31 December

After Christmas, Drakey and I headed to Spain, to Valencia, on the way to celebrating New Year in Granada.

Valencia is really lovely. The hotel we stayed in is listed as a four star, but I would describe it as an ex-four star myself. Still, it was pretty handy to town. Having seen Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia, I would recommend Valencia to anyone as the best place to go. The architecture around the place is lovely, ranging from old:

	A luxurious hidden courtyard	The cathedral	Inside the ceramics museum

to very exciting and new:

We spent days wandering the city exploring, and tasting all sorts of great food. We went to the fruit and vegetable markets, where Drakey fell in love with all the wonderful cheeses and hams on sale. We ate fresh baked pastries and drank thick rich hot chocolate. We also sat outside the market the evening before and had tapas which is when I think that Drakey really fell in love with Spain. (check out the photos through my foodblog) Another night we even ate.... pigs ears!

And for my medievalist friends... time for jealousy! We found FABRIC. Spaniards of course do outrageous costumes and sell outrageously gorgeous silks and brocades. Here is a wee photo of my new silk:

Jealous? I should hope so! Pure silk and ever so beautiful. Now I just have to stop changing shape and figure out what to make with it. Drakey bought the same fabric, but in a vivid luscious blue. The weather was so nice and warm, compared to Geneva anyway. It got up to 15 degrees and best of all, there was blue sky, which was a total relief after weeks of grey weather.

One of the other cool things in Valencia, is a bath house. Built in the 13th century, it is the only one remaining in the city. It was renovated in the 1980s and is open for tours.

			Original 13th century tiles
		The detail of the deep star shaped skylights	The bubble pots that sit over the skylights

26 December

The leadup to Christmas has been characteristically mad, with the most busy period at my work that I have yet experienced. We had meetings and commissions and functions on, and in the one week I organised invitations etc for a reception for 250 people, a reception for 60, a reception for 500 and a dinner for 60, as well as sorting out 150 christmas cards for my boss. During the same week I also sang in a concert (which I was ecstatic about how well I did) and baked biscuits for 3 different parties. Various recipes are posted up on my foodblog.

So, consequently I sent a single christmas card. Sorry to everyone... but I feel less guilty when I look at my magnet board which has the Christmas card from my housecleaner, the card from my Grinberg practicioner and a card from my boss as the sum total of Christmas cards for the year. That said, I did receive christmas sms's from various loved ones and an email or three as well, so I don't feel entirely neglected. My mum and dad have sent me some money to buy some clothes, which is a beautiful thing, and means I will get to spoil myself rotten at the post christmas sales

Christmas dinner was a feast I prepared for various friends, some brand new. The menu was:

• Foie gras and red cabbage tartlets topped with fennel chutney
• Tom Kha Gai (Thai chicken coconut soup, made by Drakey who is visiting at the moment)
• Pan seared duck breast with fig and Ginja sauce (Ginja being a sort of port type drink from Portugal)
• Roasted hasselback potatoes
• Mashed potatoes with summer truffles
• Roasted pumpkin, sweet potato, onions and garlic
• Red cabbage cooked in red wine
• B52's - a dessert based on the cocktail. The cocktail is butterscotch schnapps with Baileys Irish Cream floating on it, with Grand Marnier floating on that. I made a rich butterscotch schnapps topped with a Baileys & Toblerone Mousse with Grand Marnier floated on top of that. Very rich indeed.
• To go with coffee: Christmas Pudding Truffles - basically, christmas pudding blended with brandy and cocoa and a bit of extra icing sugar, rolled into balls, covered in melted dark chocolate and decorated with icing leaves.

My friend Denis hosted the dinner at his place, which has a living area about three times the size of mine. There were ten of us altogether and it ended up being a really lovely evening, finishing up at 3am.

Tomorrow I am off to Valencia and then Granada for new years... watch this space!

7 December

I have a desperate need for clothes as I have shrunk out of pretty much everything. Even the clothes I bought in Madrid in September are starting to look a bit on the baggy side. I realised that I had exactly enough shirts (some too large) for exactly 2 weeks. Which would be fine but I only get access to the washing machine for one night a fortnight, and if I am away and skip a night, I am totally stuffed. So buying some more clothes is a bit of a necessity. Of course my christmas holidays are coming up and I do want to have some money for travelling, but some things just have to be bought.

Switzerland is an expensive place to live, there is no denying it. That said, you are reading the words of a woman who sometimes just hits that sweet spot. Tonight was one of those nights and I left the shop tonight having spent 90 francs (which is basically the same as Australian dollars) and with 5 shirts and 6 pairs of undies. I have to admit... all the shirts are in different shades of red. I did try to find other colours I promise, but all the other colours were muddy and unpleasant. I do love red, and look good in it, so have no regrets, and at that price, who would?