After a few days recovering from the shock of the show, that was really successful, that was really a shock for Dani! (In Florence it isn't common for a painter to be successful. Only Michelangelo and a few others.)... we continued our trip and are now in Luxembourg with wonderful friends from Barcelona who are living here for a few years.

Being in Luxembourg at this time of year is like being in a ski resort without the ski and without the resort. COLD snoooowwww. Actually, I (Kate) love it... it reminds me of childhood when you come in from outside with face and toes frozen :)

To give you an idea...

(big boy in snow... )

(snow from living room....)

Luxembourg is the last remaining Grand duchy in the world after Tuscany became part of the United Provinces of Central Italy in December 1859. A descendant of the Hapsburgs retains the title "Grand Duke of Tuscany"  but is now selling used cars in Uruguay... ah, the fortunes of State.

Luxembourg the small enough to walk across in an hour and is probably very pleasant to do in the warm weather... we are opting for buses when possible. It is really a beautiful and tiny city. When one is accustomed to the age of European cities, it is surprising to discover that the Luxembourg we see today is barely a few hundred years old. Much of it has been built since the late 1700's. In the middle ages, the area began as a fort built on a plateau above two river valleys. 

(the GRUND from above ... YES! it was sunny on Friday :)

(descending into the GRUND)

(WELCOME to the old city!)

(In the GRUND)

Today, the "GRUND," which used to be housing for the poor (of which there are very few here today. Yesterday, a friend told me there used to be one beggar in the city but they moved him to somewhere in the outskirts) and craftsman, has become an area for pubs, cafes and galleries down in the valley below the main city.  The ducal palace, other government buildings shops and museums (of which there are many containing little... more on that another day) are up on the "plateau" where the fortress used to be. In fact, little remains of the old buildings and the city consists of a few pedestrian streets easily viewed in under an hour.

A few images of local transport:

(povera 500! They seem very popular here.)

(transporte paralizado... also very popular... but at this time of year... the excellent buses are more popular)