Christmas in Italy

Christmas this year was a bit unusual for our family. We are at the halfway point in our three-year Italian sojourn and with time off from school and bad weather for traveling this time of year in Europe we figured that this would be the best time for a return to the U.S. Unfortunately, both of my pediatric partners had family coming to Italy for the holidays and I needed to cover the on-call service for two of the three weeks during that time. So Ashley and the kids made the return trip without me and I'll leave the reporting on that to them. Before they left we had a small family "Christmas" morning with gift exchanges.

 Getting ready to open presents.

Georgie has outgrown little girl toys. And the color pink. It's weird, I didn't even notice the transition. But when our iPod player began disappearing into the kids' rooms on a regular basis, I knew exactly what to give them.

Their own iPod nanos and portable speaker docks! They were pretty excited about the gifts. I love music, and although Ashley allows them to listen to (and purchases for them) a little bit too much Top 40 garbage for my taste, they do love a good smattering of songs by the Beatles, Beach Boys, Bob Marley, Tom Petty, CCR, The Cure, Johnny Cash, Chris Cornell, Cake, The Cars, Queen, Sting and a few other bands I consider worthy of airplay.

Georgie is holding the gift that Juliet made for her: little animal creations with her fingerprints in a frame.

And this is the gift that Georgie and Juliet made for Isaac: a building/fortress for Lego mini-figures made out of a cardboard box. Very creative, girls.

This is what Ashley bought for me this year. It is an old promotional poster put out by the US Food Administration (before it became the Food & Drug Administration) in the 1940s during World War II. Strange how appropriate the advice is and how far we have strayed from this wisdom in the intervening 70 years, especially since we have been not-so-gently forced in that direction by government policies.

Before flying back over the pond Ashley needed to get the kids somewhat presentable. Georgie had her lovely long locks trimmed to chin level, which makes her look very cute and mature.

Isaac decided to get a design in his hair, which is all the rage in Italy right now. He initially asked for a star, but his barber got all excited and proposed a full manger scene instead.

Awesome. A Christmas tree on the left, the stable with the manger in the center, and a shooting Christmas Star on the right. With that they were ready to make the long trek back. For three weeks I worked, relaxed, skiied, hung out with friends, and missed my family. But now they are back and it was all worth it to give them the chance to see so many family and friends during that time.

French Riviera Part 2

Full disclosure: I don't have a Facebook account and probably never will. I much prefer this blog as a more intimate forum for sharing our experiences and my thoughts. But Ashley does have an account, which I hypocritically used to steal a whole bunch of awesome pictures from our friends Ben and Ashley taken during our trips to the French Riviera and Tuscany over Labor Day and Thanksgiving weekends, respectively. Indulgent family journaling, no more.

                              

This was taken in Bar Sur Loup, the small town we stopped in on Friday after passing by Grasse and before lunching in Tourettes Sur Loup. Ashley & Ashley fell in love with the "hand" door knockers. I think Ashley my fellow pediatrician recently bought one at an antique market.

                               

Also in Bar Sur Loup. Georgie had been playing in this small piazza and ignoring, typically, our repeated calls to get moving since we were leaving. She took a shortcut out of the piazza and jumped off the wall into my arms.

The Merback family with Tourettes Sur Loup in the background.

The girls of the trip: Megan, Georgie, Ashley, Juliet, and Ashley. We are missing Kate & Brennan (in Germany still) and Charlotte (in the US with Luke).

Is it weird that I find my Ashley really hot in this picture? That's talent, folks.

Cute but not as exciting.

This is an artful shot of the cafe where we had such an authentically French experience with the rude owner-operator. Greg is reflected in the window taking pictures of Tourettes Sur Loup in the background. Who wouldn't want to eat here? It looks open, right? Aren't you just dying to know what is written on that menu blackboard?

                               

Jubie loves "Keg", which is what she called him at this age. In fact, while getting overly excited about our upcoming Thanksgiving trip, at which Charlotte, Luke, and the Edstroms would rejoin us, we decided to plan a talent show. Nothing came of it except a performance by Jubie expressing her affection for "Keg". More to follow in the Thanksgiving Part 2 post.

Didn't have to tell anyone to smile for this picture.

                                    

Our kids' affection for "Keg" is matched only by their affection for Megan. This trip was only a couple of weeks after we had left the kids with the Trifilos for a few days while we went to Switzerland. They didn't really miss us at all.

The view from the walls of Tourettes Sur Loup. Love that Georgie.

Taking a break, eating Gelato, sitting on the walls of a Medieval French city on a warm late August afternoon with great friends. Greg looks especially contented.

Awesome shot. Thank you, Ashley. We sat here for well over 30 minutes, while the Ashleys explored the shopping side of Tourettes Sur Loup, watching these older French gentleman play "petanque." This is want I want to do when I am old.

Back home at the rental house, where we had a lovely outdoor meal that evening after swimming and relaxing. That place was very close to ideal. Great job, Megan.

The next day, Saturday, the girls went to explore Cannes while the boys stayed with the kids (minus Georgie) & dogs. This is a game we invented where one person tosses the ball over the pool and another person jumps from the side of the pool, kicking the ball in mid-air and trying to score a "goal" between the two markers laid out on the ground. The real hazard of the game was kicking the ball over the hedge behind Ben outside the frame. The house was on top of a hill and the ball would roll several hundred yards down the street into the neighborhood below. More than once somebody had to make a shirtless, soaking wet run down to retrieve it. Luckily, in the French Riviera in late summer you didn't feel awkward or out of place.

                                

Meanwhile, Georgie enjoyed her own little aquatic game of watching fish eat the dead skin off of her feet.

That night Ashley stayed with the kids while the rest of us adults went to Monaco. This is an awesome shot of the Monaco harbor. The grand old casino is towards the right of the picture on the other side of the harbor.

And this is nearly the same shot at dusk, with the multi-million dollar yachts and casinos starting to light up. The Gran Prix takes place on that road that circumnavigates the harbor.

Another shot of the $2.5 million+ Bugatti on the left and one of the original Bugattis on the right. You can sort of see our reflection standing in the window in the chrome of the car.

This is the grand old casino (they just call it "Le Casino") at night. This is the casino which we drove in front of in the Trifilos' Subaru Outback with the bird excrement on the window.

The guys trying to look suave. I think only Greg succeeded. Par usual.

Sunday we headed to Cannes and took a boat ride out to Isle Ste Marguerite. Here is our lovely family at the old fort with Cannes in the background.

Great picture from the same spot of almost the whole group. Megan doesn't particularly like museums and old forts, so she stayed outside with Yorba dog.

                                   

Wow. Ashley (other Ashley) found this old door at the fort with perfect lighting and just started going crazy taking pictures of Juliet. I know most parents think that their children could be models but come on, this is ridiculous!

                                   

Isaac needed a little encouragement to pose. He wasn't really in the picture-taking mood.

                                   

Great shot of the kids. I love Georgie's face here. She's at that stage where she thinks that the harder she squints the more she is smiling.

See what I mean? The cannon of the old fort with Cannes in the background.

This is where we ate lunch on the island. Ashley (other Ashley) ordered this plate of fried fish that sounded really good. Turned out to be a heaping pile of whole sardines or some other small fish that was just awful. She gifted it to the kids to play with.

Which they were more than happy to do. I love this picture, with the glasses and bottle in focus in the foreground, the candid shot of the kids and the plate of fish, and Cannes & the Med out of focus in the background. Very aesthetically pleasing. Thanks again for all these pictures, other Ashley!

Jubie and Isaac having a sardine battle royale.

                                   

And we finished up the day at the beach on the island, where Yorba was free to splash about in the Med but not to invade other people's picnics.

Ben is holding Georgie's hand, helping her step through some of the slimy seaweed on the sea bed. It is great having other strong, kind male role models around for your kids whom you trust completely. It takes a village, right? The fortress of Ste Marguerite is in the background. The prison cell of the Man in the Iron Mask would have been on the far left side of the fortress, overlooking the Med and Cannes. Talk about torture.

                                   

So not everything was perfectly idyllic about this day. As we started wading into the warm, salty water, Ashley came across...an old menstrual pad. Mmmmmm...delicious. Here she is removing the not-so-sanitary napkin using the two-stick technique while dying with laughter, wearing two pairs of sunglasses (holding mine for me while I swam), and looking unbelievable in that swim suit. I love this picture.

                                  

My girls, loaded up on the boat and ready to head back to Cannes. Sometimes I can't believe that they are mine.

Adieu, Isle Ste Margeurite.

I think both Jubie and "Norba", as she calls him, had a great time that day and on that trip. It was over four months ago but it feels like yesterday. And to think that Ashley didn't really want to go.

San Nicolo

In Italy, Saint Nicholas is San Nicolo, a very distinct personage from Santa Claus, who is called Babbo Natale. San Nicolo comes on December 6th and leaves gifts in your shoes. Santa Claus comes on Christmas, and they also have La Befana, the good witch who comes on January 6th (La Epifania - The Epiphany) and leaves more gifts. In Caneva, the "county seat" of our little community here, they have a small nighttime festival with San Nicolo every year on December 5th. This year we invited the Joneses to come with us and experience some local culture.

Here are Payton and Isaac with San Nicolo. As you can see there are some similarities with Santa Claus, but as his name suggests he is a much more overtly religious figure. He is sitting in a little carriage which is pulled by a tractor and on which he makes his departure at the end of the evening.

Georgie and Samantha with the patron saint of children. His name is spelled both Nicolo and Nicola in Italy, not sure why.

Jubie and Ashley right as St. Nick was ready to depart pulled by John Deere instead of reindeer.

The kids put their shoes out on the front porch that night and in the morning they were filled with goodies and accompanied by Sparkle, our Elf on the Shelf. We left the front gate open that evening so that San Nicolo could come, but based on the tracks left in our driveway I think he may have traded out his tractor for a Subaru. Thanks, San Nicolo and Ms. Nicolo!

The kids thoroughly enjoyed their goodies the next day. They had the hot chocolate that morning before school and took the oranges as a snack. San Nicolo really came through for them. Until next year!