New Years Ski Holiday: La Tzoumaz, Switzerland

View from our balcony as Tzoumaz wakes-up - I mean really.... 

Evening activity - Canasta was a favorite

As if the snow on the hill wasn't enough!

Swiss Miss in our Suisse kitchen - small but had everything we needed

9 people around this table - no problem. 

Toblerone fondue anyone?

New Years Eve - Monica was in a party mood

Happy New Year Camilla, Lorenzo and Anna

Anna and Camilla with Paulo - they adored him

Our very Suisse chalet called Petit Pont

Kate and Santi graduate to Blue Queen/King

Steve and Kate geared-up and ready

We had good snow and great views

Part of Team Petit Pont

We have wonderful neighbors. Not only do they have a nice little girl named Camilla who plays with Anna and Kate for hours, but Monica and Nico are nice, nice people. And we enjoy spending time with them. Since we love to ski, we decided to rent a chalet in La Tzoumaz, a small alpine village that is part of the "Four Valleys" ski area consisting of Verbier, Veysonnaz and Nendaz. It was perfect for us - small, low key and quiet. Our 4 bedroom chalet absorbed our 4 adults and 5 kids. We celebrated New Years with a turkey feast followed by indoor pyrotechnics. Unlike last year, we have been getting tons of snow in the mountains. The kids entered ski school and each did really well, advancing to the next level according to L'ecole Suisse de Ski structure. The ski instructors were great. The skiing was great. The company was great.....the trip was great. 

Christmas 2011

Decorating the tree with our favorite Christmas mice

Maria's tradition of gingerbread house making

Santa comes to our house every year; we our gracious hosts

Santa came - let's see what he brought!

The reindeer were messy this year; Santa was hungry!

We love our new robes - thank you Grandma Jan

Christmas dinner of surf and turf

White Christmas for a bit - snowman building with neighbor Camilla Trentini.

Gandpa Gordy and Grandma Jan came to Switzerland to spend Christmas with us. It is always nice to have family come visit and especially nice to be with family during the holidays. We ushered in the holiday season in early December with Christmas carols on the stereo, It's a Wonderful Life, The Grinch and Miracle on 34th Street on the the TV, and decorating our tree early. We honored Woolley family traditions of eggs Benedict for breakfast and surf and turf for dinner, though we could not find a channel playing 24 hours of A Christmas Story - next year. We had a lovely carol service at church, followed by watching the NORAD Santa Tracker over the internet, and laying out milk, cookies and carrots for Santa and his team. Santa Claus comes to our house every year, and this year was no different. We had a really nice Christmas and are truly blessed.

Liechtenstein

View from our hotel balcony

View from our hotel balcony with clouds moving in

Enjoying Vaduz Christmas market

Wines from the Prince's local and Austrian estates

Snowman at Malbun, the local ski area

Classic Christmas market lunch - bread and bratwurst

National Museum in Vaduz

Our hotel

Grandma Jean and Kate by the Prince's castle

Grandpa Bill and Grandma Jean came for a pre-Christmas visit. We decided to tie-in their interest with Liechtenstein with ours, so we headed for a weekend trip to this tiny alpine principality of 62 sq miles,  35,000 people and the 2nd highest GDP/person in the world. We stayed at Hotel Klum, a warm and welcoming hotel located in Treisenberg. The food and hospitality was fantastic; the views breathtaking. We spent a full day out and about Vaduz, the capital of the country. We enjoyed the Christmas market, the national museum - which was displaying a special exhibit on the Faberge eggs, including a movie where the kids discovered what happened to Tsar Nicholas II and his family (we couldn't get them to the door in time.....) , a walk around the ruling family's castle, and a quick visit to taste wines from the Prince's local vineyards and those imported from his estates in Austria. The following day we visited the local ski area and explored the rest of the country before heading back home. It was a lovely get-away.

Fall Break - Burgundy

Beaune Market

Beaune Market

Hospices de Beaune

Hospices de Beaune

Hospices de Beaune

Hospices de Beaune

Hospices de Beaune

Hospices de Beaune

Maria and Steve at Rapet et Fils pur degustation de vin rouge & blanc

Pernand-Vergelesses

Beautiful views outside Pernand-Vergelesses

Vineyards are shared in Burgundy.

Serious wine made from this vineyard - memories from Steve's DC&E days

Main Street in Bouilland - could it be any more charming?

Our Hotel in Bouilland

We love France too! After Steve spent a couple of days at work, we headed to Burgundy for a weekend in one of the world great wine regions. And what a good decision that was. The foliage on the trees and vines were in full color and the views were spectacular. The trip was a delight for the senses, starting with a gourmet meal at our hotel including foi gras risotto and guinea foul with a 2001 Morey St. Denis - a favorite of Steve's. Good Burgundy can be so darn good. We spent Saturday morning on Beaune to visit it's market and the Hospices de Beaune and wine museums. In the afternoon we headed to taste wine at Domaine Rapet et Fils for a full slate of reds and whites from grand cru, premier cru and village vineyards. We drove around the area and spotted many of the famous vineyards that contributed to so many wonderful meals with friends and family. A weekend was not long enough; a return visit is in our future.

Fall Break - Venice

We have the book Olivia Goes to Venice. Kate loves this book; who doesn't like Olivia? After reading this a few times Kate made us promise to take her to Venice. Now that is a promise we wanted to make. After departing Bellagio, we took a leisurely drive to Venice for a few days there. We picked a perfect time to go as the city was less crowded than during the summer. It was wet, but we got our gondola ride in early enough to stay dry. It was an amazing feeling to walk around the city that was once so powerful, and was once so powerfully rocked by the plague - 40,000 dead. I could only imagine what the city must have looked like as it prepared to launch (and bankroll) the 4th Crusade and that the Venetian navy was once the most feared on the open seas. The inside of Basilica Catterdrale Patriacale di San Marco was breathtaking. We spent time on the local island of Murano watching the glassworkers making pieces of the famous Venetian glass; Kate and Steve toughed-out the rain for a quick jaunt to Burano, home of Venetian lace. We found our hosts warm most and inviting. We were glad to keep that promise to Kate.