Brussels, Utrecht, Paris, Amboise
We left the USA in August and arrived in Belgium, just in time to say a Final Goodbye to Sylvie’s beautiful Maman. 
We attended her ‘green’ burial in the Netherlands with three of her grandchildren. It was an incredibly moving, beautiful and bonding experience that we will remember for the rest of our lives.
We were so moved that our son Eliot organized an all-night vigil in a park in London. Helene had a huge impact on those she loved and we will carry her in our hearts always.
The week following the burial was also an excruciatingly painful time, emotionally as well as physically, as we had to clear her apartment which was so full of memories for us. Our stress went up a notch when we discovered that we had left one of our passports in a photocopier we dispatched overseas! We eventually got it back after a few weeks of worry.
Our boys joined us in Brussels. They brought us so much comfort and it was just so good to see them after an absence of 18 months.
From Brussels, we dashed to Paris to look after our lovely niece. 
And finally to Amboise with family for some much needed R&R.
London
Pet sits duly followed in and around London. As our home is still rented out (and the rental has just been renewed for two more years!), pet sitting is a great way to still live in London, get to know a location and pick up tips on how to build and decorate homes should we decide one day to put our feet up.
First , there was Sonny. Unfortunately, he scratched us as much as his post! 
The hip and edgy Brixton was full of great ethnic eateries and excellent brownies (Old Post Office Bakery). 
But easily the best thing about Brixton was our son, who has lived there for 9 years.
Second was Fleur who, in another part of London, was a terror to her “friend” Lily but was gentle with us. We taught her a few useful tricks like how to use her cat flap. 
The home, in a posh area with golf courses, was luxuriant and reminded us of creature comforts we once had, like central heating. 
Close by was Darwin’s home: a fascinating visit.
Third was Manni, the gentlest cat we have ever cared for. 
We stayed in an artist compound in Walthamstow and learned so much from the visiting artists. If you are spending time in London and want an unusual hand-made souvenir, head there. 
Walthamstow was full of hip places including “God’s Own Junkyard” with its famous neon signs used all round the world.
Northern England
While travelling for the last three years, we were unable to say goodbye to an uncle we adored and a favourite cousin. So, with no travel restrictions in place in the UK, we decided to seize the moment to visit and cherish our family and friends, not just in London, but around the country. On our way to the North, we visited the Peak District which was delightful. With the usual crowds of trekkers absent, we had the place pretty much to ourselves.
We loved the old pretty villages of Castleton and Tideswell… 
…and their surrounding rolling hills and countryside.
We went on some beautiful hikes including to the top of Mam Tor and along its Great Ridge. 
Local churchyards had lots of “Eyre” gravestones (Charlotte Bronte visited and took inspiration from the area) and we also saw this curious headstone of Little John of Robin Hood fame. 
Visiting the location of a favourite film, The Dam Busters (1955) was also a must.
Don’t fall in! The slippery stepping stones across the river in Hathersage were not so easy! But what a great walk and such good fun.
Who knew Manchester was so interesting? We went on a tour of Chetham Library which is based in a medieval building. It is still open to the public to sit and read its books on its antique benches. 
This cat flap, built into an original Fifteenth Century door, is possibly the oldest in the world. Cats were used to fight off rats which in the Middle Ages plagued the building from a nearby river.
Amboise and Madrid
We always feel so at home in Amboise: the 2 Sylvies and 2 Jeff/J-Fs are compatible in more ways than our names. 
Amboise is in the Loire Valley, famous for its chateaux.
We love Madrid! 
We spent a wonderful afternoon in Madrid with our wonderful nephew and wonderful future niece!
As usual, we had far too much olives, tapas and sherry. 
And we discovered Salamat in Calle de Tribulete, a wonderful baklava shop where a pastry chef from Aleppo bakes everything himself freshly every day with the best ingredients. Now that Aleppo has been destroyed, the Syrian tradition of fine pastry-making rests with people like this chef. His baklava are superior to any of their kind we have tasted anywhere.
The Prado has an extraordinary wealth of Masters including the Dauphin’s Treasure – we had read of its riches in Perrault’s fairy tales and here they were before our eyes. The collection also brought some lovely light hearted moments too like Snyder’s Concert of Birds. 
Madrid’s culture is on display not just in its museums: Velazquez up in lights on the streets. 
To see Sorolla’s intimate paintings of his family in his home-turned-museum was very special.
Motril, near Granada, Spain
We are looking after lots of animals, including five cats, on a ranch in the hills surrounding Motril – Bo is the cutest. 
Qnor, our Spanish mastiff, is a gentle giant and gorgeous too in his own way. The breed specializes in protecting livestock from predators… 
which is just as well as we have 20 very free range chickens. Plenty of eggs. We also have a huge grove full of orange trees.
We even have partridges – the only thing missing is a pear tree. 
Our farm is very close to the beach, so we have some long, lovely lunches by the sea. 
We were so thrilled that our boys were able to join us for two weeks
Where Next?
Still looking where the wind will carry us – not in Europe unfortunately because of Brexit – but hopefully somewhere nice and sunny?! We will leave Spain in the next couple of weeks and hopefully by then, we will have found new places to explore. Even in these Omicron times, there are still highly vaccinated countries with relatively open borders, lovely and sensible people, gorgeous landscapes and a warm climate.
9 comments. Leave new
Amazing, so happy for you!
Enjoying every minute, because every minute counts in times of uncertainties, like pandemic times…
So happy to hear the Boys are sharing time with you in Motril!!
Lets keep in touch, who knows … Winds might bring you down here!
Love to you both !
Marta
Happy New Year Marta! It would be great to see you in Argentina or Spain very soon…let’s talk! Love and blessings to you and your growing family. Wishing you every joy in 2022.
SO lovely to see the ‘boys’. There is a need for an English word to describe our grown adult offspring.
Wonderful photos of both the UK and European places.
And, Sylvie, it was good to see photos from the past of your late Mum, z”l.
We are excited to see what 2022 holds for your old knees and young adventurous hearts. I am both rather boringly risk averse and also now happily cosied-up with my pottery wheel so it is just perfect to stay at home and travel vicariously with you two special people.
Bon Voyage and enjoy all the people, homes and animals that welcome you.
All our best wishes for 2022….and beyond. Fiona and David xx
Dear Fiona and David
It is always so nice to spend time in your company and we really look forward to seeing you when we are back, hopefully in the spring or summer. We wish you and your family every happiness in 2022. Love, Sylvie and Jeff
Nice to see James and Elliot – if only in photos. The place in Spain looks lovely.
An idea you might like to explore. A friend of mine spent a holiday in Madiera and said it was one of the most beautiful places she’d been to. Might be worth looking at if they do pet sits there. Nice and warm and not in Europe.
We love Madeira! We had an amazing stay there a few years ago. Unfortunately, it’s part of the Schengen and Brexit precludes us from staying in Europe for more than 90 days for every 180 days on a rolling basis…which means we need to leave Europe in a few weeks. Returning to the UK at the moment is not so enticing! Today, we applied to volunteer for charities in Chile and Ecuador. We’ll let you know where we end up.
Thank you so much Jeff and Sylvie! I hope you and your family have been having a lovely Christmas and are looking forward to the beginning of a new year ahead.
All my love and thank you for sending me the write ups over this past year. I do enjoy every bit of it! It’s really amazing how much careful you must have been to continue your journey around the world amidst this strange period of world wide suffering. I pray to God for your well-being and your upcoming ventures to be filled with varied experiences as you have been enjoying till dates. It’s also the icing on the cake to see your boys joining in your venture when they have time! It’s great, indeed!
Would be looking forward to know where on earth is to be your next destination. Please keep on sending me your posts.
Regards
Indira
What a lovely message, thanks so much Indira. We try always to be careful. In fact, because the countries we visit seem safer than the UK, we are finding that it is safer to travel!…for example nearly 100% of people in Spain and Costa Rica wear masks even on the streets whereas the British seem for some reason to have an aversion to masks. We wish you and your family a safe and beautifully happy 2022.
I love the way that you have diarised your photos – I might just copy your idea!
Continue having a wonderful trip and look forward to your next update.
Happy 2022