Amsterdam - part 1

We just came back from a terrific trip to Amsterdam. We picked Amsterdam because we wanted to see Merel and Dennis and their new baby Thomas before moving home and because we could get their without flying, which is just a pain in the butt and very expensive with 2 kids, even within Europe. Don't let those RyanAir ads fool you -- flying from Sweden to anywhere is pricey! Plus, we thought it would be cool to take the overnight ferry (with our car) from Gothenburg to Kiel, and drive through Germany to the Netherlands.

So on Friday we picked the kids up from school and headed over to the Stena Line Germany port to get on the ferry. I have never been on a ship bigger than the ferry to Alcatraz, so I thought it was pretty cool to see our little cabin (little being the operative word) and explore the boat, which was packed with 600 cars and 1700 people. As far as I can tell people basically eat and drink the whole time, which is OK for an overnight trip, but sheesh, sort of gross. The kids loved the Curious George play area that had Curious George (Nicke Nyfiken in Swedish) cartoons playing 24/7. Amazing how even cartoons in foreign languages are like kiddie-crack. They were less excited by the waiting around that is sometimes required when getting off the ferry after a night at sea: The next morning we drove off the ferry at Kiel and made our way to Amsterdam. It took forever because of traffic jams and a barf incident (thanks for the memories, Julian!), and we got into town after about 9 hours on the road.

Happily, our rental apartment that we found on VRBO was situated perfectly on the Prinsengracht, bordering the Jordaan neighborhood, and was actually big enough for 3 adults and 2 kids (my Mom would be joining us shortly). You just never know from the pictures how big it actually is (our place in Barcelona would NOT have worked for 5 people though it said it would have). I have learned my lesson to always ask for square footage from now on. Anyway, it's hard to see from the 2nd picture below, but the house was on 4 mini levels, with 1 room on each level i.e. lots of stairs for the kids to throw things down and teeter on making me really nervous and yelling "safe side! safe side!" way too many times. Merel and Dennis came over our first night and we met Thomas and ate pizza and it was a perfect welcome evening. Slightly surreal to see them in Amsterdam (OK, they're Dutch, I know, but they just went together with Gothenburg in my mind, and that takes some adjusting).

Anyhoo, my Mom flew in the next morning and Adrian picked her up at the airport and she was a trooper and stayed up all day battling jet lag. Good Grandma! We went for a canal boat trip and I think the kids MIGHT have looked out the window once. Julian mostly played with "Spot" the horse and "Lasso Man" and Ava mostly talked.
We also had drinks and poffertjes (little fat pancakes with butter and powdered sugar) at this adorable cafe called 't Smalle a couple blocks from our apartment that I loved, especially because you have to climb up some ladder-like stairs to get upstairs where it's super cozy. Amsterdam IS super cozy in general if you ask me:My shot of the outside doesn't do it justice:

San Francisco, the temptress

I just came back from a whirlwind 5-day trip to San Francisco. I had the best time. The entire time I felt like San Francisco was trying to prove herself to me and tempt me home. Look how beautiful I am! Look at the weather I have in March! Look how friendly my people are! Look at all the amazing people you know who choose me! What do they say about having to leave to appreciate what you have?

My primary mission for the trip: register Ava in a SF public school. For anyone not familiar with the enrollment process for the SF Unified School District, let me say that it can only be described as long, opaque, stress-inducing and random. People cry ... people call each other bad, bad names ... people move to Marin ... people enroll in very expensive private schools (we're talking $15,000/year and up) because they give up on the process ...and some people thank their lucky stars. Happily, after 6 months of angst (and waaaay too much time reading a blog called the SF K Files, which covers getting into kindy in SF) we are in the latter group, slightly stunned to have received our first choice school in the lottery. So Ava is now officially registered in kindergarten. Weight off shoulders officially lifted. There's still that little issue of the school district needing to cut $113 million next year and California schools ranking in the bottom 20% in the nation, but hey, I'm feeling cheery anyway.

I also managed to renew my driver's license. Sounds small, but it's huge since I haven't been able to drive in Sweden since last September. Now I plan on just driving in circles around Gothenburg, just because I can.

California visit round-up

I've started a couple of posts about our trip to CA and haven't (obviously) posted anything because I'm having trouble summing up the trip in a few cute paragraphs. The trip was about catching up with friends, having the kids hang out with grandma and grandpa, visiting favorite places, eating the foods we've been missing, and also deciding where we want to live, how we want to live and what our priorities as a family are. You see the slight dilemma in what to post. A few nice shots of friends?Or maybe grandparents bonding with the kids in Calistoga?Or maybe shots of the gorgeous weather we had in Seattle and Sonoma?
Those would definitely be more cheerful than pictures of our house in SF with a big "for rent" sign posted out front; Adrian and I reading the details of the Owner Move In and Ellis Act laws concerning tenants in SF (did you know a family of 4 in SF are entitled to $18k+ in relocation expenses if they rent your house for a year or more? Thanks Supervisor Daly, and enjoy your home in Fairfield. Snark snark); and endlessly debating the merits of SF vs. Seattle with young children.

So we had a wonderful time -- I remembered all the reasons I love (friends! food! granny camp!) and am maddened by CA (traffic! shit schools!) -- that was laced with the financial anxiety about the house and the "what's next?" anxiety about moving back to the U.S. next summer. Despite the joys of having friends and family nearby, neither Adrian nor I really wants to step back into a 2-income, 2-kid urban SF lifestyle and all that entails. We'd both prefer a lower key lifestyle (Seattle anyone?), but after much soul searching (and meeting with our financial adviser - hi Adam), it does make the most sense for us to stay in SF for the time being. So Lord help me tame the spider web that is applying to SF public schools from abroad. I think I definitely need to reread that Power of Now book. Not the one about software development, the other one about breathing and staying in the moment and pain bodies, whatever they are.

California visited

Being back in California is a mixture of comforting, overwhelming and interesting. The best part so far has been seeing how the kids have taken to Grandma and Grandpa ("Gung-gung") and are discovering the joys of visiting grandparents. In particular they are enjoying always having someone available to read a book, watch you dance, answer "why" questions without sighing first, adore you, feed you pie, take you bug watching, let you ride in their truck, etc.

The second best part has been the food. Siiiiiiiigghh. You just can't beat it here for the diversity, quality and cost of food. We had burritos from a hole-in-the-wall in Richmond, Pakistani food from Shalimar in the Tenderloin, which looks like a dump, but is phenomenal, cheap and cheerful pasta from Pomodoro (where, I might add for our Sweden-based readers, the kid's meal costs $5.50 and includes juice and an ice cream), and we're planning our sushi, Thai, and Ethiopian conquests.

The Bay Area also feels overwhelming after being in Sweden. What strikes me is how loud, fast and urgent everything seems now. The loud voices (and being able to understand the background conversations is oddly discomforting -- like there's suddenly too much stimulation), the 8-lane highway, how fast people drive, the deals in every store or restaurant ("come back later today and get another coffee for $2!" "kids eat free on Tuesdays!" "free 1/2-bottle of wine on Wednesdays!" "70% off everything in the store!"). Some of this is part of the economic downturn of course, and some of this is just the Bay Area. There's a hustle here I haven't felt in a year.

I'm also struck by how dry everything looks (all the hills are brown and parched), the diversity (not just White, Black, Asian and Hispanic people, but all different kinds of them and all mixed together -- so great), how overweight people are, how sloppily dressed people are, and how friendly everyone is. For you Europeans reading who scoff at American friendliness, I say "Poo!" This is not fake friendliness (at least not always) -- there's just a much lower barrier to interacting with people here. The guy in line, the lady at the next table, the girl in the store, all srike up a conversation because that's what feels normal. And I MISSED that.

Oh, and we've already spoken to two people who think Sweden is Switzerland.

France - The Food

We spent a lot of time cooking, eating or shopping for food during our trip. This was partly because Emma, Amanda and I all like to cook (certainly we are gourmandes rather than gourmets) and partly because going out to eat with 5 children is just plain masochistic. So we spent lots of time around the big island in the kitchen (which you can see above with a morning's haul from the market in Carcassonne), chopping, chatting and handing out snacks to the kids who ran in and out constantly.

We stuck to French food (no surprise) and managed to hammer out boeuf bourguignon, duck confit, lentil stew with sausages, moules marineres over linguine, and couscous with merguez sausages and vegetables over the course of the week. I didn't get pictures of everything, but here are a few of the meals:
We also started every morning with a trip to the bakery for baguette, pain au chocolat, and croissant, accompanied by copious amounts of nutella, strawberry jam and strong coffee. Here's a shot from the market of the pastry booth, otherwise known as where I want to go after I die:
And since the Languedoc is cassoulet country, here's a shot of the very tasty cassoulet I had in Lagrasse. I have to say I couldn't quite bring myself to eat the duck skin or the big wedge of pork fat, but did enjoy the sausages, tender duck and cannellini beans soaked in the juices of the different meats and topped with crunchy bits of something quite a bit.

And that's the last of my report from France. Long live the Languedoc!

France - Part 2

I notice the pictures from my previous post are mostly of people, and I suppose that's what this trip was primarily about for us -- seeing old friends. BUT, we did visit some beautiful places, namely Carcassonne, Narbonne, Lagrasse and Toulouse, all in the Languedoc area of the "sleepy south" of France. Here are some of my favorite shots of those places:

Carcassonne
Known for its medieval (and nicely restored) Cite that you can see behind Adrian and Julian in the first shot, Carcassonne also has a lovely (breaking my own rule here using lovely as an American, but hey) downtown shopping district that spreads out from the Place de Carnot where the market is held 3 times a week. The visit to the market on Saturday was a highlight of the trip.

Narbonne
Narbonne is just a 30-minute train ride toward the sea from Carcassonne, and we basically went for lunch and a stroll. We had a nice meal, actually, right on the main square at the restaurant right behind Adrian in the 3rd photo:

Lagrasse
We loved this little town about 35 km south-west of Carcassonne. Really beautiful and not over-riden with tourists and not a souvenir shop to be had (hurray!). The day we were there was a "clean out your attic" day and the main road was lined with people selling everything from toy dinosaurs to antique linens. I picked up a cute bronze key rack with 3 horses for the house.

France - Part 1

We just got back from France and all I can say is long live duck fat and kir royales! We flew to Toulouse and spent an uneventful night there before heading down to Carcassonne, where we planned to stay in a rambling, gorgeous maison with the Smiths and the Bousheys (total=6 adults +5 kids) for a week. The trip from Toulouse to Carcassonne was more eventful than planned because the train, normally a quick, straight, 50-minute trip, was replaced by a meandering, curving bus ride, which took 2.5 hours and caused both children to vomit all over themselves, the seats, Adrian and me. So we arrived at the gorgeous Maison Juliette covered in regurgitation of various sorts. Despite the inauspicious beginning and some pretty drizzly weather for the first 4 days, we had a wonderful time.

It took about 3.4 seconds for the kids (Ava, Everett, Miles, Julian and Cate in descending age order), to start going everywhere hand in hand and running like crazy people around the house, building forts, making "yuck soup" in the garden, and playing Sleeping Beauty (Ava=princess). They were pretty much in heaven with playmates, hot chocolate and chocolate croissants around all the time. Plus they got to watch a movie every night. Ava wants to move to France.It was a treat for me to get to spend so much time with the other families after not seeing them for 14 months. We spent a lot of our time cooking, hanging in the gorgeous kitchen drinking wine, walking to the medieval Cite or shopping district, and chasing the kids. Here's us at dinner in the more formal dining room (L to R: Emma S., Amanda B., Geoff B., Alex S., Adrian and Julian): And here's us doing what we are all so good at now: schlepping children on shoulders, backs, hips or in strollers around town, in good weather or bad: And here's me and Emma in the backyard, probably drinking a kir royale while the dads chased the kids through the bushes:

Smögen

Inspired by the sunny weather prognosis and a 4-day Easter holiday with no big plans in town, we drove up north this weekend to a cute little fishing town called Smögen. The town is filled with the types of stores you'd expect: fresh fish restaurants, cafes, and nautical-inspired stores featuring, rather oddly I thought, lots of red, white and blue home decor and clothing. We ate lunch at the harbor and were sad that the lobster auction wasn't happening the days we were there because that would have been the highlight of my week for sure. What you wouldn't necessarily expect in Smögen is its fabulous youth hostel (called Makrillsvikens Vandrahem) that has the most superb location and view. Here's a picture of the back of the hostel that butts up against the water and, more importantly, the view FROM the hostel's tidy common area: We are now Swedish youth hostel converts because we paid less than $100 for a room with 4 beds and our own toilet and shower, including breakfast. I guess the view is free! Somehow I'd forgotten about the whole hostel option, but now it's very much back on my radar and I've been happily perusing the hostel handbook for some options for later this summer.

Melbystrand Weekend

We just spent a beautiful the weekend with Sandy, Johan, Merel, Denis, Traci and Oliver at Sandy and Johan's summer house in Melbystrand, a sleepy coastal village about 1.5 hours south of Gothenburg. And man, did we luck out with the weather. On Saturday we woke up to bright blue skies and temperatures bordering on, dare I say, warm! We took a long walk along the coast where we could sort of see Denmark across the water and had lunch (outside! In the sun!) in Båstad, where there's apparently a very big tennis tournament every year. The picture of the little huts, above, was our view when we stopped for fika (coffee break) during our walk, and that's Ava and Traci's son Oliver climbing on an what we think is an old torpedo.

When we got back to the house, Johan pulled out some deck chairs and it took Merel and I about 5.2 seconds to plop down in them and get some chilled wine open. Johan's family came by for a visit and everyone sat around chatting and grazing and enjoying the sun. Honestly, I'm not even sure what Ava and Oliver were doing because they would just sprint by for some chocolate or chips every now and then and then run off to play in the playhouse or jump on the trampoline. Ah, Spring!

Sandy and Johan cooked up a storm all weekend, and dinner on Saturday was a delicious venison stew and Johan's special crispy baked potatoes that I'm definitely going to try to replicate. The whole weekend was very "gezellig" (this is now officially the only Dutch word I know and means something like fun and cozy and social all smushed together).

Rome

We must be getting used to being parents because when we planned this trip to Rome our goals were to a) get there and back without having a nervous breakdown b) drink coffee in a beautiful piazza c) eat some pizza and d) if possible, see a few sights. Not particularly lofty, but then that is perhaps the secret of traveling with kids and everybody having a good time. We ended up seeing, drinking and eating a lot more than we expected, and we kept the kids entertained by riding public transportation, providing lots of gelato at opportune moments and taking lots of piazza breaks so they could chase pigeons, spot cats and run around.

Our two best practical tips were to rent an apartment where the kids had their own bedroom and to walk around everywhere with the stroller and the Ergo baby carrier so that we could lift both kids at once if we had to, like if one was sleeping and the other crying because she had to pee. For example. Here's Adrian demonstrating the Ergo on the Spanish Steps:
Our apartment was pretty funky and we were definitely paying for square footage and location over style. It was a mini 2-bedroom self-catering flat right around the corner from the Vatican above the Ottaviano metro stop and was remarkably quiet. Here are Adrian and the kids having a snack (note the death trap chairs - we had many incidents with those things): We loved the grandeur of everything in Rome after being in Sweden, which is generally sedate in its architecture and attitudes. St. Peter's square and the Basilica were astounding. You can't see it in this picture, but there was a huge nativity scene in the square (1 of about 1,237 in Rome during Christmas) that Ava thought was really cool (see below). Both kids also loved the Explora kids museum that has a mini supermarket, kitchen, post office, bank, and recycling center. At $30 for 2 adults and 1 paying kid it's about as pricey as everything else in Rome (except those ridiculously perfect capuccinos), but it was worth it. Adrian and I both loved the Trevi Fountain because it is so ... audacious and unexpected. On the night we were there it had this great, happy party atmosphere. Everyone seemed so pleased to be there, just like we were, taking pictures, blowing bubbles and eating ice cream, despite the 40-degree weather. We didn't make it into a single museum with the kids, and the only reason I'm not feeling guilty about it is because I know Adrian and I will have plenty of trips back to Rome where we can spend quiet hours in contemplation of Raphael's sculptures. And I'll bet on those trips we'll miss chasing pigeons with the kids on the Piazza del Popolo and watching Julian toddle down the alleys of Trastevere in his fleece cap yelling "car! car!" or "dog-u! dog-u!" every 2 seconds.