First Steps, A Million More To Come

Yesterday, in front of his great Aunts and Uncles and second cousins, Rowan took his first steps. He had taken a couple on his own with us during our trip but they were weak and wobbly. These on the other hand, were different. Later at Aunt Hanan's he was focussed on getting something he wanted and off he went. I yelled which frightened him and caused him to stumble. Who knows how far he would have made it if I hadn't ruined the moment. He is also able to go up the stairs completely unassisted. We discovered this in Florence when like a true spider-chub, he took off across the floor and up the concrete steps before John could catch him. He has since been up the entire flight between the basement and the main level here at home. Watching him do these things is both shocking and endearing. We are so proud of our little guy who might just not be a total clutz like his mom and dad after all.

Here is a shot of little R going up the steps in Italy. His father could do nothing but slap his face and drop an F-bomb (I think) because he was just too slow to do anything else. Well, actually-- he wasn't too slow to type on the blackberry anyway.

Glenrothes, Scotland Was Next

We arrived in Edinburgh and then Glenrothes on our first Anniversary. It wasn't the most romantic way to spend the day, but we'll make up for it next year when we aren't traveling around for someone else's wedding. Our trip from Nice was torturous. We had to connect through Heathrow which made what could have been a short trip in to a very long journey. Somehow, we survived again. Rowan was very tired of being constrained by this point and we made an effort not to use the stroller the last leg of the trip. In fact, it was a very good thing we packed the Ergo baby in our carry on luggage because even though we took the stroller to the gate in Nice, it was checked right through to Edinburgh and we would have had to carry Rowan in our arms through what was the most insane security process I have ever seen in my life in Terminal 5-Heathrow. John and I are always commenting and complaining about the completely arbitrary security rules that airports have these days, but this took the cake so to speak. I am not kidding when I say that if we hadn't known any better, we would have sworn we were in line in a third world country instead of in what boasts to be a civilized country. We were funneled into a line that was about 10 people deep and it bottled necked at a point where we all had to get on to an elevator to take us to the x-ray area. The person at the bottom of the escalator was watching a person at the top of the escalator who was responsible for deciding when the next heard of angry travelers was permitted to go up to the next level. Kind of like a flag person in a construction site but with less intelligence. After about 30 minutes we made it up to the security screening level which turned out to be just as chaotic. We were no longer 10 people deep, but the line ups were so long and the security people so incredible dense that it took us another hour or so just to get through to the other side. We watched this Indian woman in a wheel chair take out I would say, 4 cans of baby formula (could have been old person food), syringe after syringe and many other weird medical instruments and concoctions in one line up. She some how was allowed to get through with all of this stuff but I had to throw out Rowan's fruit cup because it was over the 100ml limit and if I had tasted it on the other side (which they will let you do SOMETIMES), we had no way of sealing it up. I actually had packed a container anticipating that this might happen but in the thick of it all, I forgot about my brilliant planning and just instructed the airport ape to toss it.

Thank God we had a 3 hour lay over because we would not have made it to our connecting flight.

We pulled in to Glenrothes by hired car (this was our first long trip without a car seat and I felt immense guilt about that) around bed time. Our hotel was in the middle of nowhere but unlike the rest of the wedding guests from Canada, we at least had our own restaurants and bar to frequent. The rest of the crew stayed at the Travel Lodge in the middle of an industrial park. They were not all that pleased. But it worked out well for us because they came to have lunch and dinner at the Balgeddie House with us. We had many lovely dinners and relaxed because there was simply nothing else to do. I loved our king sized bed and Rowan loved the dark and quiet of his baby cot set up in the bathroom (Ana: you've had it backwards all along!). John used the men's room in the lobby just in case you were wondering how we managed. I, however am a camel and didn't even notice the lack of a loo. Anyway, preparing meals for Rowan was a little bit of a challenge. We ate greasy and heavy Scottish food for a few too many days and I think all 3 of us put on weight. Oh and we had birthday cake for my 35th which seemed to pass rather slowly and quietly. I am used to being with my whole family and I missed them that day especially. John and Rowan gave me a lovely perfum from France and the gang remembered to bring me a card too which was sweet. I guess it is just as well that we didn't make a big deal of it this year because to be honest, turning 35 is a little freaky and I am not too happy about it.

Anyway, the wedding day arrived and by this time, we were all ready to go home. John left us around 11am. We had packed everything up in the morning and all I had to do was feed Rowan and get us both dressed and to the church. It went very smoothly and if it wasn't for the boon that exploded on the church floor during the ceremony, I'd say it was pretty near perfect. The bride and groom (Joe and Suzanne) were very cute and seemed to have really enjoyed the day. The location they chose for the reception was gorgeous and the meal was delicious. Rowan ate half of mine and loved every bite. He made it to the end of the speeches and then I took him home to bed. He slept very well despite the late bed time and even managed to get in an extra half hour before the hired car picked us up for our long trip home.

And here we are. Back safe and sound and all the more appreciative our of beautiful new home and the wonderful life we lead in peaceful, cool, sunny and reasonable Canada.

Here is a picture of Rowan in his Italian outfit, purchased in a little boutique in Florence. He looked adorable the day of the wedding. More photos to come.

The Monaco Aquarium

It is really really hard to take photos in an aquarium. But, here are a few of the boys enjoying the fish. We also couldn't help taking a couple of shots of the boats at the marina. Honestly, these pictures do not do the size of the yachts justice. They were incredible. I'd like to meet someone who owns one of these things one day just to see what they are like. Man, the money in Monaco!

Nice is Nice

We left Florence on July 29th, 2009 for Nice. The train trip was 8 hours long along the Mediterranean. I hadn't expected the view to be so beautiful. The Sea was a turquoise colour and the many vacationers seemed to be enjoying themselves swimming at what appeared to be random spots along the way. I wanted to jump off the train and join them but that would have probably made for a really messy time.

Rowan survived the train trip and after paying a ridiculous amount of money for a 10 minute cab ride, we settled in to our gorgeous modern flat. We were pleasantly surprised by the number of stairs up to the apartment (instead of the gruelling 66 we had to scale in Florence, we had about half that in Nice which makes a BIG difference when you are lugging a baby and all of that baby's stuff up with you each time you go out). We also were impressed by the welcome basket complete with coffee, milk, a Rose wine and a few other treats. We had to eat and so we headed towards the beach which was a 5 minute walk in the Old City from where we stayed. Rowan loved his pasta. He also loved sticking his hands in and out of his glass of water. He managed to make a mess of the ground, but the birds took care of that for us. We didn't stay out late because we wanted to get the monster to sleep which was difficult but not impossible even in the 35 degree heat (and no AC in the flat). It wasn't until midnight or so that I realized that our location in the Old city came at a price-- Nice is nice, but it doesn't sleep. The noise outside the window didn't stop until 5am and it was that way every single night. Needless to say, we were not impressed that the flat owners hadn't warned us off the noise problem even when they knew we were traveling with an infant. We considered complaining, but in true Canadian fashion we didn't. Instead we decided not to rave about the condo in the travel log book. Yeah-- *that* will show them!

The noise didn't put a damper on our time in Nice because we didn't let it. Yes, Rowan had an awful time sleeping (and so did we) but we managed quite well once we had 2 fans on full blast in the bedroom and we accepted the fact that he would most likely just end up in bed with us at some point during the night. It was crowded but I avoided getting a foot in the face (unlike Florence where I thought Rowan popped an eye ball-- I saw stars. Actually, it was more like an explosion.). We went to the beach twice, had many enjoyable meals of more pasta and pizza, ate Gelatto every day and walked and walked. It was a relaxing place to be and relatively kid friendly. We really didn't see too much because Nice is mostly just a beach town, but it was nice to just spend time with the boys.

We took a side trip to the Aquarium in Monaco. Really, it was a side trip to Monaco (total cost: 4 Euros). What's the difference? Well, if we hadn't gotten off the bus at the wrong place we would only have seen the port and the Aquarium which is all we wanted to do. Instead, we walked the entire length of the city. It was HOT and we were all very wet by the time we made it to the highest point in what is a really mountainous coast line but the aquarium was lovely and it turned out to be a very good day. We even caught the bus back without issue. Barely, but we did it.

I liked Nice for the beach. I think Florence as a whole though was a much more interesting place. And, I would take the 66 stairs over the lack of AC and the noise any day.

And a A Little More...

We spent a lot of time playing on the floor in the flat in Florence. Jane got Rowan these cute trucks for his baptism and they were a huge hit. I cursed them when we had to lug his stuff around, but they were a God send otherwise. A watermelon is also a great toy when everything else seems to be boring.

Rowan made friends with the Artist who painted the piece we bought in front of the Uffizi. We paid 110 Euro (a little pricy?) for it and still have to get it framed, but it is very good and it will be a nice reminder of the time we spent in Italy.

Around Florence

Here are some random shots of our time in Florence.

Florence is Where We Are At

It took us over 14 hours to get here. Our flight to Heathrow was torture. Rowan slept a total of 3 hours which meant that he missed his entire night's sleep and was in the ripest of moods by the time we boarded the plane for Germany. Luckily for us, he slept on the flight to Munich, then again on the flight to Florence but, 6 hours is not enough for a little man. He has adjusted quite well under the circumstances. We actually kind of like it that he gets up after a nap at dinner time and comes out with us to see what is happening in the city at night. I am not sure how long it will take before he is back to his normal routine, but regardless, he is really an easy baby to lug around.

Florence is a beautiful city. It is really hot though. I am constantly dripping of sweat and Rowan is drinking more than he does in a week each day. John seems to be just fine. It must be those lebanese genes or something. Surely a man with that much body hair must feel the scorching heat? It isn' fair! Anyway, we have all avoided sun burns even though we spend the biggest part of the day walking outside. We haven't really done all that much but we are enjoying ourselves and it is really nice to have John entirely to ourselves. He left his blackberry at home despite his project manager's insistence that he be available at least a couple of times per week while we are here. He is completely disconnected for the first time in well over a year and it is just lovely.

Here my favourite picture of us so far. We are near the Uffizi, along the river heading back to our apartment (which by the way is AMAZING).