This was, perhaps, overly ambitious as it meant moving from one hotel to another each day (not an easy feat with two kids in the mix), but we managed it without anybody getting left behind. The biggest downside of such a touch-and-go trip is that you don’t get to explore very much. Having kids with you means that you can visit one place in the morning and one place in the afternoon and that’s about it. And, of course, driving to the next place will use up one of those slots. Sometimes we went exploring a bit in the evening but in general we were all pretty exhausted by the end of day.

I’m amazed by my kids! Christophe is such a little trooper. He would walk for hours with us and never get tired. He’d get bored, yes, but never once did he complain about being tired and unable to go on. We kept him entertained by letting him climb stone barriers or drive his toy cars along a bench now and then. If you want to have an enjoyable trip with your kids, do your best to make sure they enjoy themselves, too. On our last full day he climbed some 500m vertical worth of stairs with enthusiasm, saying things like, “Oh look, more stairs!” and then gleefully moving on ahead of us.

Camille was her usual angel self, too. Even with her schedule shot to hell, she was happy and playful and flirted with every man she saw. (I’m definitely going to have to acquire a shotgun when she gets older.) A couple times she was over-tired and screamed for a while before finally falling asleep but for the most part she was as well behaved as Christophe.

Lyon was probably the most interesting place we stayed as the hotel (”Hotel Carleton”) we stayed in was situated right in the middle of the old town. Of the photography I did over the course of the trip, I think the nicest shots were there. The best of them need some post processing and so aren’t attached to this article (or I wouldn’t get it published for another few months) but come back some time and look at my Gallery. At the moment I write this, I’m about 8 months behind in my processing (just finishing up my Zurich photos from my visit back in January).

Driving in Italy was an adventure all in its own. Many of the streets have no lane dividers which I suppose isn’t a problem for the Italians as even when present they don’t use them for anything more than a general advisory. The general policy seems to be “go where you want but make sure you don’t hit anyone. Let the others worry about not hitting you.” Over the course of a few hours in Turino, I had numerous people pass be on the left (in the oncoming traffic lane) only to suddenly cut in front of me and the forward lane on the right to go through a red “no right turn” light and, yes, turn right without even stopping. And if that wasn’t bad enough, they would also pass you on the right to cut in front, go through a red light, and turn left, again without stopping.

Parking in Italy is wherever you can find space and if you want to put your “I can park here” lights on (sometimes referred as “hazard lights”) then you can even park in the traffic lane while blocking several cars in to their spots. It’s preferred to have at least two wheels on the sidewalk but not strictly required.

Don’t get me wrong… I like Italians! They have a passion for life that I find refreshing. I just wish they wouldn’t apply it so heavily to their driving. It was good to get back to Switzerland.

The TomTom navigator unit we have is worth its weight in gold for trips like this. Had my wife or my mother been trying to follow a map while we attempted to find our way to some tourist location, there is a good chance not all of us would have returned. It’s almost certain that someone would have strangled someone else or jumped out a window at oncoming traffic in frustration.

Not that you should blindly trust the instructions the little box gives you… If the GPS signals are weak because it’s overcast or you’re between tall buildings, it often gets to thinking you’re somewhere other than your actual position. It then gives correct directions from that other location but it doesn’t help to be told “turn around when possible” while traveling in heavy traffic down a one-way street or “turn right” when you’re 5 meters past the intersection.

The streets in Europe are not the nice grid pattern of most places in North America, either, and than can make it difficult to interpret the instructions. “Keep left” is not sufficient when a road splits in three directions. Many times I would stay to whatever side it said only to be trapped in a turn-only lane and have to deviate off the planned course. This is where the TomTom is the most useful, though, as it will happily plot you a new route from the place you are and the direction you are heading, never throwing out comments like, “You idiot, I said left!”

It was a very busy trip what with covering so much ground over that amount of time but it wouldn’t have been that much less even staying in one place since so much of the effort went to dealing with the kids. Even as well behaved as they were, they take a huge amount of attention and time. It was great to have “Grandmother” around to take up some of the load, reading stories to Christophe at night and watching them both while France and I went out for a couple dinners by ourselves.It was a lot of fun, but not what you call a “relaxing vacation”. We plan to do as little as possible tomorrow before the normal routine takes over on Monday.

It’s small as minivans go, which is a good thing here. Even small it can be difficult to get out of in the parking lot of local stores. The back doors swing open rather than side back so getting Camille out in her carrier can be difficult in cramped locaions. Still, it seats seven in a pinch so we won’t have to make Dad walk to the restaurant while the rest of us drive.

Yesterday we took it for our first real drive as a family. We decided to drive up to Uetliberg which is at the top of a small mountain just west of Zurich. The “Top of Zurich” hotel is up there and they say that on a clear day you can see Austria. The guide book gives instructions on how to get there via the train but we thought we’d drive for a change.

You can’t get there by car. Our TomTom GPS navigator had us going along these gravel back roads which probably did get there but we believe are intended for cargo or other official vehicles. Normal people need to take the train and do a 7-minute uphil hike from the last station to the top. They have an official parking lot a few stations back we eventually found and then took the train. It definitely would have been easier this time to take the train from the start.

Today we’re going to visit some friends and go on a picnic.

Sorry for the lack of photos but the computer is in the living room and I’m trying to keep wires to a minimum. I hope to rectify this soon.

When I think of a zoo, I think of rows of cages each with a different animal.  I guess zoos used to be that way when I was a kid but now there are very few bars.  They’ve done a good job to make you feel like you’re right there with them and that they’re in a semi-natural habitat.  Sure, if you look you’ll see moats and the like hidden around the edge to ensure that the people are safe and the animals can’t escape but for the most part it’s a much better style than it used to be.

Our neighors downstairs seem really nice, though we haven’t met them yet. They left a stroller and some toys along with a nice card for the “new Canadian Family”. They have three kids, the youngest about Christophe’s age. There is also a little girl his age in the building next to ours. It was quite funny to watch him talk to her from the terrace in English and her respond from the ground in Swiss-German and yet it really sounded like they were having a conversation.

Today we took the train in to Zurich and wandered around for a couple hours. I think I got to show my family about three square blocks of the city is all but we all had a good time. Christophe really enjoyed riding the train. He ended up skipping his nap today and so fell right asleep when he went to bed. That’s better than yesterday when he didn’t doze off until around 10pm or so but let’s hope he doesn’t get up too early in the morning because of it.

Does it count as a new day when you never finished the previous one? A mad rush to finish everything on Wednesday before catching our flight left us with no chance for the reality of the moment to sink in. Add to that two kids (even such amazingly well behaved ones as ours were) and there is just no time to come to grips with what is happening.

Upon arriving in Zurich, we were met by a woman from the relocation company who helped us find our poor cat (90 minutes and trips to four different offices) and then took us to our place. It’s sparsely furnished at the moment (rental until our furniture arrives) which makes it feel somewhat empty and sterile.

Of course, we were immediately faced with all the things we failed to bring with us on the plane, like towels and a stroller for the baby. When both kids were finally asleep at the same time, we both went through the “What the hell have we done?!?” phase. We had it pretty good in Ottawa and we have nothing here yet.

Some naps on our parts helped somewhat and we walked around the local neighborhood some. There’s a great recreation center just down the road with indoor and outdoor pools as well as fitness classes and the like.

It was a hot a humid day but the night was cool and fragrant (largely from the neighbor’s rose garden) and it was nice to sit on the terrace for a while talking about things we would need to get. It’s going to get expensive soon.

Now it’s 9:30pm and time for bed. Some things haven’t changed.

Schäfligrabenstrasse 31
8304 Wallisellen
Switzerland

I’m flying home on Easter weekend from California to see my family in Ottawa for a few days.  I fly Air Canada overnight to Toronto and then went to wait for my flight to Ottawa.  What luck!  There’s an earlier flight!  I went to the counter and asked if I could travel on that earlier flight instead.  I had no checked luggage, so there’s no problem.  They wanted me to pay a $50 “change fee”!  I couldn’t believe it!  I asked to see the manager and she rather unpolitely told me that my ticket did not allow for free changes.  I tried to explain to her that I would have taken this flight had it been offerred during my booking, but it had not been.  She wouldn’t budge.  I thought customers were supposed to be valued, sometimes even “right”.

A few weeks later I flew Alaska Airlines and, for various reasons, had this over two different itineraries and three different flights.   This time, though, when I arrived in time to catch an earlier flight, they promptly processed me through with a “Thank your for choosing Alaska Airlines.”  Better yet, they did this for me twice!

Given a choice, I sure know which airline I’ll fly in the future.

I must say, though, the weather is much nicer here than in Ottawa. I left a snowstorm behind and now don’t even wear a jacket most days.

As a bonus, one of my cousins from Seattle is visiting her sister here so I’ll get to see her and her little girl for a while.

Mom, Dad, and baby girl are all doing just fine, though big brother Christophe seems a little unsure. Tonight will be his first night with her in the house with him.

So far, she’s been a little angel, not crying at all. We can only hope she keeps that up.

I have none of my own photos to post this time, but another Googler has posted pictures of the Googleplex.

I’ll be back once I have a photo of our new daughter. Until then…