Sorry I haven't been posting. I've been trying to organize our two vacations, Barcelona in April and the cruise out of Rome in August. Doesn't help with Daniel being vague about plans. I have to get a little firm with him to firm up dates, modes of transport, etc. What do you want? Whatever. When do you want to go? Give me a whole week. No dear, we need exact dates. Can't call a hotel or airline and say, either the first or the second...
So our cruise is, in principal, confirmed. Strangly, as is with low cost carriers, I have booked from Rome to here but not the departure. I also have booked going down to Barcelona but not back. I think that's part of Ryan Air's marketing. They get you to buy a good ticket one way and then jack up the prices going the other way. Gotcha! So the two cheapies are bought. Daniel wasn't sure if he wants to take the car to Rome. I'm all, whatever and booked just me and the kids. He can go do his own ticket himself!
The hotel search for Rome was ugly. I wanted something small and not too commercialized in the center. Everything was booked but of course, I've heard they don't like to make this micro reservations in the middle of summer (in case someone wants a longer booking). Who knows. One hotel supposedly doesn't take children under 5. I asked to confirm but was only told that they didn't have space.
We also needed two connecting rooms or a big enough suite. Most suites only take up to four. Plus the other family wants to be with us. Another complication. Hopefully, these guys are the answer;
http://www.hotelbritannia.it/en/index.htm
They had great reviews on tripadvisor (such a great resource!) The only bad reviews had to do with specifics, like reservation problems...
The weather here has been bizaare. We've had snow, but none that stuck on the ground. It was just cold and yukky. We had hardly any snow all winter and boom! right at the start of spring...
I took a cooking class the other day. I'm not sure what pocessed me but it was good, if a bit overpriced. Of course Talia's teacher was out, without a replacement and I had to arrange Davina in the local daycare since she doesn't normally go Friday mornings plus put Talia in another class, just for the morning and have Cheryl pick her up... It was a bit too much driving around and arranging stuff for me. Doubt I'll do it again but we made a nice "potage", a simple chicken, a "gratin" with spinich and cream and a nice creamy dessert. My lactose intollerance came back with a vengence!
Potty training is going terribly. She wont go when asked. She just wets her underware. She simply is neither interested nor will cooperate. Talia was so done with diapers at age 2. Ronnie and Davina have been an entirely different experience. I think Ronnie would still be in diapers today if I had let him.
I have honestly volunteered to accompany Talia's class for swimming. Not just the "vestaires" (locker rooms, helping with dressing) but actually in the pool. That's just because Cheryl, fellow American mom did it. Turns out that we have to be tested. Well, I doubt any Californian with four working limbs would have problems passing a swimming test to take kindergarteners to a pool in France. Okay, I'm smug. It's just that when I go to a pool, I kind of swim. Not the case in England. I swam there like the rest. Here, well, it's not as bad as Hong Kong (everyone clinging to the side, had to do laps basically as circles in the center because I couldn't get to the edge) but they are kind of dog paddling. At least they're moving into the center, a bit, if only to chat.
I thought I'd better practice so Monday morning, I went by myself, once I had unloaded my offspring, to the Bains Muncipales. This was a strange experience. It is an old Victorian (type? Can we call it that in France??) building. Even the showers had these funky nobs and almost British style toilets. It really felt like I was swimming in Kew Gardens or something (the real one folks, not the one I lived in in NYC). What was cool is that you get not a locker but a whole dressing room which you lock up. Great, hang the stuff and just go.
They only had the small pool open on Monday mornings. Old folgy agua gym going on in the slightly bigger pool. I could still do lappettes, if not proper laps. At least I'm enough out of shape that it worked.
They cancelled the swimming class anyway, thanks to the snow. The paranoid city of Strasbourg universally cancelled all school excusions due to snow. We're talking snow that was basically rain. Cheryl's from Alaska. She found that very amusing...
Monday morning, after the time change. This should be fun tomorrow! I'll be that much eager to get rid of them if they're cranky and jetlagged and hit the pool!
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