Spicy Hot - I Wike It!

Over the past few weeks Mason has really started to express his like or dislike for all kinds of things. His new favorite words are "I wike it" and "Mason no wike it." For example, Mason has a new found love for blues music. "Boos music, I wike it," he said after listening to the Allman Brothers. He also loves it when we floss his teeth. Nicole took him shopping for shirts this morning, and he gladly told her "No wike it" to several shirts before deciding on a few shirts he did "wike". He is fairly opinionated for a 21 month-old.
Mason has also discovered spicy food. While eating tacos the other night, he asked about the bottle of Tabasco. We told him it was "spicy hot" and that he wouldn't like it. Undeterred, Mason said "twy it, twy it...spicy hot." So I put a few drops of Tabasco on his taco meat and he put some in his mouth. After a few bites, his mouth dropped open, and looking quite distressed he said, "spithey ha" with his tongue sticking out. We told him to drink his milk, and he quickly chugged about half of his sippy cup before slamming it down and exclaiming, "Spicy hot - I wike it!" He then asked us to put drops of Tabasco on all of his remaining bites of meat. At first, he would immediately drink his milk after putting the bite in his mouth. After a while, we convinced him to wait 5 seconds until he drank his milk. Like a champ, Mason would sit with his tongue hanging out of his mouth for 5 full seconds before furiously gulping down his milk. He went through about 2 full sippy cups of milk in about 5 minutes. Next week, we will start working with him on Thai food - as long as the restaurant lets us bring in our own liter of milk.

Italia, Meet Mason

This past weekend, we decided to trade clouds in Switzerland for clouds in a place where Nicole could freely say "si" without fear of ridicule - Italy. We drove through the Alps, and over the Simplon pass (full of many Swiss cows that actually do wear bells on their necks) through many "nunnels" (as Mason called them) and arrived at Stresa, Italy. Stresa is on the west side of Lake Maggiore in "The Lakes" region of Italy. We posted some pictures (with commentary) on Shutterfly about our trip (see the "Our Pictures" link on the right). The Italian food was great, but Nicole was disappointed in the cheese, bread and chocolate there after being spoiled on the Swiss stuff.
Mason also enjoyed "Iwawee" (Italy) for all of its "widdle doggies", "big castles", "boats" and "ipeam" (ice cream). He learned to say "ciao" and "grazie" in no time, and actually did pretty well during the three-hour marathon dinners for which the Italians are famous. Although, he did seem pretty tired after this particular meal...

Kerkrade Fried Chicken

Just returned from three days in the Netherlands. A few observations on the food.

The office cafeteria offered traditional dutch cuisine each day. On day one it was deep fried ham and cheese sandwiches. The next day it was deep-fried sausage links. And finally on day three it was what appeared to be (surprise!) deep fried shredded roast beef and gravy sticks. Apparantly the Dutch did not learn to cook for themselves until the advent of the deep-fryer. The other interesting thing about the cafeteria was that it offered free milk everyday to all employees (how 'bout washing down your fat with a little fat?). I'm not sure if the cuisine in Holland has anything to do with the fact that marijuana is legal there, but it seems like most of their dishes were created at about 3 a.m. in the back of a Kentucky Fried Chicken. Speaking of which, the only KFC I have seen in Europe so far was in the Netherlands, and it was about the size of a Super Target and open 24 hours a day.

Swiss Bank Account a la Mason

On Monday the relocation company took us to a Swiss bank to open a basic checking account to use while in the country. We are aware the banks in Switzerland are renowned for their security and privacy, but we had no idea what a big production they make out of just opening a checking account. Unfortunately for us, neither did Mason.

As we walked into the marble and stone bank building, we were immediately greeted by the banker with whom we had an appointment (yes, you need an appointment to open a checking account here). He showed us into a private room complete with nice leather furniture and impressive looking original artwork on the walls, and he asked us if we would care for anything to drink. We asked for water, and immediately a tuxedoed waiter with white gloves entered the room with bottles of water and glasses. We felt like we were at a spa, rather than a bank. Mason obviously felt very comfortable at the bank as well, because after a few minutes he said very loudly, "Mama, Dada - poopies!" Nodding his head furiously, he added, "Poopies. Yeah!" Mason then began to run circles around the room at his top speed.

Trying to ignore Mason, I listened as the banker explained the account features to me. Within a few minutes, it was hard to ignore the smell passing behind me every few seconds as Mason circled the room. When Mason says "Poopies", he usually means it. Nicole grabbed Mason and took him to the restroom, where of course there were no changing tables. At this point, I think it was clear that the bank does not have many visitors under the age of 2. Nicole adapted (as she is getting good at doing), and changed Mason on top of the diaper bag on the floor.

When Nicole and Mason returned to the private room, Mason decided it was time to see how loud he could scream. The banker picked up the phone and made a quick call. Within 10 seconds, the waiter re-entered the room carrying a stuffed animal for Mason to play with. Mason gladly took the stuffed animal, which kept occupied him for about 3 seconds, after which Mason decided to throw the stuffed animal across the bankers desk, missing his head by a few inches. We are so proud.

After a brief eternity, the banker was finally finished showing us how to access our account online. In Switzerland, gaining online access to your bank account involves a PIN number, a key card, a key card reader, a password, a randomly generated number, and a urine sample (but not necessarily in that order). I hope to God I never need to access our account online. After this was done, the banker gladly excused us from the private room and we left the bank as quickly as we could.

Ahh, the joys of parenting...

Montreux

Today we packed into our Mercedes-Benz and took a drive up the shore to the city of Montreux. (I know - a Mercedes? you are thinking. It sounds impressive, but they make some other classes of Mercedes here that they don't sell in the States. Ours, for example, is about the size of a large toaster oven, with slightly less trunk space. When we arrived, I was very excited to hear that we were getting an "A Class" Mercedes to drive, until I learned that when it comes to a Mercedes, the higher the letters, the better. If they decide to make a "AA Class" Mercedes, it will be marketed exclusively to Hobbits without children. Even given the sub-compact size of the A Class, the turning radius on this thing is equivalent to that of the Titanic (we all know how well that turned). German engineering in the house?! I don't think so. But I digress.)

Anyway, we drove to Montreux to see the town and the Chateau du Chillon, a circa 11th century Castle built on Lake Geneva. See above. Mason liked the castle quite a bit. "Big Castle" was all he would say. Nicole responded with "Si-oui" (see previous post). I posted more pictures of the castle at Shutterfly. It was really an amazing place to see, despite the rain and the lingering clouds that seem to always obscure our view of the mountains.
On the way back from Montreux, we took the long-route through the town of Chexbris (or Chex-Mix as Nicole likes to call it) and through the vineyards along Lake Geneva. This was the most beautiful place we have seen yet. We will definitely make a return on a clear day to see the view and do some tours of the vineyards (sans Mason hopefully).

Parlez vous Francais? Si-oui!

Nicole is handling the transition to Switzerland very well. She goes to the grocery store everyday for about 2 hours, and always comes back all giddy about the new things she found or figured out. She is in heaven here with all of the cheeses, creams, chocolates, and pastries. She bought some coffee at our corner cafe a few days ago, and was surprised to see that the cup of coffee came with a small chocolate. Nicole proceeded to unwrap her chocolate and drop it in the coffee, a sight which caused most of the patrons in the coffee shop to look at her like she had three heads. They don't have mocha's here, but Nicole is proving to be a master of adaptation.

Some of the things that aren't going as well for Nicole include:

1. French (Nicole usually says "si" when someone speaks to her in French, followed rapidly by a "oui". Its almost as if she created a new word - "si-oui" which could eventually lead to world peace as everyone laughs hysterically at her after she says it.)
2. Mason's attitude problem
3. Tight jeans are popular here ("I guess its okay that my jeans are tight on my butt then, right?")
4. Jet-lag. Nicole likes to go to bed at 1:30 a.m and get up at 11:00 a.m.
5. No sour cream. ("I've looked everywhere.")

We've arrived!

After 20 minutes of sleep over a 24 hour period, we finally arrived in Lausanne at our new apartment. Unfortunately, we spent the next 4 hours cleaning since the apartment wasn't very clean when we arrived. Lausanne is beautiful - it is built on hill overlooking Lake Geneva and the French Alps. Here is Mason in front of the waterfront in Ouchy (the town below Lausanne right on the water). Because of the clouds, we haven't had a full look at the Alps yet.


Here are the weary travelers.












Lausanne is the home of the International Olympic Committee, so there is a beautiful Olympic Museum built into the hillside (Mason is in front of the entrance). A view from the Olympic Museum of the French Alps is below.