Valentine's Day

We're not really doing anything to celebrate. I found that when our lives were busier, I took any excuse (Valentine's included) to grab some alone time. But now, it's almost always alone time. We do stuff with other people, but our lives are so much slower than they were 2 years ago - which has been AMAZING. So, this year we don't need it. We made gumbo last night, we're going to polish that off, and open a bottle of wine. I just confirmed that neither of us bought presents or cards (it was a negative on both sides), so no one's showing anybody up. Perfect.

I realize I've missed a lot lately... our trip to Zurich, Christmas, our ski trip last weekend. This might catch you up.

Zurich is by far, hands down, my favorite city. Here are a few pictures from our quick trip before Christmas. There were lots of long walks in the snow, weighed down by shopping bags, and I loved every minute of it.




There was Christmas music on every other street corner. Each block brought a new surprise, and at one point, Ryan screamed, "now there are kids in a tree!" There were. Kids singing in a Christmas tree. Magic.














They had Christmas market stalls, both outside and inside the train station, alongside a gigantic, crystal tree.












When we got cold, we stopped for Gluehwein.



We went to a FANTASTIC restaurant - really REALLY good. It was an old glass warehouse.













We had champagne with flowers in it. I love champagne and flowers, so that was great.



Ryan tried a "picture in the hotel mirror." He thinks he's cool (he is, actually).



On our last day, we had my favorite zurich meal...bratwurst, spicy mustard, and a crusty roll from the stand on Bellevue.



And we got to ride in an old-time trolly. I guess they brought them out for Christmas. They were wooden, manned by a uniformed driver, who actually got out and announced each stop.


















It was just a perfect way to spend a Christmas weekend... lots of snow, cobblestone streets strung with thousands of hanging lights, bags in each hand, with carols in the background. I'm going to miss this.


I'll write about Christmas and our ski weekend later. While we aren't going all (Valentine's) out this year, I'm pretty sure staying on the computer isn't part of the plans.