Christmas 2009 was really one for the books. As a family we set out on a 10 (or so) day trip around France, England, and Belgium. We saw so many incredible things and crossed about a trillion things off of my bucket list in one fell swoop. One of the best parts? We didn't even have to take a car for a single bit of it! (Unless you count the Hackney Carriage (black London taxi) ride, which we had to take, because bucket list, you know?) We walked from our flat in the Alstadt of Heidelberg to the train station. From there, we were off on our whirlwind adventure.
Our first stop: Paris
Paris is really a city of dreams. There is a lot of hype around the City of Light, and I think it lives up to it. For a lover of art, antiquities, beautiful places, delicious pastries...Paris is unmissable. We'd been to Paris before, but not at Christmastime. We stopped at the open air Parisian Christmas Markets, the Louvre, and our other favorite places.
A highlight of our time in Paris was riding to the top observation deck of the Eiffel Tower at night and watching the city gleam beneath us. The city is always spectacular to see, and it is always covered in lights, but during the holiday season it was particularly magnificent to see. Bucket list? You bet.
When we finished up in Paris we made our way to London.
London was a dream. To start, we got to take the chunnel from France to the UK, and that was just pretty cool. London was where we would spend Christmas Day, and there was just about nothing more exciting. We had a proper fish & chips, we rode a double-decker bus, we soaked up Trafalgar Square and the Tower Bridge. The latest Sherlock Holmes was released on Christmas in 2009, and we were in London, so naturally, we had to go see it. We walked to the cinema, saw the movie, and stepped out onto the streets seeing all of the incredible things we had just seen on the silver screen; that was a pretty neat moment.
There were a couple of other things I got to cross off of my bucket list while in London.
First, I got to see Wicked on Broadway in London. That was so fun for me! I had long loved the music, I'd read the books, and done some Wicked songs/productions in high school. I was so excited and the show did not disappoint.
Secondly, we went to Stonehenge. Being the history lover, ancient peoples lover, strange and inexplicable things lover that I am, I was thrilled to see Stonehenge. It is kind of out in the middle of nowhere...in the middle of a field. And you have to drive past lots of sheep to get there. For me, that only added to the magic. The energy that I felt there was electric. I would swear to you that it made my fingers tingle. I could see in my mind the ancient people creating and planning this monolithic structure. I could feel the spirituality of the people who worshiped and honored their beliefs on that spot. I loved every second of it.
Now, something else funny (to me) happened on Christmas day. We were staying in a hotel, without a kitchen. We weren't planning on cooking for our holiday meal. We figured that on Christmas day, we'd meander out and find an open restaurant to sit down and eat. Well, friends, we missed the mark on that one. Everything was closed on Christmas day. I mean...everything. The whole huge city seemed like a ghost town! As we left the hotel and began walking it became apparent that we weren't going to find what we were looking for very easily. We walked and scoped out side streets. We walked some more. And kept walking. And finally, after searching under every nook and cranny we could find, we came across a fried chicken eatery (similar to a KFC). Christmas dinner it was! We walked in and ordered. And it was perfect. I love this story because it was a funny holiday snafu that turned into a humorous memory. We laughed and enjoyed our meal and returned to our rooms to rest for Boxing Day. Following Christmases always came with a holiday meal game plan after that, and usually an Airbnb that comes with a kitchen. We've had lasagna, chill, and other "unorthodox" holiday meals, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
After our lovely time in London, it was off to our final destination...Brussels, Belgium.
Brussels is a beautiful city and the seat of the European Union. We visited a lovely museum, followed by one of the highlights of Belgium...the Atomium.
If you've never heard of the Atomium, a) where have you been? b) it is pretty freaking cool. It is a huge (I mean, enormous) model of an atom. It was originally constructed for the World's Fair in 1958. There is a whole science museum inside along with a restaurant and some pretty incredible panoramic views.
After jaunting through the gorgeous city of Brussels we were back on a train and back at the alstadt of Heidelberg in the blink of an eye.
Our holiday trip was so much fun. We got to see so much around the beautiful place that we lived not to mention crossing at least a dozen thing off of my bucket list. The best part though? Traveling with my whole family and spending time with my favorite people. Every holiday with them is better than the last; I'm so lucky they're mine.
Wow, has picture quality improved since 2009 or what?!