Christmas at Casa di Watson

We had a fun and peaceful Christmas at home! On Christmas Eve, we went skiing in the daytime and went to church service in the evening. On Christmas day, we opened our presents and ate a huge turkey dinner! Here are some of the highlights for the grandparents!






Sara got a big surprise -- we made a small stage for her room so she could sing her heart out in style! The look on her face when she saw it was priceless...



She had to get her rockstar clothes on and try it out...




Merry Christmas 2011 and THANK YOU to all the family!

Christmas in Austria

Another trip back to Salzburg -- one of our favorite places -- for the Christmas market!



There were lots and lots of pretzels!


Sara's market purchase -- a stuffed kitty you can heat up in the microwave! They nuked it for her when we bought it, and it really kept the whining down about being cold! Well worth the euros!


Andrew enjoyed an Austrian dessert we've never tried before -- Kaiserschmarren! It was different, kind of like funnel cake and kind of like bread pudding. The rest of us didn't get much!


And of course we stayed at our favorite B&B in Salzburg, with our favorite Austrian friend, Marianne, who makes us feel right at home...


The drive in the Alps was BEAUTIFUL!




Our buddies, the Blakes, were in Salzburg as well, so we met up for dinner at the Funny Monkey. It was great food and a great time!



We also ventured further east into Austria to a place we hadn't been before -- Vienna! It's a huge city, so we'll need to go back when it's warmer, but we did what we came for this time -- the Christmas markets. Vienna was done up beautifully for Christmas...





The market at Schonnbrunn Palace had the best traditional Austrian food! I forgot to take pictures of it all, but one dish we loved was ham, sausage, peppers, potatoes, and onions all cooked up in huge skillets. YUM!!! Sara loved the cheesy spaetzle and Andrew loved his hot dog baked in a pretzel roll.


The gardens behind the palace weren't so pretty this time of year....


Bryan had to have a Vienna sausage! They don't exist as we know them in the states. This was from a street vendor and boy was it yummy! (Really, I think all we did in Vienna was EAT!)


Sara was not thrilled with Vienna -- she thought it was too cold and boring.


But, she sure perked up when she saw her favorite store was there!


And just a funny shot for some people we know who think there are kangaroos in Austria! This is the only one we saw! Hahahaha!


On the drive home from Vienna, we stopped for a late lunch in another Austrian town near the Italian border, called Villach. Their small Christmas market was really nice and we also enjoyed the little shops in town.


The kids enjoyed watching this wood carver at work...


More good food!


We bought a few Christmas gifts at the markets, but mostly enjoyed the atmosphere, food, and gluhwein (pronounced glue-vine = hot, spiced wine). It was a great way to experience a European Christmas!

Brixen

Sara and I joined our good friends, the Blakes, on their squadron bus daytrip to the mountain town of Brixen, Italy, which is almost to Austria. It was a great, relaxing day! I love these kind of "border" towns that have a mixed culture -- they are so interesting. This one was sort of Italian and sort of Austrian. Andrew and Bryan couldn't join us since they had to sell Christmas trees for Andrew's Boy Scout troop. Our friends, the Lind's also went along. It was very cold, so we had to sip the gluhwein and hot chocolate all day! Darn!


Me, Sara, Angela and Laura...


Angela, Laura, Andrew (with Sam) and Robert...


There was a cute little Christmas market in the town square...



The streudel-maker...


Sara looked after Sam while he napped...


The market was beautiful at dusk, but we had to head for home soon after it was dark.




Such a nice day!

London

For Thanksgiving break, we took a short flight up to London! It was good to be back! Bryan and I took a trip to London -- BC (before children) -- about 14 years ago! We enjoyed it so much back then, we were excited to take the kiddos there! And we couldn't have been luckier with the weather -- 3.5 days in London with blue skies and not a drop of rain! Here we are, across the Thames River with Big Ben and Parliament behind us...


View of the other side of Big Ben with the London Eye in the background...


Westminster Abbey...


And the must-do shots with Big Ben...



One of the big things about London is the theater. First on our list to see was "Wicked" and it didn't disappoint. In fact, it was AMAZING! Here are the kids before the show.


And here is the theater and stage. We weren't allowed to take shots during the show -- not that those rules always stop me (;o) -- but I didn't want to chance it and get kicked out!


And after the show, Sara got her picture with Louise Dearman, the actress who played "Glynda the Good".


The next night we saw "The Lion King." The animal costumes were amazing, but it wasn't as exciting as Wicked. Partly because we all knew the story so well. Here's the theater. We were higher up and in cheaper seats for this one.


We took a tour of the Tower of London, mostly for Andrew. He loved the history and hearing about all the executions there.


The traitors' gate where the important executionees were rowed in by boat, when there was actually water in the moat...


Outside the walls. The lion statues are there to show that animals like that used to guard the tower.


From inside the Tower walls, looking towards the Thames and the Tower Bridge...


A view of the Thames and the Tower Bridge from the London Bridge area. The London Bridge is nothing special now. It used to be important, but kept falling, breaking and rotting over and over again through the early years. Still, we had to sing the song when we went under it!


The castle...


The kids in front of the castle...


A view from the Tower walls out into the city of London. It's amazing to see the blending of old and new...


Our resident "Beefeater" tour guide, Mark...


Andrew with a tower guard sculpture ...


We walked, taxi'd or took the London Underground, or "Tube" everywhere!


Here's the unusual phrase you see and hear everywhere while using the tube...



London taxis are super easy to get, and the drivers are so friendly and helpful. Plus, most of them are really fun, like this one...


St. Pauls Cathedral...


Piccadilly Circus...


Trafalgar Square...


One of the giant lions at Trafalgar Square...


Buckingham Palace. We waited about an hour for a changing of the guard that never happened. The sign in front said it would, but nada! Couldn't figure that one out...


Memorial to Queen Victoria in front of Buckingham...


The famous red phonebooths...


One thing that was new since our previous visit to London is the London Eye. We were skeptical as to whether to spend the money on a giant ferris wheel, but it was worth it after all. It is huge and the cars hold about 20 people each. They don't even stop it to load or unload, it just keeps moving slowly around, so you get a long ride with fabulous views.


At the very tip top, 443 feet high...



We stumbled upon a great little Christmas market near the Eye. We bought some Christmas gifts and ate some yummy Nutella crepes and chocolate-covered strawberries.



We also visited the permanent Covent Garden market, where the Christmas decorations were amazing...



Here are some nighttime shots of the city...



While Andrew and Bryan went to the British Museum one afternoon, Sara and I had "tea" with some friends who were also in town, Lisa and Isabella Pappas. The night shot of Big Ben above was actually shot from their hotel room. What a view! We had our tea in the executive lounge at their hotel, while we enjoyed the sunset and the view.




Andrew was thrilled to go see the Rosetta Stone at the British Museum!


There should be a merit badge for braving Harrod's Department store in London near Christmastime! It was NUTS! I'll never do that again! We did have a little fun though. They had a whole room of Harry Potter stuff! Posing with the sword of Griffyndor...


Expeliarmus!!!

And, speaking of Harry Potter, we also had to go to King's Cross Station to see the cart halfway through the wall of the famous platform 9-3/4!


The Diplodocus skeleton at the Natural History Museum. It was a beautiful building inside and out.



And here are a few funny signs we saw...


Anyone remember this guy, from the 80's???



This was a great Thanksgiving trip! No turkey and stuffing, but fish and chips! It was crazy busy fun, and couldn't have been better!