and here it is

Welcome to Vienna...

Christmas Eve downtown Vienna

Lisa and her dad

Lisa, her brother Isaac and sister Babsi (Barbara)

ready for our 9 course, 4 hour traditional French meal, complete with wine to match each plate served.

le menu

Receving and education between the different wine glasses

by the 5th course we were taking naps between courses

the cheese platter...

and after (it was a little piece of heaven)

the cook and wonderful hostess (Lisa's aunt, who is also French)

Babsi and I with our "food babies"

Chestnut dessert

Christmas market

Ice skating on a real lake around a real castle. 

oh, Lisa!

flight suit: about 6 layers right there!

I flew in the back of this...in Hungary!

frozen!

My trip to Vienna could be summed up in this: wonderful!! It was cold (-6 degrees C average...wind, cold, no sun...) and relaxing and entertaining and just plain fun! I had a great time being a part of another family and experiencing things the way they do them. Christmas Eve was celebrated with a traditional French meal as my friend Lisa's aunt is French and she was the cook. We definitely were not prepared for the 9 courses that were served that evening or that we were going to be eating until midnight, but it was such an awesome experience.
Christmas day we spent watching movies and laying around enjoying each others company, something I haven't done in a long time. And I made Lisa watch "Sound of Music", ironically, she says that no one in Austria has watched that movie and I told her that everyone in the States has.
We shopped till we dropped one day, went to a Christmas market, the movie theater, went flying in these helicopter/plane things in Hungary (yes, we drove to Hungary one of the days), worshiped at a Christian church in Austria, skated on a real lake around a real castle, and tried my hardest not to lose any fingers or toes to frost bite. Success!!

It was a different experience not being around MY family for Christmas as I thought it would be but it was nice to be a part of someone else's and have my horizons widened and expand my views of the world. Again, I learned more just how American I am, and...just how European my friend Lisa is...but thats what I love about my friends, we have to find other commonalities and it makes our friendships that much more fun! I am so blessed that she opened her home up to me and allowed me to be a part of her family for a week. It was an incredible experience.

Next on the list is pictures from Texas... unfortunately I didn't take almost any so I have to steal the few that were taken of me...but a few are better than none...

I am off to bed in about 15 minutes. I have survived my first day back in Paris and feel like I am going to have no problems getting back on a schedule. Oddly enough I am excited to be back in the cold, all bundled up, and practicing my French again, even though getting to speak all English and see the sun shine for a few days was rather nice!!!

Thank you all for reading and caring and loving, me!