Well, it’s a year to the day since I wrote my last Christmas letter, and once again I’ve decided that a “year in review” on my blog is the way to go. We’re hosting Christmas here in the UK this year, and Aude’s parents arrived in London yesterday. They’re bundled up as warmly as they can be, but they’re still freezing.
What a year it’s been. We started the year in style with a great red-and-black New Years party with Marjo in Belgium. Never content with one party when there’s an excuse to have two, we rang in the New Year again with friends and family in London, Chinese-style.
And it seems that we were right to celebrate. All in all, it’s been a pretty good year. We’ve spent a lot of it travelling, and both my Amex and my frequent flyer cards have taken quite a pounding. We’ve had loads of good times with our friends, celebrating with them or just enjoying their company. And we got married, which is probably worth mentioning.
At times this year, it felt like I was spending my entire life on planes or in hotels, and when I look back at the numbers, there’s some truth in that. I spent over a hundred nights in hotels this year and can recite a number of room-service menus from memory, and clocked up about 150,000 miles in travel. My passport is quickly filling up with stamps from around the world, little memoirs of where I’ve been.
We started the year as we intended to continue, gathering up loads of our friends for a long weekend in New York. Anne-Laure, Neil and MG joined us in the big Apple, where we ate like kings and shopped until we dropped.
After a few quiet weeks, it was time for a quick run to France to stock up on booze, and before we knew it, it was time to celebrate Easter on the French Riviera with Aude’s parents.
A few weeks later, we were off to the US to spend some time with my parents. We introduced Aude to one of the finest foods in the world – fresh crabs on the Chesapeake Bay, then headed down to New Orleans, one of my favourite places in the world, to celebrate Jazzfest. For me, it was also a chance to catch up with a lot of old friends, but also to see first-hand the damage that Katrina had caused and how much work there was to be done cleaning the city up and rebuilding it again.
More catching up with old friends in Washington, then it was off Paris for a few days on business, then to Amsterdam to lead a training course. Almost before we knew it, summer had arrived and it was time for a mid-summer break in France, then a job interview in Paris.
Before we knew it, it was time to head back to France to get married, then we were back on a plane to Turkey to celebrate our honeymoon. Our plan was to see a lot of the Turkish countryside, but mostly I saw a lot of the inside of a doctor’s office and the toilet. Never let it be said that I’m not romantic.
Just days after we returned from honeymoon, I got my marching orders and it was off to Singapore. Where I spent even more time on the toilet. Undeterred by my struggling guts, Gina dragged me along as she went on a one-woman culinary tour of Singapore. And I took lots of pictures.
From Singapore, it was off to Bangkok, then back to Turkey again, this time for business. I did manage to sneak Aude out for the weekend, which was some consolation. This time, to the delight of everyone, I managed not to spend the entire trip on the toilet.
From Turkey, it was back to Singapore for a few weeks, and now finally I’m home. It’s good to be home, even if it’s only for a little while. There’s nothing quite like sleeping in your own bed, even if housekeeping doesn’t turn it down each night. At our house, you’re more likely to find a cat on the pillow than a mint.
We’ve seen loads of friends this year, in between our busy travel schedule. Julien and Karine came to see us in Canterbury,
and Dara came to see us, all the way from Afghanistan.
Neil quit his job and went off to learn French, although like me he mostly learned to swear. Now he’s got a new job in the City, and we’re train buddies each morning.
MG celebrated her birthday, and I celebrated mine, in Singapore-sling style. Aude celebrated hers twice — once in Canterbury, where I managed to fall asleep during dinner, and again in Paris, surrounded by her friends. AnnMarie celebrated hers…
And before we knew it, it was time for Christmas again. There were parties and tree trimming, and plenty of chances to catch up with even more friends.
Last but not least, we used the ultimate excuse to see all our friends and family — we got married. There was a lot of planning, and paperwork, but finally the big day came. One of these days, I’ll get around to editing all the pictures, maybe in time for next year’s Christmas letter.
As I look forward to 2008, we have another big year ahead of us. We’re moving to Paris next month, and with any luck I’ll learn enough French to survive. It’s a new job for Aude and a whole new set of challenges and adventures for both of us. Until then, though, it just remains for me to wish everyone a joyeux noel and une bonne nouvelle année. I hope that your holidays are happy and safe.
