Happy New Year!

Hi everyone! It's been so long since I've updated our site - a belated Happy New Year to you all! I have no good excuses, except the usual being busy... and we bought a new computer that took me ages to get everything set up on.

We are both well and getting through our first northern hemisphere winter, while hearing the news of the full-on heat in Australia. It's awful that it can be -25 degrees in Moscow and 40+ with bushfires in Australia. We certainly can't complain, the daytime temperatures are rarely below -2 here and lately as high as 7!

We have a lot to report on since Christmas. Firstly, I should write about our New Year's Eve in Paris. Simon was here for his 3 week visit and we wanted to him to see a bit of Europe. The train trip from here is only 3 hours and well priced, so heading to Paris for the weekend is achievable. We had a great time (despite being bloody cold), walking along the Champs Elysee with a million other people and waiting under the Eiffel Tower to see in 2006.

We were a tad disappointed when midnight came and there were no official fireworks! Apparently they're only a "summer thing". I had just assumed that NYE and fireworks went hand in hand.

Still, we enjoyed the atmosphere and checking out the sights the next day. Peter has climbed the Eiffel Tower 3 times this year!