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Another very active year for the Quigley family
(Now incorporating the Quigley-Breulet family known to us all as "Creme Breulet")
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Les Q |
Jill Q |
Danielle Q-B |
Chris Q |
Laurent B |
India Q-B |
Sounds bloody pretentious (again) - but nevertheless a fact - 2007 for us started somewhere in the Caribbean - can't remember where, as it was so long ago!
It was the beginning of another active year that held many ups and a few downs.......
As usual we travelled a lot for pleasure (supposedly) - Our summary.....
Countries visited = 16; Continents visited = 4
International flights = 44 (Jill a few less) with 10 different airlines - The best - New Zealand Airways; the worst (by far) - British Airways
Lost bags = 2 (both in transit through London, 1 at City & 1 at Gatwick, both recovered after 3 days); Diverted with overnight stay = 1
Best Airports = Pau, Schipol & Singapore; Worst airport (by far) = Manchester
Cruises - 2; Overnight Ferries - 2; Countries driven in = 8; Miles driven = too bloody many!
Best experiences = having a grand daughter & coming home! (we only spent 97 nights in our own bed this year!)
Since our last newsletter, 2006 would you believe, we can report that we had a fantastic end to 2006 by spending a family Christmas in Luxembourg staying with Danielle and Laurent. Chris was also with us. A good choice since the Christmas markets in Luxembourg city and in Trier (Germany) were excellent. Both are just 20 minutes drive from Danielle's house (in opposite directions) and both are to be savoured. Easy parking near the centre, no traffic jams, and no vast crowds - perfect for last minute shopping, crepes, frankfurters, gluweine and beer - all in the same square!
As a family we always go to midnight mass on Christmas Eve - this was no exception - we went to Luxembourg cathedral where we experienced a wonderful service in 5 languages (luckily one was mine) ... Luxembourgish. Latin, French, German and English. A very moving ceremony in a wonderful setting. This really set us up for Christmas.
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Luxembourg Cathedral |
Christmas in Luxembourg (& France) is normally celebrated on Christmas eve, however, Laurent & Danielle decided to show Laurent's parents, who were also staying, what an English Christmas was like by preparing a formal Christmas lunch. The lunch turned out to be the best meal any one of us had ever eaten. The only thing that it had in common with an English Christmas lunch was that one of the sweets was a "Christmas pudding" - one that we had taken. The rest was incredible ..... I doubt if anyone in the world ate better than us that day..... It started at about 12.00 Hrs with a selection of amuse bouches that would have graced a King - there were many (too many to count) each accompanied by a different champagne......This was followed by homemade fois gras" ...... followed by their delicious homemade soup (I've forgotten what it was!)..... folllowed by a boat shaped Langouste...... followed by a sorbet..... followed by two roasts...... followed by a cheeseboard with about 10 of the worlds most unusual cheeses..... followed by 2 sweets ..... followed by coffee with a selection mignardise..... followed by a 33 year old Armagnac - all courses were beautifully presented and each was accompanied by a specially selected wine. We retired (collapsed) from the table at about 21.00 hrs!!! |
Two days later we left Luxembourg to fly to Frankfurt to commence our annual round the world trip.