So our ordinary Saturday here turned out to be a little extraordinary. It started as all our late-fall Saturdays would at home; setting out to play hockey. But that’s about where the similarities end… Here, this was our first Swiss hockey game despite attending practices since September. So we were some excited, and a whole…
Month: October 2016
Real life once again
Having Grandma with us this week has been wonderful. An extra bus rider, story listener, dish washer, laundry folder, adult conversationalist. So great to have company to share our days with, even though our days are now back to the rhythm of our ordinary routine. No more tourist adventures, back to the business of school,…
And then we were 5…
Today we said goodbye to my sister, Kim. As a mom of 4 boys she is an expert on all things fun and my kids are very sad that she’s gone. Anything that represents a connection to home is hard to let go of. Thank goodness we still have Grandma for another week. The fact…
Serious tourist time.
We’ve packed a whole lot of sight seeing into these past few days. Carefully watching the forecast in an attempt to maximize our potential of finding sun. There hasn’t been a lot of it but when we have found it, it has been glorious. It’s been an intense schedule. Hitting as many highlights as possible….
La Cinque Terre
Our other full day at the Italian Riviera was dedicated to exploring the 5 fishing villages known as La Cinque Terre. I had been there many, many years ago as a backpacker but didn’t remember a whole lot about each unique town. Before we set out we stopped in for our morning espressos at the…
Living above our station in life.
When in the Italian Riviera you are quickly & frequently told that Portofino is expensive. Best to fill your tummies before arriving to avoid the inflated prices there. That was our goal. And easy to accomplish too as prices in the adjacent towns were surprisingly reasonable. 3 cappuccinos for $4.50. Brioche for each of us…
Ok, where were we…
Italian Riviera, oh right. So we carried on exploring Milan and marveling at its marvelousness. Ferrari store where photos are frowned upon – see below for the ones we got away with. World famous gelato shop where you are treated with such disdain that your only response is to give up trying to explain what…
Not in Kansas anymore…
The departure from Switzerland has made us appreciate their rigid systems of order and cleanliness. Italy has a different flare to it. Not entirely a bad thing, just surprising when you’ve become accustomed to reliable train schedules, easy navigation, friendly ice cream shop vendors and train toilets that don’t smell like a hot day on…
Patios await
After nearly drowning at a market in Italy yesterday, the clouds finally began to part and we cautiously unzipped our rain coats and folded up our umbrellas. The beautiful sunny paradise that Lugano can be finally made an appearance and we have done our very best to make the most of it. The market did…
Rain, rain, go away…
The rain hasn’t dampened our spirits, it has merely kept us from enjoying the cocktails the patios offer. Plenty of time for that. I’m confident we’ll make up for it. The arrival in Lugano has been soggy. We have not represented well here…so hard to pull off European sheik when it is teeming with rain….
Paradise awaits
After this post I may sign off for a bit. The reason? I will have REAL PEOPLE in my presence. Not just any real people, my mom and my sister are arriving tomorrow. It’s not that I haven’t really enjoyed our conversation, I have. It has become a lovely routine for me, once the kids…
Thankful indeed
As we round out this far-from-home Thanksgiving weekend we are feeling optimistic that we have tapped back into the good stuff. Being on vacation will do that; I am not naive enough to credit this feeling of happy blissfulness to just our good, gratitude-focused attitude. But I do like to think that our determination to…
mexicans in switzerland 