Pizza, Pasta and Claudia

We've just returned from a fantastic fortnight in Italy together with Rhona. We started with 3 days in Venice which was just spectacular (pic 1). The Jewish ghetto was a highlight as was taking a ride on a vaporetto along the Grand Canal. Travelling with kids brings its own challenges, not least chasing Ethan who made it his mission to climb every bridge in Venice (and there are lots) and chase every pigeon in St Mark's square (if you thought there were a lot of bridges....) (pic 2). Ethan finally started walking just before we left for Italy. Of course he only did so the day before he was due to see the GP to find out why he wasn't walking - typical.

Next stop was a week in Tuscany - we stayed in a magnificent Tuscan villa on a vineyard in Montale, about 45 minutes from Florence. We hired a car and after mastering the art of cruising at 130kph on the autostrade on the wrong side of the road in our rented Mercedes, we enjoyed visiting a different city each day. We spent time in Florence (Pic 3 - on Ponte Vecchio), Pisa (pic 4 - the obligatory 'holding up the tower' photo), Siena (pic 5 - Pizza in the Piazza), Lucca, Viareggio (pic 6), San Gimignano and Pistoia, each with something different to offer. Evenings were spent in the swimming pool overlooking the vineyards (pic 7) and enjoying the sunset overlooking the nearby towns. We took the opportunity to harvest some of the grapes (pics 8 and 9) and Noah particularly enjoyed sampling a drop of the finished product at the wine tasting evening.

Our last 3 days were spent with Claudia Schiffer in Rome - well not exactly, but she did happen to visit the Trevi fountain for a quick photo shoot while we were there - Meaghan managed to get up close and personal, paparazzi style and took some great photos (pic 10). We visited the Colosseum (pic 11), Roman Forum, Vatican City, a whole lot of piazzas and fountains and even squeezed in a bit of shopping. We do have one confession to make. After 2 weeks of eating nothing other than pizza, pasta and gelati (a real challenge for gluten intolerant Rhona), we were desperate for a change and after 4 and a half years, we finally introduced Noah to McDonald's (never had a tastier Big Mac). Ethan made short work of the McHappy Meal (pic 12) and we're sorry to say the kids are hooked.

Sadly we had to say arrivederci to Italia and we are now back in Oxford where winter is fast approaching.... it's already freezing! Rhona is already packed (a week before she is due to leave....is she trying to tell us something??) and we are looking forward to welcoming Sally and Mikki in a fortnight's time.
Shana Tova from the Lusts in Oxford xxxx

Magnifico Menorca

While England has endured another wet and soggy July, we have spent the last week in magnificent Menorca, sister island to Majorca off the coast of Spain. We stayed in a nice resort in Arenal D'en Castell, on the northern coast, overlooking the superb beach. In complete contrast to England, the weather was beautiful, 30 degrees every day and not a cloud to be seen. The kids had the times of their lives and we couldn't get them off the beach or out of one of the 4 hotel swimming pools. We went 'all inclusive' so had access to an endless supply of meals, snacks and drinks (including alcohol) and we were pleasantly surprised by the quality of food. There was constant entertainment for young and old and the kids' 'minidisco' every evening was a huge hit - the German song 'das rote pferd' about a red horse sent the crowd into a frenzy (see video at bottom). We had tribute bands playing ABBA, The Temptations, The Four Tops and Take That. There were acrobats, Brazilian dancers and even performing parrotts. Enough to keep the kids and adults occuppied until 11pm every night. The only draw back about the trip was our appalling hotel room. Reminisant of school camp - long, dark, narrow corridors along concrete floors leading to hundreds of identical dorm rooms. Each room (dorm) - no bigger than a shoe box - had a couple of stretcher type "beds" (careful not to sneeze or the bed will collapse) and a basic utalitarian bathroom (no bigger than a matchbox) - Club Med it wasn't! Rumour has it that the Brits were put up in these type of rooms (appropiatly called, "Block B") while the Italians, Germans and Spanish were in the slightly more upmarket, "Block A". This didn't stop us having a great time though. We met a lovely English family from Derbyshire who were besotted with Ethan - their three kids (Thomas, 13, Tanya 11 and Todd, 8) fussed over Ethan, fed, carried him, played with him and chased him all over the resort. They were great with Noah too. We look forward to meeting up with them again in England.
Back to the grind now with Mark working the next 2 weekends. It's school holidays so Meaghan has both boys at home for the next few weeks - HELP!!

More Than Half Way

We're past the half way point and well and truly into the English 'summer'. In fact we had to endure a 'heatwave' earlier this month when we had a week in the high 20s and the temperature soared past 30 degrees. If you thought the Poms complained about the cold, wait till they get started about the oppressive heat. Mind you, there is no such thing as air-conditioning so it did get mildly uncomfortable for a day or two. Even the hospital isn't air-conditioned so each patient had their own fan by the bedside. Unfortunately, the sun was short-lived and last weekend was back to reality - 17 degrees and rain. Not sure how the rain missed Lords where the Aussie cricket team needed it. It's no fun being an Aussie in England when their cricket team wins an Ashes test. And didn't the media jump on the bandwagon, going from bagging their incompetent team a week ago to worshipping their heroes.

The last month has been a social one for us. We were thrilled to catch up with Rob and Cheryl (Mark's brother's future in-laws) who visited from Australia en route to their European tour (photo 1 below). We've been to dinner parties and lunches, and hosted the odd lunch ourselves. Photo 2 is at our place with the Baileys and Lubels, some fellow Antipodean friends and work colleagues. We attended the annual summer lunch at Marks bosses' 'manor', "Knights Spill" in the Costwolds, just outside of Oxford (photo 3). We thoroughly enjoyed this very traditional English garden party - complete with homemade chicken and leek pie and trifle for 'pudding'.
We've also been enjoying the company of our neighbours and friends, Marie and Raj and their two daughters Nitya and Namita who have paired up nicely with Noah and Ethan (their joint baths at night before we all have dinner together in Marie and Rajs' garden - are very cute!). We had a picnic on the banks of the canal near our house, accompanied by the cows and horses that graze freely in the meadow (Photos 4 and 5). We also made an attempt at berry picking before being washed out by the rain (photo 6). Nicest of all though are the beer gardens where it's great to soak up a bit of rare sun on the lawn with a pint of lager and a bag of crisps.

The school year is drawing to a close before "The Summer" and Noah has really enjoyed the end of school festivities at his nursery. The Aussie fairy bread went down a treat next to the sushi, Korean sweets, strawberries & cream and Brazilian chocolates at "International Day" and even Meaghan had to partake in the parent's race at "Sports Day". Thank goodness Noah didn't inherit his mothers' sports prowess - see photo of him winning a race and being presented with his medal. Meanwhile, Ethan continues to eat, drink and grow bigger (photos 9, 10). He really needs to start walking soon as he's getting way too heavy to carry.

Craving some real sun and sea we are off to Menorca (one of the Balearic islands off the coast of Spain) for a resort holiday this Saturday for one week. - Can't wait. Even the almost certain prospect of lobster red holidaying Poms can't put us off! 'til then, ole!

Je ne parle pas francais

4 years of high school French counted for little as we struggled with anything more than bonjour, merci, pardon, au revoir and faites-vous une chaise haute pour bebe si' vous plait (do you have a highchair)? Nevertheless, we had a wonderful, if not exhausting week in Paris. We've included a few photos below but for those with nothing better to do, we've posted some photos on flickr ......

http://flickr.com/gp/39525492@N06/z1gQ9H

We started with 2 days in Disneyland where the kids loved meeting (and in Ethan's case, cuddling) the Disney characters. The parades were great but we got drenched in pouring rain on both days and had to resort to purchasing ridiculous Disney ponchos to keep dry. The kids also loved the rides, putting a petrified Meaghan to shame. Another highlight was the Rainforest cafe were we dined surrounded by moving and grunting lifesize gorillas among a host of other jungle animals amidst a tropical storm (although we'd had enough of the rain by then).

On Tuesday, we headed to Paris to our nice little boutique hotel next door to Jardin de Luxembourg. We started with a cruise on the Seine to familiarise ourselves with the sites - not that we saw much between trying to stop Ethan from crawling overboard and taking Noah to the toilet.

Wednesday started with a walk around the Marais, a visit to the Picasso museum, and a delicious falafel lunch in the Jewish quarter before escaping the rain in the Georges Pompidou Centre (modern art museum). We managed to dump the kids with a babysitter courtesy of the neice of our French neighbour in Oxford and went out for dinner at the Brasserie Lipp in St Germain (thanks for making the reservation Jules). Trying not to be intimidated by the French-speaking, tuxedo-laden waiters, we struggled through the French menu and ended up going with the recommendations of the American couple next to us on the long banquet table. While the duck was delicious, Meaghan was a little disturbed by the uncooked mince steak tartare which was actually quite edible (helped by some nice French champagne and wine).

With the weather improving by Thursday, we walked from Place de la Concorde up the Champs Elysee to the Arc de Triomphe and climbed the spiral staircase to the top (only to discover the lift on the way down). The views over Paris were quite amazing. Next was the impressive Rodin Museum with its beautiful sculpture garden and then a picnic in the Parc du Champ de Mars in front of the Eiffel Tower. Meaghan was finally allowed to do a spot of clothes shopping but was horrified at the prices - didn't stop her buying a pair of shoes though.

Friday started in the Cluny Museum, before Mark headed up the 387 steps to the top of the Notre Dame tower to visit the gargoyles (Quasimoto wasn't home) and enjoy the breathtaking views over Paris, while Meaghan and the kids went shopping for souvenirs. A brief visit to St Chapelle and the Conciergerie before heading to the Louvre where we spent about 15 minutes - saw the Mona Lisa and left before the kids got too ferral. Took a walk through the Jardin de Tuileries and ended up at a lovely creperie for dinner.

On Saturday we headed to Montmartre and visited the Sacre Couer on top of the hill overlooking Paris. Saw the Moulin Rouge in a pretty seedy area before a bit more shopping for Meaghan. By this stage, it was hot, we were exhausted after shlepping the kids all over Paris for the past week and I think we were looking forward to getting back to Oxford the following day.

We managed to pack so much into what was an amazing week. The kids seemed to enjoy it (mostly) although they did have their moments. By the end of the week, Noah was walking up to people saying bonjour and merci (which is about all we could remember from our school days). Now for a crash course in Italian - less than 11 weeks till we hit Venice, Tuscany and Rome. Ciao!

Bank Holiday Bonanza

After our ill-fated attempt to visit Bath at Easter, we braved the motorway again on the May Day long ('bank holiday') weekend - this time the car made it. The trip was certainly worthwhile. The entire city has been named a World Heritage Site and although we didn't visit the Roman baths we enjoyed wandering around the self-proclaimed "chic city", taking in the sites and admiring the architecture (Pics 1 - 3). Noah's highlight was being invited to join the Morris Men, traditional English folk dancers - some of them older than Bath itself! (pic 4).

We returned to Blenheim Palace to watch a jousting tournament which was great fun and took another opportunity to explore the stunning gardens and grounds (pics 5, 6)- this time with we "packed" a picnic lunch courtesy of M&S Food (Meaghan is really gonna miss that place when we get home).

Yet another 'bank holiday' long weekend last weekend - this time we had some stunning weather - low 20s and light until around 9:30pm - a heatwave!. It started with another black-tie banquet at Pembroke College for Mark and Jules (Meaghan had to stay home as babysitter came down with "suspected Swine flu" the day before......). We then headed into London for the day and managed to get lost in Hyde Park again (pic 7). Meaghan fullfilled a lifelong dream by visiting the disappointingly underwhelming Princess Diana memorial (pic 8). We visited the Science Museum and Natural History Museum which were both fantastic but needed a lot more time and 2 less kids to make it worthwhile. Ethan loved the hands on stuff and we couldn't get him away from the water station (pic 9).

Jules was kind enough to take us on a tour of several of the university colleges which were all incredibly impressive, most dating back centuries (pic 10). It's amazing how huge the grounds are and how pristine they are kept. Magdalen college has its own deer park! The tour was made even more "authentic" by the students walking around dressed in their "exam garb" - for guys this is a black suit, white shirt, white bow tie and academic gown with a white carnation and for the girls, a less impressive black mini skirt, white shirt and strange black tie thing around their necks - more cocktail waitress than academic heiress. Jules explained that this dress is compulsory during exams - sure is different from stained tracky dacks and t-shirts that we are used to. The academic work load is so huge that even if students found the time to work, the University forbids them to undertake any type of employment during the academic year! Here are some pics of the kids on the college lawns (pic 11) and Noah contemplating his future at Magdalen College (pic 12).

On the home/social front, Noah is counting sleeps 'til his first school excursion this week at a farm, Ethan has a beautiful French/Indian girlfriend, Namita with whom he has chaperoned visits twice a week and Meaghan and Mark are busy hosting and being hosted at dinner parties. Some recent photos of the boys (pics 13, 14).

Meanwhile we are all counting sleeps until we leave for Paris on 7 June! Au Revoir 'til then.