More Cowbell!

For our summer vacation plans we decided to buck the Euro trend (we are American after all); rather than heading out for 3 or 4 weeks to the South of France or some other exotic location, we planned 2 mini-getaways. Our summer line-up of visitors began arriving shortly and we wanted to spend most of our free time with them. However, vacation first!

We began with a day trip to Besancon, France, only an hour away, to visit the Dino Zoo, une Parc Prehistorique.  It was a very enjoyable day with the highlight being the life-sized dinosaur replicas spread out over a 2 mile radius. At least that was the highlight for Sam. For Hardy & I the highlight was definitely the cheap entry fees, lack of crowds & delicious lunch. No hot dogs & chicken nuggets at this venue. We dined on Croque Monsieur and local wine! A happy family indeed.

It's Alive!

Afterwards we headed over to the Citadelle which was a very interesting place. It was a beautiful and very large historical site with amazing views which housed a zoo, aquarium, insectarium and various museums among other things. We accidentally found ourselves in a mini-museum dedicated to WWII and the history of the extraordinary neutrality of the Swiss as well as the role of the French. Fascinating, as you can imagine, however not exactly kid friendly. Lots of questions from Sam we weren't quite sure how to answer...

The next day we drove up to the town of Stockalp. From there we left our car and took a tram up to our hotel in Melchsee-Frutt which is at 1920 meters or 6300 feet. There is a windy road that is accessible only in the summer however the rules are very strict: you can drive UP the mountain at even hours and DOWN at odd hours. As far as I know, there is no other country besides the rule-following Switzerland where this would actually work. As we didn't want to mess up the flow by leaving late and potentially not making it before the direction change, then risk being known as those pesky Americans who can't follow rules we decided to take the tram.  The view was stunning but certainly not for those afraid of heights!

Pouring Concrete - Swiss Style.

We spent two days and two nights in Melchsee-Frutt. There wasn't a whole lot of action up there but we had an amazing time hiking around to the various play parks and looking for Marmots at Sam's request. Those little suckers sure are elusive! Our original plan was to take the tram back down to our car for a day trip to another town called Engleberg. However we woke to find that the tram was out of service for the day. Yup we were literally stuck on the mountain. Thankfully we had the back-up Marmot plan or who knows what we would have done!

Besides the Marmot search we rode the local train called the Fruttli-Zug which is used by both locals and tourists. This was definitely my favorite part of the trip and our most quintessential Swiss experience yet. The train drove for about 30 minutes through some of the most beautiful country I've ever seen.

Next Passengers Waiting for the Train.

At the top of the mountain we got off the train and explored the countryside. It was obvious that the cow was king up here. Every summer the cows are brought up to the mountain over a 2-day period (while we happened to be there) to graze during the warm weather season. In late fall they return, in full costume we're told, parading down to the valley during huge celebrations all over the country. We'll definitely be attending! Most of the cows are outfitted with the huge infamous "Swiss cowbells" which surprisingly make a really beautiful sound. At night there were so many cows all over the place we could hear the bells from our hotel room and altogether they sounded like music from the Andes mountains - Cowbell style.

Besides the friendly and tame cows that we walked with, we were able to visit a cheese house and watch them make cheese. We purchased some (duh!) and it was truly the creamiest, yummiest cheese I've ever had.

As there are throughout Switzerland, there were a number of lakes on the mountains and plenty of fisherman. Near the lakes they had set up little fire-pit stations with cut firewood and stone seats for impromptu barbecues. The ever-efficient Swiss had even included axes to cut the firewood further if necessary. Genius! Although again probably not something you'd ever see in the states. We saw one young family cuing up some incredibly fresh-looking sausages and then using the cut firewood as plates! How creative is that? I really wanted to take a picture, but felt that might be too intrusive. :-) At least you can see the BBQ areas.

Lake View.

This was the view from our hotel room. Besides being amazing can you see that very tiny red dot in the middle? That's the helicopter that spent most of the day flying back and forth to help fix the tram.

In the morning as we were getting ready to leave, Sam looked out this same window and spotted a marmot, all by himself. It was right about where the white car is and roughly the size of a very large ground squirrel. He was thrilled and was then able to pronounce the vacation a success. We all had a wonderful time and highly recommend a visit if you ever find yourself in this part of the world. Lastly, I'll leave you with one of my all-time favorite SNL skits....and the inspiration for the title of this blog (cut and past entire link below to your browser to view).

http://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play?p=more%20cowbell&tnr=21&vid=4900901943443484&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts1.mm.bing.net%2Fvideos%2Fthumbnail.aspx%3Fq%3D4900901943443484%26id%3D505aaa9537aa75642ec2eb46acfd54ae%26bid%3D4YSrxfuKLTUNBw%26bn%3DThumb%26url%3Dhttp%253a%252f%252fwww.ebaumsworld.com%252fvideo%252fwatch%252f719364%252f&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebaumsworld.com%2Fvideo%2Fwatch%2F719364%2F&sigr=11eojs9s3&newfp=1&tit=SNL+Will+Ferrell+More+Cowbell

Much Love and Happy Summer to All!
Lilli & Boys

Happy 1st Birthday to Me!

Most of you know that I turned 1 on June 22nd! My parents didn't plan very well so I spent my first birthday on a plane back from London. And I was sick and tired so I was a little grumpy. It was kind of a long flight for us but we made it. Since I'm now 1 and I don't get to see all of you very often I thought I would share a few of my favorite things to do.

First of all, here's a current picture of me. Cute, right?

I like to throw my mom's laundry, preferably folded, on the floor.

I can eat without getting my hands dirty, "look ma, no hands!"

Playing with my brother.

Riding In Style.

Playing with my brother's Woody. Er....

A few things I'm grateful for, are my mom and dad, living in a beautiful place called Switzerland even though I don't understand what anyone is saying, meeting new friends here, having family and friends visit and of course, my brother's unwavering love.

My birthday was a little quiet but it was still wonderful.

Thanks for all the Love!! xoxo,

Deanzie (formerly Baby Dean)

God Save the Queen

With Hardy's first full-week business trip approaching, I decided that the kids and I should explore as well. He was headed to Israel so initially we were going to accompany him but decided not to because of hot weather concerns, also we weren't quite sure what the boys and I would do. We couldn't exactly soak in the Dead Sea mud or waltz around Jerusalem for hours, so instead we headed over to London where my good friend Gabby lives to check out her hood.

Hardy, being the very thoughtful husband that he is and understanding that flying at this stage would be daunting by myself, offered to fly with us to London, dump us in a black cab then head to Israel. Seemed like a pretty straight-forward plan. Unfortunately, he ended up being delayed at Heathrow airport for almost 15 hours. In addition, the El Al airline security did not care for his plan to stop briefly in London for no apparent good reason so they not only grilled him extensively but also limited his access during the flight delay. He was not allowed to leave their sight with his computer bag and they made him check his travel bag. He did finally reach Israel at 6 AM the following day, but his bag didn't show up until 2 days later just about the time he was ready to leave. He may not be making the same offer to me again anytime soon.

The plane ride would have been soooo boring if Sam hadn't tormented Dean the whole time!

Meanwhile, back in London the boys and I are having a grand 'ol time with Auntie Gabby, Crazy Raj and darling 2-year-old Priyanka. They live in the centrally located Primrose Hill district which is fantastic and within walking distance of everything, it seemed. Not only was it a prime location for the kids, it's also home to many "notable residents." I kept my eyes peeled for a Jamie Oliver or Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale sighting (who all happen to live a stones throw from Gabby), but no luck. We did, however have a nice chat with Mr. Robert Plant otherwise known as the lead vocalist of a little band called Led Zeppelin who happens to be a friend of Raj's (both avid footballer and pub fans). Very exciting.

Besides chatting up superstars, we spent loads of time walking around the city and taking in all that London has to offer, which is a lot. We were blessed with amazing weather and didn't get much rain until the day before we left. We walked so much every day, that we wore the kids out.

Gabby & Priya

Boys & I at a very fancy drinking fountain.

Gabby & Sam.

Lulu Dog was a hit with both boys. Don't even think about asking for one!

Sam & the always well-dressed Priya.

Definite highlight for Sam - the London Zoo - within walking distance!

Duck Pond at Regent's Park, one of the Royal Parks of London. Hope my 4-year-old doesn't fall in while I'm posing for a picture....

Highlight for me - Camden Street Market. A fascinating very large area with rows and rows of stalls selling anything you could want to eat or buy. Sam wanted to take this guy home but I didn't think we could get him through security....Again within walking distance.

The only real bummer was that Baby Dean got sick. He had a viral upper respiratory infection so he was pretty uncomfortable.  Nothing serious but the worst part was that he wasn't sleeping very well which took it's toll on all of us. But he was a trooper, as usual! And I must say, so was Sam. I took him to the doctor to be sure it was nothing serious. We decided to bypass trying out the UK's socialized medicine system and instead took him to a private practice where he had the good fortune to be seen by a doctor whose middle name was Elmo. :-) Very good Karma!

Dean at doctor.

After walking all day we spent most evenings with one of their many entertaining neighbors. I quickly realized that Gabby had her very own Bridget Jones, in this case, Erika, living just next door! She would show up late night being very British and witty and regale us with the latest goings-on in her life. The best part was, she even brought her own drinks! Her current fav was a pre-mixed Gin & Tonic, yup in a can. But this was no gas station purchase, cans were straight from Marks & Spencer, which sells upscale food items. And they say Americans have no class... :-)

We celebrated the eve of Baby Dean's 1st birthday at the local Primrose Hill Bakery with a cupcake!

Sam had food envy. :-)

Overall we had a fantastic time. I found the Brits to be incredibly friendly especially after spending 3 months with the very reserved Swiss. Thank you mucho Patel familia for such an amazing trip!

Cheers London! We'll definitely be back. Xoxo,
Lilli & Boys

Festi'Neuch - Party of 1

We snuck out for date night before my dad and Cindy left to a music festival called Festi'Neuch. It is a four-day festival with artists ranging from Marilyn Manson to Puppetmastez, most of which we had never heard of. We were however pleasantly surprised to see one of our all-time favorite bands, Morcheeba from the UK. We listened to them quite a lot in our Pre-K (or pre-kids) days and had already seen them once in San Francisco. The best part was the Festival was on the lake within walking distance from our house and my dad and Cindy were here to babysit! Everything fell into place perfectly.

We had an awesome time and thoroughly enjoyed the two sets that we watched, aforementioned Morcheeba and Swiss-born Sophie Hunger. All in all it was a fantastic night however the main reason for this blog is to highlight two interesting Euro idiosyncrasies that we happened upon.

1. Euro Urinal

In bright daylight, upon leaving the tent after Sophie Hunger had played, we stumbled upon a few European gentleman who couldn't seem wait to go to the bathroom and, apparently, here they don't have to.

Ingenious? Lazy? Unsanitary? You decide. But definitely unique.

2. Silent Party

A custom that we were incredibly dubious about was called the Silent Party.

Upon walking into a very large tent, each person is handed earphones. Glancing around the room you see people milling around, drinking, and many dancing. Seemingly only to the music playing in their heads. We then realized that that the Silent Party is essentially just that. Each person grooves to their own beat, perhaps even dancing in a circle and singing to their friends or loved ones but all the while wearing their headphones. To one side of the room there was a DJ area set-up and about 5 women, I believe they were called Girls on Deck DJ'd for the evening. When we finally were ready to partake and we hesitantly put our headphones on, I realized how amazing the music was. Wham! Salt n' Pepa! Lots of old 80's faves! And we stayed and became believers of the Silent Party. Hoping to bring this trend back to the US upon our return.

Watch this video of Hardy. Notice the lack of music.

Even the Prepsters get into it!

Hardy getting his groove on.

Believers!

XOXO,
Lilli & Hardy

Grandpa & Grandma Visit

We had a fantastic time with my dad and Cindy who were able to visit for almost a month. We celebrated Mother's Day by flying Sam's new kite in a large field near our house. Had a great time only slightly marred by the cold weather and bug infestation which we keep struggling with due to our proximity to the lake. Overall a great Mother's day! Except we missed Hardy who celebrated in China.

Sam has discovered a new passion as an expert tree climber. Pondering his next move...

While they were here Hardy got a lot of his traveling out of the way so the 5 of us fell into a bit of a routine. This included:

Daily walks for my dad and Dean to the local recycling station (weather permitting) - recycling debacle painful here but required by law (seriously, will get it's own post one day) but these two turned the process into an adventure.

Grandma and Sam time at the play park in our complex.

And, on the few days the sun came out, it was pretty much guaranteed you could find this guy on our back porch. Pretty safe bet he was the only person in the country laying out this day (weather: high of 60, Feels Like 50).

Other highlights of their trip included Dean's new tooth:

And Sam's new haircut. Warning, if you have your hair cut by someone who doesn't speak the same language as you do, you just get what you get. Looks pretty cute here, but anyone who knows Sam, knows he isn't really a "spiky hair" kind of guy.

We also stumbled across this fancy looking machine near the "city center" or downtown area. For a mere 7 Francs (about $7.30) you can walk away with your very own pizza. Yep. There's a place to choose your toppings and a fancy machine that kneads the dough while you watch. We didn't try it but I won't leave before I do.

Before they left we all took a boat ride on Lake Neuchatel. It was a beautiful and fairly clear day, we still couldn't quite see the Alps but the views were amazing.

Sam was inside the boat for part of the ride eating a croissant and I spontaneously asked him if he was "happy." His response? "A little bit." I guess it's my own fault for asking! Here's his "little bit happy" smile.

Baby Dean on the other hand is almost always happy. Enjoying his early birthday present with grandpa.

Thanks for visiting Grandma & Grandpa! xoxo, Lilli & 3 Boys

Bern Baby Bern

We decided to take a day trip to Bern, partially because of its proximity by train (34 minutes) and also because it is the capital. We were more than pleasantly surprised! Bern was chosen as the capital because in a neutral country such as Switzerland, it was seen as a neutral choice due to its "linguistic plurality," (thank you Lonely Planet!), meaning that both French and German are fluently spoken there. Not only is it "diverse" it also is truly charming. Surrounded by the Aare River on 3 sides, it is one of the most inviting cities I've ever visited. Although it had a provincial feel, it was also incredibly modern - streets lined with outdoor cafes, underground bars, art galleries and rows and rows of amazing shopping (or at least it looked like amazing shopping, it was Sunday so everything was closed!). The city is filled with museums and randomly there is a bear pit in the center of town housing a family of bears. Of course this was a huge hit with Sam and a big draw with crowds.

View from walking bridge to bears.

Daddy, Cindy and Dean on walking bridge (Pretty In Pink Lady, not with us).

Pedro the Bear.

View from the other side of the city, walking bridge to museums.

For a city with so much charm, the historical portion was just as interesting. Bern is a UNESCO World Heritage Site filled with cobblestone streets and the beautifully ornate Zytglogge clock tower where Albert Einstein supposedly honed his theory of relativity!

Daddy & Cindy getting smarter with each tick.

Blue Men Group or Hardy and Sam taking in the view.

Baby Dean's first train ride.

Bern truly felt like a small city within a big city, something to offer for every type of visitor. I guarantee we'll be back!