The Ski Report... Day 1

Yesterday we left the comforts (and warmth) of Barcelona to once again head north to France.  Only this time we were driving and heading just over the border to La Llagonne in the Pyrenees to do some skiing.  We rented a chalet and Jake was coming along as well, so lots of family fun!

And so we packed up our rented VW Touran minivan (which is soooo much smaller than a US minivan mind you) and headed a little over 2 hours north to France.  Literally the car was packed within an inch of free space.  I don't know how we did our road trip this summer with 3 adults and 4 kids in a car this size because we could barely fit our family of 5 in it.  In typical Marcus roadtrip vacation style, Liam vomited not just once but twice.  So I spent a chunk of time twisted around in my seat in order to hold the puke bag under his chin - thankfully I made in time both times.  And conveniently each time we were near either a field or a rest area so we could pull over for additional puking.  Ah the joys of parenthood and a carsick child :)

Liam with his DS, oh so content among the luggage - he's wearing his Barca shirt that he also wore the day before and is all time absolute favorite shirt now... I have a feeling you will be seeing a lot of pictures with him in this shirt!

Did not hear a single word from Aidan in the entire 2+ hr trip, even when we stopped for Liam to puke

Josh carrying Liam thru a field after he threw up trying to calm him down... what a great daddy!

The owners of this chalet do not speak any English, which given they are French is understandable... but they do speak Spanish. And so many of our emails have been in Spanish and I almost prefer they were in French, their native tongue. Because regardless I had to google translate most of the emails and their Spanish was a bit rough with many words not translating at all which on my end required a lot of guesswork. We weren't 100% sure if there would be sheets, pillows or towels supplied. In the end there were sheets and pillows though I'm glad we brought our own since they are comfier but there were no towels so really glad I brought those!!

We were supposed to call when we passed a certain spot on the way here... I did and tried to understand in Spanish if we were supposed to meet him at the chalet or a meeting spot near there. We just went right to the chalet where the owner's wife happened to be waiting - she asked if we had seen her husband and so I guess we were supposed to meet him somewhere else... oh well! We made it and that's all that matters.

We had seen pictures of the chalet on the internet when we rented it but like anyone who is good with a camera or has any marketing skills, the reality of the chalet left a bit to be desired. The chalet is pretty much the way we pictured it with the exception of the very rustic kitchen - a refridgerator that's probably slightly smaller than the one I had in my college dorm room and an oven that's more of the microwave style that's seated on top of a small table - not exactly prime cooking space. But then, I'm not much of a prime cook anyways and rustic is a part of the vacation, right?

Anyways, we had trouble connecting to the internet which was a bit frustrating and the language barrier wasn't helping. I had a bit of a panic about that but this morning we were able to rectify it with the owner's son who lives downstairs. Oh that was the other slight disappointment. When Josh and I were looking for a place to stay we really wanted a stand alone chalet so that the kids and Jake could run wild and free and we wouldn't be disruptive to anyone. No where in the ad for the chalet did it say "an apartment within a house" - I double checked it this morning. And the owner's son has aggressive dogs himself so we cannot let Jake roam free in the yard. It's a little disappointing as that was part of the trip that we were looking forward to. However, it's something that we won't let disrupt us and knowing that the son looks to be maybe 20 years old, I'm not overly concerned with us being too loud or anything.

I was up at the crack of dawn this morning and took Jake for a little walk. It was peaceful and serene and reminded me of why we did this trip. The mountains in the distance only added to the splendor of the area and we are looking forward to starting our exploration today. It's almost 11AM so we've gotten a late start but given we have 10 more days, I'm not too worried. We're going to check out the ski area today to find out how we get the kids signed up for lessons, rentals, etc. And of course a trip to Carrefour to get some more groceries as Josh went last night to get some essentials we hadn't brought with us and said the local Casino supermarket had a lot to be desired (let's just say that my spaghetti last night was made with hamburger from a hamburger patty - enough said). So nothing super exciting planned, but nice and mellow. We're also waiting for Aidan to lose yet another tooth. It was "almost" out during our trip last week but it's still hanging out... by a thread. I'm guessing it will come out today which will make it his second tooth lost on vacation - his last being when we went to Marbella and Gibraltar at the end of October.

The view from the back deck of our chalet

The view from the front

Liam still wearing his Barca shirt (he wore it to bed too) and relaxing with Jake this morning

I'm sure there will be more to catch up on later once we've explored the ski area and the area in general.  Have a great day and hope most of you are enjoying some much needed time off!

Julie

Feliz Navidad - Merry Christmas!!

Like with anything in life, anticipation is half of the fun.  We've had such a great year filled with exciting new places and each one had the waiting, waiting, waiting for months or weeks up til the time came for the actual trip.  And then after it was over, we'd have another one scheduled to look forward too.  Right now I've only got one officially scheduled trip left of this year and a few potential trips on the agenda for next year but nothing actually booked - I'm hoping while we are away this week that Josh and I can firm those up so that we can have more stuff to look forward too!

But back to the anticipation... Christmas to me is the biggest moment of the year to look forward to.  Sure we've been to a bunch of wonderful places this year and I don't regret a single one - I loved every moment.  But there is something about the leading up to Christmas that I love - it's the unknown in a sense.  Not just about what will be received (which at my age is not something I focus on, we're talking about the kids here) but seeing the looks on the kids faces when they get up in the morning and see that Santa has come.  I know that I only have maybe a few more years of the magic of Santa and so I'm trying to appreciate every moment that comes with it.

Josh worked on Thursday after we got back from our trip to the Christmas markets in France, Germany and Switzerland.  It was a trip that definitely put us in the mood for the holidays.  I think that snow had something to do with it.  Not that I miss the cold weather of New England for a moment, but there is something about a cold, snowy Christmas that just feels right.  Christmas in Barcelona is festive, but it was also 60 degrees and it's not a huge holiday here (Three Kings or Tres Reyes is the big one in January).  Papa Noel doesn't come down a chimney but thru your balcony doors.  We're fortunate and we have a patio and so that's how he gets into our apartment and we put out reindeer food to lead the way.

The kids got their caga tio gifts in the morning of Christmas Eve which worked out better this year.  Last year as they looked away for a moment I tried to slip their overly large gifts under the caga tio blanket and wasn't super successful at it.  Thankfully they still believed.  So this year we left them out the night before Christmas Eve so that when they woke up they would have to beat them with a stick (ahhh Spain) to get their presents.  Aidan got a few Bakugan which he was much happier about than "that stupid tiddlywinks game from last year" and Liam got some new cars from CARS 2.  All was good in the world.

Putting their caga tios out the night before with a few snacks

Christmas Eve morning

Yes!  I got a bakugan instead of a game!! 

The video I took of the kids hitting their caga tios didn't come out great - it seems to skip a bit but the camera was just bought the other day and apparently I didn't set the video quite right... live and learn.  But you'll get the gist.

 http://youtu.be/Zr-7juyDn0E

Some traditions we've been able to keep despite being so far away from home.  I still did things with the kids such as making Christmas cookies, making reindeer food (oats with sparkles for those wanting to know how you make reindeer food), writing notes to Santa to go with the cookies, listening to Christmas music and things like that. 

Liam making his reindeer food

Aidan shaking up his reindeer food

Liam starting to make his cookies - this year the dough actually made it into the cookies

(for the most part)

Soooo very focused

I love his tongue sticking out in concentration!

Aidan actually did a great job this year - he focused on making a design instead of just blobbing it on

Oh am I not supposed to eat this one??  Santa can just have two cookies right?

Finishing up

Last year we attempted to go out for a casual dinner on Christmas Eve and it just didn't feel right doing something other than Chinese food... just a part of the traditions that we miss from home I guess.   So it was a simple dinner of chicken and hash browns...nothing fancy.

Aidan was a bit cranky during the day which was annoying to say the least. I was trying so hard to make it a good day for them and I felt like he was pushing me on everything. Could this mean the end for Santa for him? Did he just not have the "magic" in his heart any more? No, it turns out that he was just really missing home and it wasn't til bedtime that this came out. It broke my heart and I felt terrible. And all the thoughts I've been having about staying in BCN longer drifted away and I thought, how can I do this to him?? But then the moment passed and we talked it thru and we said that we all need to do much better about staying in touch with friends from home and that while I know he doesn't like to talk on the phone or skype, that he needs to do that in order to stay in touch and then maybe he won't miss everyone as much.

Tossing reindeer food so Santa will know where to go

A lot of reindeer food!

Writing a letter to put with the cookies

Again, progress from last year's letters!

Santa came!!!!

Christmas morning Aidan woke at 6AM.  Now a few years ago that time wouldn't have surprised me, that was the boys usual wakeup time no matter what the day.  But in the last few years if given the chance, they usually will sleep til 8 or even 9.  So to me that meant that Aidan was super excited about the prospect of Santa coming.  During our talk the night before I reinforced that while we'd had a rough day, he had been a really good boy this year, much better than last year (last year was a REALLY rough year for / with him) and that I had no doubt Santa would come. 

I had actually been up since around 5 and was just cozy in bed so I heard him get up and tiptoe downstairs...then RUN right back up the stairs to jump in our bed to announce that Santa had in fact been there....and could he PLEASE wake up Liam to tell him.  We told him that he was up even earlier than he gets up for school (which is 6:30) and that no, he couldn't wake Liam til at least a little while.  He made it 15 minutes.  Then he woke him.  However, I think that while Liam gets the whole concept of Santa and was super excited about him coming, at that moment he was much happier sleeping and he snuggled right in with Josh and I.  Aidan was in constant motion and we told him at 7:00 we would go downstairs.  He barely made it... I think it was the longest hour of the poor kid's life!  So he and I went downstairs while Josh and Liam slept.  I let him open one small gift so that he wouldn't burst from waiting.  Then a few minutes later the troops came down and the present opening began!

Soooo excited!  I let him open one gift while we waited... a small set of Ninjago legos.

We had Josh open his gift first since it was a Nespresso machine (which somehow has already been damaged) and I figured that was probably essential this early in the morning!! 

Finally Liam comes down stairs!!

Daddy opening his first gift, a Nespresso machine, complete with all the fixings and enough coffee to last a short lifetime

The kids tore open their gifts with unbelievable superhero type speed. About halfway through they finally calmed down a bit. The highlight of their gifts this year??? They both got itouches from their grandparents back at home. Already loaded with music, apps and pictures for them. I'm pretty sure that they have not left their sides for more than 5 mins in the 36 hours since they were received and today Josh added videos to them for our drive up to France tomorrow - we may not hear a peep on the drive unlike the normal arguing over the ipad or the iphone... ahhhh serenity!

Anything from CARS was a hit with Liam!

A HUGE Ninjago lego set... took us the better part of the day to put this one together!

Yes, the Razor Sparks scooter!!!

Finally we have something that Liam is into that Aidan never was (which means we don't already own a million of) - dinosaurs!

Awww thanks Uncle Jay and Auntie Katie... I can't wait til you guys have kids :)

Aidan even more excited because Uncle Jay and Auntie Katie bought him not one but two seasons of the Simpsons... oh joy!  (and yes, I know Josh told you to buy them and that Aidan wanted it, but it doesn't mean I have to like it :))

Liam looks so damn cute in those pjs!

A Luigi backpack from Uncle Jay and Auntie Katie - he wore it for the rest of the time that they opened presents, a definite winner... ok this makes up for the Simpsons :)

CARS

Pokemon cards

The big lego Ninjago set and some dinosaurs...he's still wearing the backpack

Ninjago book...

Reading some of their new books during a "break"

Still wearing the backpack...

The boys last present of the day was their new itouches from our parents.  They had no idea that they were coming and were so beyond excited.  As I said before, they have barely left their hands since!  Here is the video of them getting them!

http://youtu.be/2rhAIpoRMLc 

Liam and Jake with his itouch

Ahhh can you hear the silence??  That's content children!

Totally exhausted... yes!

Christmas day overall was nice and mellow. Josh made a nice tenderloin type of meat (we still aren't 100% sure on what it was but it was good) for a late lunch with mashed potatoes, gravy and brocoli, yum!! The kids played all day with their new toys and were so content. Aidan and I spent hours working on his new Ninjago lego playset that came with 3 separate instruction booklets and 7 large bags of legos. Today was the Harry Potter small Hogwarts set... at least that one only took about 2 hours!

Finally at the end of the day we took to our street with Aidan's new Razor Spark scooter and Liam's scooter (from last xmas) and they rode up and down the street so content. I realized that we really have very little traffic on our street and I have no idea why we haven't just gone out there to ride up and down the street... we did it again today. Only took 2 years to make that connection, kind of pathetic!

Trying out the scooter on our patio

Liam happy to be outside

 Video of the scooter and the sparks that ensue... http://youtu.be/ukjvwIUkYic

It was a very Merry Christmas for all of us!  I think we were all pretty happy with our gifts and the quality time we got to spend with each other just relaxing was wonderful.  I feel like we don't decompress to that point nearly enough.  We're heading out on vacation (again, I know) tomorrow to go skiing.  It will be the kids' first time on skis so we're really excited to see how they do.  I have no doubt you'll be seeing some posts from me while we are away, assuming the internet works where we are going of course!

Merry Christmas!!

Love
Julie

 

Last but not Least... Basel, Switzerland

On Wednesday it was time to wrap up our visit to the Alsace region with one more trip, to Basel Switzerland.  We left Strasbourg in the rain and drove the hour and a half down to Basel where it was also still raining.  Yuck...

Liam and Aidan "crazy hair" getting ready to head out of Strasbourg

We met up with Paul, Aimee, Seth and Fiona once again but this time for lunch in Basel. The restaurant they chose was fantastic and had such wonderful warm comfort foods. Josh and I shared a French onion soup which I haven't had in ages - yum! But the adults also all had a meal called roesti - and each of us had a different type. They all have a base of hash browns and then mine had bacon, onion and melted cheese on top. Yes, a heart attack waiting to happen but my god, so delicious!!!!

The kids all hung out during lunch and it was cute to see Aidan with Fiona. Paul and I had emailed before the lunch and he'd "heard" that Fiona had a bit of a crush on Aidan. When I told Aidan this, he responded that he only had a crush on Lindsey (at home in the States) and that hopefully Fiona would be ok just being friends. Ah the love life of a seven year old!

To digress a moment from our actual trip, I must mention the self cleaning toilet in the restaurant for I have never actually seen one of these contraptions before. I'm sure this is a bit TMI for some but I found it fascinating. After you use the toilet and flush, the actual seat moves around under this cleaning mechanism so it's clean and sterile for the next person. In a sense it reminds me of the scene from CARS 2 where Mater is in Toyko and is leaking oil and so therefore uses the bathroom there that's all automated. I found it hysterical...

There were really narrow trams throughout the city

Rathaus (the town hall) on Marktplatz was built in the 14th century

Ok, back to reality. After lunch Aimee had to head back to work and Paul and the kids had horseback riding lessons, so we said our goodbyes and we headed off to check out the Christmas markets in Basel, making our market count 4 markets in 3 countries...not too shabby right? As I'd been told ahead of time, they weren't much to write home about (and yet here I write home to you) but I'm still glad that we saw them. I still think our favorites were Freiburg and Strasbourg.  

Fiona, Liam, Seth and Aidan after our lunch

Aidan at the Basel Christmas market

The kids were at this point marketed out and so we headed to the airport a bit early, 3:30 for our 6:10 flight.  Our flight was noneventful but I really hate to fly and am reminded of it every time I get on a plane. For some reason the outgoing flight isn't bad but during the return flight I always have this sense of panic and dread even if it's a non turbulent flight. The only way I can get thru it is to play solitaire continuously. I think it just helps me refocus on something monotonous.  The flight last night was smooth and yet I had this panic in me as we started to descend into Barcelona what felt like too early - of course I immediately thought something was wrong with the plane.  Everyone around me was fine and yet I could barely stand it.  Why do I do this to myself??? 

We got back just fine and are looking forward to Christmas here in Barcelona this weekend. Then it's off and running again next week to France (weren't we just there?) to go skiing.  It's going to be the boys' first time on skis and they are very excited.  I'm looking forward to a relaxing time as is Josh...though after 4 days of bitter cold, I'm not 100% sold on going back to the freezing temps!!

Julie