An Afternoon in Brussels...

While Jimmy has been to Brussels for work, I'd never had a chance to visit. Since we had to change trains there and Jimmy knew where to find lockers big enough for all our packs, we decided to stop for lunch. This is the impressive Grand Place, the main square with a town hall built in 1455. Most of the buildings above were rebuilt in 1700 after 70,000 French soldiers flattened the majority of them in retaliation for an earlier attack. We'd hoped to see the holiday light show in the square, but it started raining just as it got dark, so we hopped on a train home instead.

Valuable Lessons Learned in France...

* Make sure the Chateau doors are securely closed. After taking photos of the icy sunrise, one of the doors was left ajar and this little finch found his way inside. Guess he liked the warmth because opening the windows didn't help to coax him outside, so Jimmy had to catch him.

* If someone says "GROSS" while walking through the Paris Metro, trust them. Whatever they've seen will definitely be gross, so there's no need to actually turn your head and be tortured by sights best unseen.

A Beautiful Show by Mother Nature...

When we first arrived at the Chateau, the reflecting pond was partially frozen. We hoped it would completely freeze and that we'd have a white Xmas, but no such luck. Although we had cold days, it was above freezing; the ice eventually melted and the predictions of snow dried up. So we were pleasantly surprised when we woke up one morning to a winter wonderland as a light sprinkling of ice covered everything. It was especially dramatic as we watched the sunrise glow pink across the trees. (If you're shocked that we saw the sunrise while on vacation, it wasn't because we woke up early but that the sun rose late.)

A Chateau Christmas...

We were just thrilled that the caretakers went to the trouble to get a Christmas tree and then let the girls decorate it. Veronica was so excited that she asked to go to the sewing store when we were shopping in Vendome so that she could use her new stitching skills to make some of her own decorations. The girls made cookies for Santa and were very excited that he'd found them so far from home. I was excited he didn't bring Ashlynn her first wish--"I think Santa's going to bring me a fox or a penguin. He's going to use his magic to make them tame." Luckily Santa knew our landlord doesn't allow pets. We even managed an American Christmas dinner with cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes and roasted Cornish hens. This photo was actually taken on our final morning; to highlight where we spent Christmas, Jimmy's holding a photo he'd taken previously of the Chateau.

Time for Reflection...

On Christmas Day, Jimmy suggested we have a moment of reflection in the Chateau's Chapel. This tiny place of worship next to the moat was built in 1621, which predates the Chateau, and was dedicated to St Catherine, patron saint of spinsters and lawyers. The crypt below is empty since the tombs were relocated to a cemetery some years ago. So we lit some candles and went into the Chapel for some quiet meditation. Even a cynic like me could appreciate standing in a historic chapel and thinking about the ways my life's been blessed by my family. Later in the week, Jimmy and the girls went back in and scrubbed the floors and polished the candlesticks.

Keeping Warm...

After Jimmy returned the rental car (he turned down the caretaker's offer of a ride and ran the 15k back to the Chateau), we had good intentions of going on family walks through the woods (we did 2), bike rides through the neighboring villages (we did 1) and maybe an occasional run (we blew this off completely). Since the temperature had dipped to a high of 37, we decided staying warm inside was more fun, so we spent a lot of time bundled up in front of the fire (this fireplace predates the Chateau to 1520 and was relocated there in 1792 from the ruins of a neighboring chateau). We enjoyed 18th century activities of reading and playing games, as well as 21st century activities of watching DVDs, blogging and making free calls using VOIP. It sure felt great to have over a week of being total lazy bums.

A Day in Orleans...

With a limited opportunity to go sightseeing since we rented a car for only the first 3 days of the 12 in the Loire, we decided to explore somewhere new. We chose Orleans, where Joan of Arc at the age of 17 led troops to victory at the Siege of Orleans in 1429. After another difficult search for a restaurant that wasn't filled with smokers, we found a winner where we had a terrific traditional French lunch. Of course, the girls especially loved it because we let them have dessert for lunch since there wasn't a thing on the menu they'd eat. We visited the 17th century cathedral and the old city hall built in 1555 as well as the small Xmas market. While Jimmy took the girls ice skating, I wandered the shops. Afterwards, we enjoyed the Xmas lights when we stopped in Blois for dinner. When we returned to the Chateau, we were greeted by the amazing sight of over a dozen deer prancing across the lawn (perhaps they weren't exactly prancing, more like running for their lives but that doesn't paint as pretty of a picture).