Manchester has a distinct chill, and I can faintly smell fires burning in chimneys some nights when I'm coming home. And while it hasn't snowed yet (in Manchester at least!), we have gotten frost on the grass and the puddles from all that rain are frozen on the sidewalks and in the streets. And, being the children we are, Richard and I race to stomp around and shatter the ice.
Luckily, we aren't dumb enough to try to shatter the ice that's formed on top of our favo(u)rite pond next to our house. Hello, hypothermia waiting to happen!
But between Christmas dinners, sharing tapas with our friends Vic and Ste, visits with the sisters in law, and all that work we need to wrap up before the end of the year, Richard and I have taken every opportunity we can to sneak over to the Manchester Christmas Market which lines many streets of the downtown area. Even better, Santa is there!! That Santa...can't trump him with geography.
So with bellies full of Bailey's hot chocolate, brats, French provincial food, and Dutch toffee waffles, Richard and I wish you a very Happy Christmas, as my British friends say. And for all of you back in the colonies, I hope to see you on my travels home this season :-)
