Caroling

Ann and John's neighbors invited us over for some Christmas caroling.
Which is great when you have a musical family

Tatiana holding her little cousin GeorgeWe demolished the tea and mince pies

presents

Its present time!!!

Tatiana got 3 sets of presents. Once at our house before we left.
Then at her aunt and uncle's house and then at Grandma's house

Thank you for all the presents!!!!

Guildford

This is Guildford Michaels' parents town.


Famous town clock





hospital


courtyard



Guildford by night

off to London

We are off to London for Christmas

Christmas at school

Today was Christmas at school. They do a a cake and who ever gets the little toy
in the cake they get to wear the kings crown.

kids open presents donated to the school

I was not allowed to be here so I gave Tatiana the camera
which is why she is not in the pictures

Emeric

This is our local priest Emeric who is a fantastic guy. He was so surprised when we asked if we could pray for him. He went home and called his sister and a friend to tell them that some one prayed for him today. We told him our old church was praying for him and he almost started to cry. He really wants to make a difference in this town,
and needs all the prayer and support we can give him.

His love for children is evident, all the kids love to gather around him

Concert in St Emilion

There are so many cultural things to do around here, we usually hear about them after they happen. There was a concert in the St Emilion church yesterday.
We heard about it last minute. It ended up being a beautiful event.

I was the only person with a camera, I just stood up and took this one.

I took a quick video of the event. Enjoy :)

Christmas in Bordeaux

Last weekend we treated ourselves to a night at the The Regent is in Bordeaux. We figured we cant recommend it if we have never stayed there.
It is a world class hotel across from the Opera House.







The entrance, I loved all the pink lights



This is the hallway to the most expensive boutiques in the world. I think only J Lo could afford a dress here.
The tea lounge, they had the best chocolate mousse I have ever had!


The iphone is worth the money just to keep Tatiana entertained,
while Michael and I talked


a very fancy fruit drink
The bar



elevatorsOur room was amazing, If the designer came to me and said he was going to use grey and yellow stripes, purple toile, black and grey checker head board and red swirly carpet I would have fired him, but you see it works...


ohhhhh

our view of the Grande Theatre
another view




its all about the stairs

had to check out the downstairs powder


If you come to Bordeaux you must try a Caneles,
they have a soft and tender custard center and a dark,
thick caramelized crust,
flavored with rum and vanilla.
It is a specialty of Bordeaux.

This restaurant is suppose to have the best beef in town.
All they serve is steak and fries. The hour long line is normal.



We were told Antoine had the most incredible chocolates,
we had to go and investigate
looks yummy
Antoine is also a pâtisserie
ohh la la
Havent quite figured out the difference between laitière and crémerie,
they both sell cheeses.



our view of the opera at night
our hotel
a christmas market


roasted chestnuts, a tradition

if you get the rope you ride again for free, Tatiana got the rope four times :)

all the streets are so festive




We loved our stay in Bordeaux, we really felt the holiday season. It has been magical living here we really hope one day all our friends will come and visit.

Have a wonderful Christmas.

Joyeux Noël