Of course, the first event of our Christmas is not Christmas at all; it's my birthday. As usual, we invited a number of friends to join us for dinner and this time, everyone provided a dish. We started with Cullen Skink, a Scottish fish soup, followed by pork cheeks casserole and then cheese and chocolate mousse, all washed down with a selection of wines from the cellar.
Two days later, we set out early in the morning for Broadstairs via Lyon, where we left our cases at the station before stopping at a brasserie for lunch, a walk down to the Rhone calling in at Les Halles which was buzzing with people enjoying a lunch. The oyster bars were full and business throughout was brisk. We stocked up on chocolate and cheeses.
Our Eurostar from Lyon to Ashford was on time and not crowded. In December, there is just one train per week and this will become even less frequent through the next few months, but we understand that it will increase again as spring approaches and demand returns. This trip was only the second that arrived at Ashford in time for us to make our connection.
In Broadstairs, we stayed in the same flat, very close to Helen, where we had stayed in September and October. We were soon back in our Broadstairs routine with Ernie visiting us and ice cream outings to Morelli's ice cream parlour at 4pm. Mostly, the weather was mild and sometimes rainy.
We had a visit to Dreamland at Margate, a pleasure park which reopened earlier in the year. Most of it was not suitable for 3 year olds, but we did manage a couple of rides and Ernie's first toffee apple
Ernie is fascinated by all things transport, trains, cars, trams, as long as they have wheels. Helen had suggested some tube signs might increase his awareness of words and letters, so I made an alphabet of stations. Ernie quickly adopted this into his play with trams, as they travelled up and down our hallway, picking up his people and letting them off at different stations.
Lenny is now 11 weeks old and very sweet.
Jim arrived on Christmas Eve and stayed in the flat with us for 2 nights, so once again our family was together at Christmas. These were taken at one of the present opening sessions.
On Boxing Day we went out to eat, then returned along the beach. There was a wind, but not enough to stop Ernie demanding that Nana built a sandcastle for him to jump on
After a rewarding and exhausting 10 days, we returned home on the 29th and are now preparing to welcome 2016.
The first trip of 2016 will be to our regular haunt, L'Escala, followed by the Canaries.
The 2016 blog will be at http://uzin2016.blogspot.com
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