Christmas at 29c

I am struggling with getting my head wrapped around December's temperatures down under.   If the word 'December' is referenced in passing, I immediately envision snow covered Christmas trees, hot cocoa, and red cheeks.   Problem is, in Australia in December, red cheeks only happen if I've forgotten the sunscreen.

Choosing a Christmas tree in shorts and bright sun at the park near our house

Blame it on 40-something years of conditioning.  December.equals.Winter.  With Christmas fast approaching, people keep asking what we are doing for the summer holidays and I keep replying that I haven't thought that far ahead even as I stand under a Jacaranda tree seeking shade from the blistering sun.  I tell you, it's playing havoc with my mental equalibrium, and packing ski clothes for our trip to Canada in a couple of days is not helping with my disorientation.

The kids table

This past weekend, we had a small dinner party to celebrate the festive season with friends.  It's a Family Hendricks tradition.  A couple of weeks before the big day, we cook up a storm, pour many glasses of champagne, and unwrap the gift of friendship.  In Geneva, we had it just right, the same families every year until one by one they moved on.  That's the thing about being expats, friends enter our lives for a season and become the extended family we're missing.

This year's menu:
Seared tuna with mango, avocado, and wasabi
Australia's Chandon Blanc de Blanc
Filet mignon au jus with roasted rosemary potatoes, panzanella, and roquette salad
White Box Cabernet Sauvignon
McLaren Vale Shiraz
(both fantastic full-bodied Australian reds)
Individual chocolate molten cakes with coffee gelato

The Grown-Up table

The kids craft - making reindeer food

 Now, we are mentally gearing up for the long haul  flight back to Canada where we will spend a month in the embrace of family, reminding ourselves how lucky we are to have each other, and replanting those Canadian roots a little.  Two weeks in Victoria, one skiing at Whistler and one in Calgary.  I can't wait!  First stop after we stretch our legs following the 30-hour journey?  Tim Horton's for an extra hot double double!

An Epic Goodbye

I am not good at goodbye's.  I studiously avoid them.  I run out the door or drop at the airport with an over-the-shoulder quick "call you soon, e-mail me!"  My feelings run deep for the people that matter to me and to let my welling feelings show as I take leave of someone I love risks some epic emotion so instead I do my best to suppress those feelings until alone.  My friends and family know this about me...the more quiet or removed I get, the more they know something is amiss.

This past weekend, my oldest friend in the world, Sheila, and I met in Paris for a 48-hour meeting of our minds and hearts in an effort to minimize that inevitable goodbye.  We have been so blessed in the last five years to have seen each other as often as we have and for our children to have bonded.  For the previous 18 years, we had lived oceans apart, so these last few years have felt like we were 14 all over again.  With our move to Australia, however, the oceans will separate us once more.

I took a morning TGV from Geneva and Sheila a morning Eurostar from London, and we met at a small hotel in the Latin Quarter on the left bank.  We spent the rest of that day wandering St. Germain and stopping on boulevard Mouffetard for a coupe de Champagne before discovering a charming little resto behind St-Germain-des-Prés, the oldest church in Paris for dinner.

After dinner, Sheila indulged my desire to sit at the nearby Café de Flore which like its' neighbour the Café des Deux Magots, was the favorite haunt of intellectuals and ecrivains like Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, and Ernest Hemingway immediately after World War II.  Being intoxicated on friendship, laughter, and the kinds of conversations that only people who have know each other for 30 years can have, we barely blinked at the 32euro charge for two coffees and two glasses of warm grog (warmed rum sweetened with sugar and lemon).

The next day, we explored the alleys and charming squares of the Le Marais district pausing for steaming cups of café au lait whenever we felt like it; perched on straw chairs at round tables at typical Parisian cafés watching the impeccable Parisian world wander by.  We later followed some locals into a small Brasserie for a wonderful late lunch of an omelette and a glass of chilled Pouilly-Fume.

After our meal, we strolled through the grounds of the Louvre to the Musee d'Orsay, home of the bulk of impressionist art in Paris.  I had been before but had wanted to revisit many of the Monets after just completing the beautiful novel Claude and Camille. Unfortunately, most were on loan to the Grand Palais for a special Monet exhibit, and I had been unable to secure tickets. 

We ventured out late in the evening for a wander around the circuitous alleys of busy and boisterous St. Germain, stopping for a glass of wine before finally settling on a charming Brasserie for dinner where I indulged in a perfect entrecôte à point, and we shared a bottle of Nouveau Beaujolais whose season is currently being celebrated in Paris.

Sunday dawned grey and wet, so we opened our umbrellas and wandered to the Pantheon, final resting place of great and honoured French, such as Pierre and Marie Curie, Louis Braille, Victor Hugo, Emile Zola, Voltaire, and Rousseau.  We made our way into the Luxembourg gardens, and around it's great palace before again stopping for hot fragrant coffee and croissants to warm our chilled bodies.

All too soon, came the time I had been dreading.  On Friday afternoon, I had tried to cling to the anticipation of two delicious days ahead to swap enough stories, share enough soul, and store enough memories to last until our families meet again.  You know what, it wasn't enough, it never would be, but I'll take what I got and feel blessed for it.

My Levanto, Redux V

I am sitting at my MacBook beside my open dining room door watching a mid-summer Geneva rain gently water my thirsty coral geraniums.  A lovely breeze cools my cheeks.  I am pondering how to justify with words the beauty, peace and attachment that our fifth (yes fifth!) visit to Levanto brought us last week.

My Levanto, for that is how I feel  now.  I intimately know its' glowing colours, the smiles that greet my ernest attempts at Italian conversation, the smells of garlic and rising dough mixed with salt air, the tastes of prosecco and pesto, the crunch of the sand that inhabits every part of our apartment and which I sweep out of my bed before falling pleasantly exhausted into it every night.

Lucky us spent our beach holiday this year again with our wonderful friends Marc, Nat and their Labrador Ben.  Joining us this year were her beyond-charming parents whom we all referred to as Mamie and Papie.  J was particularly charmed by them (attached as he is to grandparents).  Their attachment was cemented when they insisted on keeping him for an evening all to themselves.  While Marc, Nat, C2 and I had an evening of Morettis and Margaritas, they had an evening of brioche con gelato for dinner followed by a dessert of gelato.  Seriously what kid wouldn't be in love?

You reveal a lot when you holiday with friends.  Either you get each other or you don't.  This week was not the easiest parenting week.  I continue to find age seven a wondrous journey down a bumpy road.  Marc and Nat don't judge, they just get on with it and love us in spite of our efforts or because of our failings.  Friends doesn't come close to covering it, Marc and Nat are the family we got to pick.

Did an amazing 3 hour hike from Levanto to Cinque Terre village #1, Monterrosso al Mare.  Absolutely stunning gnarly, hot coastal walk - unforgettable!  Particularly the self-made entrepreneur about an hour and a half into our hike who beckoned with "mineral water and organic lemons".  Translation: reused plastic cups filled with tap water and a half a lemon for 2 euros a cup.  We paid for the privilege of repeating this story in perpetuity.

J discovered cliff jumping this year....be still my heart.  He watched with fascination teenagers climbing the large pile of hardened lava on our beach and launching themselves into space.  He immediately determined this was the thing for him.  No beach football or volleyball for my boy, nope it's extreme sports all the way.  Everyday, he ventured a little higher.  C2 kept watching that he could clear the rocks below while I covered my eyes.

Voices From The Back

Scene: In my car on the way to judo yesterday. Sitting in the back seat are J and his best mate, and fellow Canadian, Adam...

J: "You know Adam, today at lunch Alyssa told me 'je tu promis, c'est toi qui est mon amoureux'(translation: "I promise, it's you that I love")

Adam: "Well she told me this week 'c'est un secret, mais c'est toi qui est mon amoureux', so I don't think that you're supposed to know"

J: "I'm telling you I'm her AMOUREUX"

Adam: "I'M HER AMOUREUX"

Pause

J: "I know maybe we're both her amoureux"

Adam: "Ya!"

J: (With a mild note of panic in his voice) "What if someone else is her amoureux???"

Later in the day back in the privacy of his own home...

Adam: "Mom is J moving away soon"

Cindy: "Not that I know of but maybe someday"

Adam: "Well at least I won't have to share Alyssa anymore"

Sheesh, they're 7, imagine when they're 17!!

There Are Worse Ways To Spend My Birthday - thanks Kevin!

Nobody outside of Iceland can really pronounce 'Eyjafjallajoekull', so in a nod to Jon Stewart, I have taken to calling it 'Kevin'. Now Kevin the Volcano has been causing no end of trouble to people travelling within western Europe of late, so I was a little concerned in the days leading up to a planned trip to London last Wednesday, especially since my visiting mum and I were both flying to the U.K. but into different airports.

Thankfully, despite erupting a few days before our trip, the wind swept Kevin's ash south towards Spain allowing us to fly into the U.K. without incident. So began, a terrific week spent in the company of my oldest friend, Sheila, and her kids whom J desperately wishes were his brother and sister. We spent our days easily picking up where we left off in March. Like always, it was as if our sentence was interrupted, we paused for breath, and 2 months later resumed our conversation. Such is the gift of friendship.

Sheila, me and our kiddos during a walk in High Elms Park, Kent

My favorite things to do when I visit Sheila is to stock up on english language books at her local Waterstone's, indulge my addiction to Marks & Spencer's organic stem ginger biscuits, and go for a walk in the English countryside followed by a pub lunch with a pint of lime and lager. This visit, I even left J with Sheila for the day and travelled up to Hertfordshire to visit with some favorite cousins and my mum. We had a grand day together visiting stately Hatfield House and touring a bit around charming St. Albans.
Beautiful Hatfield House in Hertfordshire

A small part of Hatfield's gardens

It was a few days filled with laughter, love, food, friendship and family. I can't ask for much more from life than that. Well maybe for Kevin to behave, but I guess that was asking a bit much.

Pub lunch time

Sure enough by Saturday, Kevin's belching resulted in twin ash clouds headed directly toward the U.K. By the time we went to bed Sunday night, all predictions were that London airports would be closed the next morning. I rose at 4:30am and though Gatwick was indeed closed, it was expected to reopen by 7:00am, just in time for our 8:00am flight back to Geneva.
Sceptically, I roused J and we began our journey. One car and train ride later, we arrived at Gatwick just in time for Easyjet to cancel our flight. Back to Sheila's we headed, sigh.
Easyjet offered us a new flight two days later but I was fearful of missing that flight too since predictions indicated Kevin's continued grumpiness. So after discussion, J and I decided to traipse through Europe by train instead. The following day, which happened to be my forty-ahem-something birthday, J and I set out on our great European rail adventure.

We caught the 6:44am train at Penge East from Sheila's village into Victoria Station in central London. We then rolled our bags to the Victoria tube station and travelled directly to King's Cross/St. Pancras International Rail Station. From there, we stepped onto the elegant 8:02am Eurostar rapid rail service (through the Chunnel - very cool) to Paris's Gare du Nord. Now for those of you who don't already know, the Hendricks family LOVE LOVE LOVE Paris.


J and I wandered around a bit, breathing in as much of Paris as we briefly could before jumping into a cab to the Gare du Lyon. From there, we caught the 1:10pm TGV (Tres Grand Vitesse) directly to Geneva where C2 picked us up. Door to door about a 10 hour journey, really not too bad and actually more than a little fun. Of course, our European rail adventure cost about as much as my nearly full-fare Easyjet ticket but I'll take that up with Easyjet and Kevin later.

Another Year Over

We returned a few days ago from our 3 week Christmas break to Canada. Thankfully unlike last year, our journeys on both ends were uneventful. Well, uneventful except for the fact that my fear of flying phobia which had pretty much resolved about 12 years ago is back with a vengeance.

I'm chalking it up to our 'turn-around from nearly landing in Victoria last year and hightailing back to Calgary before we run out of fuel' flight last year. Stupid really, I am generally a glass half-full kind of person but in the case of air travel, not so much. You know how some people like to live their lives on the edge by parachuting or climbing frozen icefalls? I literally feel like that getting on an airplane, sigh....a necessary means to an end.

The Tawtel women and our famous Crantinis

Anyway, on to the good stuff. We were all healthy and arrived in Victoria via Vancouver via Frankfurt, 9 hours jet lagged and a mere 2 hours late but otherwise in great form. The next 2 weeks passed in a blur of wonderful family meals, lots of games (Au Mille and Balderdash being our favorites), movies, girls nights, boys nights, swimming, beach walking and generally revelling in the mild west coast island air and each other.

One particular highlight was a family hike we did through an old growth forest on Mount Douglas. We were a little ways up the trail when a friendly Golden Retriever assaulted us with affection. His owner arrived shortly thereafter, whereupon I coolly sputtered, gasped, fell over my words, and finally spat out memorably "I know you, you're Silken Laumann". OK, well you have to be an Olympics fanatic and a proud Canadian to understand the significance of the moment but trust me, it was significant!

You also have to be a pretty tight family to live 9 people in a house (a pretty big house but still....9 people!), still love each other 14 days later, and cry upon bidding our farewells. J became particularly attached to the clan this year and was loathe to leave. He kept begging us to stay a little longer "but I'm not going to see my cousins for suuuuuuch a long time" he moaned. This is one kid who really gets the value of family and good friends, and who blossoms under the attention and love of his teenage cousins.

We flew on to Calgary to spend the weekend with our great friends Jen and Jeff and their 2 kids. J and Nate have been pals since birth. We spent a quintessential Alberta weekend; tobagganing under the brilliant blue western sky, dining on Alberta beef, driving on notoriously icy Calgary roads but most importantly - reconnecting with dear friends.

Some good old Canadian tobagganing

Hanging with Jeff and Jen

C2 flew back to Geneva at the end of the weekend and J and I drove our rental car to my mum's apartment to spend the remainder of the week with her and my clutch of Calgary girlfriends. J and their boys have been friends since they were babies. We spent several intense days together and then it was done. The night prior to returning home, J was inconsolable about leaving his Grandma, his 'fabily', his friends, and Tim Horton's (in that order). I love his loyalty and the breadth of his love; really he is such a unique individual for a 6-year old.

The guys have been friends since they were babies

...and us almost as long

A foot of snow greeted us upon arrival in Geneva which thrilled J. It's great returning to Canada as often as we do but it's good to come home too. We have many things to look forward to this year. J starting piano lessons, my wonderful bi-monthly writers group 'The Birks', spending time with the really terrific band of international wanderers we are honoured to call friends, and "profitez'ing" from every chance to explore this place we are blessed to call home.

Lost in Translation

Today's lunchtime conversation between J and his friend Olivia, in between giggles, burps and other bodily noises that they find so hysterical during a meal...

J: "J'ai envie de jouer avec ma copine Ciel"

(I want to play with my friend Ciel)

Olivia: "Ciel?"

Me, half-listening while half-heartedly tuning out above-mentioned bodily noises:

"C'est une nouvelle copine a l'ecole?"

(Is that a new friend at school?)

J: "Non Maman, CIEL!"

Olivia: "Ciel?"

Me: "who???"

J: "MUMMMMMYYYYY, Skye, Skye, Skye"

Me: "Ah"

Traveller's Tales Part 2

Trafalgar Square

We're back from our week in London. Had a great time and as always, it was very difficult for both J and I to say goodbye. Sheila and I have become so used to easily planning visits and anticipating the next one but this one was tinged bittersweet since we are on the bubble of our expatriate experience. We're coming up on 4 years and are likely on the downward slope of our time in Geneva. I cannot imagine watching months and possibly even years pass without our families interacting. Our children are SUCH good friends and I abhor the thought of them losing the easy familiarity that they have built.

London Transport Museum - Covent Garden

This trip was particularly memorable since it's the first time that we took the kids into central London to really experience some of what that remarkable city has to offer. We spent one morning travelling to Covent Garden by tube to the London Transport Museum. The kids had a great time climbing around double-decker buses, old trains, and learning how the London Underground was built; some of the stations date back to Victorian times - amazing! We also walked around Trafalgar Square and climbed on the lions circling Nelson's Column before hopping onto a traditional red London double-decker back to Victoria rail station.

Millennium Bridge looking at St. Paul's Cathedral

We spent another fantastic day riding bikes near the Thames Barrier to the awesome O2 arena where we watched 'UP' in 3D. After the movie we caught the London Clipper, a catamaran which races up and down the Thames stopping at such memorable riverside locations as Greenwich, the Tower of London, and London Bridge. We jumped off at Bankside and walked over the Millennium Bridge joining Shakespeare's Globe Theatre to magnificent St. Paul's Cathedral.

In the Crypt at St. Paul's

At St. Paul's Cathedral, we climbed hundreds of narrow winding stairs to the Whispering Gallery and further on to the Golden Gallery for an amazing view of central London. We then descended into the crypt to see the final resting places of Horatio Nelson and the Duke of Wellington. After leaving the Cathedral, we recovered with a pint at a snug pub across the square before catching the Clipper back to the O2.

On the Clipper looking at HMS Belfast and Tower Bridge at sunset

Our few days sped by much too fast as they always do and the next thing I knew we were boarding our Easyjet flight back to Geneva. We have been so lucky to have the freedom to visit each other as often as we have throughout the last four years and so I am grateful if still a touch melancholic.

Traveller's Tales Part I

It's the October break in Geneva this week, also known as 'La Semaine des Potates'. That's the week when children are supposed to help their parents harvest the potatoes and other Fall vegetables. As the average school child in 2009 is no longer living like Laura Ingalls, most head to sunnier climes.

J and I have spent every October break since moving to Geneva visiting with my best and oldest friend Sheila and her family in London. We have the whole Easyjet journey from Geneva into London Gatwick to East Croydon rail station down to a science. Today whilst striding down the long corridors of London Gatwick's North Terminal, J turned to me and announced with aplomb and the insight of a veteran traveller...

J: "Mummy there's three things I don't like about flying."
Me: "Oh what's that?"
J: "Blowing Up, Throwing Up, and Blocked Ears!"

Couldn't have said it better myself.

A Weekend in our Swiss Village

One of the greatests parts of our Geneva experience has been living in a typical Swiss village. One of the greatest ironies of our Geneva experience is that within the last couple of years, our Swiss village has become populated with increasing numbers of anglophones. Funnily enough, rather than inhibiting integration into village life, this fact has facilitated it by making us all feel a little less isolated.

This new reality was never better demonstrated that this past long pre- la rentrée scolaire weekend (back to school) which was spent attending back-to-back aperos, dinners, and brunches without ever starting my car. So in detail...

Thursday was another hot day with temperatures peaking in the mid-30s. At the end of the day, J heard his name being hollered over the high hedgerows in our back garden and we wandered over to our neighbours, recently returned from summering in Romania. J spent the next couple of hours in their pool while Ioli and I caught up. I must admit, my French language skills have somewhat suffered in the last couple of months.

A couple of hours later, I made my way over to my South African friend Leigh-Anne's for a ladies-only champagne evening under the stars. Lots of lively conversation and lots of laughs ensued between we Canadian, American, South African, British, Swiss, and Finn women - it was a great party. Cindy and I staggered home together around 2:00 am.

Friday was the last day of a weeklong football camp for J, and Cindy scooped him up for the afternoon to play with her guys. She called later in the day to invite us over for a pizza and red wine evening. It was a gorgeous warm evening, and again we had lots of lively conversation and lots of laughs. C2 was in Zurich for the day but J and I meandered home under the stars around 11:00 pm.

Saturday dawned bright and warm again and I spent most of the day working in the garden. My geraniums are spectacular this year! Around 6:00, the three of us walked down the road to Jawahara and Bijoy's house for an amazingly prepared Indian dinner. Mmmm, my mouth is watering remembering that meal. Yet again, lots of lively conversation and lots of laughs. We wandered home admiring the stars in a clear sky around midnight.

Sunday morning, I dragged myself out of bed at 8:00 for a 12k run. I would not normally be quite so motivated quite so early on a Sunday but I'm training for the 16K Paris-to-Versailles race in late September and am adhering to a training plan. I could have run later but...wait for it..yep at 10:00 am, C2, J and I walked down the road and around the corner to our new American and Romanian friends, David, Lavinia, and their little son Dacian (see earlier blog about Kentucky, Transylvania and a Bottle of Palinka) for a champagne brunch that went on for several wonderful hours. Needless to say there was much lively conversation and lots of laughs.

All in all a pretty terrific weekend in a pretty terrific place with some pretty terrific people!

The Best Love in Life is to Live a Great Life

Or so was our collective assessment after a wonderful day yesterday spent in the company of our Swedish/Dutch friends Elin, Ard and their two kiddos Thomas and Julian.

Early in the day, we drove up to the village of Bernex in the shadow of the Dent d'Oche mountain in the Alps of Haute-Savoie, France. It was a really hot day in a very hot August this year in Geneva and the sun beat down on us from a sky absent of clouds. We started our hike around 11:00 following a twisty rooted shaded track along a river.

Close to 2 hours later, we had gained about 350 meters in elevation, reached the top of our climb and were greeted by a fountain flowing with icy, fresh, delicious Evian water. Bernex is just north of the town famous for its' pricy bottled water, and we were gulping it in by the mouthful. We also had an amazing view down to Lac Leman (Lake Geneva) about 13 kms away. We lingered for a while, enjoying the views, eating wild raspberries, watching the kids and Murphy play.

Eventually, we began our descent and about an hour later arrived at an auberge near the trailhead that beckoned us like an oasis in the desert. Hot, thirsty, hungry, and tired, we were seated at a table under fragrant baskets of flowers and protected by broad leafy branches.

Glasses of ice-cold beer were quickly delivered - heaven! We spent a delightfully memorable 3-hours in this garden paradise eating fluffy omelettes prepared with French perfection, spicy boeuf tartare, and chevre chaud salads. All the while, our kids connected with other children at the stream that bubbled alongside the restaurant, and Murphy snored under our table.

We eventually and reluctantly left around 5:00, returned to Elin and Ard's house in Anthy-sur-Leman and cooled off with an early evening swim in lac Leman followed by a late barbeque. We spent the day in the company of our family, our dog, and good friends. We explored part of this magnificent region we are blessed to live in, and we ate with gusto surrounded by splendour. What else do you need in life?