Barthelona

Fun Fact: Christmas in Strasbourg is a really big deal ... and has been for quite sometime.  In fact, Strasbourg's Christmas Market (the Christkindelsmarik) has been around since 1570.  For the past week, workers have been decorating the big Christmas tree in the main square.  I'm a little confused because there has been constant activity around the tree for several days but it still only has lights.  Perhaps it is more delicate work then I imagine.

In case you're tempted, James and I are encouraging visitors between December 9-16.  If you're on the fence, here's a link to some additional info about the Christmas festivities:

http://noel.tourisme-alsace.com/en/strasbourg-christmas/

Barcelona
Last week, James was in the United States for a week to take his oral surgery boards (which he passed!!) so Conor and I headed off to Barcelona to visit Jordan.  Getting us, and all of our stuff, onto the plane was by far the most stressful part of the whole weekend.  We flew out of Basel, Switzerland where, for some reason, the long term parking lot is a good two city blocks from the terminal AND there is no shuttle.  So, to reach the terminal, I pushed Conor in his stroller, carried a massive carry-on, pulled our luggage and draped the car seat over my head like a messanger bag ... in the rain.  Once we arrived, however, everything worked out great and we had an incredibly enjoyable weekend. 

Since our days at UCLA, when we were both students, Jordan and I have shared a love of fine dining.  Our habit began when we started meeting every Friday for lunch at my sorority (to save money) but soon ditched the free meal in favor of more interesting yet pricier meals at various LA restaurants.  This love has endured regardless of whether or not we can afford it ... which usually we cannot.  We ate out four times in the five days Conor and I were visiting.  Our best meal was, of course, the cheapest.  Jordan's friends, Karen and Alexis, had been wanting to try a restaurant around the corner from their new apartment for weeks.  The 3-course "menu del dia" was less than 20 Euros and everything was delicious.  It helped that Conor was super well behaved while we waited for a table and then conked out for a nap when the food arrived. 

Our lowest foodie moment was the first night.  Admittedly, both Jordan and I drank a bit too much wine while we caught up pre-dinner.  Then, the wine drinking continued throughout the meal.  I refuse to discuss actual quantity but let's just say that we did not appreciate the excellent (and expensive) food as much as we would have had we both been a bit more sober.  After the meal, we dropped Jordan's friend, Sam, off at a bar and we contemplated what to do next.  We did not go get another drink.  We did not go for a stroll.  However, the next thing I know, we're getting pizza.  We went directly from the restaurant, where we'd had a full meal (including apps and dessert), to the pizza place on Jordan's street.  Ugh.  I woke up with a stomach full of mediocre pizza.

I'm happy to report that Jordan and Conor really bonded.  Even though Jordan is not a "baby-person" (he will be the first to admit this), he and Conor really hit it off.  Here's some pics of them bonding:

Conor Update: After weeks of rocking back and forth on all fours, Conor finally put one hand in front of the other and started crawling. Officially, his first crawl happened in Jordan's bathtub but he's now crawling on any and all surfaces. He's not super graceful, yet, but he's definitely moving forward.