Moscow trip in pictures

M and I spent the weekend in Moscow visiting all our old haunts and taking a major trip down memory lane.

I haven't been back since 1996 and the city has changed enormously since then. Amazing how much friendlier and more global the city has become! People are dressed so nicely now and you even see a lot of them smiling, which was great but also a little bizarre! There are chain stores everywhere and although I did end up grabbing a sub at subway on the way to the airport I found it a bit depressing to see Dunkin' Donuts and Wendy's and TGI Fridays there.

Was amazed at how much Russian I can remember. I've been working on it pretty diligently for about 6 months now, but haven't been able to get anything out of my mouth on the few occasions that I've tried to practice with acquaintances. And then when I got to the border the agent asked me in Russian: "Do you speak Russian?" I answered "Da" and realized that it was true! It was fantastic!

Had a great time, really enjoyed being back, but this trip just made me realize even more that I'm not a big city person and that I'm so happy to have ended up here in this lovely, clean, green small town in Germany!

Fruit fruit fruit!

A friend has a couple of plots of land near here where he cultivates fruit trees. Tuesday he showed up with his Unimog and took S and B with him to harvest the fruit.

Herr G explained all about the growing process and his way of farming organically. The boys came home bubbling over with wild tales about helpful insects, tall ladders and bumpy rides in the Unimog.

They also returned with crates of apples, pears and plums! Yesterday B and I made several liters of applesauce and 4 kilos of plum marmalade! It was such a pleasure to see him busy in the kitchen! This year he took the lead, pitted most of the plums himself and kept track of all the steps we had to follow. I was honored to be his faithful assistant!

(It was also very handy that B could do so much himself. I spent a good chunk of time trying to clean dog vomit off of the carpet. Turns out D stole a bunch of plums while no one was looking, wolfed them down and then deposited them in one big foul-smelling, multicolored puddle right at the door to the kitchen!)

Energy drinx

S asked me the other day if he could buy a Red Bull with his pocket money and my answer was, of course, a resounding "NO!" He was in a thoughtful mood, though, and said that he's very curious about the drinks because everyone in his class drinks them and then brags about it. And that he feels left out sometimes because he can't keep up with the conversation. Good point!

I told him that I have nothing against him trying the drinks, but that they're terrible for your body and explained why I don't want him drinking them on a regular basis. But I can also imagine that he's curious, so I suggested that we do a taste test so that he can form his own opinion about them and join in on the small talk.

Today we bought the three most popular drinks: Red Bull, Rock Star and Sexergy. I had S and B write down how many calories and how many milligrams caffiene each had per 100 ml. Then we compared them to other drinks like coffee, tea, chocolate milk, etc. (They have 3x more caffeine than Coca Cola!)

Then we all tried a small glass of each. The taste test winner? Rock Star, which has 2g more sugar per ml than the other two. (Blech!)

Thinking I was teaching them something about marketing I asked S and B why they thought the company gave Sexergy its name. S smiled and said: "I dunno-- maybe it has sperm in it!" :-D

Chateau de Marquis de Sade, Lacoste

Faceplant at le pool

B slipped climbing out of the pool yesterday evening and bit through his lip in two places. At first I thought we were going to have to take him in to have it stitched but after some ice, ibuprofen and compresses it looks like he's going to be OK.

Oma used her Red Cross training (again!) to cut a butterfly bandage to close the wound and it swelled up but stayed closed.

On the upside, this being the Provence, B got to rinse his mouth out a few times with Pastis! And he loved it! Vive la France!

Faux Pas

We were having lunch this afternoon when a couple came in with a small, wiggly dog with a pug-nose and pointy ears. S, B and I went over to admire him and I said: "Wow, he's cute! Is that a Boston Bull terrier?"

The owner could barely hide his disgust: "What?! NO! It's a French Bull terrier!" :-D

More pictures!

Today we took a hike between Castellet and Auribeau, two small villages near here where M and his family spent many happy summers. The whole area is so picturesque and the weather was sunny and beautiful!

We were pretty deep into the woods when S picked up a rock and uncovered a nest of scorpions! then B discovered an evil red-juice-spitting beetle. The rest of the walk was interesting, but not completely for all the right reasons. ;-)

Lunar landscape (with sheep)

Today I hiked part of the top of the Mont Ventoux again with the kids and the dog. Had a couple of nervewracking moments when one of them stepped (or peed) too close to the edge, but otherwise it went great and we had a really nice afternoon. Here is the photographic evidence, documented by S.

Le sun! Les grapes! Le vin!

Roussillon

Today we visited Roussillon, a quaint little town nearby, which is famous for its ochre mines. Spent about an hour hiking through the woods and marveling at the gorgeous variety of vibrant color in the cliffs and trails. Then we had coffee and ice cream and came back to the campsite so that the boys can swim.

This afternoon Oma and I will hit the supermarket-- there's been a disaster here: we've run out of peanut butter! I can now sympathize with rehab patients and their withdrawal pains! Hope to get lucky-- there are so many Dutch and American tourists in this area, and that usually means PEANUT BUTTER! Please keep your fingers crossed and send some good vibes my way! ;-)

Hustlin'

We’re back in the Provence; this time I’m camping with the kids and Michiel’s parents. I wanted to jump on Internet to fart around follow intellectual pursuits. The campground has a wifi router and guests can buy access in increments of 1 hour, 1 day, etc.

I just told the woman at reception that I’d like to buy 24 hour access. She handed me a card with the rates printed on it and said that I can just buy it directly over Internet. (Right, like I’m about to give my credit card information over a public server!) Knowing it's also possible to pay with cash, I smiled sweetly, waved 10 Euros at her and said in my very best French:

Mais non, je préfére acheter vous! ( Which means approximately: No thanks, I’d rather buy you.)

Niiiiiiiiiiccccceee. I haven’t even been here 24 hours and I’m already puttin’ the moves on the staff!

Say what?!

Me: OK guys, you've *got* to get your hair cut! I've made an appointment for you for this afternoon. How do you want them to do your hair?

B.: I want mine long.

Me: OK B, but last time you weren't happy with what you got. Maybe you should bring a picture of the haircut you want so that the stylist knows what you like. Whose hair do you like?

B.: Gaddafi's.

**Follow-up: In the end he decided to get it cut shorter so that it doesn't get in his eyes at the pool this week. His hair turned out great, just for GOD'S SAKE, please don't tell him it looks "just like Justin Bieber"! ;-)

Tomorrow we'll wrestle some crocodiles

Earlier this week we took out S's stitches using kitchen shears at the breakfast table. Today we hiked the top of Mont Ventoux! We are so manly! Just like Ernest Hemingway! (the only thing missing is the scotch. and the hangovers. usually...)

Hello from sunny Provence!

Well we finally made it to the Provence. Left a day later than planned, but that turned out fine because it meant that we had plenty of time to do the things that are normally last minute and our departure was relatively relaxed.

S's knee has healed up nicely. We took the stitches out right here on the campground yesterday: just propped his leg up on the table amongst the breakfast dishes and cut them out with the a pair of kitchen shears. Now there's a vacation memory we'll never forget! :-)

Took a tour of an old coal mine in Alès yesterday. It was fascinating, and the kids were really impressed by the horrendous conditions under which the miners (and their families) had to work over the years. This provided yet another convincing opportunity to remind them why it's so important to get a good education.

S has now had a year of French in school, so it's been a treat for him to be able to interact with kids here on the playground and try out his vocabulary. It's taken him a lot more effort to learn than he'd expected, so it's nice for him to be able to have fun with it here and see that his lessons, however dry, really are useful.

S and B have spent the past couple of days working through a French Donald Duck comic book; I'm wrestling with a Russian health magazine and M is reading a German camping magazine. We're all leaning waaaaaaay out of our comfort zone, but that's a good thing to do while stretched out in lawn chairs in the shade with a cool drink and a happy, lazy dog! :-)

Life with Boyz

The last 24 hours have been a little more "interesting" than are good for me. B dislocated his shoulder playing soccer yesterday evening. M, who was watching them play, called me and asked me to hurry down because Bram's shoulder looked "suspicious". By the time I got there it had popped back in and he was feeling better. Iced it down, gave him Ibuprofen, and after a sleepless night (mine, not his!) everything seems to be on the mend.

Then this afternoon S fell off of his bike out at the skateboard park. B called to tell me that it was bleeding and deep enough that you could "see something white" in the wound. Niiiiiice. 3 hours, one pediatrician, one surgeon and 3 stitches later and we're back home. We've got a follow-up appointment with the doctor at 8:45 am tomorrow morning. (We had planned to leave to drive to the Provence at 6am.)

I think I've had enough drama to last me for a while, thank you...