Thanksgiving AND Christmas in July!?!

03/07/2013

Bonjour mes amis!

Today, I'll be adding to my "Thanksgiving in July...in Germany", and also bring you "Christmas in July...in Switzerland"!  Weird, I know, but everyone knows that we barely get to celebrate Thanksgiving, because all the Christmas Stuff goes up Thanksgiving weekend!  And anyway, Europeans don't celebrate Thanksgiving weekend like we do!  Afterall, they don't have the same History, with the Mayflower, and the Pilgrims, and the huge feast, complete with Ears of Corn and Roasted Turkey...

Case in point...Basel, Switzerland!

While visiting our friends, the H's, they thought we might like to cross the German border into Switzerland (yes, another country to visit)!  We quickly agreed!

This City was ready for Christmas...with Decorations and a huge Market.  Just take a look!

We paused for a Hot Chocolate...

Did you know that Switzerland does not use Euro money?  We didn't convert any money into Swiss Francs.  Fortunately, the Hot Chocolate people were willing to accept our Euros, but we had to give a deposit for these adorable Christmas Mugs, or just not return them, and not get our deposit back.  (No one wanted to carry these breakable beauties, so we returned them and got a portion of our Euros back...)

I hope you don't mind me showing you a few Christmas Decorations in July.  Afterall, all the Craft and Hobby Stores in the U.S. are already sporting some Christmas stuff.  (I know...I was recently in Chicago for my nephew's Wedding...remember?  You don't think I missed the chance to go to Hobby Lobby or Michaels while I was there, do you?)

We got to enjoy some beautiful Views as well, along the Rhine River!

As Basel darkened, we even got to enjoy a few lights...

Then, it was back to Kandern, because...

The H's Son, Roger, had a Date...

Not just a Date...a Date for a Special Banquet, and us Mothers had to teach Roger how to mount the Special Corsage on his Date's delicate Arm, just right.  Okay, teaching done!  He's all ready now...

The only "up-side" for us of Roger having a Date that Evening was...

MORE TURKEY FOR US!

(The carvers at work!)

Yes, we celebrated a United States Thanksgiving all the way over in Kandern, Germany!

It was fun, and we had an AWESOME Weekend!

While Jewelius stayed overnight with the H's, Dr. J and I stayed with Friends of the H's, who had an extra guest room.  Wow!  We even got a King-sized Bed!

On Sunday, we all went to Church together, and then gathered for a delicious Lunch before our drive back to Orléans!

There was a lovely View from the Apartment we stayed in...

I just wanted to mention one more thing about our weekend trip (more so I remember this little fact, but also to amaze you)!  It was about a 5 to 5 1/2 hour drive to visit our friends (most of the drive time being in France), and we paid 50 Euros (about $67.00) in Tolls each way.  When we mentioned this to a French Friend here in France, they raised both their arms in triumph and proudly stated,

"We are the Champions of Tax"!

We all got a good laugh!

Okay, I think I'm done sharing Holidays out of Season now, but I hope you enjoyed seeing our little visit to Germany and Switzerland!  It's a wonderful Memory for us from our year away in France...and other Countries!

Today, I'll leave you with one more picture from Basel, Switzerland...but I cannot believe I'm sharing this with you, because I wasn't really having a "good hair" day!  C'est la vie!

Have a "Jewel" of a Day, of course!
Jan