Balade Gourmande, Grandson

Joe arranged for all of us to attend a wine walk yesterday. Basically, you walk from one location to the next along an arranged route, each location provides a course & wine to taste. We traveled to Lake Neuchatel, outside Yverdon, to partake in this 7km wine walking adventure. Most of the stops along the route were dairy farms & often, we were tasting wine & eating cheese with the lingering smells of cows. We were, most likely, the only non-French speaking people on the walk. One woman was quite surprised that we were there at all, noting it's much more of a local event. Usually, we aren't even aware when events are happening in our area, let alone another part of the country, so I was quite impressed with us.
Later, another woman, when we told her we live in Zurich, said 'you come from the big city.' Then proceeded to tell her friends & a wine pourer this fact. Big is certainly not the first adjective that comes to mind when I think of Zurich. She also mentioned that every year they change the route for the walk & that next year it will take place completely alongside the lake. We're definitely hoping for round-two next year, in case anyone wants to plan a trip out to coincide!

Homemade Din What What?!

 
With no man in my life tonight to come to the dinner rescue (post 11-hour child-care day). I whipped this up for one. (Honestly, the rice was leftover as I made fried rice earlier in the week & since I do not grasp the concept of cooking for one, this is the fourth time I've eaten it, with plenty more where that came from). The tofu&veggie red curry was the perfect compliment. Plus, I accomplished a task involving a sharp thing (knife) and a hot thing (stove) and emerged unscathed after another blissfully exhausting day. Do I rock at this, or what?
(Note: no jokes, this was a serious accomplishment)

Burst of Serious Summer

 

I spent the morning lakeside with the oldest & youngest of the newest ladies in my life. It was a hot, sunny day. A type of day we haven't seen here in Zurich since July (at least it feels that way). Tomorrow the temperature is predicted to drop & rain roll in, so we did our best to take full advantage of the situation. There is no better way to spend a perfect day like today with kids, splashing by the lake. Both the girls ended up with completely soaked pants, which ended up in pantlessness...more splashing, running, laughter & sun.

 

And what's a perfect summer day without a drippy, messy ice cream, complete with chocolate face, hands and sticky legs? Not perfect. That's what.

2 Jahre!

We arrived here in Zurich, 2 years ago today. All fresh, perplexed and a lot bit shocked. I could see it in Tim's face when he looked at the menu. That frightened look we once had about us. That, how am I ever going to eat, travel & save money? Clearly, you all know we're doing the first two & managing the third as well. It feels like a lot has changed this past year - new house, new job for me, some friends moving home and other, new ones emerging. I was writing an email to Stacey, one of our friends who has recently moved back to the US and is finding the transition a bit tough. I noted; ' I have to be honest, I am still completely smitten with Zurich. Even today, my breath caught as I was walking across the Quai after I'd completed my extensive errand list. Is it the light? The lake? The way the Grossmunster is just framed perfectly against the sky sometimes? What the heck is it?'
Honestly, what? Cause I just can't figure out how we're still so in love with this place.

Perfect for Top of the Muffin To You!

 

I've been the proud owner of a muffin tin for the past 3 months. Today, I decided to grab a stool, pull it down off the top shelf & whip up some muffins. Without Joe here to consume his daily banana, they were getting quite rip. I thought the tin was a bit odd, much skinnier than our American counterparts (like most things Swiss). Sure enough, the muffins have quite the top on them. This took me on a trip down memory lane, to the land of Elaine, Cosmo & the franatic episode where they attempt to get rid of some stumps. If you are in the mood, and able to laugh freely at work, give it a go.

I heart you Polska

We spent the past weekend in Poland. Friday morning our flight departed at 7.00 am. Therefore, we were meant to arise at 4.45 to catch a 5.32 tram to the airport. At 5.32 Joe woke up & said, the alarm says 5.32. 'Are you serious?' I responded. I stood up, looked at my phone and yes, it was in fact 5.32. We had a momentary mini spaz attack in which we thought we could reasonably cut out brushing our teeth until we got to the airport, before we realized we could just call a cab & be there in less than 15 minutes. So that's what we did. We took care of our oral hygiene before leaving the house, Joe threw on a hat & we were off. The random tone of the day didn't end there. As we boarded the plane, the super nice, super 1011 flight attendant directed us to the 'business' seats on the plane due to Joe's 'condition.' There were roughly 40 people on our flight to Warsaw, so we had the whole 'business section;)' to ourselves. The flight was easy & calm. Then we walked through the airport, expecting to be met at the other end by our guide for the day. We departed, but saw no one with the business logo, or our names listed. We had to pick up our train tickets in the airport & pull out some cash, so we burned some time doing that, then returned to the arrivals area. Still, no one. Hhmm, odd. Then Joe recieved a call on his phone, the 1970s Polish van that was supposed to be our tour transportation for the day was broken down on the side of the road. Could we wait 30 minutes for someone to come collect us? Not long after, we were greeted by the lady we'd had extensive email contact with. It's weird sometimes to "speak" to someone so many times in weeks leading up to an event, then meet them & think, hm, I expected you'd be older than me. (Insert whatever sentiment you like.)

It ended up we didn't get to take our tour in this old Polish van. But, we did get the pleasure of a 1994 Fiat 2 door & a delightful guide, Tomas, who had a clever grip on the English language & referred to the company's Polish van as "a piggy bank." This tour we did was 'off the beaten path' -- literally. We passed through tenement neighborhoods, the ground litered with broken glass & courtyards housing Virgin Mary statues (during the Russian occupation, the Poles couldn't go to church & gather, so they erected neighborhood places of worship). We saw this, the longest building in Warsaw which was building during Communism to house maximum numbers of people. It's like the projects, on their side. We ate lunch at a 'milk bar,' which is a government sponsored restaurant for 5plz, under 2 dollars (for two of us and Joe had meat). Now that I think of it, I suppose this could have been the culprit for my later drama. It was sobering, lively, educational & a great way to spend our day in Warsaw. We learned & saw more in our 6 hours with our guide than we do in many other cities.

Later in the afternoon, Tomas dropped us at the train station where we would catch a train to Krakow. We opted for first class tickets and it was glorious. It was the nicest, newest train I've ever been on. This means it bested Swiss trains. Please, don't tell my neighbors. Although, there was an obnoxious group of 20-something Poles a row in front of us who watched videos at full volume on their labtop the whole way, which rather tainted the ability to enjoy the experience, but ah well. About 2.5 hours later we pulled into Krakow & we're off to find our apartment. After a slight hiccup/confusion, we were on the right path & then easily found the Main Square & the apartment. Unfortunately, the place was NOTHING like the pictures the hotel posted online. It was circa 1968, smelled like mildew & gas & had it's own built in alarm clock of pigeons cooing on the fire escape outside the room (which sounded oddly like a person being strangled). We basically dropped our crap, bitched for a while, then hightailed it out of there to find food & mental fortitude to handle the apt, in the form of beer. We had a few beers (3-4), ate some food, hung around, then headed back.

The next morning I woke up feeling very ill. This was perplexing, 3-4 beers...seems okay. We both assumed I would shake it off. However, the usual tricks, being sick, drinking Coke, etc. didn't work their magic. After about an hour outside the room, I returned to nap. Then spent another hour outside the room, then napped. Rinse, repeat. I took 3 naps on Saturday and was in bed by 10pm. I would feel better for about an hour, then turn into a walking, pained zombie again. Finally, Joe is recovered & ready to go and I'm bedridden. Go figure. Unfortunately, Sunday wasn't much better. However, we did still manage to see most of the Krakow tourists sights which were very close to where we were staying. We bought LOTS of amazing Polish handmade wares. We strolled the square & bumped into an insane amount of people (the town was packed), and just enjoyed the feeling of the city. Unlike Warsaw which was completely ravaged in WWII, Krakow was basically unscathed. The old town is based around a vast, charming square that is lined with restaurants, bars, music venues, etc. There is really no contest between the cities, Krakow is the jewel. However, Warsaw has struggled more and the city, the people, have a stronger connection to their history because of the ways it's defined their lives. We were so happy to experience another part of Eastern Europe. We've loved every city we've visited in the former bloc and I think it has something to do with this connection. People don't take their lives and their freedoms for granted here. Everything is vibrant and dusty, often full of hope, yet steeped in depression. It's incredible to see how much can be restored in 20 years, yet how much work there is still to be done. Our guide in Warsaw was incensed by the protestors I refered to in a photo, outside the President's home. They consist of a large population of the country's voters & they believe in this conspiracy that the President's plane crash & subsequent death were intentional. He stated how ashamed he was that and these people brought embarassement to his country. I responded, 'but you must feel so lucky that your countrymen have the right now to protest, to speak their minds, no matter how misguided you may think them.' He didn't respond, perhaps I'd missed the point of his shame, but it seemed to me like a powerful indication that finally these older Poles, who previously had their lives dictated for them, were now protesting, smiling, speaking & standing for themselves.

Moving to Switzerland Much?

Our friend Tim just passed through last week on his move to Lugano, the Italian speaking part of Switzerland. He wrote the nicest things about us & our ability to host the shit out of people;) Plus, he took a really nice photo of me, it's so close you can see individual freckles. That's a serious lens for you.

Adventures in the New "Workplace"

 

Dress up time. Basically everyday.

 

Dressed as a pirate at the kinderzoo, riding a horse. Yup.

 

All the kids, snapping the ends of the green beans for lunch. A task that oddly they all loved & felt compeled to contribute towards. Now if only I could inspire this sort of energy during 'straighten up time.'

 

Rocking big girl sunglasses, which incidentally now have scratches, but I'm pretty sure it's worth it.
Often I leave work dirty, scratched, colored on, exhausted, yet joyful. I am in awe of how people do this, working, running a house, having kids. Literally, I am close to non-functional by the time I get home after work -- Joe is relegated to dinner duty -- aka heat something up, but honestly, it's more than I'm in the mood for, so I take it & happily.
As goes with all kids, and adults, we've had our hiccups along the way. However, I/we have settled into a better understanding of what we all need to have a happy, successful stress-free day. One of the most endearing/scary things is the way kids pick up on language, and so quickly. All the kids have gorgeous British accents (from Mum) and then I come into the picture and they are picking up, sometimes subtely, on things that I say. I sort of do this thing where I say 'nneennneenn,' understandably this is not a word & most likely a sound you may not be able to hear, right now, in your head. However, I do it as a 'are you sure you should be doing that?' sort of noise. And the other day I heard one of them doing it, to her sister! SweetJesus.
The family has an amazing, open way of communicating to the kids. However, the youngest is only 2.5, and sometimes things get a bit confusing. She keeps saying things like: 'My penis is dirty.' 'My penis feels funny.' And everytime, I have to try to keep a straight face as I tell her, yet again, 'You don't have a penis. You have a vagina.' Then, the next time I am there: 'You don't..' Rinse, repeat.

For once, I honestly find I'm at a loss for words. This deeply emotional, evocative Abel Korzeniowski score 'And Just Like That' succeeds for me where words fail.
We are holding the Eckstein's in our hearts as they cope with the tragic loss of Joe & Kate's cousin, Mary & Ron's nephew, Andrew. Join us in praying for strength & understanding for his father, step-mother, his brothers, their wives and all those who grieve as they try to come to grips with the loss of Drew.

Riomaggiore - Italia Part Due

And Lake Como just got topped. It's no wonder Cinque Terre has been on the lips & itineraries of so many Americans lately. It certainly showed from all the young backpackers and students trolling around town as well. The place is spectacular. We stayed in the 5th town, Riomaggiore. The apartment we stayed in was well above town. The family who owns the place also owns a hotel in town, but they live above the apartment where we stayed. Grandma, Mom & son all lived above, ran both the hotel & the two apartments, all while being exceptionally warm, helpful & deft parkers (we should have taken a photo of the garage where the car was 'parked' (aka wedged). Most of our time in Cinque Terre was dedicated to reading, enjoying the sun, swimming in the Med, walking up & down the hill, sitting on the deck, strolling the Via del Amore, eating, drinking local wine & Coronas;), noshing (great noshs every night courtesy of Nickerbocker -- cheeses, salamis, olives, croustinis), watching the sun set, playing cards, enjoying a very starry night, ferrying between the towns, and generally, relaxing and loving life.
We made friends with our waiter one night -- he ended up with not only Dad's business card, but his cousin Lori's contact information in Portland as well (the guy is visiting there during the up-coming off-season). We checked out all but the middle town, Corniglia, and honestly, I would be more than happy staying in any one of them, any time in the future. However, next time, I think we all would vote against the car. Once we got into the apartment, it never left the garage again due to terrifing cliffs, hairpoint turns & insane Italian drivers (with no respect for the slowski tourists). Thanks again for driving Dad -- I was nervous enough just being a passenger! And, thanks to you Mom for your endless help with Joe's knee rehab, advice & constant entertainment of the subject. We really couldn't have asked for a better trip.

Lake Como - Italia Part I

It all makes a bit more sense now. I thought Lake Como would be a bit of a let-down. I mean, we've all heard about this place for years linked to the rich & famous, but I just don't have a lot of faith in hype. However, hype it deserves. We stayed in Tremezzo, a small village on the left finger, situated a bit south & across the lake from Bellagio. This was a great move. Although the hotel was located up some seriously curvy, one lane (for you & oncoming traffic) roads, and we were all a bit tense after experiencing a crazy, typical Italian traffic jam (almost everyone got OUT OF THEIR CARS, on the highway & stood in a circle, convening about God knows what), it was spectacular, precisely because it was up a one lane road, in the middle of a quiet, residential area. The first night, we opted to stay very close to the hotel for dinner since the drive into town was a bit stressful. We ended up in a restaurant a few blocks down the hill, which, according to the hotel staff; 'is a local place.' Local it was. Our waiter spoke to us primarily in Italian, he told us 'tiramisu, me, my brother is the gnocchi,' (meaning who made what), we ate vinegar soaked fish (All of us), and drank wine out of coffee mugs, all while looking out over a splendid lakeview. Mom & Joe embarrassed themselves by ordering another plate of gnocchi (after trying Nick's -- they decided they could share an additional entree). While I ordered cheese for dessert & got 4 different kinds, all of which were at least one serving (for 3E!) --- We ate most of it later as a nosh. It was a seriously perfect first night of what ended up to be a perfect little holiday.

We awoke the next day, late (I blame it entirely on the wine in a coffee mug, who can even tell who much you are drinking?--and, yes, I did feel like a wino drinking out of a mug), to rain. By the time we got out & arrived to Villa Carlotta, the rain had slowed & almost stopped. We entered the enormous gardens & walked through all the gorgeous lushness. It was incredible. Someone owned all this. People own houses & land like THIS. It's pretty unfathomable. As we walked, the clouds rolled out & we got some fantastic views. We enjoyed a late lunch, then decided to head over on the ferry to Bellagio (it began raining again just in time for this decision). We weren't nearly as impressed with Bellagio. It was too touristy. There were too many people speaking the one language I understand, and unfortunately, most I'd prefer not to have understood. It's an odd phenomenon -- after so much time of being totally ignorant of what is happening around me, when I can understand, it just annoys me. Mainly, we were in Bellagio for a dinner reservation I'd made though. And, boy was it worth the annoying people & the wait for the cab to take us the secluded spot & the monies it cost to eat there. Everything was beautifully done. There were so many different twists, often I couldn't even figure out what it was I was tasting. We asked about a sauce, the chef said tomatoes, cooked over very low heat, for a very long time. Tomatoes. Really? That's it? Seemed more reminiscient of tomatoes on steroids, drunk. And then there was the dessert, which Mom & I decided to share. We were like vultures. I've never torn into a dessert like that before. It was exceptional. I honestly couldn't say which meal I enjoyed more (for different reasons, of course), but these two were the best on the trip, so I promise to refrain from the full disertation on food in Cinque Terre as well. So far, this trip has been right up ViggianoAlley.