It's been a long while since I've written anything here - 3 months to be exact. You may have given up on me, but here I am.
In between Christmas preparation, Christmas itself, working pretty hard and moving house there hasn't been a lot of room for anything else. Oh, except a little travel of course. First up (since I left you) was Belgium with Alana and James - Bruges and Brussels to be exact. Brussels for me was the place of frites, the most delicious fries you will ever eat. Complete with whatever sauce you could possibly desire. I went for straight mayo and tomato sauce, and I think the classic choice is unbeatable. I think the trick to the frites is that they are double fried, but also they are cooked in a particular oil. Of course, Brussels is much more than fries. We visited the Christmas markets, drank mulled wine and old Trappist monk-made beers and ate too many delicious Belgian sweets (are you noticing a theme here?).
Bruges was like a fairytale city. Very pretty, amazing chocolate, and an amazing Christmas store with handmade wooden decorations which was a hit with Alana and I. The boys chose to eat more fries while Alana and I spent an hour or so trying to limit the amount we spent!
Next stop was Switzerland for Christmas, staying with Alana and James in their AMAZING apartment in Geneva. I'm not ashamed to say that again, several of the highlights included food - cute French markets with delicious olives and charcuterie, Christmas day goose with all the trimmings, and champagne fondue at the Buvette des bain des pâquis on Lake Geneva. If you're going to Geneva, I'd recommend a visit to this particular fondue restaurant. It's rustic but the fondue was the best I've had (apart from the fondue the boys made for us a few nights before, of course...) But the best part of the Christmas break was spending a whole week with great friends having new adventures including a few novices getting some snowboarding in near Chamonix.
While some of the Geneva group went snowboarding, Alana and I headed off to Milan for a night through the Mont Blanc tunnel and the Valle D'Aosta region of Italy in Claude the trusty Citroen. Claude hadn't been so trusty just a few days earlier, but handled the snowy mountains and windy roads brilliantly. Milan is industrial and flashy all at once. It's high street stores are Dolce & Gabanna, Prada and Max Mara but for an hour before you get to Milan, all you see is road works, railways, building sites and cavernous warehouses. I found it a strange juxtaposition. The Duomo in the main square in Milan is breath taking, and a trip to the top of the cathedral is definitely worthwhile. Opposite the Duomo is a huge department store which houses a mozzarella bar on the top floor with views of the main square and the Duomo. We had lunch there before heading back to Geneva and again, if you're in Milan is worth looking up.
Back in Geneva, there was still time for a wee day trip to Annecy in France, and a good look around in in the historic centre before heading back to London.
Back to London and back to reality. I have started the year being industriously busy at work, and we've moved house to NW8, just around the corner from the Abbey Road Studios and the famous pedestrian crossing fronting the cover of the Beatles album.
Next up is an Easter trip to Venice. Back soon.
x
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