Moment in Milan

So, we flew from Bristol to Milan today, arriving in Italy in the afternoon. The view of the Italian alps was beautiful as we descended into Milan. Just as the plane landed, Liv let me know she was feeling ill. Since we were flying on the bargain Ryan Air, I noticed that there was no barf bag. In fact, there was no seat pocket at all. Thinking quickly, I grabbed the Subway napkin and caught a handful of 2-hour-old mostly-digested tuna sandwich. As a side comment, there were very limited food selections at the Bristol airport and Sunway was our first dive into American fare since moving to England.

We found our way to the bus and once we were bumping along the road, Liv produced a bit more lunch into the plastic Subway bag that Rachelle had with her.

With the help of Emily, we found our way to our hotel near the bus station. We got to our room, wetted and brushed our hair with the nit brushes (I'll fill you in on the nit story later - okay, not to keep you in suspense, here is the brief version: Nits or lice are incredibly common in England and especially in Noah's class, the boys all touch each others hair a lot, and Noah had a Brit nit invasion. By the way, the cleaner the hair, the more likely to get nits - they cling better to clean hair than dirty or oily hair. So, we have been combing out Noah's nits for 2 days now), and then Noah and I headed out for Sprite and saltines for little Liv who was puking in the toilet when we departed.

Noah and I went just a couple of doors down from the hotel and popped into a little pub. The Italians didn't speak English, but we managed to get some bread and a Sprite. They pushed candy and some earrings into Noah's hands and smiled and cooed at him and touched his head (I am not sure how you say, "Watch out for nits" in Italian). We got back to the room and Liv ate the bread and drank the Sprite and continued to snuggle and read with Rachelle.

Noah and I headed out and found a great pizzeria. There was an English-speaking guy at San Giorgio who said, "I'll make your sick daughter pasta bianca!" Noah and I came back to room with Liv's special meal, pizza, pasta with seafood, pasta with vegetables, and a beer. It was delicious and Liv, who was feeling much better, ate well.

Unfortunately, the noodles showed up a bit later as Liv was sick again. Noah and I ventured out again into Milan for Sprite, medicine, and gelato. Stopping back into the same bar, we were given cake and champagne as they were celebrating someone's birthday. We bought the Sprite and they again pushed a bunch of chocolate at Noah.

As we now settle into bed, Liv is feeling a bit better. Maybe the airport Subway tuna wasn't great. However, I did have half of her sandwich and it has stayed down so far (knock on wood).

Sweet Liv is in great spirits and actually feels pretty okay. I expect that tomorrow she will be feeling better as we head off to catch our train to Venice.

Ciao.

Weekend 11 in the UK

We opted to stay in town this weekend, giving our Clio a rest. It was a short rest. On Saturday, our little red car groaned under the weight of our 3 bikes (the neighbor gave Liv his old one and a football mate of mine loaned us a bike rack) and headed to a bike shop the size of a closet. We rented a bike for Rachelle and found our way to one of the bike paths in Bath. Bath hosts a number of bike paths along canals, rivers, and through the country, and we were eager to explore the rare flat areas in Bath.

It was sprinkling and the kids were complaining when we first started out, but soon the rain stopped, the sun came out, and the kids cheered up. The path followed a river and for long stretches the trees reached across over our heads and created a tunnel of forestry. Peaks between the trees gave us views of sheep, cows, horses, green land, and lush hills. We pedaled along until we came to a pub called the 'Bird in the Hand' and stopped in for a scrumptious lunch. We headed back to the path nicely satiated and rode until we happened upon a playground where the kids romped around for a bit.

We turned and headed back to the Clio after our 10 mile loop. We were especially proud of Liv who was riding a small-wheeled, single-speed, rusty kid's bike. We are now determined to keep our eyes out for a used bike for Rachelle and a used bike rack that can hold 4 bikes.

Saturday night found Rachelle and me heading out to dinner at Chris (the head of the Pain Research Centre where I work) and Zoe's house. We dropped off Liv and Noah in the good hands of Kevin, Janet, and Kaidyn. Rachelle and I were giddy at having a grownup night out, and Chris and Zoe are splendid hosts. We had a delicious meal of parsnip soup and risotto then enjoyed a long talk about politics, our impressions of the UK, family, and football. Tipsy with adult-only company and ginger-beer and vodka drinks, we soon found ourselves gaping to discover it was midnight. After snapping a quick picture (see above), we hustled back to pick up our kids discussing how to pay back Kevin and Janet for such unplanned generosity. We carried the sleeping dynamic duo to the car and headed home to get some shut-eye ourselves.

Early Sunday morning we woke to Noah singing and dancing around the house despite the lack of sleep. Mirroring Rachelle and my excitement of our night out, he was giddy about his upcoming play date with one of his favorite school chums. Liv was tucked into the 5th Harry Potter book and decided to stay home rather than accompany me to my football match.

FC Belevedere were facing a young, skilled Tramways team. Our heroes were up to the duel and played with high spirits and skill. In the first half, the good guys were quickly up 3-0. The game ended FC Belvedere 5, Tramways 2. The big news, at least in my book, was that I scored another goal. I snuck into the box unmarked on a corner kick and slammed a header into the back of the net. Glory. For the full report, see http://www.webteams.co.uk/MatchReport.aspx?team=fcbelvedere&mid=match9.xml

After some time bonding with the team at the pub, I headed home to help Rachelle clean-up and fix dinner for the Curran clan. The Curran family lived in Atlanta and the 3 girls attended Paideia. Rob had lived in the U.S. for 13 years, married American Karen, and he and the family moved back to his hometown in Cornwall 2 years ago. They were in visiting Bath and we were delighted to get a chance to see them. We enjoyed a great Rachelle meal with Rob, Karen, and their daughters Megan, Lacey, and Jessica. Although the 5 kids were fairly quiet at dinner, once they left the table, they found their voices, and the noise from upstairs competed with our neighboring partying university freshers. Venu from next door came over and the 6 kids chased each other around outside while the grownups caught up. See the picture of some of the kiddie action outside.

Although technically not part of the weekend, I am including the Monday festivities in this post. After a day of sightseeing, the Currans joined us for dinner 2. Connected to our cottage is a common space shared by the other 3 families in our residence. We used the large table in this space so that the 5 Currans, 4 Cohen, and 3 Vowles could all dine together. See the picture of the American feast in England. There is also a large room that allowed the 5 girls (3 Currans, 1 Cohen, and 1 Vowles) plenty of space to chase and pile up on Noah. They kiddies took a brief break to Skype Bryson (see picture), who was in class with Megan and Noah a few years ago. The meal of Rachelle's famous gypsy soup, challah bread, Indian beans (thank you to our neighbor Anjula), pasta, salad, and excellent Cornwall beers (thank you Rob and Karen) was delicious and the company was delightful.

On Tuesday (okay, so I am no where near the weekend now), Rachelle joined the Currans sight-seeing around Bath (costume museum, the circus, the crescents, downtown). That afternoon, we were sad to see the Currans head back to Cornwall, but we are excited to explore their region of England in the near future.

England 3, Belarus 1; Bike 1, Lindsey 0

I thought I would share a brief story from last night because a) Dominic let me know that he had bet this blog would not last a month and and he now points to the 'week in review' blogs as evidence of a petering out of our efforts, and b) I am procrastinating doing some work.

So, we had Kevin, Kaidyn, and Janet over for dinner last night (see the picture of Liv and Kaidyn). As always, it was great fun, a marvelous Rachelle-made meal of ratatouille, and some good English beer. I had planned to meet my football mates out at our pub, Belvedere, to watch the England vs. Belarus match. (See the picture of 2 England fans who were not allowed to stay up to watch the game.) So, I hopped on my bike just as the Vowles family was heading home. As you might know, we live on the top of a long steep hill. So, I thought it would be fun to race the Vowles down the hill. I was flying down the road illuminated by the Vowles headlight when my chain locked up. You might not know that my bike is a fixed gear, so when the chain locks, the back wheel also locks. As I went into the skid, the surprisingly calm thought went through my head that I was about to have a very nasty wreck. But, more surprisingly, I continued upright on the bike and stayed in the skid for what felt like a kilometer before stopping and stepping off the bike. Lucky, lucky me. Kevin pulled over and applauded the spectacle. With shaking hands, I put the chain back on and rode the rest of the way to the pub at a reasonable speed.

I joined the football fans and enjoyed watching England beat the feisty Belarus team 3-1. Everyone was headed out of the pub and into ... pouring rain. My nice teammates had a hearty laugh at me for riding my bike as they headed for their various tiny European cars.

Some tipsy Brit saw me putting on my reflector vest and helmet (safety over fashion), and suggested that I have another pint and wait the rain out. He added, "It is really pissing down". I took his advice and enjoyed a talk with a couple of locals still at the pub. Based on his experience, one guy found Americans to be "very social" and "open and free" as compared to the "proper" and civil English. He said that he thought it was due to there being so many Americans and to stand out you really have to be eccentric. The bartender said that she was dying to travel in the "deep, deep South", and she especially wants to visit small towns in Alabama. I was slightly perplexed, but I did then understand why I kept hearing Lynard Skynyrd and REM playing at the pub. The conversations lasted until the rain was done, and then I biked on home.

Isle of Wight

This weekend, we took off on a 30-hour excursion to the Isle of Wight. Picking the kids up on Friday from school, we set off in our not-so-trustworthy Clio just before traffic set in. We reached southern England in 90 minutes and drove up on the ferry. Not unlike those in Seattle, the ferry was large with 2 levels of parking, 2 restaurants, and 3 levels of exploring. Liv and I wandered the decks enjoying the sun and wind before we settled into some booths. Noah and Liv drew pictures and read as Rachelle and I planned our trip. 30 minutes later we arrived on the small Isle of Wight.

We drove to our hotel and checked in. We had reserved a room at a cute hotel in Shanklin with 2 connected rooms. The kids were delighted to find chocolates on their pillows, which they ate before we walked off to dinner. Just down the street, we found the beach, which had a board walk. Liv ran along the sand, while Noah, Rachelle, and I walked along on the higher wall. We found a restaurant on the beach, which the kids loved and Rachelle and I agreed was high on the cheesy tourist scale. The food was decent, and the beer Rachelle and I split was excellent.

The next morning, we set off for a nearby gorge. We wandered along the little paths and board walks enjoying the waterfalls, streams, and lush greenery. The kids delighted in watching some squirrel/mouse-like animals and parrots in cages along the trail. We wandered through the little village of Shanklin, and the kids loved (and Rachelle and I endured) the tourist shops with all of the little trinkets.

Back to the Clio and we headed to the Needles area, which are some cliffs, beaches, and rock formations. After parking, we meandered through the fairground area. The crowd looked just like one you might find at Stone Mountain or Six Flags (i.e., tattoos, missing teeth, tee-shirts not quite covering bellies) minus the Southern accents and Rebel flags. We took some chair lifts from the top of the cliffs down to the beaches; Liv and I loved the ride and Rachelle and Noah white-knuckled it through. Once on the beach, we walked a bit and then hopped on a boat for a close-up tour of the Needles rock formation. The white jagged rocks looks a lot like ice bergs, but are actually made of chalk.

After the boat ride, we played on the rock beach for a while collecting stones, taking in some sun, admiring the multicolored cliffs, and listening to the wonderful sounds of the waves receding on the pebble beach. We then walked up the path back to the fairground, spent some pounds trying to knock down cans with bean bags (we did not win a dinky stuffed animal), and grabbed some food.

We then headed for a walk along the high cliffs to see the old and new batteries. Along the way, we had a little picnic and looked for rabbits. We reached the old battery, which was a sort of fort with cannons, lookouts, and a great underground tunnel leading to another lookout. The battery was manned throughout World War I, but no ships or planes were fired upon. Rachelle and Noah did an activity at the old battery learning about the war and location as they followed a guide and wore silly hats. Liv and I explored on our own sans hats.

The new battery was just up the hill at a slightly higher location and was used extensively during World War II. We explored the battery and enjoyed the sun and views of the cliffs, beaches, and ocean.

We jumped in our clio and headed home. Liv falling asleep in the car, which she has not done since she was a baby.

Sunday morning found Noah, Liv, and me headed to my soccer match, and Rachelle going to join the Ramblers for a 5 1/2 mile walk through the Cotswalds. Rachelle enjoyed the beautiful walk and talking with the elderly group (Rachelle was the youngest by about 20 years). Not to keep you in suspense any longer, I will share that Belvedere FC played a fine match and beat the much younger opponents 3-1. Noah, Liv, and I joined the lads at the Belvedere pub for 2 Shirley Temples, a Shandy (half beer, half sprite), and a bag of crisps (potato chips).

Now it is Sunday evening, Rachelle is making homemade pizza, Noah is doing his homework, Liv is reading, and I am updating the blog.

Cheerio!

Another Week in Bath

Laying in bed, I heard some yelling and chanting outside our window around 11pm. I figured it was another party, but I took a peak out the window just to see. In fact, a bunch of undergrads were just playing a soccer game in our front yard. I was tempted to go out and show them a thing or two about how middle-aged Americans can play "football", but, I was already cozy and comfy in bed.

So, our little Clio starting acting up again. I guess that is what you get when you spend only a couple of thousand dollars on a cute French car. All of a sudden it stopped zipping up hills. In fact, when you floor the gas, it slowly starts to pick up speed and rumbles along just fast enough to avoid continuous honks from the Brits revving up on the back bumper. I took it into the shop and it is a problem with the gear box. It seems the Clio starts in second gear rather than first (it is an automatic). The shop guy said that it is an expensive fix, and he suggested that we manually put it into first with the lever thing and then when it picks up speed shift it into drive. Works for me.

On other not so cheery news, Noah had a "friendly" (pre-season practice) game on Tuesday against the WASPS school (Weston All Saints Primary School). Someone failed to let Noah's PE teacher/assistant coach know that it was a "friendly". He is your typical old-fashioned-yell-at-the-kids-competitive-sexist kind of guy. So, when Noah's team lost the match, he let them have it, saying that they were "girls" and he was ashamed of them. Noah was not used to receiving that kind of a tongue-lashing, and he was less than thrilled. Rachelle and I have been debating whether we should be all American about it and say something to the principal. We are going to check with some other parents to see what they think. On a slightly positive side, the teacher did call the boys for a meeting the next day and apologized before explaining the various reasons he was angry, which included how the boys' poor play embarrased him.

One highlight of the week is that a friend introduced Noah and me to this super-concentrated flavored liquid that is sold in bottles at the market. You just add half a teaspoon or so to a glass of water, and it makes the water taste great. It also brings back some memories of a beverage I had at camp as a kid called bug juice. I should preface this story by letting you know that the water here is rank. Yes, it does taste like Bath water and I can barely choke it down. So, we can now hydrate again! For Liv and Rachelle, the jury is still out on the new beverage and they are sticking to hot chocolate and coffee (Liv is the cocoa consumer).

Liv had a playdate with a girl named Alex, which was especially exciting because there was a playhouse in the back hidden behind trees and bushes. Liv has been keeping her eye out for secret spaces such as this ever since she read the Famous Five series in Atlanta before we left. The Famous Five books were written in the 1940s about 4 children and a dog who solve mysteries and have great adventures in England. They are reminiscent of the Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew novels. Speaking of Liv, she scored 2 goals in soccer practice this week.

Rachelle and I were very excited to receive our absentee ballots. Along with just about everyone in Europe, Obama is our man and we are embarrased by Palin. If McCain and Palin win, our travels in England might have to be extended another 4 years.

I centerpiece of many of my days is a Skype meeting or two with my graduate students at GSU, where we hammer out how to help ailing children. We also talk politics and gossip and they feign interest in stories about my kids. To be honest, they are a great gang. See the picture Josie, Naomi, and Don, which was is the view I have via my computer. Also, a shout goes out to sweet graduate student Margaret Banks, an avid reader of this blog who reportedly is amused by one of the pictures of Noah with a funny expression.

At soccer practice last night, I came across 2 words that are not used here. First, pennies (the little mesh tops that are used in games to distinguish one team from another). We had split into 2 teams and I noticed that one team had 10 and the other 8. So, I yelled to someone on the other team, "Hey, grab a penny! Put on a penny! The teams are uneven. Slip on a penny!" No one did anything but turn and stare at me. Then one guy said, "Oi, Lindsey, what the f**k is a penny?!" I now refer to these items as "bibs." At the beginning of practice we always do about 40 minutes of fitness (springs, pushups, situps, etc.), which drives several us crazy. Some of us are of the opinion that we can do fitness in our own time and practice should consist of playing soccer. So, after 15 minutes of jogging around the track and stopping for pushups, I said, "Hey, let's scrimmage now! Come on, let's scrimmage!" One chap then responded, "Oi, Lindsey, what the f**k is scrimmage?!" When I explained, he responded, "Do you mean a game?" Yes, these English blokes still have a lot to learn about proper English. On the topic of soccer, at the top is a picture of Liv at the Belvedere pub with the team and her first Shirley Temple drink.

This weekend, we are headed to the Isle of Wight, a small island off the southern coast of the medium-sized island called England. I hope to have some nice pictures and fun reports of our adventures on the beaches.

Cheers!

The Week in Review

We have had a fine week. Here are the highlights:

On Monday, Rachelle cooked up a wonderful Rosh Hashanah dinner, complete with Scottish salmon, apples to dip in honey, and homemade challah. Janet, Kevin, and Kaidyn joined us for the fine meal. We also delighted in the excellent SNL parody of the Couric-Palin interview (http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/clips/couric-palin-open/704042/) Sadly, it is really not that different from the actual interview.

The cold rains of Tuesday did not stop Noah from having soccer practice or me from joining 3 friends for a long run up and down the steep hills of bath. The run was especially exciting as we cut through hills and dodged cows.

Wednesday witnessed Liv scoring a goal in her soccer practice scrimmage. This is especially impressive because she is the youngest by over a year and many of the girls are 10 years old. Noah was selected to be a school Monitor, so he gets to wear a Monitor pin and help out the younger kids.

On Thursday, Noah had a play date while Liv had mommy time and I had soccer practice.

Rachelle was a saint on Friday watching Noah, Liv, and Kaidyn as Kevin, Janet, and I attended day 1 of a 3-day workshop on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). For more information about ACT, see http://www.contextualpsychology.org/act . Learning ACT is at the core of my sabbatical.

Unfortunately, I drank coffee at the break, and not being a coffee-drinker, I was awake into the wee hours watching the Biden-Palin debate and up very early this morning watching the Daily Show clips, such as this one: http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=186776&title=clusterf#@k-to-the-poor-house

Now it is early Saturday morning and again Rachelle will watch 3 kids as Kevin, Janet, and I attend day 2 of the workshop. Rachelle is going to need a break after this weekend.

The biggest highlight of the week so far has been the quiet evenings. Yes, the students have reigned in their parties. Now that school is in session, the students are buckling down to study and sleep. I know I shouldn't be counting my chickens, but it is good for now.

I'll update this again on Sunday and maybe add a picture or few, but I'll post it now so that family and friends can start sending good vibes Rachelle's way.