'Tis the Season to be Jolly....

The month of December was a busy month here in Aix. Having our two oldest children, Nicholas and Lindsey, arrive for the month really added to the festivities! Lindsey arrived on the 10th and the whirlwind began. On her second night here, we went to Pasta Cosy where we enjoyed a delicous dinner while listeninng to Christmas music by Hilary, Dom, Julie and Darrin.




Ironically, Linds had arrived just in time for this same event last year so it was like a welcome back to Aix party for her! Fabien knew right away this was an occasion that called for champagne!!


That night wasn't the only time we celebrated special arrivals at Pasta Cosy. The following week, Nicholas and Matt, Lindsey's good friend from Duxbury, arrived and we returned for another fantastic evening and another bottle of celebratory champagne! We SO glad to be one big HAPPY family, encore!!!

Sarah was thrilled to be out with both her sister and brother!

Hilary invited us to her apartment one night while her sister, Heather, was visiting from California. She made her special chicken pasta and chocolate fondue-yum!!

One Sunday afternoon, we went to a lovely Champagne Carolling Party. Nothing like the power of singing to get everyone in the Christmas spirit!

Hilary and Dom led everyone in song, dance and some Santa hat tossing...

Our hosts, the Butler family, Julie, Mallory, Shane and 1/2 Syd Butler(sorry Syd) greeting their guests...

Last but not least, the Christmas season wouldn't be complete without a School Christmas Show. Sarah's school provided us with that requisite 2 1/2 hour "entertaining" experience! Sarah's music class performed several songs....

Sarah and fellow chanteur, Mallory...

Several of us sold snacks and refreshments during the performance to raise money for some worthy cause that escapes me just now. It provided us with entertainment when the action on stage didn't!


Fa-la-la-la-la, La-la-la-la!!!

Wow, that brings me up to Christmas Day so the next blog entries will be about our 5 day driving trip to Pisa, Lucca and Florence. A bientot!

Vrolijke Kerstmis, Feliz Navidad or Joyeux Noel

Not only does Christmas look different all over the world it's celebrated differently too. We've been fortunate during our two Christmas seasons in Aix to celebrate and experience the holiday internationally.

One December night we were invited to a Dutch Christmas celebration where we met Sinta Claus and his helper, Zwart Piet, or "Black Peter". Sinta Claus day is the 5th of December in Holland and it's then, not the 25th, that good Dutch boys and girls get their presents. As our Dutch friends explained, they give gifts on the 5th and reserve Christmas for the celebration of the birth of Jesus. What a wonderful tradition!


Sinta Claus definitley looks different than our traditional Santa Claus. He's slimmer and more religious looking with his tall hat with the cross and long red robe. As for his helper, Black Pete, he has black curly hair and a black face. I checked out the origins of this decidedly politically incorrect 'elf' and they are disputed. Some say his face is black because he climbs down chimneys to deliver presents. Others trace a link back to the black Moorish slaves who served the Spanish when they were colonial masters of the Nethedrlands. Whatever his origin, he helps Sinta Claus and normally gives out a special type of Dutch cookie to the children. They are tiny, round, crunchy and cinnamon-tasting. I read that the Dutch children normally bring their own bags to fill them with these cute little cookies when they go to see Sinta Claus.

The two Dutch families who organized this fun evening put a lot of time into the costumes and the performance. Each guest got to sit on Sinta Claus' knee and have him tell them of something bad they'd done that year...but he gave us each a gift and some cookies anyway!!

Hanneke and Linda, wives of Sinta Claus and Black Peter, relaxing after a job well done!

We went to a Spanish party on the 15th. It was an authentic Spanish evening even if it wasn't exactly celebrating their traditional Christmas. The sangria, tapas, paella and the flamingo dancers were all fantastic!






On December 25th, we had an opportunity to celebrate Christmas Dinner with our French friends, Denis and Bettina Lucas-du-Reau and their children. They invited us to their house at one o'clock and after bisous all around, we celebrated the occasions with an an aperitif made by Denis' family called Pineau des Charentes. Pineau is made from a blend of unfermented grape must and Cognac brandy. It is delicious!


When we all sat down for dinner, our first course was two types of fois gras served with toasts and more Pineau, yum! The main course was Duck Confit with roasted apples, haricots verts, chestnuts and pommes frittes(a course added to the menu by their children and appreciated by children of all ages at the table!). After this, we had a cheese course! We had to forgo the While we sat at the table, we were treated to Waldemar play a Mozart piece...

Afterwards, we moved into the living room where we rolled up the rug and danced!! We think Bettina and Denis could win a dance contest! Their oldest son, Eymeric, knows a thing or two about being on a dance floor, too!



Lindsey, Sarah and Capucine were quite content to be observant but lovely wallflowers....



until Nicholas was finally able to convince Capucine to dance with him...




All the dancing was followed by some less energetic activities... chatting inside for the women and target practice outside for the men in the group!

"It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas....."

Christmas is a magical time almost anywhere in the world and it's interesting to see it in different towns, states and countries. Here in Aix, we've found it to be magical and beautiful but understated as well. Most of the decorations are simple, mainly blue and white lights, and the stores have only a few subtle decorations; perhaps a small flocked Christmas tree outside their door or some ornaments or bows in the windows. One of the first signs Christmas is coming in Aix is the appearance of the lights, especially on the Cours Mirabeau. Talk about magical!!






The second, almost simultaneous sign Christmas is coming is the construction of dozens of tiny chalets on the entire east side of the Cours Mirabeau. Vendors from all over Provence rent these seasonal chalets to sell their wares. You can purchase a wide variety of gifts, crafts and food items. We love getting a vin chaud(hot mulled wine) or a chocolate chaud in the evening and strolling the Cours to check out the people, the chalets and their wares.

Last year, we befriended our favorite vendor, Rose-Ann. She and her husband, Philippe, have a company, Provence Lavandes. They sell the most beautiful, unique handmade lavender creations! Next year, they will be featured in the William Sonoma Home catalogue but for now you can see them here or at http://www.provencelavandes.com/.






Another top selling item at the Aix Christmas market are santons. For those of you who don't know what these are, don't feel bad, until last year I had never even heard of one. A santon is a small hand-painted terracotta figurine that is used for building nativity scenes. The word "santon" comes from the Provençal "santoun," or "little saint." They became popular during the French Revolution when the churches were closed and the larger, traditional nativity scenes in churches prohibited. Smaller figurines began appearing in homes, and quickly gained popularity.They are a traditional product of Provence and in the month leading up to Christmas, there are traditional santon fairs all over Provence where santons of all sizes can be acquired to decorate domestic creches. The traditional manufacture of santons is centred on Marseille, Aix-en-Provence and Arles. Apart from the standard figures and animals associated with the nativity (including elephants and camels), there are countless other santons depicting traditional characters from Provencal village life, including the motley fool, the miller and the blind man. In the past two years, thanks gifts from my children, I have a small collection.

What would the Christmas season be without music? Every day and night along the Cours Mirabeau you can usually find a group performing. One night we enjoyed the sounds of several of our friends from church who got together to sing Christmas Carols-in English!

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Happy New Year!! Bonne Annee!!

Oh, my goodness! It’s January 7th… exactly one month since the last blog entry! Where, oh where, did that month go??

Perhaps after all the holidays you are feeling the same way.....Here, in Aix, Lindsey arrived on December 10th, Nicholas on the 17th, then, of course, there was Christmas and New Year's and all the celebrations in between and somewhere along the lines we even fit in a quick trip to Italy. So, there went our month! And a GREAT one it has been. We've been blessed with a wonderful time together...photos and tales of which I’ll be sharing in the blog in the next week or so…


In the meantime, Happy New Year from us all!!