Bluebird's Nest

One day after Christmas we drove back out to Valbella to spend time with my husband’s aunt, uncle, cousin, sister, and grandma. It was a snowy wonderland. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen that much snow and almost the whole time we were there (5 days) it just kept on snowing. You might remember it as a green Swiss Alp valley. Winter time changes the scenery completely.

We had some wonderful times there.

We put the tweenager into skiing lessons for a day. She did great of course. The only problem is that they don’t really have lessons for someone that age (either young lessons or old person lessons – like me) so we put her in the young peoples lessons which might have been a mistake. She really enjoyed the first half of the day, but the second half was too easy. Check out the video.

One day we walked to Lenzerheidi to get some groceries and we took the lake route which was beautiful. They have a cross country track that goes around the lake so we had many discussions on the two different types of cross country, how hard it is, and how good it is for your body. My hubby’s uncle is a huge fan of it. It was gorgeous walking through the snow covered trees with the sun dipping in and out. We never once used the stroller but instead a sled to pull the wee babe around. She loved it and the fresh mountain air so quite often you would look back and she would be fast asleep. Of course I always worried about frost bite but she was completely fine.

Another day, myself, the wee babe, the tweenager and my aunt-in-law all went for a 2+ hour walk to get some nice coffee and sweets. It was again a gorgeous day but I don’t think I understood the distance we were walking in the snow, and wasn’t as well prepared as I could have been for the wee babe. Regardless, it was a beautiful walk.

While I was walking (and a couple of other days too), my hubby went snowboarding. He had a wonderful time high up on the mountains with his sister one day and his uncle another day.

One of the most memorable moments happened at the spa. But this ain’t no ordinary spa. Oh no. Let me start at the beginning.

My aunt and the tweenager had been to the “spa” and pool the day before. My tweenager wasn’t allowed to go into the spa area as she wasn’t old enough. I thought that was a little weird. Anyway, the next day my sister-in-law asked me if I wanted to go to the spa. “Sure!” I said. A little while later before we left, my aunt-in-law mentioned to me that the spa was a nudie spa. “Ok” I said “but the guys are in their spa and the women in theirs right?” “Nope.” was the response. They go in there together. Eep!

I began to wonder what I had gotten myself into. A few thoughts crossed my mind: I for sure wouldn’t know anyone there, if everyone is naked then they won’t all be staring at you cuz everyone is naked, I could wear my bathing suit anyway right (this isn’t allowed by the way), look at this as something that might make you stronger and something that you can say that you did! (you can blog about it!), Oh and maybe the spa will be closed.

The spa wasn’t closed. But first we did some “sport” and did some lengths in the pool where bathing suits were a must. Then we went into the spa area took off our bathing suits right there where the men were passing by. It seemed so strange. I was completely in my head for the first hour or so (maybe even the whole time). Let me paint the picture. So there’s about 7 spas that you can choose from. Hot, moist, dry, warm, etc… When you’re in the spa you sit on your towel, naked. When you’re walking to the next spa you have your towel on. Not so bad I guess. (I’m understanding why you have to be a certain age now though.) They also have a cold pool that you can run into after you’ve been in a hot spa. It’s supposed to increase your heart rate and be good for your health. It’s friggin’ cold let me tell you. My sister-in-law (who had absolutely no problems with all of this by the way) threw herself into a snow bank beside the hot tub just to see what it was like – let’s not forget she was naked right? Oh and one other interesting thing was that there was actually a woman who did wear a bathing suit and she stuck out like a sore thumb! You could see that she was very self conscious. I found that interesting that it worked the opposite way – that being naked you blended.

Anyway, the whole experience was very liberating and I really loved it for exercising my pyschie and just seeing how confident I was in my skin. Let’s not forget here people, that everyone in the spa was all within their ideal BMI. Oh and that some of the spas over looked the ski  hill so while you’re sitting there naked, you’re watching people skiing and snowboarding down the hill RIGHT outside the window (they can see you too by the way). Overall, I had a great time there.

Lastly, there was New Year’s night. After putting the wee babe to bed in the play pen in our room and grandma to bed, we drank some wine and then eventually headed outside to play in the snow and watch the fire works. It was great walking around the streets, playing on the toboggan and checking out all the fire works displays. I didn’t get any photos (drat) but we had a very memorable New Year’s night.

We had such a wonderful time with family, the food was as always divine (we had fondue on night – yum!), great wine, beautiful scenery, fun games, fresh air, abundant amounts of glistening snow and memories to last us a life time.

Thanks so much Claudia, Christophe and Nanou for having us up to your beautiful haven. xoxoxo

This was the day that we headed to the beach. The hotel provided us with a free bus to get there. The bus was a little sketch but at least there were seat belts we could seat belt our baby into.

After arriving at the beach we laid down our towels on the beach chairs, lathered on the sun screen, put the baby in her swim suit and headed quickly into the warm water.

We frolicked (I love using that word) around for a bit, passing the wee babe back and forth. I was finally tired and headed back into the shade to dry off.

Not long after that a local showed up and started trying to peddle us some trips around the area. We were a little wary of him at first but then he had some other tourists come over and let us know that they had been on the same snorkeling trip that he was offering and it had been a great experience for them. We were sold and decided to go the next day.

Not long after that, we walked over to the area where the bar, food, and a henna tattoo shop were. The woman began trying to sell us the hair braiding (it was crazy expensive) but instead the tweenager ended up buying a henna tattoo on her arm (which we evidently paid too much for…). She also negotiated four massages for us scheduled for the last day of our trip. It was a tough negotiation but she had one of her masseuses come over (Tito) and he gave everyone a free 5 minute massage.

We had lunch and before you know it the sister-in-law had brought back another local who wanted to marry her. It was nice to talk to a local and get an idea about Egyptian life, politics in Egypt, more info on the local scene… but after what seemed like an hour, I found that I wanted him to leave so that I could enjoy the beach again and the beauty that laid before me.

I need to interject here and explain one thing: In Egypt they speak Arabic. But they also speak English so this worked quite well for me. I understood everything. The interesting thing though was that the family that I was travelling with spoke French all the time. So we were constantly switching back and forth between French and English and it was quite normal for either Luc’s mom or I to not know what was being spoken about as it’s impossible to translate everything.

We left the beach and everyone was pretty tired for the day so we cleaned up, had dinner and got ready for a big day the next day by having an early bedtime.

The next morning we ate and set of for the beach to catch up with the boat which was going to take snorkeling and to an island. We grabbed some snorkels, masks and flippers and walked the plank to the yacht. The music was booming and there were already a bunch of other people onboard from other hotels. We set sail.

First stop: snorkeling with about 10-15 other boats loaded with people.

Before I recount what happened for me, please understand that everyone else in our party had a GREAT time snorkeling. I was an anomaly.

I was holding the wee babe as everyone was getting the masks, snorkels and flippers on. Bad idea. I should have been getting ready myself but I was to concerned that the wee babe was going to cry and I wanted to leave it to the last minute. Everyone was pretty much off the boat so I passed the baby to my mother-in-law and put on my mask – it broke. I asked one of the staff if they had another and they did but it was too small. Now I was getting anxious as everyone had taken off and I wasn’t planning on wearing any flippers in the water (not really into them to be honest).

I finally caught up with everyone but it was like a swarm of piranhas. There was people, elbows, flippers, arms, legs everywhere. I’m not one to feel claustrophobic but I was really feeling it. I was getting poked, hit, jabbed all over the place. On top of it, my mask wasn’t suctioned properly so every time I put my head in the water, water would enter it. And it was fogged up. So you can imagine my frustration. I made a motion to the guide that I wanted to go back to the boat. I could barely make out which boat was ours as every time I looked over at it the sun was shining directly into my eyes and I could make out what the names of the boats were as my mask was all fogged up. The guide said 5 more minutes and everyone would go back. I endured but after what seemed like 15 mins I finally packed it in and headed back myself.

So here I was swimming back. Salt water in my right eye (hence swimming with one eye open), mask fogged up, sun shining directly on me and I can hear faintly as I’m swimming back, the wee babe crying her eyes out. Swimming, swimming, swimming… getting closer…. I couldn’t get there fast enough. So as I get to the boat there are two people hanging off the ladder to get up. I basically just pushed them out of the way and barged straight up the ladder. Grabbed a towel and then grabbed the sobbing baby.

Phewf, I made it.

There were two other places that everyone on the boat went snorkeling but after the experience I had, I wasn’t planning on going in again. And from what I understand, it was much better as there wasn’t barely anyone else at those snorkeling spots. What I was most happy about was that the tweenager had a great time swimming around with my hubby. She adores the water.

We then had lunch which was supplied for us. I tried desperately to stay away from the uncooked veggies that they lumped on my plate.

And then everyone piled into a little boat and headed off to a white sand island. It was hot and around 1pm and there was next to no shade except for a little hut that had no access to get inside it. I guess this is where all the boat tours go as the beach was packed full of people.

We went swimming again with the wee babe and tweenager and after we thought that the baby had had enough, I took her out and joined my in-laws in the little hut for some shade. We rested there for the remainder of the time at the island (about an hour).

After that, we headed back to the beach and then back to the hotel. It had been a really nice day out on the ocean. We were all pretty tired from all the swimming and the sun and we had another early wake up call the next day.

Tomorrow we head out on our two day tour of Luxor and Cairo (the Pyramids, a museum, Valley of the Kings, a temple…oh and I get sick).

Yesterday, we got the keys to our new apartment in Vevey. I had seen photos of it and to be honest with you I was a bit nervous about it as living in the house has been amazing and from what the photos looked like, it looked SMALL.

“On the shore of Lake Geneva, Vevey is a town of images, culture and shopping. Home of the Nestlé headquarters and several museums, Vevey’s charm enticed Charlie Chaplin to spend the last 25 years of his life there.”

Let’s just say, I was really surprised and totally happy when I got to see what it’s actually like. It’s bright and twice the size than I thought it was. It has an amazing view of the mountains and the lake. The beds are great (except the tweenager is a bit worried about her bed as it’s pretty flat) and there’s plenty of room to have people spend the night in the pull out couch in the living room if they want.

Some drawbacks:

• There are 50 stairs you need to walk up to get to our place on the 4th floor. I’m definitely going to get my exercise.
• You have to pay to use the laundry and it’s in the basement. I’m not sure I know how I’m going to get the baby and the laundry down there. I guess it will be one of those experiences that you always remember.
• We don’t have a car. YIKES!!

The pros:

• It’s really close to the tweenagers school and the centre of the city so we can walk there no problem.
• It’s really close to the lake.
• It’s about an hour and a half walk to Chateau de Chillon.
• It’s a beautiful walk from Vevey to Montreaux
• It’s about a 30 seconds walk away from the hospital if anything goes wrong.
• It’s walking distance to the city of Vevey which is a beautiful lakeside town with markets, shopping, dining, etc…

All in all, I’m excited about making the final move there. Right now, we’re a bit in limbo where we’re living in Bussigny, but some of our stuff is in Vevey. This is also proving to be a problem too as my hubby has lost his glasses and we’re not sure if he left them at Hans’ house or maybe I accidentally took them to Vevey with the stuff we brought yesterday.

I’m looking forward to be in our final destination for the next 4 months. No more transitions. We can finally settle in a bit.

Speaking of the tweenager starting school tomorrow. Poor thing has her summer cut shorter than usual as Canada doesn’t go back until after Labour Day. That’s not too bad though as she gets 2 weeks off in October that Canada doesn’t get.

I’ll write more later on the initial first days of her school and how her teacher is, if there are language differences, if she made any friends, how she likes her class/school etc… I have to be honest, I’m even a little nervous for her but she’s such a good soul and she’s so strong and is easy to make friends, I’m sure she’s going to do amazing. I can’t wait to hear all about it. And I’ll be right there to drop her off and pick her up. ?

Some links:

• My Switzerland – Vevey
• Montreux Riviera
• Wikipedia – Vevey

This time we drove clear across the little country to Valbella taking in Zurich for a couple of hours along the way. We did a 4 day excursion which was simply breathtaking.

We began on Monday morning (yeah I know, why do I travel on Mondays here???) and drove to Zurich for lunch. It poured like it did in Strasbourg. Wowzers. But it was really nice as we got to catch up with an old friend of the hubby’s, Maxim.

We tried to find some postcards for friends but everything cost way too much (sorry friends!!) so we bailed on that idea and headed back to the car to hit the road.

On the way we drove through typical picturesque lush green valleys. Not unlike how the book Heidi depicts. When I mentioned that I thought it reminded me of what it must have been like for Heidi when she lived in the mountains, my hubby replied that in fact, there was a place called Heidiland coming up and we needed to stop for gas there! I took some photos.

Back on the road and up through one of the crazy typical Swiss mountain passes where everyone goes mock speed and you can pass, but the roads are as if you took a pen and scribbled all over a piece of paper. I can hardly believe you can pass people on these roads. I did it once and it freaked the bejesus out of me.

We stopped in at a little meat and wine store where my hubby picked up horse sausages. Don’t ask. And then off to grandma’s house.

Ok, so grandma’s house is a 200 year old chalet in Valbella. This place is amazing and it’s just reeking of history. I kept asking my hubby about what he knew about the area 200 years ago and how the house came to be, etc… but he wasn’t able to tell me much. What’s even more interesting to me is that the house has been passed down from generation to generation. The original owner was not in the family but his grandma’s grandma bought it and renovated it in 1924. Too cool. You just don’t find houses like that in Canada.

We had a wonderful dinner after getting re-acquainted with her and then a splendid walk around the area. My hubby rehashed memories he had as a child growing up. The tweenager begged to come back there in the wintertime. You see, Valbella is well known for its ski resort. I would love to see it covered with a blanket of snow. We walked by a wonderful lake that I understand freezes over in the winter and you can cross country ski on it. I just love it here. It was a bit cold but really, compared to Victoria for 8 months of the year, it was nothing.

We awoke in the morning to a wonderful breakfast of bread and jam with coffee and then we got ready for a beautiful day. The sun was shining and the mountains were beckoning us. We took the bus to the bottom of the chair lift with my hubby’s grandma and then we embarked up the mountain on the chair lift. Up to the top and it was a balmy 23 degrees. No need for a sweater

We had a lovely coffee with grandma and then we said goodbye to her for the day. She is close to 90 years old and she gets around very well!! She headed back down the mountain and we headed up a bit and then off to the right.

Ok, let me try to do the scenery justice by explaining to you how beautiful it was. Try to imagine lush green rolling hills set against a mountain. Facing the opposite side is a valley where there is a beautiful lake and then on the other side of that is another gorgeous mountain range. There are cows everywhere with bells so the faint ringing of cowbells surrounds you. Butterflies fly by frequently and trickling streams seem to be around every corner. The path weaves up and down, the sun is shining brightly and there’s a fresh mountain breeze whispering through your hair. It’s almost too much to really comprehend how incredible you feel as you trollop through the mountainside.

We stopped for a picnic to take in the view.

All in all I think the walk was about 2 hours to get down the mountain. 2 glorious hours.

We continued home and we then ate some chocolate and said hello to grandma. It wasn’t long before the tweenager was asking us if we could go back to the lake and rent a pedallo. So, off we headed again and this time her and I took to the lake for a half an hour while the hubby and wee babe relaxed along the side of the lake.

We headed home and had a light meal that the hubby’s grandma had prepared. It was the perfect day. I must give it to my Swiss mister. When he plans a day, he really knows how to wow the pants off of me. I’m rarely disappointed when we take to the road, lake, sea or mountain as he has prepared.

After putting the wee babe and tweenager to bed, we chatted with grandma a bit about the house and area before we retired to bed as well.

The next morning we awoke, had breakfast, gathered our things and said good bye to grandma and hit the road. This was supposed to be our last day on the road but there were other things in store for us.

To be continued…

It’s been a full week now that we’ve been here and we’re settling in quite well.

Yesterday, we ventured into France with the hubby’s parents to check out the Mont Blanc. We took a gondola over to a glacier and we were able to walk inside. It’s not too often you can walk into a glacier and I told the tweenager that she would need to be sure to blog about it. What an experience.

It was pretty neat. Ice caverns acting as tunnels. There was even a St. Bernard inside that you could have your picture taken with for 6 Euros. Poor doggy. The most interesting (and sad) part for me was they had placed markers on the side of the rocks stating where the glacier was 5 years ago, 10 years ago, 20 years ago. It sure has receded quickly over the years. Every year they need to build new caves as the glacier moves so quickly. We could hear rocks tumbling as the ice melted. I think my hubby said it moves 90 meters a year. That’s insane.

We walked down the 400 steps to get into the glacier then back up and back into the crowded gondola. Oh I forgot, we took a really cool train to get to the top of the middle mountain. So Swiss and so pretty.

I told my hubby today that I really like his country. It’s so beautiful. I think I fall in love with it just a little bit more every time I come here.

I also spent some time a few days ago with the belle soeur and the tweenager swimming in Lake Leman. It’s her private swimming place kind of. So cute. I almost thought it was someone’s private property and we might be trespassing but there was a garbage, a change area, a shower and a toilet. The water in Lake Leman is so beautiful and refreshing. I feel like I’m in a little piece of paradise here.

It’s hard to explain but the vineyards etched against the blue mountains with the Swiss architecture is beyond picturesque. I can’t wait to see what happens in fall and winter.

One thing that I’ve grown to liking is the meals here. I never thought I’d be saying that. I remember the first time I came here 6 years ago. I spoke next to no French, I barely knew anyone and everything was strange to me. The thing I disliked the most was the meals. Not because of the food. Oh no. It was because the meals were so drawn out and long. Ever meal started with a salad, then the meal, then the bread and cheese, and then fruit and a little coffee. Talking, talking, talking in French. Of course I had no idea what anyone was saying and the hubby would translate (poorly) I wouldn’t get any jokes and it was just a huge clusterf*&k for me. I hated it. It would have been better if I had brought a book or magazine to read. Although I guess that would have been really rude. But now! Oh now it’s wonderful! I can understand about 80% of the conversation. What I don’t understand, it’s much easier for the hubby AND the tweenager to translate and the food… the glorious food! For some reason, the food before seemed so foreign to me. Now I embrace it and look forward to it. (I don’t think I will ever be able to eat a fish with its face on though, that’s a little too much for me. I also don’t think I will ever get used to the water with bubbles either.) I love the fresh salad and fresh dressing, the unique meals and the cheese. Oh that cheese! Let’s not forget the bread and wine. And I would be so lucky to end off with a little coffee. I’m in heaven.

I need to make some friends though. The landscape, meals and warm temperature are only going to get me by for a while until I feel like I need more adult friendly conversation. And maybe my belle soeur isn’t going to want to hang out with me all the time The hubby is doing well with spending time with me, but I know he longs to see his friends he hasn’t seen in a while. And I feel for the tweenager. But it won’t be long until she is at school and meeting all sorts of new people.

Enough of that talk, we’re planning a trip to the Gewürztraminer area of France for a night. Just a small road trip. We might do a couple of others as well but I think we’re all a bit burnt out from traveling in a car for the time being. It’s nice to be planted in one place after such a huge trip across Canada. Oh, and the gas here is sooooo expensive. I think it works out to $1.70 per litre. It cost us $85 the other day to fill up. It’s going to be a relief when we move to the other apartment that we won’t have a car. Although, that will come with it’s own set of problems I’m sure.

We did a little photo shoot this morning with the wee babe when she was eating her carrots. I hope you enjoy.

Wee babe Update:

• She’s eating carrots, bananas and yams. Next up: apples and squash.
• She’s pulled herself up to a standing position a few times now. Wow, do I ever get nervous when she does this as she is so wibbly wobbly I can just see her tumbling over onto her head. Oh mon dieu.

We had not too bad a sleep last night. The wee babe woke up more last night than any other night. 3 times which kinda sucked. It was a bit cold so she maybe was uncomfortable.

We woke up late and had coffee. Glorious coffee. With real cream. Two cups. Mmmmm…. Then I cooked a big breakfast with hashbrowns, bacon, toast and eggs on the new stove. Dreamy.

It was so nice to not have to pack up and hurry in the morning to get on the road. We took our time and got on the road around 10:45.

Today was our first bonified tourist day. We drove all the way to Niagara Falls, which wasn’t that far actually, just an hour. When we arrived it was stinking hot. Like 34 degrees hot and the humidity was high. The tweenager was dying. Sweat was dripping down my back into my butt crack. It was pretty terrible.

We had made sandwiches for lunch with nectarines so we stopped and ate those. The unfortunate thing was that we didn’t bring enough water. So we ended up buying two bottles that were 3$ each (way too expensive) and some frozen yogourt. We’ll be smarter for tomorrow, that’s for sure.

We all remembered to put on sunscreen and I think we all came away unscathed. But man oh man where there a lot of people there.

It was beautiful. Breathtaking. There was a mist coming off the falls that was ever so refreshing. But it was all slightly anti-climatic since I’ve seen a lot of photos of it. But it was the after-math that I wasn’t ready for.

It’s like a freaking carnival there! Once you move away from the falls onto a stretch of street where it’s like Disneyland crossed with Las Vegas crossed with a carnival. Music, rides (RIDES????), stores, smells, people, people, people! I’m happy to have seen it once in my life, I don’t think I need to see that again.

We hit a grocery store on the way home to grab more water for tomorrow and then some gas for the car.

We were all really looking forward to getting back to the campsite to cool off in the pool. I’m so happy to be able to let the wee babe swim in the pool a little bit. I dunk her every time so she gets more and more comfortable with it. She doesn’t cry anymore so I guess that’s a good thing

Tomorrow we have a BIG day ahead of us. We’re heading into Toronto to hit the CN tower, the Kensington Market, China town and maybe a bit of shopping. I understand that tomorrow is going to be hotter than today. Gosh, I’m not used to this kind of heat. Hopefully, we’ll be inside for a lot of it.

EXPENSES:

Camping: $32
Parking: $12
Wee babe disposition: Fab.
Weather: Stinking HOT and humid: 32 degrees.
Stress level: Pretty even keel.

My tweenager. She’s one amazingly beautiful person.

I can easily get caught up in the details of life. Easily. I sometimes need to force myself to take a step back and look at all that I have. I am truly blessed. And I am proud. I am proud of her and I am proud of me.

I am proud of me because 11 years ago I was faced with being pregnant after returning from a year holiday/life experience in Australia. I made the decision to “do this thing” and became a single mom. Looking back I think this was the best and most proudest decision I had ever made. I had and have amazing support from my parents and my friends and I raised that little girl to be the best that she could be.

Today she’s grown into a wonderful, brilliant, creative individual. This year she is being published for her first time in a book of short stories. She also is in the process of working her way up in a french speech contest that she will be competing in at the provincial level (we’re heading to Vancouver this weekend). If she wins that she then has a shot in Quebec (and at a scholarship). Whether she wins or loses, I’m so proud of her and all that she has become. She’s a passionate, sensitive young woman who has the world at her fingertips.

I know this post is supposed to be a post about what I’m proud of in myself. But in all honesty, there’s a little bit of her in me and I like to think a lot of me in her.

I’m proud of where she’s come in her life and what I’ve been able to give her.

Whether or not you make it to the next round, whether or not you ever get published again, follow your dreams. Do what makes you happy kiddo. Lukey and I will here for you always, cheering you on, your biggest fans. We love you.

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This post was prepared in response to a RemembeRED prompt for the Red Dress Club. The prompt asked the writer to write something about which you’re proud of yourself.

My talented tweenager wrote this for me on a day where she got in trouble for a few things. It’s so touching and beautiful I just wanted to share it with you all. It’s also a keepsake for me to look back on when the craft that she made me is old and tattered or lost even, I’ll still have this momento.

I love you too ma belle.

Mama

A gift is not always

sealed with a nice ribbon

sometimes you can’t even see it

or touch it

even feel it

you don’t even know that it’s there

but it always is.

In the darkest times

to the most beautiful

love is always present.

There is one person in my world who is perfect

I love her to the extreme

and she loves me back.

She is my mama.

For all the things I did wrong

I am sorry

and for all the good times

I’m thankful.

I say I love you.

- The tweenager, age 11 (2011)