Happy Halloween!

We're up bright and early this morning to get ready.  OK, the Swiss don't celebrate Halloween but we have some new upstairs neighbors who are German/Swiss and have lived in the US for a few years.  They have two little kids so we're having a Halloween party!  We made our own decorations and later we'll be making our favorite eyeball cupcakes like the ones we made last year and some fried bat wings.

This is our creepy display in the foyer

Maisie's school had their annual Harvest Day celebration on Wednesday.  It is decisively NOT for Halloween but the kids are allowed to dress up.  Below is a shot of Maisie's class on the front porch of the school.

Here is a close up of Maisie (a garden gnome) and her two besties...  Ron Weasly and Frankenbanana

and here she is with a mad scientist and a pumpkin

Harvest Day includes a full morning of outdoor games and crafts and lots and lots of food (no candy allowed).  This is a photo of the teachers in a sack race (notice the American Flag on the sacks, they were left over from the International Day American stand).  Also notice the beautiful fall colors in the background!  We've had great weather the past couple of weeks but we have rain in our forecast which I'm sure will soon turn to snow.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!!!  Now, get off our lawn!

Cruisin' toward the end

After Corfu, we had a full day at sea.  It was incredibly windy that day but we managed to enjoy a bellyflop competition by the pool,  take advantage of the free flow ice cream and play a few games of scrabble in the library.  The next day we arrived at our final port... Venice!

I have been to Venice a few times but this visit was my favorite.  We checked our luggage at the train station and walked from there to the Piazza San Marco (brought to you by Guess).

It was very crowded and had already started flooding (usually does this in November) but it wasn't too bad.  We paused briefly and then walked to our intended destination, the Arsenal to see the Biennale.  The Venice Biennale is an international art exhibition held once every two years (hence the name).   Maisie loved the contrast of the modern art housed in the old arsenal and we were able to spend a few hours here without any complaints.

My camera battery died at that point so sadly I don't have any photos but here are a couple more we took in Venice beforehand.

  

After a long day of walking around we hopped on a train and went to Vicenza which is the town where I went to school for a semester during college (thanks to Michael's amazing generosity).  It has been over 15 years since I was last there so this was a real treat!!  Coincidentally, one of Maisie's friends at school is from Vicenza so she and her family met us there and we had dinner together at my old favorite restaurant, Bella Vicenza.  Thank you Alessandra!

Basilica Palladiano (Main square, Vicenza)

Palazzo Cheiricati (Vicenza)

Michael and Maisie walking into the Teatro Olympico (Vicenza)

Maisie at the Teatro Olympico (a beautiful theater designed by Andrea Palladio which was completed after his death in 1580).

   

Here are a couple of random shots taken on our walk around town.  I had forgotten what a beautiful place Vicenza is!  It has changed from a sleepy town into a shopping haven.  Too bad we were there on a Sunday when everything was closed...well, maybe it was a good thing.  I can't wait to return.

At the end of the day we said good-bye to Vicenza and headed for home.  Definitely a vacation to remember.  Thanks Michael!

...cruise continued

This is how Maisie was feeling after 3 hours in Ephesus so we got back on the ship and set sail for Santorini, Greece.

                    

From where the ship was tendered there are only two ways up to the town; by cable car (top photo) or by donkey.  You can guess which way Maisie wanted to go but the cable car won out anyway.

                  

Here is Maisie and her best "please can I ride the donkey?" pose.

We walked around the town for a while and then had a delightful Greek lunch.  Greek salad and mousakka for Michael and me and a "cheeseburger" for Maisie.  We had to verify that they brought us the right order because Maisie's burger was minced lamb patty with feta cheese cooked inside.  No bun, no lettuce, no nuttin' (well, it did come with fries).  Maisie called it the worst cheeseburger ever so let that be a warning to you all not to order a Greek cheeseburger.  Oh and when the menu says "fruit punch" it's really cantaloupe frappe (blech).

Our waitress was kind enough to take this terrible photo of the three of us.  Who likes Michael's ship hat?

After Santorini we sailed to Corfu on the Ionian Sea.

 

Corfu is the second largest Greek island and was the largest town we visited (it also had the most tourist shops and restaurants).  We visited the Palaio Frourio (New Fortress) and well, we were pretty tired of sight-seeing so we just shopped for the rest of the afternoon.  Fun for the girls but not so much for the boy.  Maisie scored a gauzy white dress, a twig pencil and some haagen dazs ice cream.

to be continued.....again......

Fall Break Cruise

Maisie on our balcony

For fall break this year Michael treated us to an eastern Mediterranean cruise!  We'd never been on a cruise before so didn't know what to expect (didn't seem my style of vacation) but we had lots of fun.  We took the train from Sion to Venice, Italy (about 6 hours) which was our main port.  It was a lousy, rainy day and getting to the ship was miserable but once we were on board, the good times began.

Our first stop was Dubrovnik, Croatia.  It was a little rainy but not so much that we couldn't enjoy the sights.  We walked the wall that surrounds the city (about 2km long) and visited a couple of churches.  This is a rugged and beautiful place and I'd like to go back and kayak or snorkel.

 

Our next stop was Kusadasi/Ephesus Turkey.  Kusadasi was the port city and we took an excursion up to Ephesus to see the amazing ruins.

Maisie's favorite part of the ruins was all of the resident stray cats (yes, we used lots of hand sanitizer).  My favorite part was imagining how glorious this city must have been (before the earthquakes and the silted up port) and how much work went into making something so dense and so beautiful.  The city was famed for the Temple of Artemis (Diana) which was completed around 550 BC and was one of the Seven wonders of the Ancient World.  My second favorite thing was the tourist shops.

Cup of corn anyone?

Next we were on our way to Greece.

To be continued.......

Fall Food - better than A.J.'s

I made this apple pie today.  It tastes even better than it looks.  The neighbors gave us a bag of apples and pears that they picked at a nearby orchard.  The plan was to give the pie to the neighbors but I had never made an apple pie before and I thought I should make sure I could do it before sharing.  Guess what....?  I can do it!!  Hopefully the next one will turn out as well.

Is this really my life?!?!

The school has an activity committee that organizes weekly outings for the parents.  I still get excited every time I get to do something cool in the middle of a week day which is proof to me that since the excitement hasn't worn off I'm not yet ready to go back to work.   This week's activity was a visit to the oldest winery in Switzerland which has been in business since the early 1400's.  We got a tour of the facilities and an explanation on how the wine is made and of course, a little taste.  It was a beautiful day and so nice to get out and enjoy the Fall weather.

Here is a view of the vineyards looking toward the Lake and the town of Lutry.

This is a shot of the just-picked grapes going into a machine that separates them from "their wooden pieces" or, as we stay in English, stems.

Here are the barrels that are in the old cellar.  This part of the house was built in 1397.

This next photo is of the brand new (not quite finished) addition.  The details are simple and beautiful and, according to the tour guide (and owner) the new barrels take a few years before they are cured and no longer give the wine an oak-ey flavor (at least that's what I think he said).

Also of interest is that Switzerland consumes 95% of the wine they produce and very little is exported so if you want a taste, you'll have to come here and get it.

Europa Park!

This past weekend Maisie and I went to Europa Park in Rust, Germany.  We had to go to Basel to pick up her new harp (rental) and Europa park was just another hour north so we decided to make a weekend out of it.  This is now my favorite amusement Park of all time and puts Disney to shame.  We met the Edmonds (Noah's family who are from Phoenix too) and had a total BLAST!

We rode the water coaster

Lost every game on the midway (go figure),

Joked around (Maisie and Noah are not actually being eaten by shark, it's not real),

did some white water rafting.

and nearly died of anxiety when Maisie decided to ride this beast.  I must admit I was impressed but she had to ride this one with Noah and his Mom and Dad.  NO WAY was I getting on that sucker.

My favorite part though was the fact that Maisie is old enough to venture out with her friends a bit and go on the rides without me.  I love that she's growing up but wish I could pause here at 10 for a while.  I know I'm going to have my hands full in a few more years.