Joyeux Noël

No, we are not learning French (not yet, although Aoife and Daddy already have plans) but we did spend Christmas in France this year...and it was magical!

We found an amazing house just outside of Limoux (southern France) and the hosts were fantastic.  There were so many sweet little surprises for us when we arrived; a fresh box of nuts to crack, a lovely box of pralines, a fantastic bottle of white wine packaged with organic preserves, olive and anchovy tapenade, and duck liver fois, there were fresh flowers and, of course, the house was fully equipped and super cozy.  Oh, and there was even a fully decorated Christmas tree!  Awesome.

 Daddy and the girls going nuts.  Ummmm....can we get another box of these, please?!?

 Out to explore the village.

 My sweeties.

After a couple of days of kicking back around the village, eating amazing food, playing games and reading books Grandma and Grandpa joined us!  We tried to take them to see some of the sites we thought they'd enjoy most so we headed back to Carcassone.

 Wooooo, these tunnels get windy, windy, windy.  And cold!

 Pretty babies, okay, fine, not babies.

 This castle really is impresionante.  It's no wonder it's a world heritage site.

Christmas Eve. The girls chose one present to open...

...and so the theme of X-mas 2015 began.  I think they've worn those clothes three times already.  New favorites?  Ha!

Grandma Bernie made all of her granddaughters these fantastic Frozen bedspreads and "quillows."  Lucky little girls!

 Finally, the dress-up clothes.  Thanks, Aunt Trish, Uncle Rob, Piper, and Rory!

We are also in legoland after Christmas (and I have a feeling that los Reyes will be adding to the collection) -- most of Christmas day was spent around the table...

 ...one way or another.

 Wow, Daddy makes great sopa de galets.

 Love.

 I really think that every little French village has at least one of these.  They take their wine VERY seriously.

 Such a great picture!  This is just outside the house -- we enjoyed this view all week.

 We got lucky on this family pic.

 The building to the left, with the blue shutters, is the house we stayed in all week.  The building to the right is a 1000+ year old castle.  Pretty darn cool.

 The front of the house (yes, it is also a working farm).

The garden, again, with a view of the castle.  There were several afternoons when it was nice enough to play outside and the girls put on dance shows for each other.

Later in the afternoon they finished -- they've gotten pretty good and quick with legos.  The more they do, the more their interest grows.

 ...and then we had to leave.  I just wanted to document a little of the space where we passed such a magical, wonderful Christmas.  So, here's the kitchen and dining area.

The view from the kitchen into the living area.  Yes, we did use that fireplace in the evenings.  It was warm, cozy, and wonderful.

So, we will definitely consider going back to this house.  We love southern France -- good eating, great countryside, great wine, good hiking ... and like I said, the hosts were fantastic.  If you're ever in the neighborhood...

We hope you all enjoyed a very merry Christmas.

Much love from our home to yours!

los Stuhan

xo