Christmas 2017 was spent in Europe. Dan flew back to the UK to spend it at his mums and I took the train to Limoges in France to spend it at my sister (Katie) and her husband (Steve’s) house.

I had a Christmas to remember in a very sleepy French village, staying in their beautiful home! The village was tiny, and contains a few scattered houses, no shops, and seemingly no other people at all. On Christmas day we went for a walk to an old holiday camp. It looked like a place that would have been full of families and laughter in its prime, but now consists of a series of old and worn triangular huts for accommodation and a concrete swimming pool. In the wrong light, it would be rather creepy…but on Christmas day it provoked conversations on the history of the place. In fact, it intrigued us so much, that on the walk home we passed the abandoned school (one of many abandoned buildings in the village) and the door as slightly ajar…it drew us in, so Katie and I pushed the door open further and took a step inside (then left quickly again for fear that it wasn’t as abandoned as it looked!)

Christmas day consisted of a lay in, presents, sweets, early drinks, amazing vegetarian feast, happy children, stroppy children, and early to bed. The tree was magical and the tunes whimsical as always. Just like every great Christmas day! Evelyn and Edward (my niece and nephew) have changed a great deal since I last saw them too. They now have cheeky little personalities and big smiles. It was fun to see Christmas day through the eyes of children, whilst sipping wine…

Dan had a day of big children and family fun at his mums house in the not-as-sleepy Trull. He sent me pictures of our now huge baby tortoises and enjoyed another one of his sisters legendary Christmas dinners. All in all we both enjoyed family filled Christmases, ample amounts of ale and European food delights (stuffing! I had forgotten how darn good stuffing is!), and sleepy afternoons as the jet-lag kicked in. It was another great one to remember.