The Running of the Cows

Last weekend we took advantage of a friend's offer to use a chalet in the mountains, and we escaped from our tiny apartment for a few days. The chalet is in a town called Chateau d'Oex, which is a pretty sleepy town, but in a beautiful mountain valley near the ski-town of Gstaad. On Saturday, we took a short, panaromic train from Chateau d'Oex to Gstaad and spent a few hours walking around the super ritzy village. Even though there is probably only about 2,000 people in Gstaad, the main drag features stores like Prada, Burberry, Hermes and Cartier. Nicole's drooling problem became an issue at this point, so we left quickly before our savings vanished.

After a very early night, Mason and I decided to take a gondola to the top of a nearby peak to do some hiking. Exercising my typical lack of good judgment, I decided we should hike back down from the top of the mountain. All was going well at first, and Mason was really enjoying our descent. I tried to teach Mason to spot and avoid cow-pies along the way, but despite this, Mason still ended up stepping up to his ankle in a huge, fresh cow-pie about half-way down the mountain.

Shortly after this, we encountered a large group of cows grazing in what appeared to be a fenced off field. As we approached, the cows noticed us and began making their way over to the fence to see us. I also noticed that some of them were walking past us and down the fenceline, where I finally noticed that the gate was open. I decided Mason and I should keep walking and try to get past the cows before they got through the gate. The cows noticed we were on the move, and a few of them let out a blood-curdling "MOOOOOO" (I'm not kidding - it sounded like the cows were rabid or something), and the cows actually began to run after us. I never realized before this that when cows want to, they can actually run pretty fast. I grabbed Mason's hand and we started to run. I was laughing as we ran, but Mason started screaming - "Cows coming, Daddy!" We got past the gate and kept going. I looked back and the cows were all streaming through the open gate and still coming after us, the sound of the cow bells around their necks was almost deafening as they lumbered towards us. We started running and Mason was screaming at the top of his lungs at this point. Visions flashed through my mind of us being the first tourists in Switzerland to be killed by cows. We reached a grate on the pathway that the cows couldn't cross. Seconds after we crossed, the herd reached the grate, stopped and began mooing furiously at us. Mason and I caught our breath and looked back at the cows all lined up staring at us. I guess I will never know what they wanted - perhaps they thought we were there to feed them, but I wasn't taking any chances with stampeding one-ton animals with horns.

A little while later on the trail, we came across another herd of cows grazing on both sides of the trail. This time, no fences, and no where to go but right between them all. Luckily for us, these cows were more of the variety I am used to. This herd barely noticed us as we walked past. Mason watched them cautiously as we went through, asking me occasionally, "Are they coming, Daddy?"

When we arrived back at the chalet, Mason couldn't wait to tell mommy all about the cows chasing us, and the big cow-pie he stepped in. At least he didn't seem too traumatized by the whole event. As for his father...I can still hear the cow bells ringing every night since.

George comes home

On Thursday Nicole and George were released from the hospital and came home for the first night. Our first major experience with Swiss health care was really positive overall. I think the 5-day stay makes a lot of sense, because at that point the baby is already gaining back weight, and the mom is more fully recovered and ready to come home. Also, I really enjoyed the champagne dinner they served Nicole and me during the stay. That's health care.
So, the first night at home was prettty rough on everyone. The worst part was, it wasn't George who was up doing all the crying - it was Mason. I think reality set in pretty quickly once George came home, and Mason spent half the night crying in his bed. Everyone warned us that Mason would probably regress somewhat once the baby came home. They were correct. If he continues regressing at this pace, he should be a zygote again by sometime late tomorrow.
Night number two was much better. Mason was so tired he had no choice but to crash all night, and George slept for two four-hour stretches. We are all still living on caffeine for the time being, but hopefully things are more like last night going forward.
As for George, he is a very hungry, very strong baby. I wouldn't call him a "happy baby" so far - he seems perpetually upset that he cannot drink milk 24 hours a day. I think the picture above captured George in his happiest moment to date, if that gives you any idea of his general demeanor (kidding, of course - he does seem to get really happy for about 30 minutes everyday, usually at 2 a.m.). However, with all his eating, he is growing fast and is really strong. Mason better start working out, because if George keeps up at this pace, he will not be the little brother for long.

George Robert Sill

Better late than never! After starting inducing at 8 a.m. yesterday, Nicole finally delivered George Robert Sill into the world almost exactly 12 hours later. Both George and Nicole are doing very well and will be resting for the next 5 days in the hospital. In Switzerland, it is mandatory to stay in the hospital for 5 days after a delivery, something which Nicole is very excited about. She lucked out and got a very nice room in the hotel, with her own little balcony overlooking Lake Geneva and the Alps. In addition, I will be taking care of Mason at home for the next 5 days, so I think Nicole is most excited about that break.
Speaking of Mason, this whole baby brother thing seems not to be phasing him too much yet. I'm not sure he really gets how big a change this will be for him. Oh, well, ignorance is bliss I guess. Last night I picked Mason up from our friend's house and told him, "You have a new baby brother named George." His response was, "Huh?" I said again, "You have a new baby brother named George."
"His name is George? Like on TV?" replied Mason.
"Yes, like on TV."
He said, "I'm gonna help mommy take care of Curious George."
"No, his name's not Curious George, it is just George."
"His name is Just George?"
"Yes."
So this was how it went last night. This morning on the way to the hospital, he asked, "where are we going?" I said, "We are going to see mommy and George."
"We're going to see mommy, George and the man with the yellow hat?"
I said, "No - George is your brother - he is a baby boy. He is not a monkey."
"I fink he is a monkey," said Mason.
I can see that George may not have been the best name for a three year-old to deal with. This afternoon, before his nap, I asked him again - "What is your brother's name?" He replied, "Just George."
Okay, so that is definitely a losing battle already. George Robert is named after Nicole's two grandfathers, and we had decided on the name a long time ago. But right after he was born, we could hear the music booming down from the Rolling Stones concert going on up the hill in Lausanne, so I asked Nicole if she wanted to change the name to Mick. I didn't get a response.

Yvoire, France

Only three weeks to go until the next Sill arrives, so we are sticking close to home. It was a beautiful weekend in Lausanne (finally) with lots of sun and temps in the mid-80's. On Saturday, we decided to take a boat across Lake Geneva to the French side of the lake, to a small, mideval village called Yvoire. There's not much to do in Yvoire, but the town itself is very cool, with lots of shopping and about one hundred ice-cream shops. I'm not sure how they all stay in business, but I think it would be impossible to visit the town and not get at least one ice-cream cone.

Today we went to the swimming pool near the lake and watched our maniacal son run crazy around the place. Once he gets excited, he has absolutely no capacity to listen. Upon arrival, he immediately started stripping his clothes and running towards the pool. You basically have to physically restrain him to keep him away from the water. On the plus side, he does seem to love swimming. He can now swim by himself using the water noodle or water wings, which is pretty fun to see. One thing I am starting to worry about is what sports Mason will want to play. Today, I brought along a football to the pool, and a round rubber ball. I asked Mason if he wanted to play catch with the football, and he gave me an emphatic, "Nooo!" Then he grabbed the round rubber ball, dropped it to his feet and began dribbling it around the park and kicking it back to me. My heart just about gave out on me. I guess I will need to start playing the NFL network and Major League Baseball a bit more around the house so that Mason starts to appreciate the finer sports in life!

Rome, Italy

Okay, so it has been awhile since we last posted on the blog. Things have just been a little busy lately. If you haven't already heard from one place or another, I accepted a job to stay in Switzerland for another two years. So, the last few months have been busy with returning to the US to pack up our things and send them overseas, and getting our house ready to sell.

Now we are getting settled again in Switzerland, and have just about a month until #2 arrives. So we know for sure now that the baby will be born in Switzerland. However, unlike the US, Switzerland does not grant citizenship automatically to people born in the country. So, he will not have dual-citizenship - which would have been kind of cool. Nicole is doing well with the pregnancy - we have been having very rainy and cool weather here, so she is probably the only person in Switzerland enjoying that right now. We found out today that the baby could be kind of large, so she is starting to hope for an early delivery.

Anyway, back to Rome. So Nicole is unable to travel at this point, but I had a three day conference in Rome last week, and I stayed an extra day (like the dutiful husband that I am) to see some of the sights. Actually, despite the fact that I look like a terrible husband for leaving my 8-month pregnant wife at home for the weekend, she actually agreed that she had less interest in seeing Rome, and so this was a good way to get it out of my system. After reading a book on Roman history and Dan Brown's Angels and Demons, and watching the awesome ROME series on HBO, I was excited to take a look at some of the ancient ruins and famous architecture all over Rome. The city definitely doesn't disappoint. It is every bit as loud and crazy as everyone says, but there is so much to see there it is hard to know where to start. In just about 24 hours, I was able to see St. Peter's at the Vatican, as well as almost all the Roman sights, and many of the famous piazzas and fountains designed by Bernini around the city.

So, our travel is pretty much at a stand-still from this point forward. I don't suppose we will be going much of anywhere until well after the baby is born (maybe not until we come home for the holidays). So, I guess that this blog will become the new baby posting blog in the meantime. I will try to post pictures as soon as the big day arrives. Hopefully sooner rather than later for Nicole's sake!

Italy Trip Day 8 - Venice and Lake Como

Before we could leave Venice, I needed to do one thing – take a ride in a gondola. I know it is incredibly clichéd and touristy, but I still wanted to do it. So, after breakfast we wandered around looking for a desperate gondolier who would be willing to give us a good deal. We didn’t find any, so we ended up paying nearly full price for a 30 minute cruise around the canals of Venice. I’m happy to report that it was worth it, as it is definitely a different way to see the city. Now, if our gondolier could have spent a little less time on his mobile phone, that might have set a little better mood, but oh well. He even kept talking on the phone while we were getting our picture taken (see the cropped and uncropped version in Shutterfly). Mason also enjoyed the gondola ride, and was very excited to see we would be cruising on a “black boat.”
After the gondola ride, we told Mason we needed to go back to the hotel to get our bags. He replied, “Go backa hotel, get bags and go to Paris?” Maybe this is a sign that we are traveling a bit too much with our two year-old.
We said our goodbyes to Venice and got back in the car to drive to Lake Como, and the small resort town of Varenna for the final night of our trip. Varenna is a very pretty, quiet town on the east shore of Lake Como, looking directly across at the much more glitzy resort town of Bellagio. After the craziness in Venice, Varenna was a great place to relax a little and end up the trip. The hotel we wanted to stay at was booked, but instead they gave us an apartment in the town, which was very nice, and allowed us to put Mason in his own room. The hotel owner is also a very good chef, and we had a fantastic final dinner at the hotel restaurant, looking over the lake and savoring our last few hours of vacation.
The next day we decided to take the ferry across the lake to Bellagio and spend a few hours walking around the town. After our return to Varenna, we all had our last bit of gelato, then piled in the car for the 4 hour drive back to Lausanne.
I think Nicole and I both agree that this has been the best vacation we have had (at least since the honeymoon). The weather was perfect every day. We didn't see one drop of rain, or even a threatening cloud for the entire week. As always, travelling with a 2 year old has its ups and downs, and we would like to go back to some of these places without kids at some point. But, we wouldn't change this trip one bit - Mason and all.

Italy Trip Day 7 - Venice

We left Tuscany this morning and drove across the country to Venice. As you may remember, Nicole and Mason have already visited Venice last fall, but since I hadn’t been able to go, I still really wanted to see it. The beautiful weather from Tuscany followed us, and it was sunny and 80 during the late afternoon. After our arrival in Venice, Nicole and Mason crashed in the hotel room, and I headed out to check out the town for a few hours. After just a few minutes of walking around, I was very glad we decided to make this a stop on our trip. There has been no other city we have visited that quite compares with it – the whole city is just a slowly decaying and sinking piece of art. I probably took 200 pictures in the two hours I was walking around by myself.
In the evening, we took Mason to his favorite place in Venice – San Marco Square and the throngs of pigeons. Nicole can barely stomach to walk around the place, as tourists voluntarily let pigeons land on them and eat bird seed (wisely spiked with pigeon birth control) out of their hands. To Mason, however, the fun never ends in San Marco Square. He could stay in the square chasing and feeding pigeons all day if we let him. At one point, while he was feeding the pigeons, a pigeon flew up and landed on his shoulder. You should have heard the squeal of terror from Nicole, “Brian, get them off of him!!!” It was hilarious.
We found a nice place for dinner, and then as always had to track down a gelato place afterwards so Mason could have his “special treat.” We found a gelateria, but unfortunately the gelato tasted like shaved ice with food coloring added (not that Mason minded) and was still incredibly expensive. Not a perfect ending to the day, but still a pretty good day nonetheless.

Italy Trip Day 6 - Laundromat di Italia

Today we ended up making a quick return trip to San Gimignano in the morning, because it was definitely our favorite place in Tuscany. We had intentionally planned at least one day in our trip to do nothing, and if needed try to go into a town and do some laundry to get us through the rest of the trip. As it turns out, laundry was needed, and unbelievably, going to the laundromat was probably the highlight of the trip for Mason so far. Due to some translation issues, we ended up needing to do two drying cycles for our load, which meant we spent almost 3 hours at the laundromat. During this time, Mason was about as happy and well-behaved as he could be – of course. He loved pushing the laundry carts around the room and then staring at the laundry spinning round and round. The only problem was that Mason was so excited at the laundromat that he didn’t nap at all that afternoon.
We capped off our final night at the farmhouse by putting Mason to bed early, and sneaking out of the room to have our dinner with just the two of us. Of course, they had set the table with Mason’s little cup and plate, so we immediately felt guilty for leaving the little man in the room. The guilt lasted about 10 seconds and then we enjoyed our one quiet, relaxing meal of the whole week.

Italy Trip Day 5 - Florence

The day that Nicole had been dreading all trip has finally arrived. I really wanted to at least visit Florence for a day, primarily to see some of the famous art museums, and in particular, see Michelangelo’s David sculpture. Of course, that kind of day is not exactly easy with a two-year old, so Nicole was not super-thrilled with the idea, but she went along like the trooper that she is. In order to get into Accademia (the museum housing David) without waiting in line for hours, you need to make a reservation in advance. I had taken care of this detail weeks before our trip, and we had a reservation time of 11:30, which I thought gave us plenty of time to make it to Florence, park and get to the museum. This of course assumes that you get out of bed on time, get Mason dressed and fed quickly, and don’t forget anything important (like reservation number or your Italy guidebook). Unfortunately, we did not accomplish any of those things, and as a result we were scrambling to get into Florence, park and then search desperately for a cab to take us to the museum. We did finally make it to Accademia (literally at 11:30), only to stand in line (with the other people with "reservations") for another 30 minutes enjoying the work of art that Mason must have created in his pants during the cab ride. Once we got in, however, we quickly found that David was worth all the hassle.
Unlike the Mona Lisa, which tends to be a little underwhelming when you first see it, David is completely awe-inspiring in our opinion. Even Mason seemed to be impressed, not taking his eyes off the statue for the whole 10 minutes we stood looking at it. Taking in Michelangelo’s nude masterpiece, Mason was inspired to exclaim, “Mama, Daddy, he goes pee-pee in the potty!” Hopefully this visit inspires Mason to do the same sometime soon.
I hadn’t broken the news to Nicole yet, but I had also made a reservation in the late afternoon for the Uffizi Museum, which is supposed to house the greatest collection of Italian paintings anywhere. Needless to say, when I did break the news to Nicole, she let me know that we would be breaking the reservation and heading back to the farmhouse before Mason completely melted down into a total wreck. Oh well, nothing ventured, nothing gained, I guess. However, before we left, we sampled some of the famous Florentine gelato, which also proved to be worth the hype.

Italy Trip Day 4 - Siena

After spending the morning sleeping in and relaxing a bit, we headed to Siena for the afternoon and evening. We were pretty excited about seeing Siena, but found ourselves a little disappointed by the city. The city’s Duomo (cathedral) was very impressive, as was the city hall tower and main square, but the city was so dirty it was kind of hard to enjoy walking around in it. We think maybe the city was a little bit dirty from the big Easter weekend. The Italians really get into their Easter celebration. Despite the filth, the big savior for the city, in our opinion, was the restaurant where we ate dinner. Once again, our travel guide author, Rick Steves, came through in a big way. The restaurant we ate at was very cool - built in a grotto-like wine cellar, with a fantastic (and huge) menu. Everything we ordered was excellent, including the desserts.
Mason is definitely getting into the swing of things here in Italy. Today after we were leaving a shop where we stopped to buy Mason some fruit, Mason gave the store clerk a wave of his hand and said, “Ciao, ciao!”

Italy Trip Day 3 - San Gimignano and Volterra

Today we began exploring the many hill towns of Tuscany, starting with San Gimignano, located just about 10 kilometers away from our farmhouse. Today was also the day that Mason officially hit the wall. I think three straight nights of staying up past 10 o’clock and taking limited naps had finally taken its toll on the little man, and he let us know it. San Gimignano was a very impressive town – at least what we were able to see while chasing Mason around all the piazzas and down the narrow streets. It is a nearly perfectly preserved medieval town, with a very distinctive skyline of sorts, consisting of 14 tall, narrow stone towers. You can actually see the town’s towers from about 20 miles away, which is pretty impressive considering it was all built 400 to 500 years ago.
After a much needed nap (for everyone) we visited another hill-town called Volterra. While Volterra was not quite as impressive as San Gimignano, Mason was in a much better mood, making the visit a bit more enjoyable. Volterra has been around since before the Roman-era in Italy, and its famous Etruscan gate made of massive stones (dating around 400 BC) still stands as the entrance to the city. Mason has his “I’m an American tourist” act down pretty well we discovered, as he likes to go stand in front of objects (like the Etruscan gate) and scream “Cheese! Cheese!” at the top of his lungs. Through this behavior, he has made it onto the film strips of many Italian tourists so far this trip. While this seems to be a good thing for Mason’s ego, we’re not so sure this is a good thing for the American image in general.
After the day was done, we ate another fantastic dinner at the farmhouse tonight. Homemade lasagna, a soup from a family recipe, barbeque chicken and an antipasta plate filled out the night’s fare. At dinner, I realized how accepting the Italians are of children, compared with some of the other European cultures. After Mason’s loud performance the first night at dinner, most Swiss would be giving us the evil eye if we brought him in for dinner the second night. Not in Italy, however. In fact, one table of older Italians actually bought Mason a small wind-up toy and brought it to him at dinner. He has turned into quite the conversation piece around the farmhouse, and he has begun really hamming it up with all the other people staying at the farm. We will see if his charm wears off after a few more dinners.

Italy Trip Day 2 - Lucca and onto Tuscany

Our second full-day was a travel day of sorts, in between Cinque Terre and our next stop in Tuscany. We filled the day by taking a side-trip along the way to a town called Lucca. Lucca is known for its old medieval town, which is surrounded by massive walls built to protect the town from its former rival cities of Florence and Pisa. The walls were so well built that they are still in perfect shape today, and they have built a bike and walking path along the top of the walls. We decided to stop here for lunch, and rent bikes ourselves to check out the town.
After Lucca, we continued our journey into the Tuscan hillside. We will be spending the next 5 nights in what is called an agriturismo. Essentially, this means we are staying on a real farm in Tuscany that has created a sort of bed and breakfast for guests. On the way to the agriturismo, Nicole asked me if I had seen any reviews of the place. I said no, that I had found the place on the internet and had no idea what it would be like. For some reason she seemed worried. After we arrived at the road to the agriturismo, and saw the make-shift, wooden sign marking directions to the farm, I think Nicole pretty much wanted to turn around and go back to Cinque Terre. Then, we drove over a dirt road for about 10 kilometers back into the hills, and I started getting a little nervous as well. It seemed like I might have just reserved a room for 5 nights at the Italian version of the movie Deliverance. Finally, we arrived at the farmhouse, and all of our fears were put to rest. The old farmhouse is nicely renovated, but still has all the character of a 19th century Tuscan villa. Our room is actually quite large, with a separate room for Mason, and has its own fireplace. If it wasn’t for that 2-year old we brought with us, this might be the most romantic place Nicole and I have ever stayed.
Tonight we ate dinner at the farmhouse, a meal they prepared with all ingredients or meat grown or raised on the farm. It was definitely the best meal we have had in Italy. OK, so things are looking better for the next five days. Mason even found a new friend, a little Italian boy named Francesco who will be here the next 3 days. Mason has picked up a few Italian words, and now tries to converse with Francesco by saying only “Grazie” and “Ciao.” After all, what else do you really need to say?

Italy Trip Day 1 - Cinque Terre

On Thursday evening before Good Friday, we packed up the car and drove out of Switzerland for a 8-day adventure through Italy. This is our last big hurrah before #2 arrives and we become officially immobile for awhile. The drive on Thursday took about 5 hours, winding through the Alps, and then along the Italian Riviera. After about 1 hour in the car, Mason began asking “Go back to Mason’s house?” I’m not sure that was a good omen for the trip.
The first stop on our tour is Cinque Terre. The name in Italian means literally 5 lands, and is named for the five small villages built into the rugged Mediterranean coastline. Vineyards and lemon groves line the mountains leading down to the villages, and the area is known for its great system of hiking trails between the villages.
We aren’t entirely certain what drew us (5-month pregnant wife and 2-year old) to a place known for hiking, but after spending the day here, we are very glad we came. The whole area is incredibly beautiful, with each of the five villages built into rocky cliffs. We lucked out on the weather today, with perfectly clear skies and temps in the low 70’s. We started out looking for an “easy hike” and ended up taking a 2-hour trail that was a bit more rugged than we were expecting. As we later learned while reading our guidebook, it was supposed to be one of the most difficult trails in the area. Whoops! Luckily for me, Mason still fits in his backpack, and Nicole is such a trooper and still intends to keep our marriage going. Actually, though, the views from the trail we took were incredible, and we were very happy we did it.
Mason was great today, which was a nice start to the trip. I think he only bothered Nicole a few times, when he keeps telling her, as he looks at her pregnant belly, “Mama so big! Mason so little.” He is a charmer!

EuroDisney

Joe and Cheryl returned to Switzerland this past week, and once again I was left behind as they gallavanted around Europe with Nicole and Mason. Daddy needs to "bring home bacon," as we have taught Mason to say. This time their journey brought them to Paris, where they took a day side-trip to EuroDisney. We had told Mason that he was going to take a train to go see Mickey Mouse. When we told him this, he said he was going to "Give Micka Mouse a big hug." As you can see from the picture, that is exactly what Mason did. After standing in line for 45 minutes to meet Mickey, Mason stepped up the stairs and ran to Mickey with arms wide-open. Mickey stooped down and returned the big hug, amidst a loud chorus of "Awww" from those standing in line. After his big hug and some posed pictures, Mickey took Mason's hand and led him down the stairs where Mickey wanted to say hello to a child in a wheelchair. I guess the whole scene was pretty cute. Of course, Nicole forgot to bring the video-camera to Disney (if you can imagine), so we will all just have to picture the scene in our minds.
We weren't too sure if under 2 and 1/2 years old would be too young to really appreciate EuroDisney, but it only took one step off the train to allay those concerns. Once Mason got off the train and saw the front gates for EuroDisney, he must have known he was in a special place, as he started screaming and running around in circles, stopping briefly to give Nicole hugs and kisses on her legs. The rest of the day, he continued to give liberal doses of hugs and kisses, as if to say "thank you for bringing me here." Mason also enjoyed meeting "Tigger" from Winney the Pooh, as well as the Dumbo ride, the Pinnochio ride, and taking in several parades. He didn't nap all day, and finally passed out from exhaustion in his stroller on the way back to the train.
That night I called the crew in their hotel room and talked to Mason about his day. He got on the phone and immediately started telling me about his big afternoon. "Mason gave Micka Mouse a big hug! So great...so fun!" I think if there is one thing that Mason might actually remember from his experiences in Europe when he is older, it will probably be his encounter with Mickey Mouse. We told Mason yesterday that the Easter Bunny might be coming next week, to which he replied, "Easter Bunny bring Mickey Mouse?"

Valentines in Prague

This past weekend, Nicole and I were able to do our first bit of European travelling sans enfant (as they say in French). Judy and Paul were visiting and agreed, against their better judgment, to watch Mason for us while we spent the Valentine's Day weekend in Prague.

February in Prague is not exactly high season, but we lucked out and got a really nice, sunny weekend to see the city. After travelling Europe with Mason, it was amazing how relaxing it felt to just spend a leisurely weekend walking around Prague. Prague has a beautifully preserved old-town that was largely untouched by World War II, and survived almost 40-years of communist neglect. I thought the city actually has a pretty inspiring story, having had to suffer under first Nazi and then Soviet rule until finally gaining true independence in 1989. The place is definitely vibrant and growing now. Despite the amount of growth there, the place is also dirt-cheap in comparison to most other European cities. Nicole and I enjoyed dinner at a very nice restaurant for about 1/3 the cost of a similar restaurant in Switzerland. Of course, with Nicole being pregnant, she wasn't able to take advantage of the cheap wine and beer prices, so I tried to make up for her. Speaking of pregnancy, Nicole felt the baby move for the first time after we climbed up 300 steps to the top of St. Vitus Cathedral's tower. I am sure the baby has never heard Nicole's heart beat like that before.


After dinner on Saturday night, we visited a jazz club called Rotuda, where many famous jazz aritsts have played, and even President Clinton once played his saxophone. We were trying to broaden the musical tastes for the new baby, as I think all it has heard so far is a steady diet of artists like The Wiggles and Raffi. Of course, Mason now regularly requests to listen to Techno music, so we're not sure where we went wrong there. After listening to a few jams by the evening's quartet, we think the baby will be more partial to Miles Davis than Moby.

Gruyeres, Switzerland

Well, we are back in Switzerland after 3 weeks in the U.S. over the holidays. Our overnight flight back was highlighted by a whopping one hour of sleep for Mason. He was so excited to be on the plane, all he did was talk at full volume until about 3:30 a.m. before finally crashing shortly before landing. Anyone on the plane considering having children have now probably chosen instead to employ additional forms of birth control.
It was great to get back home and see everyone, but we are also excited to be back in Switzerland - especially now that ski season is here...well, sort of. As luck (or global warming) would have it, we are having one of the warmest winters on record here, and many of the ski resorts are not even open yet. Luckily, we live close to some resorts with many runs at very high altitudes, so the ski season hasn't been a total loss so far. I have been going to Verbier the past few weekends, and the snow has been surprisingly pretty good. The temps are actually supposed to start dipping below freezing this week, so we hope that some better skiing conditions are on the way.
In the meantime, we continue to do some exploring around Switzerland. Last weekend, we visited the medieval village of Gruyeres, the home of the famous Gruyere cheese that is commonly used in fondue recipes. The village and its castle are protected by fortress walls and sits on top of a small hill, surrounded by snow-capped mountains. Besides fondue restaurants, sweets shops and souvenir stands, Gruyere also has one surprising feature - a very spooky-looking museum dedicated to the Swiss artist who designed the aliens from the movie Alien. Across from the museum was a bar that was designed to look like the inside of the Alien spaceship from the original Alien movie. Actually, it was pretty cool. If it wasn't for Nicole and Mason having zero interest in the museum, I probably could have spent some time in there. If you look at the pictures on Shutterfly, you can see Mason holding onto the museum's railing, which is shaped like the Alien's tail. Of course the trip wouldn't have been complete (at least in Nicole's mind) without a fondue dinner, followed by another Gruyere specialty, meringue served with heavy cream. It is hard to believe the Swiss eat like this and don't look like the contestants on "The Biggest Loser".