Getting Around

So long as Prince Attani could be confined to an area, life was easier for a Big Bro who didn't want his toys messed with.

But, once Prince Attani realized that he could get around on his own, life changed.

Sitting in his chair, no matter how festooned with interesting toys, just wasn't enough.

Prince Attani needed to explore new horizons.

Even the exersaucer had its limitations, although there Prince Attani could stand up and bounce.

Learning to sit up by himself was great fun, even though there were a few wobbles in the beginning.

But it was even more fun when he could do it successfully ...

and start to reach out on his own for the interesting toys that belong to Big Bro.

Prince Tyger at the 2011 White House Easter Egg Hunt and Roll

Yes, I do realize that it's now July not April and that these events actually took place in April.  But I believe that I have mentioned more than once how far behind I am with posting current events.  So, this is part of my catch-up mode in chronicling events in the life of my precious Prince Tyger!

After ensuring that their handprints had been marked for posterity on the globe, Prince Tyger and chum Princess G posed for a photo-op.  After all, that is what everyone else in Washington, DC does.  [In case anyone is wondering, yes, the t-shirt came from Switzerland courtesy of Proud Grandmom.]

The Prince then tried out a hula hoop.  I hope that Sweet Momma H was better at hula-hooping than I was and was able to help him out.

All that activity was tiring, and the really big events hadn't even happened yet.  So Prince Tyger took a moment out for refreshment.

Then it was off to hunt for easter eggs in the straw.

Prince Tyger's style in the egg rolling event was clearly not the speediest.  Perhaps he remembers the fable of "The Tortoise and the Hare."  Or perhaps he was just getting tired.

Nonetheless the "Easter Bunny" gave him a big hug.  Am I the only one who finds that Bunny a tad frightening?

And the Tyger had a satisfied beam as he headed for home.

Walking with Princes

These photos are from early spring, before Prince Attani was moving about as much as he did a bit later on, and does now for that matter, much to the dismay of Big Bro.  Prince Tyger needs to be quick on his feet to rescue toys left on the floor these days because Baby Prince Attani is a "baby" no longer.  Anything on the floor is fair game, so far as he is concerned.

The weather was nice, although brisk enough to require a jacket when Prince Tyger set off with Proud Papa Big T and his little brother for a "walk."

Of course, they had to go to the park where there is a "race" track where Prince Tyger can ride his push bike.

"OK, watch me, Daddy, I'm going to ride fast all by myself!"

"Look, look, I'm doing it!"

"Didya see me do it?"

Yes, darling Prince Tyger, we all saw it. 

But I don't believe that Cadel Evans (winner of the 2011 Tour de France last Sunday) needs to feel too threatened just yet.

Pensive Butterfly

Our Princess Butterfly is not simply a little bundle of bouncing energy.  Every so often, she'll take a little time-out to muse.

Or to think up more mischief!

I wonder just how long the calm, poised and sedate moment shown here lasted ... hmmm.

She is getting to be so tall and grown up.  It almost hurts to see how fast it's happening.

Bouncing Butterfly

Recent photos of Princess Butterfly that have been shared with Proud Grandmom are sporadic at best.  But here are a few, taken in the spring, that show the Princess in full-fledged bouncing and playing mode.

One might think that decorum should be maintained while wearing a school uniform.

But one would be wrong.  There was a warning impish gleam in those little eyes!

And it seems that Princess Butterfly is not the only person to think that "decorum" should be relegated to the schoolroom only - no matter how one is dressed!

Bounce on, sweet little Princess, and please keep enjoying yourself this much in everything that you do!

Brief Respite

The summer has so far been a very active one.  With all the energy generated by two 20-somethings who are determined to have a well-rounded European experience which seems to entail studying hard during the mornings and early afternoons, working out, spending time at the beach - a real challenge given that the weather has not been beach-inspiring - attending concerts (the Montreux Jazz Festival and the recent Paléo Festival), sightseeing, and travelling (Marseille and Paris), it has been a whirlwind.  

This past week, in particular, has seen more events than usual.  First, a well-travelled cousin and one of her work colleagues stopped by for a night on their way from Zermatt, after having spent time in Munich and Salzburg.  And late last evening, my sister, mother to my niece, and a friend, mother to my niece's chum, arrived after a long journey from Billings, MT.  Before the moms could barely even catch their respective breaths, they were whisked off to Paris for a long weekend with their daughters.  As they are currently in full jet lag mode, this represents true maternal sacrifice.  Monday, 1 August, is the Swiss National Holiday, so the girls are taking advantage of the long weekend to see the bright lights, sights and sounds of la Ville-Lumière  (the City of Light).  They have only four days of classes remaining before their course will be finished.

In the meantime, nearly three weeks ago, one of my last remaining "irons in the fire" actually burst into flame so that I received a job offer to teach a course at a local university.  Of course, I am delighted at this prospect.  Otherwise, it was fairly obvious that my economic situation would be precarious to such an extent that I would have to return to the US, at least for a time, and rent out the apartment.  The situation has occurred not least because the USD is at such incredible - previously unforeseeable - lows.  The shenanigans of the totally irresponsible Republican Representatives in the US Congress have done nothing but exacerbate the situation.  Those people are literally insane.  I have never been so thoroughly ashamed of so many of my countrypersons in my life.  (I have certainly been ashamed before by the actions of some, but right now the numbers of full-blown certifiable idiots are unprecedented.)  They do not deserve to be called adults.  Their silly actions and rabid pronouncements demonstrate that they are barely out of diapers emotionally and in full-blown Terrible Two stage.  They also represent racism rampant and that may be the crux of the matter.

In any event, the job offer is contingent on my presenting a sample lesson satisfactorily next week, so the time left after - finally - completing my write-ups on the wonderful trip to Italy from the spring has been spent in research, writing and basically outlining the parameters of the course.  Now that all my visitors have left for the weekend, I will be devoting my time specifically to preparing the sample lesson, complete with Powerpoint presentation.  This will be a challenge.  I have given Powerpoint presentations before, but always with the assistance of very able staff who have prepared the slides for me.  Now I'm on my own.

I've worked my way through the Windows tutorial and will try my hand at producing some slides this weekend.  Fortunately, HWMBO is used to guiding my long-distance learning even though he is hardly enthusiastic about the prolongation of my stay - at least until December.  It's also been too long since I've seen the grandbabies, who are growing up much too fast.  Even Baby Prince Attani shows signs of wanting to walk even before his nine month marker that will occur in August.  So, I've scheduled a brief return to the US in August, but must be back in September to begin teaching my course.

I'll take some time to post some recent photos of the grandbabies over the weekend, but will likely not post much else until my lesson has been presented and, hopefully, I have a signed contract in hand!  Besides, once my visitors return next week, the week's other activities will dominate my energy.

Please wish me luck!

Visiting Italy's Lake District: Part XII - Coming Home from Milano Centrale

After our lovely long interlude in the Italian-Swiss Lake District north of Milan, it was almost a shock to return to the Big City.   Fortunately, we had one night to decompress outside Milan, in an airport hotel, impersonal to be sure, but fully equipped with all mod cons.  We had dinner with some of our group and breakfasted the next morning with those who still remained.  Some had had to leave at a thoroughly ungodly hour in the morning.

We were quite smug.  After all, we were not rushing to get anywhere - our train would not leave for Geneva before 12:30 - and we didn't have long, arduous, transatlantic and transcontinental journeys ahead of us.  All we had to face was a train trip of approximately 3.5 hours, hardly an ordeal.

Our biggest concern was learning how to get to Milan's central train station from the hotel.  But that proved to be fairly simple.  We took the hotel shuttle to the airport and from there, we took the bus into town.  The bus trip lasted about an hour and we arrived at Milano Centrale in good time.

Milano Centrale is Italy's second largest train station, handling about 600 trains daily, in addition to bus, tram and metro networks.  It is also considered to be one of the most beautiful train stations in Europe.

Considering all the liquids we had imbibed at breakfast, our first concern upon arrival after the hour-long bus trip was a visit to the "facilities."  We tried to follow the signs, but each time, just as we appeared to be getting close, the signs would disappear and we would find ourselves haplessly lost again.

Fortunately, we were not the only ones in such need.  Desperate people - especially this particular kind of desperation - love company.  In our common need, we managed - finally - to find the appropriate area.  Once again, however, we were stymied.  Entrance to the coveted facilities was monitored by grim machines that would not let us pass unless we first fed them one EUR.  And there were attendants to ensure that we did exactly that.

I am happy to report that we were able to find the necessary euros.  After that, with great relief we had some time to look around the station and appreciate the artistic murals, juxtaposed as they were with modern advertisements.

Then we made our way to our train, boarded it and relaxed for our return to Switzerland.

Our wonderful trip to the Italian Lake District was officially over - except for sorting through the 1,000+ photos that we had taken - only a sample of which have been shown in these reports.  We highly and heartily recommend this particular Road Scholar tour.  It has been the only one I have experienced, but it certainly was worth while - and fun to boot.

Visiting Italy's Lake District: Part XIb - Window Shopping in Bellagio

After our morning's walk and field lecture, we were turned loose to explore or shop as the whimsy took us.  I must admit that I did pick up a couple more of the silk scarves that are characteristic of the Como region.  But for the most part, it was fun just to window-shop.  I am not sure how Italians say it, but the French term "to go window-shopping" is "faire du lèche-vitrines" and I love the image that the expression evokes. 

The verb "lécher"means "to lick, to lap, to polish."  It is, of course, the origin of the English word "lecher" which means something not at all nice.  I love the French imagery in the context of window-shopping because sometimes window displays are so inviting that one literally could "lick" the window glass.  So it proved with the windows in Bellagio's shops.

This window display literally ranked in the delicious category.

Here's one that caught HWMBO's eye .

This one reeled us both in.

And here's one that shows Lake Como, practically dancing along with the lingerie displayed.

It was very hard to tear ourselves away from this beautiful place.  But we had to catch the boat back to Menaggio, to share one last meal on our hotel terrace - this window-shopping had worked up quite an appetite -

before we were to leave for Milan, where we would spend one night at an airport hotel before dispersing to different corners of the world.

Visiting Italy's Lake District: Part XIa - Bellagio East Side

We continued our trek to the top of the hill where suddenly the narrow little streets broke away

and we found ourselves in a part of the city that was residential, far from the madding tourist hustle and bustle.  There were peaceful-looking churches,

although the parked cars tightly packed nearby hinted at the crowds that awaited if we headed back down the hill.

There were beautiful quiet alleys away from the commercial distractions.

There was even a well cared-for cat that came out to greet us.

There were mossy walls and countryside.

Best of all, there was a picturesque marina where sailboats bobbed at anchor

or quietly rested ashore

while the Rockefeller Foundation's Bellagio Center formed a backdrop in the distance.

Even local Guide P could sense the difference - it was as if life had slowed down for us all.

One of the houses looked as if it would gather us in to heal the various "slings and arrows of outrageous fortune" that had bedevilled our lives -

a vine-wreathed, kind and friendly god.