Only a few weeks left before we head back to Australia… I’ve finally blogged my work trip to Bangkok, Thailand back in September for the AWS APJ Community Summit. I even snuck in a quick trip to the Moomin Cafe! 
We’re both feeling a bit under the weather after a week of travelling, so it’s homemade Glühwein on the couch time.
My first and only keynote at a Luxembourg tech event! I got to kick off tonight’s Techsense TNT Symposium talking about human-first innovation. I also shared some stories of how Luxembourg companies are making people’s lives better, and how Amazon is trying to help address the climate crisis and the technology skills gap. 
I managed to escape the conference for a final fancy dinner with the Snook before we head back to Munich. I had potato soup (with mushroom and truffle), chicken stuffed with escargot 
(delicious!), and a chocolate dessert. He had butternut squash soup with scallops, veal with truffle and celeriac, and white chocolate mousse. A lovely way to end our final trip in Europe!
Heading to one last new country – Luxembourg! “You better enjoy this high-speed rail one last time. We won’t be going this fast in Australia without an airplane…”
Luxembourg Wantermaart! Glühwein and roasting chestnuts and lots of holiday gemütlichkeit. 
(2022 Christmas markets: 4)
When we were at the Tuileries Christmas market the other day we saw several stalls selling what appeared to be potato casserole. I later learned this is ”Tartiflette” and I had it for dinner last night. YUM. It’s potatoes and bacon and onions with cheese melted all over the top. (And they served it with even more potatoes and a salad!) Today I’m bookmarking the recipe so I can make it at home… https://www.seriouseats.com/tartiflette-recipe-5217300
Walking tour of historic Paris. Sadly Notre Dame is off-limits due to the reconstruction, but we still had a lovely time exploring the Left Bank and Les Halles. Made a special pilgrimage to the Centre Pompidou before refueling with pizza…
Time to finally see the most famous painting in the world… #monalisa
We were watching the #WorldCup earlier, so dinner obviously was a choice between Argentinian empanadas and Mexican tacos. The empanadas won. 
Highlights of Versailles. The statues and fountains were sadly packed up for winter, but on the plus side, the palace itself wasn’t crowded at all. I was also particularly delighted to visit the Petit Trianon and Marie Antoinette’s hamlet where she’d pretend to be a shepherdess. 
Thanksgiving Bretagne style with galettes, crepes, and cider. (We miss you, Eman.)
Quick lunchtime visit to Sacré-Cœur on a beautiful sunny day. What a view! We had some fun spotting the filming locations from Amelie. (No phone booth, and the telescope has changed! Carousel is still there though.) 
Ooh la la! 
More Amelie-spotting: the Cafe des 2 Moulins where she worked; Collignon’s grocery; and one of the few remaining analog photo booths left in the world. 
The Best ALDI Wines for $10 or Less – As a connoisseur of supermarket wine, this is very relevant to my interests.
After a long day of work – for me; he went to the Curie Museum – we went out to dinner at a Parisian craft brewery/burger joint/tattoo parlour. (Why yes, we *were* the least cool people in the place.)
Dinner at a lovely French brasserie, then a stroll through La Magie de Noël aux Tuileries! (2022 Christmas markets: 3)
My name is Kris. I’ve been blogging since the 90’s. I live in Sydney, Australia, and I spent most of my career in the tech industry.
No AI used in writing this blog, ever. 100% human-generated.
Pisces buddies!!
TIL we share the birthday month/week. Happy Birthday!
Special thanks to Matt Hinrichs for the site logo!
We have the Harold McGee book, v interesting and often useful. Right up his alley I reckon!