Oh where to begin?

Apparently I use that phrase a lot in the blog, but it is often very appropriate. Bear with me as I regale you in this my latest bit of blog-arrhea. After the monumental first nine months of 2014, Jeni and I laid low and relished in the relative calm during the month of October. That's not to say we sat idle and binge watched our backlog of shows on Netflix (which we also did). In the last month we've hosted and have been guests at a bevy of informal events. There was our latest foray to Burgundy with Tom and Oivi, dinners with friends, day trips, frisbee tournaments and of course the Epic Halloween Party in Kirchberg!

Boo.

In the two years we've lived here in Luxembourg, we have

* - I know this may not be realistic...

been very fortunate to find so many wonderful people with whom to share our grand adventure. Just as the leaves began to turn and the evenings brought the crisp chill of autumn air, Tom and Oivi once again invited us down to Culles les Roches in the Burgundy Region of France. Forgive me if I am repeating myself, but one thing you must put on your bucket list is, "find a friend with a country house in Burgundy.*" Dining al fresco in the French countryside is such a wonderful experience, and the weather last month was stupendous. Our days were bright and sunny with mild temperatures, and at night a cool mist would roll in from the surrounding hills making the fireplace cozier and wrapping the quaint village in a gauzy ether. Our garden project continues, albeit a bit slower than anticipated. Contractors can be the same everywhere is appears. Undaunted, we will persevere. This is becoming a personal challenge for me, and I am using these little trips to better understand the cultures we are discovering.

…but you should try :0 Thanks as always, Tom!

Culles les Roches.

JoJo and I on an early morning stroll along the abandoned rail lines.

I won't bore you with all of our comings and goings, but suffice it to say we've been happily active on the dinner scene recently. Our next stop, however, was the bucolic Belgian region of Gaume. Less than an hour away by car, Gaume is in the French speaking section of Wallonia. While Wallonia has its many detractors (the Flemish speaking Belgians being some of the loudest), I personally find it charming and it reminds me a lot of the Piedmont regions of Virginia and North Carolina. Because it is in venerable old Europe, there are loads of historic sites and, of course, the Abbeys where they brew beer and make fabulous cheese! We shared our day trip to Gaume with Christian and Paloma. First we stopped at an ancient priory that has been converted into a restaurant and hotel. Needless to say, even in dog-friendly Belgium, three dogs was a bit too much for their dining room, so we had our aperitif in the gardens and went on our way.

The main house at Le Prieuré de Conques

The owners were very nice, but still couldn't see a table of three people with three random dogs filling their lovely dining room. Christian was a bit crestfallen, but the proprietors told us of a fun bistro a bit further down the Semois River. There we set up on the terrace and enjoyed a traditional lunch of omelets, wild mushroom toasts and wild deer (of which Jeni and I did not take a bite). Our boys sure seemed to enjoy the rare treat as Christian shared with them. I think he takes pity on our dogs because Jeni and I are vegetarians. That's OK, I think it reminded Toby and Jonas of our time at our old country house where deer hooves were like manna from heaven!

Photo by Erik Verdonck - www.belgian.beertourism.com

That takes us to Halloween. While the rest of Luxembourg prepared for All Saints Day, our friends Michele and Tamara were busy setting up a shin-dig like few others in the Grand Duchy. As you can imagine, Halloween isn't quite as big in Europe as it is in the States. We were actually caught off guard last year when a troupe of Tick-or-Treaters came ringing the bells in our apartment building! That said, this year we stocked up on candy, readied our costumes in advance and set out with the other ghosties and goblins for a soirée like no other. I was very happy to see that our other expat friends were up for making costumes and merriment! The party was a veritable UN of masquerading mischief makers. Of course the US was represented, but there were folks from Bulgaria to Brazil, Germany to Great Britain, Hungary, Italy to Iceland, and the list list goes on and on! Everyone was in full Halloween spirit, and celebrated with a lot of enthusiasm. The entire evening was a great success. 

Our gracious hosts!

We had a fantastic time, and unbeknownst to us, there was even a Best Costume Contest.  Any guesses who won??? You can see even more great costumes here… 

Well that's it for now. Thanks as always for reading. It's time to get geared up for the rain, prepare the entry for sopping wet pooches and settle in for the long gray winter. Don't worry, we'll find lot more interesting things to share. Don't forget the Winter Holidays are nearly upon us, and there's always the Buergbrennen to look forward to! 

TTFN!