give all the opportunities in the world?Or could you not even go there? The kids got it some, with lots of questions of Hitler and why people let him do the things he did - hard to answer without feeling the overall fear that came from so many personal freedoms being taken away. Clear lessons that I know some feel we should just move on from - but still valuable to remember as you don't know how fast things can deteriorate...

So enough heavy stuff. Britta suggested we swing by the "Bank Branch of the Future" - a special Deutsche Bank branch in the neighborhood that tests out lots of concepts that are then later introduced (or not) in other branches. When was the last time your bank served you fruity drinks, walked you through your investments on a a touch-screen table, and let you pick the meeting room decor of your choice to ensure you had the best banking experience possible? On top of that there was a full cafe, a kid's playroom, changing shop fronts that get you to spend more time and lure you in - it was super cool (and getting the special treatment for being with Britta wasn't too shabby either).

From there we went around the corner to a Ritter Sport Chocolate "Factory" - with truly a MULTI million dollar idea for you entrepenuers in the US: for a mere 5 euros you can pick your "add-ins", and by choosing milk chocolate or dark chocolate, they whip up your own personal chocolate bar - after 30 minutes in the fridge, which you spend touring the mini factory and the extensive gift shop, you walk out with your own creation. The kids loved it (almost as much as I did) and I am certain this would be a super hit in the US.

The next day (after another phenomenal night's sleep)was a tour of the Pergamon Museum - a stunning display of Greek and Persian artifacts.It absolutely makes you question - why are these things here? The Greek temples were in some ways more extensive than what we saw in museums in Athens! To be clear, these were not war plunders - most of the objects came from German excavations during the era at the beginning of the of the 20th century when it seemed to be fair game to take home anything you found. You can see us here next to parts of the Ishtar gates/ walls of Babylon - the kids loved it, and if you are in Berlin, be sure to not miss this.

We then ended our trip with a stop for currywurst - a local delicacy (though not sure it was invented in Berlin) but so special they even have a special museum dedicated to it. We didn't get around to the museum on this trip, but will be sure to catch it on our next visit...

Getting the Skiing out of our System...

The last days of Winter are upon us. Oh, we have been told that we can still get snow in Basel as late as in April, but at this point it would be surprising. The weather next week is forecast for sunshine and over 50F, and all the bulbs are coming up and starting to bloom - a one way ticket to Spring.

Basel celebrated Fastnacht this week, and regretfully we were not there. The school holiday was only one week at the same time, and any vacation rentals in Switzerland only rent Saturday to Saturday, so it was a choice of staying in town all week (and doing no vacation), vs going away - so off we went. Our Swiss neighbors wanted to give us a hard time for missing Fastnacht, but they, too, were packing the car to go skiing, so they laughed that they couldn't get any more mad at us as they would to themselves... We have been enjoying all of our friend's Facebook pictures of the festivities, and I am vowing that next year we will figure out a way to split the week and get away as well as get to enjoy the celebration.

So to keep Winter going a bit longer, we went of with the Galias and their two boys for a week of skiing at Sass Fee, a resort in the Valais region of Switzerland.

Eric was in Ohio visiting his family, so we started the week without him. Day one was windy and snowy, so we took our time to get the skis to lockers near the slopes (see Aslam's ingenious idea, as we couldn't find the trolley at our rental house), and get the ski lessons and tickets for the week sorted out. And of course, there is the food - lots to eat and snack on, and lots to drink. No one was missing the snow.

But the next day we had tremendous sunshine (and I have the chapped lips to prove it). The mountains and glaciers here are gorgeous! The kids all went off in lessons, and Frauke and I managed the extremely large beginner slope, while Aslam went off to the top of the mountain on his own. Eric arrived my mid day, so then Karl and Bennett spent the afternoon with him on the mountain, while the rest of us practiced further on the bottom.

The next day was not so sunny, but respectable nonetheless. I was finally beginning to get the hang of skiing (thanks Tom for the great lessons in Austria - I think I am finally getting the natural feel for where all my body parts need to be!)so Eric took me up the hill - visibility was tough, but I was proud that though not elegant on all parts, nothing was so hard that I couldn't get down the hill. More practice on the bottom followed, but slowly I think I am getting it. Dare I say I might be enjoying myself??? Let's not take it too far...

The week, with a few days here in the middle with not so nice weather, there has been a lot of lounging and eating. The kids have been obsessed with purchasing free apps for the set of iphones / itouches we have here - for a day and a half they were all fixated on a restaurant game where they had to cook things for certain lengths of time (5 minutes for an omlete - 24 hours for chocolate fondue) and then serve them in a timely fashion. They couldn't put the things down for risk of ruining the food!

And speaking of food, without a real plan we ended up doing "Mexican theme" for most of the week: chicken chili one night, homemade salsa during the week, and fish tacos on two occasions (hey, when you have something that works for everyone, why mess with it?). Despite being in a region of a lot of cheese, we have enough chesse-dislikers in the house that we avoided it. Could it be that we are done with Swiss food? But as I said, Spring is on the way - so that means grilling in the forest, and asparagus and strawberries - maybe Swiss food isn't so bad afterall...

Death and Life

This year, so far, has been rather tough on us. Being away from family and friends does not help at times like this, but our local friends are have been a helping support. Our hope is that as spring comes, these months of bad news and difficulty will come to an end.

It started with reductions at my company announced in November, with actual people notified at the end of February. I have never had to let people go - it was really emotionally trying for me in the months finalizing decisions and then actually telling people that their job had been eliminated. I was shocked how draining it can be - perhaps too sensitive, but I can't imagine how the George Clooney's of this world can do it on a regular basis.

The week in California to let people go, I heard about the tragic death of the 16 year old son of one of my best friend's from high school. I can not explain what a punch to the gut this was - waking up in the night thinking I had dreamed it, and then realizing it was real. He and his friend went for a raft ride down a swollen California canal, not realizing the danger ahead. Amazing, bright, caring kid. I can not fathom the pain for the family - it still causes me pain just to think about it.

And then this weekend, I was awoken in the middle of the night by Eric's dad Dave telling me that Marilyn, my mother-in-law / Eric's mother had passed away. She had just been moved to a nursing home, but this was a real surprise that she declined so quickly. Her passing was peaceful, but has left us with a hole where "grandma" used to be. Eric has flown back to Ohio to be with his family, and the rest of us mourn from here.

So I really think I hit my limit. I can't handle any more bad news, tradgedy, hard issues. But this weekend, walking Karl to a birthday party, we saw the signs of spring: crocuses blooming scattered across a lawn; daffodils starting to bloom; blossoms forming on trees. The sun has been out as well, and despite being cold, all signs are pointing to the fact that winter and all this "bad" might just be starting to be over...

When Eric is Away...

Eric went to Ohio at the beginning of February to visit his family, and to help make the arrangements to get his mother into a nursing home. Not easy stuff for anyone, but life marches on, and this is what eventually comes...

So Eric did a great job leaving me, for the 9 days he was gone, a plan of who would pick up the kids after school each day, and where I had to go to get them. Huge thanks to Laura and Frauke, for without them this would not at all have been possible. However, if only it had all gone according to plan...

Day two I was in an all day meeting with people that had flown in specifically for us to work on an executive presentation. And there we are in the middle of a teleconference to discuss what we had put together, when my phone rings.

School principal.

I need to come pick up Bennett as he has gotten in trouble and he needs to go home for the rest of the day.

What?

Turns out there was a girl who had a book he wanted. Rather than ask her to borrow it (how pedestrian) he decides to get a tack and go out in the hallway and put the tack in her shoe. His thinking: when she puts the shoes on later, it will "weaken" her, and then he can get in there and get the book. Unfortunately, his plan was foiled due to the teacher catching him in the act. And the only reason he had to go home was because he showed the principal no remorse for what he had done.

Buddy: next time, show remorse. You will eventually (by the time I got to the school Bennett was a sobbing mess), and you can save us a lot of trouble by just getting it over with. Better yet - don't make bad choices next time... how many times in this lifetime will I discuss bad choices and have it seem like we are starting from zero each and every time???

So then Friday Karl complains that he isn't feeling so good - I tell him he is fine, and pack him off to school - Frauke calls me that afternoon that he really isn't feeling well, but that he can lie on the couch at their house until I get home from work. I get there to find him napping - so we enjoy a pleasant dinner, to only have him come down and announce that he has thrown up. This is turning into a Somerville family tradition, as Bennett threw up at the Galia's house before as well - but hopefully a tradition that ends here.

Karl and I both thought that it was something he ate, as he felt better immediately afterward, and Saturday, though weak, was still a relatively active day. By Sunday he was getting weaker, such that our day trip to Lichtenstein (check that country off our list!) was a bit lackluster as he felt worse and worse. By the time we got home I found the information for the new children's hospital - if it was strep throat, he would need antibiotics before he got worse.

After four hours of waiting we see the doctor who makes the declaration that it is not strep, but just the flu - and only bedrest and time would make it better. So day 8 and day 9 were spent at home with Karl instead of at work. So much for all of our plans.

One other thing that happened while Eric was away is that I got to sleep with our fluffy down comforter again! The day before Thanksgiving Eric gets the bright idea that the comforter is making him allergic, and replaces it with think cotton quilts.

Really? The day before Thanksgiving?

It turns out it snowed the next day. And then it snowed, and snowed. But there we were with our trusty, thin, cotton quilts. This was killing me...

Once in a while I would sneak upstairs to sleep on the guest bed with the big, fluffy, overly decadent feather comforter. I had this crazy feeling that come spring time, he would realize he wasn't really allergic and we would go back to the feathers - just in time for warm weather. So for a week I luxuriated with the comforter on our bed, and when he got back, Eric was nice enough to try it for a few days. But the allergic feeling came back, and away the comforter went again...

But all is settled back into place now and we are back into our normal routine. And somehow now that Eric is home everything seems to be going to plan...

Vices Abound!

So we have just finished a splendid visit from the Luce / Evison family: Sam, Stacey, Max, and Nora. Stacey is a friend of Sue's from high school - they worked together at the Sizzler and used to sneak into San Francisco to check out punk clubs in the early 80s (yikes, dating myself...).

We spent the week showing them Basel and enjoying the museums as well as getting out into nature: one day snowshoeing in the Jura mountains, and one day sledding outside of Interlaken. For those who care, the modern source of all truth (Wikipedia) notes that the modern sport of sledding was actually invented as recently as 1870 in beautiful St. Moritz by some bored English tourists. The sledding proved quite the thrill for the kids with a 3 km long track down to the gondola that takes you back up to do it all over again. Eric captured it correctly though: "this is way more dangerous than skiing!". We saw one girl taken away on a stretcher, but that did not dissuade us - the little kids seemed to enjoy it the most (yet again, would never be allowed in California...)

On the last night the kids wanted to play waiter - a common game in our house, but frustrating if you are actually hungry because of the long drawn out process it takes: they want to draw up a menu, make tickets to go into the restaurant, and then everyone has to order and they have to dish out the food. This night was especially funny, as they named the restaurant "Angry Panda" after our the giant panda we had scavenged on big trash night - he sat in the corner on a chair with a pretend cigar the kids had made hanging out of his mouth. Karl as well had a fake cigarette, and insisted on keeping it dangling out the side of his mouth during all the order taking.

So Karl and his cigarette brought back two memories:

I had posted back in September or so pictures of the candy cigarettes the kids love. At the time, I had also taken a picture of Karl smoking one of them, but thought: "I can't post that - our friends in California would flip! They would wonder what has come of us that we think pictures of children smoking is funny!" Well, I guess we have been out of California long enough that all of the political correctness has drained from our bodies...

But I was also prompted to post the picture based on an event that took place in Austria during our skiing vacation: at one of the dinners, the hotel ended our meal with schnapps for Eric and me. The tray they brought out, though, instead of having two shot glasses, actually came with four glasses: schnapps for the adults, and then two glasses of Sprite for the kids. I don't think we are in Kansas anymore, Dorothy...
Now, don't think we have gone completely off the deep end. Even though they want to learn poker we refuse to teach them, and as for women: Karl has a healthy fourth grade boy hatred of all girls, and the crush Bennett has on the girls in his class is that he wants to "crush" them - as in a swift right hook. His words, not mine...

But one vice you can't get away from in Switzerland is chocolate. And who would want to, really? We hear that the Swiss hold the world record for chocolate consumption: 11.6 kg (25.6 lbs.) per capita per annum - that is just over 2 lbs a month... We are not there yet, but we are working on it...

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow...

We love the snow.

I didn't know we loved the snow, but since Thanksgiving it seems we have had more days than not with snow on the ground, and we are not sick of it yet - not even close. I think back on my childhood now with a sense of deprivation: all the snowmen I never got to make; all the missing snowball fights; the snow angels that never got to be. I did have a few trips to the snow when I was young, but my memories were always of being cold and miserable - now, thanks to technology and a bit of money, we have all the right clothing, so you never get cold! Who would have thought?! Even Eric, who grew up with plenty of the white stuff is having fun. His thinking: there is no wind here, so as long as you are bundled up, the cold is quite bearable...

Now I was told that a White Christmas is quite rare in these parts - but I put my order in early, and old man weather delivered! And talk about winning the lottery: a white Thanksgiving as well - boy, are we blessed! Now I know that not everyone was singing the praises of snow, as many got stuck Christmas week unable to get to where they wanted - be it vacation, getting home, or getting to relatives for the Christmas holiday - hopefully everyone was able to keep their impatience in check and just be in the moment, while we enjoyed the pleasure of the winter wonderland.

As is usual, the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas and New Years has just flown by. We started the holiday season with the Basel Stadtlauf on Thanksgiving weekend - kids (and adults) run through the city streets the first night they light up the old part of town. Quite charming, except it snowed that day, leaving the roads covered in slippery ice and snow that they couldn't clear entirely before the race started (again, something that would never be allowed in California!). I waited at the chaotic finish line so missed the kids slipping and falling - and it took over 15 minutes to find Bennett after he finished in the crowd of parents claiming their kids. You have to give it to the people of Basel, though - they love to celebrate, and despite the cold and slushy conditions, people were out in full force to cheer everyone on.

The next weekend we had a great visit from Sue's cousin Britta - she came down from Frankfurt and we did a treasure hunt tour of Basel with the kids - chasing clues throughout town. We then got an adult night out which included a tour through Basel's Weinachtsmarkt. Nothing like a little Gluehwein to get one in the holiday spirit! We spent the night talking and talking - work, life, retirement - it always great to see her, and we hope to get to see her again soon.

Our next big event of the season was our piano recital. They boys have been taking lessons since October, and it is like fish to water. We had been worried when we decided to move the piano that it would end up just being a piece of furniture gathering dust, but there are days I swear someone is sitting and playing from the moment they wake up until the moment they go to sleep (sorry neighbors!) Our teacher is really proud of their enthusiasm, and they were the only duet at the recital - check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRzHlN8W_Zo How can you not be proud of that?

We then took the week before Christmas and went to Austria to do our first real ski vacation. St. Anton is tucked into the Tirol region, and we were blessed with good weather, no crowds and lots of snow that made the week a perfect getaway. The kids took lessons and went from beginners to able to do any hill with Dad. I took private lessons in my quest to just like skiing, and my instructor Tom was perfect - endless patience, with a focus on having fun and feeling safe. He carried my skis, he held a spot for me in line at the lift, he skiied backwards half the time to help me figure it out. How could I ask for more?

Now what was interesting, in my limited ski experience, was that I was used to the standard designations of trails: green for beginner, blue for in the middle, and black for the hard slopes. Here, you don't see green, which made me think blue was for beginners - but actually, when we signed up for lessons, they showed this little chart that includes green as the beginner designation - they just don't happen to have any green slopes at the whole resort... They have also thrown in red between blue and black - I don't know if that makes the red slopes here equivalent to black runs in the US, and then double black diamond equals black here?? It doesn't matter to me - I am not going off the blue for a while...

What was also fun was that every night we would come back to our hotel for a sauna and steambath. The kids had a ball, and we were amused by the robes they got - pink for Karl with ribbons, and Bennett's peach number made him look like a little victorian girl... Karl was pissed, and it was only the allure of the sauna that got him to put it on - Bennett was oblivious to the humor of it all. Can't wait until they are teenagers and everything bothers them...

Finally we got to celebrate Christmas here - the big event is the unveiling of the tree on Christmas Eve - the hotel resturaunt was blacked out all day, and that night when they opened we were treated to beautiful decorations, along with a tree that had real candles - can't say we have seen that before in California!
All the hotel guests toasted each other, and we enjoyed a fabulous four course meal capped off with a beautiful basket of home made Christmas Cookies. It was really homey (for not being at home) as we played games in the hotel lobby until all were too tired to stay up any longer. We ended up doing Christmas all over again on December 26th once we got home, so for us it was the holiday that kept on giving this year...

We hope you and your families had a great holiday season, and are kicking off 2011 with excitement for what will come this year!