Livin' it LARGE!!!  

Darren and I having a cuddle... ahhhhhhh! 

Tina and Justin making a cute photo as usual! awwww!  

Darren, Mark, Tina and Justin at one of our favourite restaurants, Sausolitos.  

Giggling girlies!  

Happy Belgian Christmas!

Darren and I went to Belgium for Christmas this year. We stayed with his Grandparents who now live there, along with D's Dad who came over from England! It was a fun few days! We certainly ate and drank well... Gran always sees to that! Steak, croquettes and cake daily! lol! We went to a lovely Midnight Mass service at an Abbey about 30mins away from where we were staying. It was beautiful inside and you certainly got the sense of occaision which a lot of people crave from these types of services. Obviously, D and I couldn't understand what they were saying, which was a shame, but it was easy to follow the star errr... congregation on when to stand etc.
We went out to a restaurant for Lunch on Christmas Day, as it was much easier on everyone just to eat out. We had Steak (obviously!!) which was very nice and Belgian waffles with ice cream and chocolate sauce for pudding... mmmm Yummeeee!
On Boxing day, Darren, his Dad and I went for an excursion to Brussels (Boxing day is not celebrated in Belgium, nor is it a public holiday)!! It was good fun and we saw a few of the famous sites... the waffels weren't as good though!!! Shameful! hehehe!
Tuesday the 27th we travelled home, and are now looking forward to spending the next few days over the New Year with some good friends from Horsham.

Midnight mass at the Abbey was pretty spectacular... which we could have understood what they were saying tho!  

Darren and his Dad, enjoying the annual cigar treat!  

Me in the restaurant waiting for a Belgian waffle! Mmmm.... they are gooohohoood! 

The Magnificent Cathedral in Brussels city centre... it's where all the Royalty get wed... nice venue! 

Darren and I infront of those famous Brussels balls... no not the sprouts! lol 

"Look at my new singing Santa teddy!"  

"Woohoo! I can walk 3 steps and not fall over!" 

December visit home

We had good fun this week raiding Horsham and seeing friends and family. I think I may have had the most fun, as for Darren this was a business trip and he only had 2 and a half days off technically, but he still had a good time and enjoyed a taste of English life. Arriving late-ish on Tuesday evening, we stopped off at The Black Swan in Pease Pottage for drinkies with friends. Wednesday saw us go our seperate ways, D to Torquay for his launch of the new Siemens hearing aid for the NHS, and me to jolly old Isle of Wight for a glimpse of the sea and a day or two with my parents. Friday I came back to Horsham for a night with friends and a big craving for good old English food to satisfy... so where did we go? The curry house of course! Staple British diet! It was lovely too! Good old Chicken Tikka Masala!
Saturday, I enjoyed surprising Joy at her baby shower (that I had cunningly organised to be on this weekend so I could come) and Darren travelled back from his product launch. It was dinner at Mr Li's in the evening to celebrate Mark's birthday, great food, great company as always, all round a brilliant night. Sunday we went to church and had a great time seeing lots of friendly faces! Lunch in the Dog and Bacon with D's dad followed then orf to Hampshire (darlings) we went to visit Jon and Vicky and kids. We had an extremely Christmassy time with decorations, festive music, Christmas dinner and even Father Christmas and a reindeer turned up... talk about a job well done! Monday and Tuesday were a mix of seeing lots of people and some last minute shopping in Horsham before travelling home Tuesday night. We had a great time and really enjoyed seeing all our friends and family... thanks for being great company everyone!

Me at my fave cafe in IOW about to eat my very old favourite baked potato with ham and sweetcorn...mmmmmm YUMMY!!! 

SURPRISE! Much to my amazement, I managed to stay hidden from Joy until her Baby Shower on Saturday afternoon which was a good giggle.  

It's becoming a tradition... Mr Li's on Mark's birthday... you can have your own food though... you don't have to share! Fanku, fanku, fanku!!! 

Justin kept the wine and the entertainment rolling... good old boy! 

Cheesy hats and even cheesier smiles "r" us!  

Doug and Joy seem to either be rubbing their hands with glee or saying grace!?! Votes on a postcard to... 

A day in Hampshire's next best thing to Lapland (i.e Jon and Vicky's very merry household) was a wonderful treat, we even had Christmas dinner... mmm yum!

Seeing Santa seemed to have a strange, festive effect on Darren and I... what do you think... a good look? lol! 

I had to have a cuddle with the May's newest edition "Porsha", who if we're lucky, may give us our first King Charles Spaniel puppy in a couple of years! She's so cute and fluffy! 

I couldn't visit Horsham without going to have lunch with my brother... oh alright then... to give my favourite kitty a tickle under the chin!  

Christmas Market season has begun

The German's get very excited about Christmas and they can't wait even until December to start their Christmas markets and decorate their houses with pretty lights. When they aren't crowded, the markets are very pleasurable indeed. You can wonder up and down the lanes of huts and stalls, which sell alsorts of gifts, food, clothing and decorations. There's always a gluehwein stand nearby, selling THE most delicious mulled wine I have ever had. You are also never far from a grilled sausage stall, where you can get those yummy Nuernberger sausages in a fresh bread roll, covered with as much mustard and ketchup as you please... wonderful!
The Markets will always have at least one Christmas tree and will invariably have put up alsorts of other festive decorations to get you in the mood. Most markets will also have a nativity scene, occaisonally with real animals!
The Nuremberg Christmas Market has been established since 1628 and is very popular with visitors from around the globe. You will normally notice 3 or more American accents as you shop and probably get in the way of at least 5 Japanese people taking photo's! Not that I'm stereotyping or anything... they just love taking photo's! Nout wrong with that I say!!! lol! It's no wonder people do travel to see the Nuremberg Market, as it does offer a big range of shopping opportunites. Along with the main market in the square, there is also an international section, where people from other countries come to sell their native goods. Not forgetting also the kindermarkt, which, surprisingly enough... is for children! You can find Nikolaus there (Father Christmas) and have your picture taken, (even if you're an adult!!!) You can ride on a number of small fairground rides, you can solder your name on a wooden plaque or shape of your choice and you can buy lots of sweets, toys and all those little bits of things which kids love.
I have to say... even though I am biased being a big Christmas fan myself, I really do think the German's make a good (if not efficient) job of getting you into the festive mood and the Christmas markets get a big thumbs up from me!!!

Doesn't the Church look wonderful with the Christmas trees all lit up! Very festive indeed! 

Standing on the balcony of one of my favourite cafes, looking out over the market... and this is only half of the market square!

Time for some SAUSAGES! Mmmmm!