I’m late to this, but audiobooks are my lifehack. I can “read” while doing other tasks and saving my eyesight.

But I don’t get why—if I have Audible “credits”—I’m not allowed to select & download books directly within the iPhone app. It’s not technically a purchase, right?

Last night we ate at Le Comptoir a Manger in Strasbourg, a six table restaurant whose reservations are typically booked 2-3 months in advance. I’m not sure how my wife managed to get us in, but I do know she’d arranged it before we arrived in Strasbourg at the beginning of December.

Now that the holiday season is over, the other tables were filled solely with French speakers. I dutifully shared a bonsoir with the onlookers as we entered the tiny space and they reciprocated.

Once we were seated we switched to English as the serveuse told us about the menu, and I kid you not: every time she (or we) spoke in English, every person in the restaurant had to stop and look at our table. Understandable the first time or two, but come on… the restaurant staff’s English was 10× better than my French. (And my wife’s boils down to just a few words & phrases).

It would surely have been a bigger spectacle had I tried to muddle through the meal en francais.

We spent NYE at a seemingly experimental jazz performance in central Amsterdam. Our group of 5 was among the youngest there, and we had bought tickets mainly on the belief that we have the best view of the fireworks. As it turned out the venue was facing the wrong direction.

Just prior to midnight we absconded to the waterfront with sparklers and poppers to observe the non-stop fireworks blanketing the city. Passing ships shot flares and blared their horns. My foot knocked over someone’s full champagne flute on the deck, shattering the glass. I carefully picked up the shards.

We started 2019 as good Samaritans, turning in a lost wallet and later recognizing the woman who it belonged to and letting her know. Then we helped some Scandinavian kids figure out how to get to a club they had tickets for. And after that we tried to direct some completely incoherent, half-naked Frenchmen to their hotel.

We finished the night eating apple beignets at 4am.