The Last Christmas at 15 Av Charles de Gaulle

I flew back to Strasbourg Wednesday before Christmas. Maria Louisa and Phillipe came to pick me up at Baden Karlsruhe airport. It was good to see them and then to the flat - not all the stuff has gone yet. Naomi, Tim and John had been clearing stuff out. The kitchen stuff remained because we are having a last christmas dinner there.

The surprise is that Naomi and Sayako (Naomi's japanese friend) had decorated a  Christmas tree  - apparently the tree was a gift from the David and Diana.

      Nathalie posing in front of the christmas tree

 
 Here is Natalie with the Christmas tree. She came over with Marisol to sort out some of the stuff - they are keeping them for me. I am not sure if I would ever go collect. Sometimes whe  you let go of things, there is a feeling of sadness tinged with the nostalgia for the memories that linger with the objects but it is also a way of lightening ones luggage.
Like Ryanair which only allows 15 kgs of baggage each. I feel like I really had to trim down to the bare essentials although I still possess more than I need.

In the picture is one of the folding chairs I bought at Ikea the year before. I sure can do with some in Coventry but they are left in Strasboug. Natalie showed me her nice boots borrowed from Fredericke, her mate, she looked like a musketeer in them. Entirely in leather and very light - I went to buy a pair for myself.

     John, Sophy, and Sayako

Over the Christmas period, it is inevitable that we over eat. This year we were not too bad, we had chinese steamboat on christmas eve with oysters to start with. Sayako proved to be very handy with the oyster knife. Earlier in the day, she cooked Tim, Naomi, John and I a japanese lunch

Here is a picture of John, Sophy and Sayako.

           Amy and Naomi

We went out with Amy for some pasta down the road. It was good to see old freinds like Amy back in Strasbourg.

Amy teaches at the conservatoire and shes a concert pianist. She bought me a nice cardigan with musical notes from the States. Unfortunately i didnt think I would be seeing her so I had left her present with Vinita.

I also met up with my god daughter, Martha,  and her family from Canada.  She was born on new year's eve  or thereabouts. I had given her a duck for christmas - one that she can use as a hot water bottle and warm up in the microwave.  For her birthday, i  gave her the Virago book of fairy tales.  We went to  the Chinese restaurant  down the road  for a meal..it was snowing too much to contemplate going too far away from home.

                       Martha and I

               and with her family: Bill, Catherine, Steven, and mum, Mary

On Christmas day itself, we went to the Anglican service before getting back to roast turkey and christmas pudding. Tim played monopoly with the kids while I had a nap..I was never good at games.