Barcelona for Two!

Yes, it's true!  Dave and I took a 4-day vacation to Barcelona on our own.  We had an amazing time!  Barcelona really is one-of-a-kind!  The architecture is beautiful and the food is incredible!  And it was such a treat to be there over my birthday weekend.

We left on Thursday morning during Sportferien (sport holiday), and flew to Barcelona.  Our friends Meg and Nathan came to stay with the kids again.

We stayed at 1898 Hotel on La Rambla, the main street in Barcelona, near the old town.  We spent the afternoon walking around the old town, eating at a tapas restaurant, and visiting the Boqueria market.  This was definitely the most beautiful market I have ever seen!  You can't believe how nice and fresh the fruit looked (and it tasted good too!).  And there was plenty of fresh fish!  We found a little crepes stand and had a wonderful crepe there as well.

We also visited the cathedral, even going up to the roof for a view of the city. And we walked to the Palau De La Musica, which is a very beautiful old concert hall. Thursday night we ate at a restaurant on La Rambla across from our hotel, that was also amazing.

Friday (my birthday) we walked around the city and saw more of the Gaudi architecture and did a bit of shopping. We walked up Passeig de Gracia where Dave found some European shirts and a good deal on a Spanish leather jacket. We saw Casa Battlo and La Pedrera, two of Gaudi's famous buildings. We made our way to La Sagrada Familia, a massive cathedral where construction began in 1882, and it is still under construction (for another 20 years or so)! It really is amazing.

We ate lunch at a very funky / creative restaurant, where they even served us gold-covered macademia nuts.  In the evening we took the metro to see the Magic Fountain of Montjuic.  It's a huge fountain where they have a synchronized lights, music and water show each evening!  For my birthday that evening, we went to a country music concert...Kevin Costner and his band Modern West at la Palau de la Musica.  Yes, it actually was Kevin Costner!  Who knew he is now touring Europe with a country band!

Saturday we walked down to the ocean where we went up Colom, a monument to Christopher Columbus, and then walked along Rambla de Mar and Port Vell.  The ocean was beautiful, and the weather was great for February.  We stopped at the Desigual shop in Port Vell.  When I asked to try on a skirt they took me to this dressing room - with a wall of windows - and told me (in Spanish) not to worry, that people can't see in from outside!  We took a few pictures with the amazing street performers on La Rambla.  That evening we went to a Spanish guitar concert in a small church not far from our hotel.  It was a guitar duo - very authentic and fun!

We really had a great time, and it was so fun to discover the city of Barcelona together!  Now we want to go back with the whole family...

Our Cute Kids!

We had a photo shoot at home and the kids loved it (except Meredith, who got tired by the time it was her turn!).  What cute kids!

Sportferien Aktivitäten

The kids had a week of school vacation in February called "Sportferien" or "Sports vacation" (also know as ski week).  We didn't go to a ski resort, as they're all very crowded with the schools in Germany, Austria and Switzerland all on holiday, but we did some activities in town.  On Monday I took the kids to Zürich to the famous Franz Carl Weber toy store.  It hsa several levels (4 or 5), with a giant dragon slide going from the main level to the lower level).  The kids loved the slide and kept running upstairs to go on it again.  They even have a restaurant in the store, so we made a day of it!  We did, of course, buy a few toys before we left as well...

It was a week of slides (Rutschbahn), as we went on Tuesday to the bread factory / museum not far from our house. They had an old fashioned slide where you can slide on a flour sack down two stories. Even Meredith and I got into the action! It was really fun - although the sides weren't very high and I thought I may fly off!

Wednesday, Dave took the day off and we went skiing with Elise and Nathan while Meredith and William went to their preschool / childcare.  What a fun ski day.  We went to a little resort only 40 minutes from our house called Atzmännig.  It was so much fun!  Nathan and Elise had both finished their 5 weeks of ski lessons through their school and they are doing really well.  Dave went with Elise and I went with Nathan, and it was great!  Nathan is awesome!  He is so daring, and can go all over the place.  He even goes up the steep tow rope lifts.  That's a big difference between the US and Switzerland - there are far fewer chair lifts here.  There are t-bars and tow ropes all over the place here.  At first I avoided them, because I think they're a lot harder than a chair lift, but now I'm used to them.  And, Nathan has no problem with them.  He had so much fun, going down the piste, looking for little hills where he could go faster (he went toward the signs marked "caution", while I avoided them!).  He is such a happy, pleasant kid!  I'm looking forward to skiing more with him on our upcoming Easter vacation.

Vevey, Switzerland

We took advantage of a rare opportunity for a weekend away without the kids on Valentine's Day weekend.  Our friends Meg and Nathan, a newly married couple we know from church, stayed at our house with the kids (and the kids all had a great time!).

We took the train to Vevey, in the French-speaking area of Switzerland.  It's on Lake Geneva, which is really stunningl.  We stayed in a beautiful hotel, Hotel des Trois Couronnes, right on the lake.  The hotel was incredible with amazing service, and the pool and spa were great.  The restaurant in the hotel was also amazing - it was a beautifully restored building and we felt like we were dining in a castle.

We walked around the city a bit (and found a wonderful antique furniture store where I want to buy any new furniture before we return to the US), but it was February, so not the warmest time for walking around outside!  Dave wanted his picture taken in front of "Mario's Piercing Experience"...he has a new tongue accessory (just kidding!).

Before coming home, we visited Chateau de Chillon (Chillon Castle), the most visited monument in Switzerland. What a beautiful place - it's a castle build on a rock that juts out into Lake Geneva. 

Meredith's First Birthday

Our sweet little Meredith turned 1 on January 20th.  The Japanese baker was out of town, so I had to step in and make the cake this time (you can make anything look good with a lot of icing and some raspberries)!  It took some time, but Meredith finally dug into her cake and had a great time!  She even opened a few presents.  She wants to walk and is getting close, but hasn't quite taken her first steps yet...  Happy Birthday Meredith!

Nathan Turns 5!

Nathan's birthday was January 11th, and he had a great day!  First, he got to wear a crown all day at school, and be the line leader for everything.  We also had a great celebration at our house.  He had a party on Friday afternoon with all the boys in his class, plus some of his friends from the other EY2 class.  It was a "Knight" party, and he sent out invitations from "King Nathan"  inviting all the knights of Nathan’s Roundtable to an afternoon of swords and jousts…  They made shields and swords, got tattoos and their faces painted (by our resident artist Elise), had knight armor relays, hunted for treasure, and played "Knight, Knight, King" and "Chase the Dragon's Tail"!

He has a really nice group of friends, and it was fun to have them all over and see their fun personalities.  I will say that boys' parties are definitely different from girls'!  Nathan is a really happy, good-natured boy.  He loves school, and always seems so excited for all the new things he is learning and experiencing.  What a great boy!  Happy Birthday, Nathan!

Elise's Class Studies "Beliefs and Values"

At Elise's school, they have "units of inquiry" throughout the year, that serve as the basis for all of the subjects.  They have just started a new unit on beliefs and values (or comparative religions).  So far they have visited a Hindu temple and a Jewish synagogue.  The unit continues for a few more weeks, and they have 3 more fieldtrips planned.

What a great opportunity it is for Elise!  Her teacher has been asking her about her religion, and I am so proud of her for being able to explain it to him.  He's from Australia and really doesn't know much about the church.  Elise is doing her main project for the unit (a PowerPoint presentation) on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and we've been talking about it and what she plans to share.  The teachers of all three of the 4th grade classes also asked parents to come in and share something about how their family lives their religion.  So, I'm going in!

Once again, I am so thankful for this opportunity we have as a family to be here in this new environment.  What a wonderful experience it is for the kids to learn about each other's beliefs and values, to develop a better understanding so they can be more tolerant and accepting of one another.  It's sad that this could never happen in a public school in the US.  But, this is a great opportunity for our whole family to discuss beliefs and values, learn from others and share ours.

Elise's Piano Recital

Elise had a piano recital last night and she was AMAZING!  She did such a great job.  The order of performers in the recitals usually goes from beginners to the most advanced, and this time Elise was at the very end!  She played L'espiegle and Reveil by Tansman, and Barcarolle by Burgmuller, and did a very nice job.  Then, as the grand finale to the entire recital, she played Fuchstanz by Leo Weiner as a duet with her teacher Mrs. Hofstetter.  Wow!  It was absolutely incredible.  Dave couldn't stop smiling, and I was just so impressed.  You know when you see pianists really getting into the music, and playing so strongly and passionately!  That's how it was with both Elise and her teacher...and it was a long, strong piece.

I had never heard this piece played with the teacher as a duet - I just heard Elise practice it at home and I often asked her if she was really supposed to be playing it so hard on the piano!  Elise is not always so enthusiastic about practicing, but I think all the attention she got at the recital last night reminded her what a special talent she has and how amazing it is to develop it and share it with others!  Awesome job, Elise!