Jerome and his girlfriend

Who said Easter is for kids? Someone’s obviously very pleased about her Easter bunnies!

There are some things that the French do really well. Dessert is one of them.

When Matthew was promised he could pose next to a bunny, he had the ‘Playboy’ variety in mind…

Family holidays and boredom are uneasy bedfellows. Which is why practical jokes were invented. Against the pleading of his girlfriend, and with the full encouragement of his mother and sister, the sleeping Jerome proved too tempting a target to resist. Sleeping Jerome + iced water = ???

The moment of the attack!

The aftermath!

Oh how we laughed. It’s worth every moment of the (almost certain) repercussions of the best man’s speech.

We woke up to a beautiful, sunny Sunday morning, so we decided to get out of Canterbury and spend the day in London. It was a chance to catch up with Aude’s brother for some lunch, hear all about his various trips around the world, and to begin doing some wedding shopping.

Sitting on the train, Aude can barely contain her excitement about travelling to the big City

Matthew, on the other hand, rides this train to work every morning and is a little more apprehensive…

Of course, this being Britain, by the time we were up and dressed it was pouring with rain – and it remained that way for most of the day. We caught the train to London Bridge and met Jerome, then caught the underground to Oxford Circus where we walked to Soho for lunch in a Korean restaurant. I was quite excited about this, because I’ve got the sort of naïve sense of excitement that is easily satisfied by having my food cooked in front of me. I’m equally impressed in Mongolian Barbeques, Japanese Steakhouses, and any French place that flambés anything. Having ordered barbequed chicken, pork, and beef, imagine my disappointment when everything was simply served on sizzling platters. It was like Coke without the bubbles – it may taste the same, but it lacks a certain pizzazz.

Jerome and Aude, not yet fully appreciating the disappointment of not having their lunch cooked at their table.

From there, we went around the corner for a quick coffee at Liberty’s, then Aude and I set off for a series of disappointing shopping experiences across London. It reminded us of two things: first, it’s harder to spend money in London than you might imagine; and second, this is still a city where the majority of stores are closed on a Sunday. Demoralised, we grabbed some shopping and caught the train home.

Jerome looking relaxed after several weeks off lounging in the sun. Still, give him two weeks at an investment bank and he’ll be his pale, tired self! 😉

Matthew and Aude have to make due with a cup of coffee in Liberty’s for their relaxation.

Aude does some window shopping

The highlight of our journey (and maybe our day?) was an onion falling out of one of our shopping bags (stored overhead) and landing in the lap of the rather surprised, but very good-natured, Scottish woman sitting opposite us. Having just re-read the last sentence, please believe me when I tell you it was funnier if you were there.

Despite the best efforts of the freezing fog and the bunglings of British Airways, we managed to make it to the Cote d’Azur without too much trouble. We arrived at the airport about two hours before our flight and were herded into large white tents outside to wait until our flight was called to check-in. About half an hour later, we finally made it into the ticketing hall, which was absolutely swamped with people. Between check-in and security, we arrived at the lounge with just enough time for a quick cup of coffee before our flight.

We arrived in Nice to much nicer weather than we’d left at home – warm with clear, sunny skies. Luckily, it stayed this way for the remainder of our trip. We arrived around lunchtime on Christmas Eve and spent the next 48 hours straight eating.

Aude and her parents on Christmas Eve

Aude smiles for the camera

Aude’s father gets the champagne ready to toast the celebration

Minouche (alive, well, and only a little overweight) practices her hunting skills with her new toy mice

“Open your oysters risk-free!” proclaims this clever device. Please notice the blood splattered all over the side.

Oysters to celebrate Christmas. As Gratiane said in her e-mail letter earlier this week, at this time of year the words “oysters”, “salmon”, and “foie gras” trigger a reflex movement to unbutton the first button on our trousers!

Minouche is very interested in the ornaments.

Aude’s mother shows off her desserts…

Aude’s parents’ house, looking warm and inviting in the sun

Rather a radical change for those of us from cooler places, this is what Christmas looks like in the south of France. Not a flake of snow in sight!

Aude smiles as she remembers what “sun” is…

Even Matthew manages a smile…

All becomes clear. Matthew is smiling because it’s time for more champagne!

Mandatory “couple” shot for my parents.

Aude’s father gets ready to carve the Christmas capon. Poor bastard – first he loses his balls, then ends up on our Christmas table. What a way to go. (NB: I’m talking about the capon, not Aude’s father)

Everyone’s down for a nap after dinner…

An absolutely beautiful evening looking out over the Mediterranean.

My mother sent over a few more pictures that she’d taken at Thanksgiving.

Dasha, Carol and Nick in front of the hotel

Carol and Matthew in Belgium

Carol in front of the hotel

Daisy and Calypso relaxing in the dining room

After all our excitement on Friday night, we decided to take things easy on Saturday. After spending the morning with the police, we went to Oriel for brunch then headed out to the Kings Road to do a little pre-Christmas shopping. Later in the afternoon, we met up with Aude’s brother, Jerome, and grabbed the train back to Canterbury where we had a quiet dinner at our place.

Now that Thanksgiving is behind us, we took the opportunity to put the tree up on Sunday and invited a few friends around to help us decorate it. The cats did their best to help out as well, Calypso supervising from the corner while Daisy jumped right in the middle of things. She spent her day alternatively sleeping in the box of decorations and being pissed off with Jerome (why, we’ll never know).

Mulled wine, Christmas carols on the stereo, and a fire burning away on the TV (hey, these are modern times and I don’t have a fireplace) – just what we needed to get into the Christmas spirit. Just a reminder: three weeks until Christmas!

Matthew and Jerome begin the annual “struggle of the lights” as we try to get the strings around the tree. Note the concentration on our faces…

A crowd of onlookers come to cheer us on!

Not quite like Christmas past – this year it’s all about “Fireplace: The Movie”

Is it just me, or are Anne-Laure and Neil kissing in every photo of them I take?

Is there anyone more excited about Christmas than MG? I doubt it!

MG hangs an ornament on the tree

Aude joins in the fun

Since Jerome’s mother claims that the only updates she gets about her son come from my blog, we’ve decided to start photographing him ‘ransom-style’ with a current newspaper to prove that he is, in fact, still alive.

My parents are on their way home as I write this blog, having spent just over a week here in Canterbury with me. It was a full trip, with sightseeing in the UK, a short day trip to France and Belgium, and lots of time for socialising. It was also the when we broke the news to them about our engagement.

Nick has been working in London for the past few months and Dasha was able to come over to visit him for an extended weekend break. As is the normal custom at my house, we celebrated Thanksgiving on last Saturday of November (because everyone is busy working on Thursday), but this was the first time I’ve had the family around my table for the day. It was really nice, and I managed to get my camera out to snap a few photos of the evening.

Dasha & Nick at my place for Thanksgiving

My father, captivated by one of Aude’s stories. A work of fiction, I’m sure…

My mother notices something on Aude’s finger

Ten bucks says that this photo makes it into the famous “Christmas letter” this year…

I’m glad at least one of us is photogenic!

Sorry, Nick, I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. You’re beautiful, too…

Thanksgiving is always a tense time. Those who know me will attest to the fact that I’m a little territorial about my kitchen. Clearly the fruit doesn’t fall far from the tree!

A little bit of turkey and stuffing and she’s a docile as a baby…

…although no more accommodating of the camera than any of my other friends. Perhaps she’s related to Marjory in a former life?

My parents took lots more photos of the rest of their trip, and if they send me copies I’ll try to post them here this weekend. But at least a few are up – otherwise you’d think I’d fabricated their entire visit.