2009 Christmas in France - 1

We had our Christmas in France this time, and actually it was the first time I spent my Christmas there with Jerome's parents. Visa issue and grandma passed away made us stay here for the past 2 years.

We set off to Dover at 4 am from Bath, and normally it might take about 4-5 hours to get to Dover. However, the dead traffic due to the severe weather bogged us down for 14-15 hours. Finally, we boarded the ferry at 22.30.

(photo: boarding the ferry with our car)

We stayed overnight in somewhere near Calais, because Jerome had been driving for nearly 24 hours, and I didn't dare to drive in the snow. After a 6-hour catching up sleep, we drove to Lille to start our happy trip in France! I went to Lille once, and it was one week before our wedding. My brother was with us at that time. Thus, when I told him and showed him the Christmas Fair in the city centre in Lille, he couldn't believe that was exactly the same place he has visited before. We walked through many lanes and discovered the beauty of Lille.


After Lille, time to start off to the parents! It actually took us longer than usual to get to the parents in the N-E France due to the heavy snow. We drove from Lille -> Belgium -> Luxembourg and then down to Barst where the parents are. This route is quicker than going through the highway in France. When we nearly arrived, Jerome let me drive a bit to try the icy road. Gosh, it wasn't easy to control the steering wheel because the tyres slid sometimes.

(photo: snowing outside of the parents')
Surprisingly, I've forgotten to take photos of our Christmas at home. I guess we just enjoyed it too much! We had a nice dinner on the Christmas eve. The starter was seafood, the main course was venison (?!), and the dessert was traditional French Christmas logs. Very different from the English tradition that we opened our gifts right after the midnight.


(photo: Papa made the butter sauce for cooking the snails. It was very delicious but very fat.)