Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Swiss Groupon

I receive daily Groupon emails for deals around Switzerland. This was one of the latest specials: Two pizzas of your choice for 19.90CHF (Swiss franc) instead of 65.80. So the regular price of two pizzas is 71 US dollars! For Dominos! I don’t think that includes delivery charges either. I didn’t buy the deal even though it was a 70% savings.

Babies, Babies, Babies

This past weekend we got together with the two other couples from our childbirth course. All three babies were born in the month of July. Finn is the oldest. James and Leona’s daughter, Isobel, was born four days later and Dan and Beth’s daughter, Taylor, was born a little over two weeks after Finn. It was fun to see the babies together, to see the difference in size (Finn had the biggest hands and feet by far) and to hear their birth stories. It was amazing to see the personalities that are already coming out of these wee little ones, too. We should have invited Ruth, our instructor/midwife, to complete the group.

It's kind of difficult to get 4 month olds to look at the camera all at the same time. We were 0 for 3 in this picture.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

16 Days….

Until we’re back in Minnesota for Christmas! We’re a little anxious about the flight with a 5-month-old, but we’re so excited for family and friends to meet our little guy. It’s been four years since we’ve had a Minnesota Christmas.

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Thirsty Guy

Matt traveled to Italy last week for work. He brought home a bunch of goodies for me, including wine, olive oil and homemade pasta. For Finn he brought toys and clothes. He had just one thing for himself, which he enjoyed after the five-hour drive.....one beer.

Friday, November 18, 2011

The Rheinfall

A while back we made a trip to the Rheinfall, the largest waterfall in Europe. This was Finn’s first roadtrip and it went well. We were surprised at how much gear we needed for an overnight excursion with a baby! We had beautiful weather for the Rheinfall as we spent the afternoon walking around it. Finn took in the sights while Matt carried him in the Baby Bjorn. My favorite views were from the Schloss Laufen, a Renaissance castle overlooking the falls.

The next day we drove to the small town of Stein am Rhein, which is described as one of the most authentic and best-preserved medieval towns in Switzerland. It was definitely one of my favorites with the half-timbered houses and paintings on the buildings in the main square.



Thursday, November 3, 2011

Whoo-hoo

We found A&W Root Beer at the local grocery store! Never mind that it was in the beer section of the store or that it was 9 francs (about 10 US dollars) for a six-pack. I may have overdone it on the root beer floats though. And then I wonder why this baby weight is sticking with me….

Monday, October 31, 2011

Sad Little Pumpkin Patch

We wanted Finn to have a pumpkin for his first Halloween but we’ve never seen a pick-your-own-pumpkin patch in Switzerland. There’s a local farmer who puts his produce out in a field so we made this our pumpkin patch. It was slim pickings in the pumpkin department. There were two oblong pumpkins that were flat on one side, and at 20 francs (23 US dollars) a piece Finn wasn’t getting one. We ended up with a squash for 6 francs that looked enough like a pumpkin for a three-month old.

Monday, October 24, 2011

More Party Tricks

Finn added a new one to his bag of tricks. Not only is he flexible – he gets his feet almost over his head – but he is now trying to get his entire fist into his mouth. He hasn’t been successful yet and he has gagged himself a few times, so he needs a bit more practice. Fast forward seven or eight years from now and Finn will be the kid showing off this trick at the lunch table with his little friends.

Hello, Toes!

Finn has found a new source of entertainment. Who knew toes could be so much fun? Auntie Andrea provided the colorful socks.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

The Grip Machine

Finn’s newest trick is to grasp things in his hands. He has a strong grip and once he gets ahold of something you have to pry off his little fingers. All that practice came in handy Friday night at the Cain’s house.

Friday, October 7, 2011

Shower Time

A few of my neighbors and I threw a baby shower for my dear friend, Ayelet. Her baby is due at the end of this month. The shower was an enjoyable afternoon spent with good friends. Her mom, sister and nieces were visiting from Israel so they joined us. They’d never been to a baby shower. It seems like such a common event to me but I’ve learned that a lot of places don’t have this tradition.

We’re so excited to meet Ayelet and Jo’s sweet baby girl and to see them in their new role as parents. I’m so thankful that our pregnancies overlapped and that we’ll be first time mamas together. Finn is looking forward to having a playmate next door, too.



Thursday, October 6, 2011

Finn’s Future Occupation

If we were going to be lifers in Switzerland we found a career for Finn. A while back we had an outlet installed in the bathroom for our new washer and dryer. After more than four months without receiving a bill I thought they forgot about us. No such thing. The bill arrived the other day. What the heck?! Over 700 Swiss francs for one outlet....that's almost $1,000 USD! I'm guessing electricians make a pretty good living here.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Time Flies

It was exactly three years ago today that Matt and I left our home in Minnesota to make the journey to our new home in Switzerland. It’s amazing how fast the time has gone. Three years! That day in the airport was such a difficult one. I remember being overwhelmed with sadness about leaving family and friends as well as anxious about how we’d fit in over here. Although it’s been hard to be away from our loved ones, the experience has been wonderful. Thank you for taking me on this adventure, Matthew.

Monday, September 19, 2011

The Tidy Swiss

A friend passed along this link about a Swiss artist:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2011/09/12/140394807/extreme-tidying-up?sc=fb&cc=fp
Does it mean I’ve lived in Switzerland too long if I like his work?

Birthday Boy

We celebrated Matt’s birthday last week with pizza, rice crispy bars and Green Bay Packer football. Everything a guy could dream of, right? Matt recorded the game from the night before. This was Finn’s first Packer game. Matt was convinced Finn was watching to the game. I didn’t want to burst the birthday boy’s bubble but Finn was more into the movement on the television than the actual content of the program. He would have looked just as interested had it been one of my trashy reality shows.

Finn’s football in the photo is straight from Lambeau Field courtesy of the Elko family from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Finn carried it around town in his stroller on game day but no one offered to play with him.



Friday, September 9, 2011

Diaper Run

My, oh my, how things change. We used to be going on beer runs to Germany. Now we’re doing diaper runs to France. Diapers are a lot less expensive there than they are in Switzerland so off to France we go to stock up. I’ve had to have a chat with Finn to explain that we need to make the most of a diaper - none of this pooping immediately after I’ve just changed him. Diapers are too expensive for that in Switzerland – about $32 for 55 diapers. Back home the same brand is $10 for 42!

Barb went with me on the most recent run. It turned out to be a stressful trip. Finn was over-tired and screamed for the first 10 minutes. We received countless sour looks as we made our way through the aisles. I had him in the Baby Bjorn and was in the process of taking him out to calm him down when I saw a woman at the end of the aisle giving me a dirty look and motioning with her arms to cradle him. Not the kind of advice I wanted at that moment. To be fair there were three people in the store who gave us friendly looks. That’s right, THREE out of a store full of people.

Here’s a picture of Finn all ready in his car seat to head to France.

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Growing Boy

Finn is busy growing these days. He’s gained close to 4 pounds in just two months.

Gramma Barb and I took him to get weighed yesterday at a place called Espace Prevention in Morges. It’s a weigh-in station for babies. The agency contacted me after Finn was born and said I could come by to have him weighed once a week. The Swiss are really into tracking a baby’s weight gain. I don’t think there is as much emphasis placed on this in the US as there is here. I haven’t heard any of my friends talk about stopping by a weigh-in station on a weekly basis back home. Just a difference I’ve noticed in how things are done here.

Overall I have been very impressed with the support given to new parents and their babies in Switzerland. It’s all very proactive; troubleshooting problems before they become bigger issues. Within 24 hours of being home from the hospital we had a midwife come for a home visit. She came again two days later. I have three more visits with her in the next six months related to breastfeeding if I need them. The Swiss really know how to support their new parents and babies.

Gramma Barb

Finn made another trip to the airport last Wednesday. This time it was to pick up Gramma Barb. She will be visiting for three weeks. We’re so happy she could make the trip over to spend time with Finn. I think she held him for three straight hours the first day. He’s already found a special place in her heart. Barb’s found a special place in my heart, too…I haven’t changed a diaper since she’s arrived!

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Grandma and Grandpa Thoma’s Visit

Finn spent some quality time with Grandma and Grandpa during their two week visit. We’re so glad they were able to make the trip over to see their grandson so soon after his birth. It was extremely helpful to have them here while Matt was away in the US, too.

Grandma had a special knack for getting Finn to sleep. She logged a lot of miles as she walked him around the apartment to induce sleep. Many of those miles were after middle of the night feedings. I don’t think she slept through a night here. She was always getting up to check on us.



Grandpa was in charge of pushing the stroller on walks. We discovered the more cobblestones, the better. They put Finn right to sleep. I think we’ll be wearing out the stroller wheels at some point with all those bumps. Grandpa and Finn bonded as they watched a few baseball games on TV. Their matching clothes made it obvious which team they were rooting for (Go Brew Crew!).



We are so appreciative of all the love and support they gave us during their visit and continue to give us from afar. Finn is very lucky to have such loving grandparents.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Happy Birthday!

Gramma Barb celebrated a birthday last weekend. Since Finn wasn’t able to wish her a happy birthday in person, he did the next best thing and did it over Skype. He’s saving his birthday hug and kiss for when she comes to Switzerland later this month.


Monday, August 8, 2011

One Month Old Already

It’s amazing how life has changed in just one month for us. It can be exhausting at times but it is truly the most rewarding thing I’ve ever experienced.

Finn had his one month check up today at the pediatrician. Just getting me and Finn dressed and out the door is still a challenge but we did well this morning. The pediatrician had all good things to say. Finn gained 800 grams in the past month. He is now 4.42kg (9 lbs. 12 oz.) . He also grew 7 centimeters. Our baby boy is growing!


Hello Grandma and Grandpa!

Grandma and Grandpa Thoma made the trip to Switzerland to meet their new grandson. It was a very special moment when they saw Finn in person for the first time.

Friday, July 22, 2011

Our Son

We (actually I) decided that we were going to wait to find out the baby’s gender. We found that this is rather uncommon to do in Switzerland but I wanted it to be a surprise. Matt graciously accommodated my wishes. It was fun to have people guess the sex of the baby throughout the pregnancy. I will also never forget hearing the doctor announce ‘un garçon’ when our son was born. Matt was so focused on talking me through the birth that he missed the big announcement.

My thoughts on the sex of the baby changed from week to week. I had only two dreams about it while I was pregnant. In my first dream it was a girl. I had my second dream a week before Finn’s arrival. The only part I recall from it was an entry written on this blog. It was called ‘Our Son.’

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Our Beautiful Baby Boy

Finn Charles McCarthy was born on July 7, 2011 at 10:50 p.m. He weighed 8 pounds (3.65 kg) and measured 19.3 inches (49 cm) in length. He’s healthy and happy and we feel so blessed. It’s overwhelming the amount of love we have for this little boy already!

Monday, July 4, 2011

New Product at the Supermarket

My friend, Christina, was in the German part of Switzerland about a year ago and found English muffins at the Coop, which is one of our main supermarkets. I’ve been waiting patiently, making routine checks, for English muffins to make their way to the Coop in the French part of Switzerland. I guess it takes about a year. Finally, they are here. I was so excited to find these because it means Matt can make his yummy breakfast sandwiches (think Egg McMuffins from McDonalds but way better).

I went to bed thinking about breakfast and was not disappointed the next morning. The sandwiches were great, so great that I had two (one for me and one for baby – that’s how I justified it). It reminded me of weekends at the cabin with Matt’s family. Perfect timing as I am feeling a bit homesick because we’re missing out on family getting together back home to celebrate the 4th of July. Say a few ‘aahs’ and ‘oohs’ for us as you watch the fireworks this weekend.

Friday, July 1, 2011

A Special Package

No, this isn’t THE special package that’s been nine months in the making. This was a different special package that we received from my cousin, Michael. He sent us the outfit made by my Grandma Thoma for her first great-grandchild. We have the tradition of passing it on to the newest addition to the family. Baby McCarthy will be the fourth great-grandchild to wear it. The outfit has traveled a bit - Minnesota, New York and now Switzerland.

Monday, June 27, 2011

C'mon Back

Our friends, Suzie and Didi and their girls, Pia and Alena, left about a month ago for their new home in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Up until the last few days it’s felt like they were just there for a vacation. Although we are happy to hear they are adjusting well to life in KL and enjoying their new surroundings we’re ready for them to come back home to Morges. We miss them…a lot.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Nesting

I’ve had a serious case of nesting this past month. Every nook and cranny has been cleaned in our apartment (this includes Matt’s sock drawer). After thoroughly cleaning the freezer, it was then stocked with as many homemade meals as I could fit in there. I had to be very strategic in how I did this since our freezer is about a quarter of the size of a a typical freezer back home. I’ve also been stocking up on household supplies so I won’t have to make a lot of trips to the store right after the baby’s born. Matt has put a ban on me buying more laundry detergent and toilet paper. He said we have more than enough of each to last us a while. Just a few more things to do around the house and we’ll be as ready as can be for this little one’s arrival.

Friday, May 27, 2011

Baby Shower

Last Friday my wonderful neighbors had a baby shower for me. The gifts were very generous and thoughtful, and the food was delicious. Just being around them calmed my mom-to-be nerves. I am so lucky to have all of these lovely women in my apartment building, and I am sure to be knocking on their doors very soon asking for more advice once the baby arrives.


Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Pet Peeve

Sometimes the Swiss just amaze me…and not in a good way. Yesterday I was buying flowers at Hornbach (like a Home Depot). As usual there was only one cashier open. Customer service isn’t a big priority here. Not like back home anyway. There could be a line six people deep with several employees standing around but they still wouldn’t open another register. It’s another pet peeve of mine but not the one I’m focusing on right now.

So I went to get in line and found myself behind a full shopping cart without a person attached to it. I knew right away what was going on. The owner of that cart was holding a place in the long line while still running around the store shopping. What?! Lines are meant to stand in when you are done shopping. I can understand an occasional time or two when you forget something, so you leave your cart in line and run back to get it. That is acceptable, but it is not okay to hold a place in line as you continue to shop. I’ve seen it done several times where people have made multiple trips back and forth to get more items while holding a place in line. I wasn’t in the mood for it yesterday, so I butted in front of the personless cart and didn’t even look in that direction when the woman returned to the line. She proved me right though…she was holding several more items which she put in her cart.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Mission Accomplished

Matt had a few ‘to-do’ things on his list for Bruce and Cindy’s visit. The first was to introduce Bruce to a variety of Swiss and German beers. This mission was accomplished early on in their visit – I think the photo was taken on day 3.


The second ‘to-do’ item was to grill out as much as possible. Matt and Bruce are grilling buddies back in Minnesota. Bruce makes one delicious steak on the grill. The steaks aren’t the same here, so we settled for a variety of local sausages. Based on how much meat they grilled for just this one meal, I think it’s safe to say this mission was also accomplished.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Rochers de Naye Hike

We kept very busy during Bruce and Cindy’s visit. My favorite day was when we hiked around Rochers de Naye. We started it off with lunch at a restaurant in Col de Jaman. The restaurant had just opened that day for the season. Prior to that there had been too much snow to drive there. We had a traditional Swiss lunch with Matt and Bruce trying the rösti (hashbrowns served with an egg on top). I can’t remember the name of Cindy’s dish, but it was super cheesy whatever it was, and I had Alpine macaroni, which consisted of lots of milk, butter and cheese. My mouth still waters when I think about it. It was that good.

Since it was a 2 – 3 hour hike uphill to the peak (Rochers de Naye) we decided instead to hike from Col de Jaman to a nearby train station to ride the cogwheel train up to the top. The weather cooperated – the sun was shining with only a few clouds in a very blue sky. The views from the peak were beautiful.


We took the train back down to another little stop. I think it was selected by the guys because it had a bar selling cold beer right next to it. After quenching our thirst we began the hike back to Col de Jaman. You’ll notice on the picture of this sign that it should take 45 minutes to get to where we were going.


However, if you look like this, it takes you one hour and 30 minutes. Not bad for being 29 weeks pregnant though.


We were moving pretty slow on the way back because of my belly but we all made it safely to our destination. Overall, it was a fun day and a perfect example of what it’s like to hike in Switzerland.

Tulip Time Again

The tulips are out. There are 100,000 flowers in the park to celebrate the Fête de la Tulipe in Morges. It makes for a very enjoyable walk every day.



Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Next Round of Visitors

Our friends, Bruce and Cindy, are making the big trip over to see us. They arrive this Thursday and will be staying with us for a week. We’ll spend most of the time in Switzerland but also a few days in Paris. I have the week off from school so I’ve been busy getting ready for them. We have a long list of possible things to do and see, so hopefully the weather will cooperate. They timed their trip perfectly with the tulip festival in Morges. I’m sure this was high on Bruce’s priority list.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Successful Visit (Until the Last Day)

After several days of sight-seeing in Paris, Rowan, Evie and the rest of the family, including Grandma Connie, came to Switzerland. We had a wonderful weekend with perfect weather – 70+ degrees, blue sky and beautiful views of the Alps and Lake Geneva. We took full advantage of the unseasonably warm weather and spent our time out and about Switzerland.

Here are the highlights:

• Walking through the Saturday market and park. The tourist office suggested a little scavenger hunt for the girls to do in the tulip park. They had fun running around looking for Tinkerbell's magic wand while the grown-ups enjoyed the scenery.

• Our friends often take their children to Signal de Boughy, which is a massive playground, just a short drive from Morges. This was the first time I'd been there. The girls loved the playgrounds and the views were stunning. Matt took Marc for a bike ride through the vineyards to see the Vufflens-le-Château while we were at the park.

• Château de Chillon in Montreux. Typically it takes more than an hour to go through the castle but Lisa and the girls were in and out in record time; less than 30 minutes. Marc and Connie weren't far behind them. After a picnic lunch Matt and Marc went for a hike while the rest of us came back by train and then went to the park.

• We ended the weekend with a trip to the baths in the morning before heading to the airport. It was a wonderful time until I put the wrong kind of gas in our diesel car. Bad, bad things happen when one does this. It created a lot of stress and worry for everyone. Thank goodness for my friend, Christina, who came to our rescue.



Getting Ready

We've been learning a lot as we prepare for baby's arrival in July:

• Prenatal check-ups have been every four weeks. My doctor has done an ultrasound at every appointment, which is a lot more than my friends back home say they had.

• My weight is measured in kilos at the appointments. I love how little that number sounds in kilos compared to pounds.

• In Switzerland women tend to stop working a month, or sometimes even two, before their due date. The doctor said the Swiss feel it's very important for the mother to have time to prepare for the birth. I like their way of thinking.

• The hospital stay is typically five days for mama and baby. Six to seven days if it's a C-section.

• After giving birth the mother is served a cheese platter. Yum, bring on the cheese!

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Another Good-Bye

This is a bittersweet entry to write. Our dear friends, the Ultes, are making a big move soon. They’re moving to Kuala Lumpur because of a job change for Didi. I had to check on the map when Suzie told me where they were moving. It’s in Malaysia for those of you who are challenged in the geography department like I am.

This is a very exciting opportunity for Didi, Suzie, Pia and Alena but it’s going to be very sad to see them go. They’ve become such good friends over the past 2 ½ years. Matt is going to miss his grilling and drinking buddy, and I’m going to miss hanging out with Suzie, especially our frequent trashy tv get-togethers when I just walk throught the garage in my pajamas and slippers to her place. We’ll miss the girls, Pia and Alena, too. We see them so often and have enjoyed watching them grow up over the past couple of years.

These next few months are going to be filled with lots of ‘lasts’ for the Ultes as they say good-bye to all the friends they’ve made in Switzerland. The ‘last-times’ have already started for the guys as Didi leaves in two weeks. The boys have already fit in one last weisswurst frühstück (a white sausage breakfast with pretzels and beer), a visit to their local pub, the White Horse, a chili/movie night and a weekend away to Amsterdam.

The Ultes have a wonderful adventure ahead of them but it’s going to be awfully lonely around here without them. Malaysia has now been added to our list of must-see places before we return to the US.

Correction

My friend, Ayelet, shared with me today that my blog had an inaccuracy. According to her there are indeed robins in Switzerland. She said they’re not common, but you see them every once in a while. Kind of like squirrels in Switzerland, I guess. I’m on the look-out for robins now.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Very Special Visitors

Our next visitors are scheduled to arrive a week from now – my nieces, Rowan and Evelyn! They (along with my sister, brother-in-law and his mom) will be spending a long weekend with us. It’s going to be a bit crowded in the apartment but we’ll make do. I’m so excited to show them around Switzerland. I’ve got a kid-friendly itinerary planned. Now I’m just hoping for beautiful weather so they can enjoy the scenery

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Swiss Family McCarthy

We’re starting a new adventure in Switzerland. Baby McCarthy is due in July! We’re very excited but also a little nervous as we start this journey into parenthood, especially so far away from family and friends. I’m sure we’ll have some interesting stories to share as we continue through the pregnancy and prepare for his or her arrival.

Spring is Here

Back in Minnesota I knew it was spring when I saw my first robin of the season. There are no robins around here in Switzerland so I had to find a new sign. So spring has sprung in Morges when the mimes come out of hibernation. Today I saw my first one of the season outside the grocery store. I don’t know why but our town of 14,000 has quite a few different mimes stationed throughout town. It will take me a while to get used to them waving, winking and blowing me kisses again, but I’ll get used to it if it means spring weather is just around the corner.

Amsterdam

At the end of January (how can it already be the middle of March?!) I met my friend, Darcy, in Amsterdam for a long weekend. She was there for work, so I went to keep her company over the weekend. We had a great time exploring A’dam. I had some inside tips from several of our neighbors who have lived there, so we had an idea of how best to spend our time.

Darcy and I started our tour of Amsterdam by boat. We took an hour-long boat cruise through the canals. It was a great way to see the city and learn about the architecture and history of the old buildings. I found the hooks at the top of each building to be interesting. These are used to move furniture in and out of the buildings since the stairs in most of them are very narrow and steep. I can’t imagine my parents hoisting furniture up to the third or fourth floor using this hook and a pulley during my many moves in college. I think Dad would have said, ‘Forget it, you don’t need to move again.’

We spent the rest of our time exploring by foot. We meandered all over the city through the different neighborhoods. Out of curiousity, we even walked through the infamous Red Light District. For fear of one of us ending up in a canal, we decided to skip exploring the city by bicycle. The sheer number of bikes is crazy – about 700,000 in total. Amsterdam is considered one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in the world. Bicycles come at you from all directions and at all different speeds. They don’t slow down for nothing or nobody! We considered our weekend a success because we managed not to get run over or cussed out by a biker. I read somewhere that theft of a bicycle is not regarded as a real crime in Amsterdam. It’s more like not giving back a book to the library. Each year tens of thousands of bikes are stolen with an estimated 25,000 ending up at the bottom of the canals.

We took in a few museums as well. We visited the Van Gogh Museum and the Anne Frank House. The latter was well worth the line we stood in to enter. I recently re-read The Diary of Anne Frank, so it was very eerie and sad to picture Anne and the others hiding for more than two years in this building only to be found by the Nazis so close to the end of the war.

As always I enjoyed sampling the food. Amsterdam is known for the wide variety of cuisines. My friend, Ayelet, recommended an Italian restaurant in a quaint neighborhood, which was within walking distance from our hotel. We also had a great meal at a Thai restaurant. Dutch cuisine tends to be on the heavy side with meat and potatoes, which didn’t sound appealing to us, but we did try the Dutch pancakes. Why they don’t call them crepes, I don’t know, because that’s what they are. Pancakes, crepes, whatever you wanna call them, they were good. I went for a savory one. I think I need to go back someday to try a sweet one with fruit, chocolate and whipped cream.

Several weekends later it was Matt’s turn to explore Amsterdam with some of his friends. I think his weekend with his buddies was a bit different than mine with Darcy as it consisted of more time in the pubs.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

The Ballet

My friend, Suzie, received tickets for the ballet, Giselle, through her work, so she invited me and another friend, Ayelet, to attend with her. It was performed by the Russian ballet company and there were some pretty important people watching in the audience, I think. The introductions were done in French which made my understanding of what was going on a bit limited, so I filled in the gaps using my imagination when it came to who was who as they enterd the theater. I think I understood correctly that one of them was the First Lady of Russia.

This was my first ballet and I loved it. The ballerinas were beautiful, especially when they danced in unison, but it took me about 20 minutes or so to stop thinking, ‘ouchy, ouchy’ when they went up on their toes. And the balleriners! That’s what we called the male dancers (pretty classy, aren’t we?) were amazing, especially their legs and bums in those little tights.

It was a very enjoyable evening. I kept looking around trying to figure out how so many wives got their husbands to attend. I don’t think I could ever talk Matt into going to a ballet, so it’s good I have wonderful girlfirends to enjoy it with me.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Vous Etes Triste

It’s been a while since I’ve shared an embarrassing language experience. I think this is a pretty good one as my friends here were in tears from laughing so hard.
The other morning when I was outside with Millie I saw a woman who lives in our neighborhood. I don’t know this woman by name but I know from a previous conversation (consisting of her talking in French and me nodding and shaking my head whenever she did) that her dog had recently passed away. She adores Millie and tells me every time what a beautiful dog she is, etc. Why is it that I can understand everything people say to my dog but I can’t understand what they say to me?

That morning she again started talking about her dog and was getting pretty emotional about it. She had tears in her eyes and I could hear the pain in her voice. I had to say something. I wanted to say how difficult it must be to lose a pet or that it must be lonely without him. Instead, this is what came out of my mouth: “Vous… êtes…triste” which means “You…are…sad.” I put dots in between the words so you get an idea of how slowly I formulated this sentence. It was like Tarzan speech. My stupid French sentence kind of made her stop and look at me. She was probably thinking, “Gee, thanks for labeling that feeling for me. That was a tricky one. ”

I can’t even blame it on being early in the morning. I probably would have said the same thing no matter what time of day I had this conversation. Ahh, I try.

Monday, January 31, 2011

How Bizarre

Every time I get in the car the same song is playing. ‘Over the Rainbow,’ the version sung by the Hawaiian musician, Iz, is constantly on the radio these days. Matt and I ran errands last weekend and we heard it three times in a matter of that many hours on one radio station. What is it with this song? It’s not like it’s a new release. It was popular in the US in 2004. A little bit of searching on the internet and I had my answer. It was recently used in a deodorant commercial here in Europe. It hit #1 on the German singles chart in October of 2010 and then became the number one song in France and Switzerland in December. I don’t mind the song but it’s on all the time.

Here is a song that I do like that is currently on the radio. It’s called Soulman by Ben L’Oncle Soul. It’s a mix of English and French lyrics. Can’t say I understand much of the French – just a word here and there. Matt and I shout out the French words we recognize when it’s on the radio. That’s the extent of our language practice these days.

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Christmas Dinner

Matt was on a mission to have turkey for Christmas Dinner so he and Terry set out to find one on the 24th. They hit the jackpot at Aligro, a local grocery store. They were successful with grilling it as well. It was very tasty and there were plenty of leftovers for sandwiches and soup.


Road Trip to Florence

I had to work the week of Christmas so Matt took vacation days and drove to Florence with Barb and Terry. They spent a day sight-seeing in Florence and then traveled to Pisa to see the Leaning Tower. I received daily reports on their pasta and gelato consumption. My mouth watered every time I got a message from them.

Holiday Visitors

We must have been a good host and hostess last year during the holidays because Matt’s family returned to Switzerland for their second Christmas. Barb and Terry arrived on the 16th of December and will be staying with us through the 30th. It’s wonderful to have family with us to celebrate the holidays.

Christmas Market in Neuchâtel

I love this time of year with all of the Christmas markets going on in the little towns. My friend, Ayelet, agreed to go with me to the one in Neuchâtel. There was no way I was going to talk Matt into going. He’s Christmas-marketed out. Neuchâtel is about a 40 minute train ride from Morges. I was in charge of the details for the trip. I had the train schedule figured out, I had asked a co-worker for directions on how to get to the market and I had double checked the dates. The one thing I didn’t think to look at was when it opened for the day. So we arrived a little before 11 to find that the market didn’t open until 2. Ayelet was not put out at all (that’s one of the traits I love best about her – she’s very easy-going) and we made the most of our morning. Neither of us had been to the town before so we stopped at the tourism office to pick up a map and made a plan. We visited a beautiful church and walked around the walls of the old castle. By the time we finished a lovely lunch, it was time for the market to open. The market was just so-so. I think the impromptu part of our day was the best.

London

A few weeks ago Matt and I spent a long weekend in London. This was Matt’s first trip to London and my third. Matt found a nice hotel that was conveniently located just a few minutes’ walk from the Earl’s Court metro stop. Our visit consisted of sight-seeing, eating, more sight-seeing, some drinking and then more eating.

I’ll start with the food because that’s always a highlight for me. When in London fish ‘n chips are a must, so that’s what we ate the first night. Matt ordered an entrée called the ‘Codfather,’ which consisted of a huge piece of fish, chips, mushy peas and bread. It was a lot of food and I could tell he was proud that he ate it all. Our best meal was a steak and ale pie at a pub in one of the little neighborhoods around London. I wasn’t too sure about the pie when we ordered it but it was very good. We also had a jacket potato (baked potato) with cheese and chili. The only thing we didn’t eat, which London is known for, is curry. I guess we’ll have to go back at some point to fix that. It was a good thing we did so much sight-seeing as we needed to walk off all the calories we consumed.

Our sight-seeing consisted of a hop-on/hop-off bus tour because it was part of our hotel package. We were definite tourists as we sat in the cold and wind on the open part of the double decker bus. It was a good way to see the city though and it got us to our destination, which was the Tower of London. After seeing the Crown Jewels and hearing the gruesome stories of people losing their heads at the Tower, we climbed the many, many steps of St. Paul’s Cathedral. We also took a boat ride down the Thames River. In between the sight-seeing we stopped at several pubs so Matt could try out the different ales. One pub, the Lamb and Flag, dated back to 1623. We also timed it just right to go to a Christmas Market in Hyde Park. I was hoping for an English-themed market but it ended up being German.

Another highlight was meeting up with a friend of Matt’s who is now living in London. We met Devon and her boyfriend, Andy, for drinks and dinner. We didn’t time our visit very well though because we ended up missing the last train and they had to drive us back to our hotel, which was in the opposite direction from where they lived.