Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree...

As I mentioned last week, we went out an bought a real Christmas tree. It's fun to watch Sophie this year because she actually understands a lot about Christmastime, and was so excited to decorate the tree.

A pre-decorated tree shot:


She did a pretty good job and really liked the ornaments that we found left by previous directors.

Daddy had to help Sophie put some ornaments on or else only the bottom three feet would have been decorated!


Unfortunately, the lighting in our apartment isn't so great, so I don't have great pictures of the final product, but here are a couple. Sophie takes a look at the presents under the tree every day--we often have conversations about whose presents are whose!

Christkindelsmärik--Goodies

So did I say I'd post some pictures of the goodies from the Christmas market "tomorrow?" I really meant "in a few days." Now I feel guilty because I bugged my cousin, Sharri, about not posting something about her daughter in a while, and now look at me...not posting.

I've been struck by some of the food offered at the market. Some of it is stuff you can get at any bakery, but some of it is just so beautiful...it's hard not to eat constantly! I, personally, am on a mission to find the best mulled wine stall in the city. It's going to take a lot of hands-on research, but I think I'm up to the task! ;-)

Baked goods are the biggest offering. Gingerbread is a big deal here, and there are lots of different kinds, from small, bite-sized cookies to loaves of bread to gigantic cookies with elaborate decorations. Here's a stack of gingerbread loaves:


And a gigantic tourist cookie:

Freshly-baked goods are also available. I haven't tried one of these yet, but it's high on my list:

And one of our recent favorites, the "Swedish Bombs" or possibly something about a snowball, but we can't remember what the sign said. They're basically a fresh marshmallowy substance (picture marshmallow mixed with mousse) covered in chocolate and flavored. We may have passed these by without buying any, but then I was tempted to take this picture. The saleswoman yelled at me, and I felt so guilty that I felt like I should buy some. I'm glad I did!


We ended up with the following flavors: croquant (crunchy?), cinnamon, coconut, mint, rum, cafe mocha, and strawberry.


We'll get back to the regularly-scheduled program including pictures of us soon...the food is just too yummy to ignore, though!

Christkindelsmärik (Part One of Many, I'm Sure)

Christmas in Strasbourg is quite a sight. Lights are strewn on all major streets and plazas, music is played in every nook and cranny, and the markets take over every empty space in the city. (And did I mention the piping hot mulled wine/vin chaud/Glühwein on every corner?!) The market has been open since Saturday, and we've made it a point to explore every evening since then.

I'll post some pictures of the city today, and post some more of some of the goodies we've found tomorrow. (And eventually, I'll post pictures from our day trips we've taken with students in the past week!)

The cathedral is always calling me to take its picture:

And Sophie was fascinated by this quartet of Santas just at the foot of the cathedral:


This is in Place Gutenberg, and is called the "Blue Tree." You can't really tell in the pictures, but there are icicles that are lit up and "drip" ice. It's hard to explain, but it's a really cool effect.


Also in Place Gutenberg is a little merry-go-round that Sophie loves. (Beware, grandparents, we've told her that she'll be able to ride it all she wants when you arrive!)

We've also told her that maybe grandparents would want to get her one of these creepy Santa balloons!


The city's Christmas tree is in Place Kleber...and it's gigantic! We watched them put it up...and it took over a week to set this baby up!

The angels at the foot of the Christmas tree:


Even the stores get into the decorating here. This is the entrance to the department store Galeries Lafayette (only a few blocks from our apartment).


The Place Broglie holds the city's official "Christkindelsmärik," which is full of stalls selling Christmas wares, gifts, food, wine, and even Christmas trees.


And we were lured to buy a real tree (even though there is a fake one from previous years in our apartment). Ian carried it across the city back to our apartment.

Happy Thanksgiving II!

Well, Thanksgiving was a success! There were some bumps along the road, the biggest being the turkey that came in over 2 kilos more than what we ordered. (That's a difference of about 5 pounds!) We deliberately ordered an 8-kilo turkey so that we could be sure it would fit in our 3/4-sized oven. When the store called to tell us it was in and that it weighed 11 kilos, I almost had a heart attack! We went to the store to pick it up, and it turns out that it was only 10.3 kilos, but I still measured it with a measuring tape to make sure that it would go in the oven...they ended up having to lop the tail off so it wouldn't be too long!

Here's the turkey in the oven. (Please notice that the pan is on the very bottom rack, and although you can't see it, I turned the rack upside down so that I could get another inch or so. The heating elements are at the very top of the oven, so I'm surprised that the top didn't burn.)


And thanks to Myrna and my mom, this is the final result. Last Thanksgiving, Myrna let us help cook the turkey since we had never made one before, and this Thanksgiving, my mom gave me a recipe to cook a turkey overnight (which I didn't do, but I did base my cooking and reheating of the turkey on her recipe). Isn't it beautiful?


And big? That's Ian's hand next to one of the breasts:


Our apartment is large by European standards, but we had a total of 32 people who would be eating in our place. We cleared away excess furniture from our living/dining room and set up four tables. It was tight, but we made it!


And as I may have mentioned, this was a potluck. We provided the meats and a couple of apple tarts, but the students made the rest. It was an impressive spread:


And best of all, I think everyone had a good time.



Sophie enjoyed her chocolate ice cream:


It took me 3 days to get all of the dishes done! (I figured out that we had around 120 pieces of flatware alone to get washed!) Our living room is almost back to its original state, but here's a picture of the immediate aftermath:


We hope everyone else had a wonderful Thanksgiving!