Real snow!!

As we drew the curtains aside in the morning to reveal that gorgeous white blanketing the town, and the little flakes gently swirling in the air, I squealed and bounded to the window, hopping from foot to foot in glee. It's snowing!

It was the second day of the new year. The previous morning, I had woken to frosted trees and cars, and mistakenly thought that some of the frost that was being blown to the ground from the trees by the wind was snow. AB stifled a grin as he gently told me it wasn't snow. Chehh.

But this morning it was real! He stared at me gazing in awe at the snowflakes dancing outside and asked, amused, "Is this the first time you are seeing snow??" I grinned, "YES! Well there was a short burst way back in 1993 outside Beijing airport where the flakes were as tiny as dandruff so that doesn't count. THESE are proper snowflakes!" The man's eyes widened and he just smiled indulgently, and ruffled my hair.

At the breakfast table, I couldn't stop staring out into their garden, transfixed by the frosty white that is now falling in greater intensity. I must have spent an hour just looking at the scene in wonder. It's amazing, how each flake really is of that special shape and pattern that I used to only see in emojis. Such beauty, that's from nature. It's spellbinding, and humbling at the same time.

This will definitely be a memory cherished for a long, long time. ^^

A short snippet for memory's sake. :')

The epic Christmas dinner

All lit up!

When M heard that I will be celebrating Christmas at AB's parents', he gave me a huge wink, "Ah, you're in for a treat - don't expect to leave the dining table in less than seven hours."

He wasn't kidding. We sat down at 7pm and finished the final course at slightly after 2am. *burp*

They were certainly the hosts with the mostest - We started with aperitifs, followed by three appetisers served separately (oysters, foie gras, then seared scallops). We then made the unanimous (and wise) decision to skip the main course and just had dessert, then cheese and coffee. Did I mention that each course was accompanied by a different wine to complement the food (yes, including digestifs with desserts)?

I finally fully comprehend the meaning of the term "wine and dine".

Oysters and Champagne? Mais oui, merci beaucoup!

While it sounds like a lot of food - it was - true to their French culture, each course was a modest portion and I never felt overwhelmed. If there was one thing I learnt about their dining habits during this trip, it was that the meal is an entire experience and very much about the company as much as the food. Christmas is special to them so you can expect to be wow-ed by the spread. It won't be a buffet spread, but definitely comprising of really, really delicious fare.

Just the digestifs, mostly home-made!

After we all pitched in to help set the table and sat down to commence the meal, AB's mum looked around taking in the setup, and sighed a happy sigh, "I LOVEE a beautiful table." She certainly did, and it's evident not only in every detail of the table but in all corners of their home. What I admired the most was how tastefully she did it though - at no point would you feel like Christmas had exploded in this cosy home - it's all little classy touches at different areas that culminate to conjure a warm Noël atmosphere. It was truly a pleasure to be in the space.

The gorgeous table

Christmas in a jar 💖

And after dinner, the gift exchange took place - it's very heartwarming to see how each gift was chosen with lots of thought towards its use for the recipient. There were no boisterous laughter, or rowdy countdown, but the happy smiles and kisses exchanged filled the home with more Christmas spirit than any party I've attended.

Joyeux Noël, indeed. :)

Christmas market in Luxembourg

Pretty lights aplenty 

It was my very first Christmas spent in an actual cold climate, so you can imagine my delight to be in Luxembourg for the year end vacation. No matter that it wasn't white - just the sheer experience of being in a place that wasn't trying to pretend it's winter (coughSingaporecough), and actually IS cold without the aid of air-conditioning, felt like Christmas. Heh.

Of course I had to check out the festive market too, after seeing pictures shared by AB (the boyfriend - have decided that this shall be my nickname for him here) who was here last year (and no stranger to such festivities growing up anyway, lucky dude!), and on the trusty (social) media which we can always count on to educate us folks in the tropics on what real Christmas looks like.

So one evening, we made plans to catch up with M, one of AB's mates based here, and also for the two men to bring me to my first Marché de Noël. Wheee.

I looked all calm and coolly pleasant on the outside, but inside the five-year-old in me was squealing non-stop. ("The lights! The cold! Christmas is in the air, everywhere!!!" *hyperventilates*)

Luxembourg Christmas Market in the city centre

It being the week leading up to the actual day, the market was brimming with activity. We were there for an hour or so from 9-10pm, and there was quite a crowd which would usually be rather atypical for the city at this time of the year, as it gets dark and cold early in the evening. Thankfully this is quite a friendly cosy crowd that wasn't packed to claustrophobic level, and everyone was just chilled out and there to soak up the atmosphere, no crazy drinking nor drama abound.

We had some drinks and snacks before heading to the market, but I gamely sampled some of the essential drinks and snacks, too. Of course, the most popular drink would be vin chaud, which is mulled wine. The warm spicy drink was quite nice to hold in my hand with the frosty temperature, but a little too sweet for me beyond the first few sips. I even tried both the red and white versions to be sure, but the conclusion is that I would honestly prefer just a hot chocolate or straight up beer in this weather.

It was pretty fun to nibble on the Groumperekichelcher, which is essentially a deep fried pancake made from mashing potatoes, eggs, onion, flour and parsley. The taste somehow seemed like a cross between our Chinese ngoh hiang and carrot cake (the dim sum type), which was yummy enough, but the stomach was no longer able to take more than one at a time.

Vin chaud blanc and Feuerzangenbowl

M and AB excitedly bought this other drink, Feurzangenbowl which apparently was one of their favourite must-haves at the market. After hearing what the concoction was (mulled wine with a rum-soaked sugar cone that is set ablaze to melt into the drink), I decided to give it a miss. Between the two mulled wine I had, I've had my fill of sweet wine for the evening (if not the week). They did make for some pretty pictures though, what with the red mugs and flaming sugar.

If mulled wine or potatoes are not to your fancy, there are other choices like the harder liquors and beer, as well as sausages and cookies available for the edibles. There were also other stalls peddling fare such as little festive knick knacks (toys, ornaments and decorations), winter apparel and accessories, even a few adventure rides to entertain the kiddos. Mostly, it seemed like a place for a nice evening of catching up with friends more than actual shopping or eating.

Cute cookies made with fruits, spice and honey

By the end of the hour or so, we all declared defeat with our respective drinks - they were just too sweet, and even more unbearably so when they have cooled down. We dutifully returned the mugs, then left the market and adjourned to a bar nearby which was also one of their old favourites, for a comforting pint of beer before calling it a night.

All in all, it was an entertaining evening for me. Apparently, the Luxembourg market pales in comparison to many of the other markets in Europe by size and number of stalls, but for me it was a lovely initiation to the Christmas celebrations here.

My favourite drink of the night!