Ending the Year Right.

Wow. It's been a crazy couple of weeks. I went to France and London. I celebrated one of the best Christmases thus far (but I think I say that every year). And I've discovered that Netflix now allows Mac users to watch instantly. So that's basically how I've been spending these last few weeks. But that's just the short version of it all; I'll tell you in more detail.

EUROPE!
I flew out of Kansas City on Saturday, December 13 to Brussels. I traveled for many hours and wound up in Brussels at 8 AM (CET) on Sunday, December 14. Mary picked me up from the airport with a sign that read, "My MAMA Kass." It was a joyous reunion -- well, as joyous as I could be after traveling almost 24 hours. We hit the Grand Plaza in Brussels and grabbed a small breakfast and took the train to Lille where Mary is living this year.

Me in the Grand Plaza in Brussels

On Monday, December 15 Mary showed me Lille. We visited the shops, the old buildings, and the Christmas Market they had set up in the square where I bought the most delicious pretzel I had ever eaten in my whole life. I bought some chocolates for my supervisor at the Kindercottage where I work and some Christmas ornaments for my family. Then we headed back to Mary's house where we ate dinner and watched "White Christmas," a movie Mary's German roommate had never seen before.

On Tuesday, December 16, Mary had to work in the morning so I slept in and then we hit the road (train tracks?) for London! After we checked into our hotel that Mary, her two roommates, and I were staying in that night, Mary and I went to Trafalgar Square so we could see it and Parliament at night. We saw the huge Christmas tree that was donated by the Norwegians and I also got to see Big Ben's tower all lit up. It was really amazing. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Then we got on the tube and went out to London's O2 arena where we saw Coldplay in concert. It was an unbelievable show. As much as I love them on CD, I love them even more live. It was a night I'll never forget.

a shot of the stage during the Coldplay concert

On Wednesday, December 17 we hit London hard: Westminster Abbey, Harrod's, Buckingham Palace, St. Paul's Cathedral, Tate Museum of Modern Art, Tower Bridge, and the Tower of London. It was unbelievable how much ground we covered. Needless to say, my feet were killing me. I was overcome by how old everything was. I truly loved the city and I love how the old and new buildings blend into each other in the skyline. It's such and interesting city. I hope to return someday and explore it more at a slower pace.

Me, on the Tower Bridge with London behind me

On Thursday, December 18 (my parents' 32nd wedding anniversary!) I recuperated from the crazy pace of my London adventure while Mary worked. That night, Mary's British roommate fixed us a really great Christmas-like dinner. I got to meet some of the girls that Mary's been hanging out with too. It was a fun night. Unfortunately I took no pictures.

Mary worked on Friday, December 19 too. But after she got off we took the train to Paris! We took the subway to our hotel from the train station. It was no fun lugging our suite cases around the Paris subway system! I decided before we even got to our hotel that there was no way in hell we were going to take the metro to the airport on Monday. We stayed in a Best Western near the Louvre. It was actually very nice and not too pricey. It was dark when we got there so we walked over to see the Louvre at night. I think I took more pictures of the pyramid at the Louvre than anything else on the whole trip. It was so cool to see it lit up at night. Then we went and ate dinner at a place called Hippopotamus. No, we were not served Hippopotamus.

On Saturday, December 20 we woke up early-ish to go to the Louvre! We grabbed a croissant and walked to the museum. We spent about 3 hours there and I still can't believe how big it is. I saw the Mona Lisa, Winged Victory, The Venus d'Milo, and countless other pieces of art that I've seen my textbooks and coffee table books. I honestly still can't believe I was even in the same room as them. Both Mary and my sister had told me that the Mona Lisa was nothing special and not to expect too much because it's actually quite small. However, when I saw her, I started to cry. It wasn't so much her that made me cry, but the huge crowd waiting in a blob to see her. Everyone wanted their chance to get up near the plexi-glass wall that protects her. I stood there and thought about the thousands (millions?) of people that look at her everyday and it made me awestruck. I just couldn't believe how many people in the world travel thousands of miles to see this pretty insignificant painting every year.

After the Louvre we went to the Orangerie where there is a collection owned by a man who died. This guy had all the good stuff: Cezanne, Picasso, Monet, Manet, Matisse, and 8 Monet "Waterlillies." I was in heaven. 

After that we walked to the Eiffel Tower, got a crepe from a stand near there, and then waited in line to go to the second level. Once we got to the top the sun had gone down so I got to see Paris' lights at night. It was awesome. The tower is lit up blue with a circle of gold stars on the side because France was the head of the EU during the month of December. It was pretty cool to be up in the tower and see the blue light. The picture thing isn't working for me anymore so go to my Facebook to see more pictures. I took a lot.

After we left the tower we went back to the hotel because, as it turns out, I'm actually a pretty horrible traveler and need to take frequent rests or I get cranky. After we rested, we went to a restaurant where they serve authentic French cuisine. I had a beef thing that was really good.

Sunday, December 21 is what I fondly remember as "church day." I drug Mary along with me to mass at Notre Dame. After mass we walked around it and I got emotional again when I thought about how many people had worshiped and prayed there. Then we went to Saint-Chappelle where there are supposed to be 20 relics of Christ, but we couldn't figure out where they were located. The stained glass windows in that church are phenomenal though! And that church was 900 years old! I couldn't even believe it. Then we went to the Galleries Lafayette and realized that all of the merchandize was way beyond our price range. So we went to the hotel for a rest. We ate dinner at the Brasserie du Louvre, a restaurant in the Hotel du Louvre which is a very fancy hotel near the Louvre. The food was awesome and the service was very fancy too. Needless to say, I felt a little out of place but really enjoyed the dinner. After dinner we walked back to the Louvre to see the pyramid one last time and we saw the light show that they do on the Eiffel Tower. They make it sparkle with lights every hour after sunset. It was a great way to end our stay.

On Monday, December 22 we took a taxi to the airport and we both flew home for the holidays. I had a slight incident with security, however, because my passport said that I was in Brussels and France during the suspicious terrorist activities that occurred. When I went through security, I was the only person who had to take his or her shoes off, then they frisked me and searched through my bags by hand. I was so confused about why they did all that, but then as I was sitting at my gate waiting for my plane, I realized that I was in both places at inopportune times. Pretty funny, huh? I got home with no problems after that and slept 14 hours in my own bed. It was a great whirlwind of a trip.

Christmas was amazing this year. I really got into the Christmas spirit while in Europe because they do love their Christmas trees over there. Everything was very festive. Once I got home, we had our Christmas Eve services at church which always make me sentimental and nostalgic. Then my family had a relaxing Christmas day at home. We stayed in our PJs all day and even had a designated nap time. We watched It's a Wonderful Life and ate our traditional brunch and ham and cheesy potato dinner. I love a quiet Christmas.

This past Saturday we went to my dad's brother's house for our family Christmas. My aunt made a great Mexican themed meal and we sorted through some stuff that belonged to my grandparents. It's kind of a shame that we've waited 14 years to finally decide what to do with her jewelry, their Bibles, and photographs, but it was good to be able to do it as a family of adults. My sister, cousin, and I got to take some of G-G's jewelry and all four of us cousins got to have a Bible that belonged to either G-G or Granddad or both. It was a bittersweet day. 

My G-G had a jewelry set that was a cameo necklace with matching earrings. We've gone back and forth over the years about what to do with it but we've finally come up with a solution that I think we're all happy with. We gave the necklace to my cousin Claire, and my sister and I will each get an earring and have necklaces made out of it. That cameo set is one of the things that I remember most about G-G. I remember sitting in her lap and looking at the necklace. It's really not my style at all but I've always loved that jewelry. And anytime I see a piece of cameo jewelry, I think of her. So I'm excited that I get to have a necklace made out of her earring. I will be grateful and honored to wear it.

So that was basically my Christmas and the weeks prior to it. I'm now making plans for a trip down to Springfield to see my friends from the Alma Mater and for next semester.

I think I've decided to quit my nannying job. I love the kid and his family is great, but the 10 hours plus drive time is just too much. I really struggled last semester and my grades weren't what I wanted them to be, not that they were bad. I basically killed myself with all the work I was trying to do. I worked 12 hours a week at my contextual education placement and then babysat and that didn't leave enough time for my schoolwork. The money that I receive from that gig just isn't worth the lack of time left for school stuff, not to mention socializing! I've committed to the month of January so I'll honor that and then stay on until mid-February or until his mom finds a new sitter, whichever comes first. I have no real life in STL. No friends really, and I'm not involved in anything on campus except for my classes. This is unacceptable. I need to make some friends and get involved or I will hate being there. So I've decided to quit babysitting, a.k.a. The Time Suck.

That's all for now. Thank you for taking the time to read this incredibly long post.