It Takes a Village

Kudos to Dave for being such a trooper and keeping up with work amidst cranky and sick kids, and an even sometimes cranky and sick wife. Working on a trip with kids around can be a bit tricky. We're doing our best to work around them. When we were in Dubai I went to Darcey's house while Dave did the McAlvany Weekly Commentary (check it out at www.mcalvany.com) over the phone from the hotel room. And this morning Dave and his dad did the Commentary from the apartment, at 7AM. He piled the kids in our bed with me last night, and he slept on the couch, so he wouldn't have to move Declan to our room before 7AM, being that he was sick and feeling awful. So I slept between Dashel and Declan last night. Did I say sleep? How Freudian. Actually, I meant to say lack of sleep. Yes, for you mothers out there with little ones, you know that all the kids in the bed equates to a terrible night's sleep. No sleep. This is the first time we've ever done this. We've never had BOTH kids in bed at the same time sleeping with us. I can say with certainty I'm not too hurried to try it again.

My up-all-night stint did allow Dave to get enough rest to do the show at 7 AM. But after the show I asked if he'd get the kids (who had by now woken up) and let me sleep for another hour or so. I was exhausted. I guess all those years of sleeping in as a preteen and teenager somehow got stored in my body, so I don't actually feel so bad going on little sleep. It's weird, but though I wake up having had little sleep, I can usually charge through the day unscathed and still not go to bed early. God's grace for moms, I think.

So today I stayed home with the kids while Dave and Don went to all day meetings, and Molly ran around town getting last minute items. She had to chase down a back-up Mac battery for Scotty (Dave's brother)'s Powerbook laptop. They can't order them and have them shipped to Indonesia, so he asked if we could find one here. Molly spent 3 hours today having sales clerks hunt down one from an official Mac parts and repair shop in Singapore. She finally found it.

I do have to say that taking care of a sick toddler is much easier than taking care of a healthy toddler. I mean, when they are sick they usually just lay around and watch cartoons and sleep. Much easier than chasing them around all day. I know it sounds awful--I mean, I don't wish sickness on my kids. All I'm saying is that when they are sick, it's easy being a mom. That's all. The hard part is watching your kid sizzle like a radiator. No joking. I held Declan and before I even had him in my arms I could feel the heat eminating from him. He had about a 104 temp. That's the hard part.

When Molly got home she ushered me off to the bath and told me to lock the door and stay in there for a little personal soaking time. It was much needed and I relished it, like all the little "me" moments I can sneak here and there. Tonight Dave and I had a big date at the Raffles Hotel, a place I've wanted to visit for over 15 years now. It's the quintessential Colonial hotel, and I've always dreamed of eating there. Silly, really, but that's me. I know how much Dave likes it when I look "classy"--you know, the Audrey Hepburn look. So I wore this great shirt dress with a turned up collar and cute gold sandals, a la Audrey. It was a big hit with the hubby, and even Dave's dad loved the dress so much he and Molly are going to look for the same style for Molly tomorrow. We headed over to Raffles while Molly and Don watched the kids. They had some Singaporian friends coming over to chat and eat while they watched the kids, which I'll talk more about later. But it was so nice to be out sans the normal "appendages". I wasn't "wearing" a little one, nor was I minding the eating habits of a toddler. I was just me. And Dave and I had a lovely evening together.

Sometimes the nostalgia or hopefulness of something in actuality falls short of the ideal it was made out to be. That's the way I felt about the Raffles. It was a lovely evening with Dave, but the actual hotel fell short of the idea of it I had in my mind. Funny how that happens. The expectation is often a letdown. I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting, but I guess it just didn't match up. I probably shouldn't have had expectations, that way there is no expectation to meet and no let down when it is not met. Anyway, it is a lovely hotel, just not as lovely as I had imagined. I don't know, maybe I was expecting the Colonial era to be alive and well today. The nostalgia for planters coming in from Malay for the weekend, under genteel circumstances, to partake in a glorious bastion to the whole Colonial era. It's kind of how I feel about Out Of Africa. In fact, one of the reasons I knew Dave was "the one" is that he reminded me of Robert Redford's character, Deny Finch-Hatton, in Out of Africa--this rugged hunter and pilot who could spends months in the outback being "a man" and come back, take a shower, and put on a tuxedo and go to a formal party. I LOVED that! And Dave is alot like that. He still feeds my nostalgia that way. Okay, so I could write a whole thesis on nostalgia, but I'll spare you. Needless to say there was one great asset of the Raffles Hotel who made the evening for me, and his name is Jimmy Darling. Yes, you read that correctly. I heard his playing from outside the hotel and new I'd be happy just listening to him. He is, in essence, a throwback to the Colonial times, where there always would have been live music playing in the hotel. And Jimmy Darling is their hotel pianist extraordinaire. He's a 69 year old African-American from Little Rock, Arkansas. He's lived all over the world, played everything from Carnegie Hall to bars in Morocco. In fact, he reminds me of the piano player in Rick's, from Casablanca. Remember that? "Play it again, Sam." Anyway, he was sassy and kind. Jimmy gabbed with us from the moment we walked over to his piano. Come to find out he's a Christian, and we found it funny when he would throw in hymns here and there and no one seems to notice. He even sang Jesus Loves Me to a tourist's little boy. He told us all sorts of stories--like alot of older people like to do, if you'll just listen. People love to tell their stories, so they aren't forgotten when they are gone. Anyway, he told us stories about Arabs in Morocco who would come to the bar he played in and ask him to play the Jesus songs for them. He said they'd say "Jimmy, I want to hear the Jesus songs again." They meant the hymns about Jesus. That's pretty powerful. I told him God used his hands to speak His Truth to those who would listen. After our dinner at the Tiffin Room we headed back over to have some drinks and listen to Jimmy play his magic in The Writer's Bar. He is this amazing asset to the hotel, because he makes every person who walked through the door feel at home, like they belong. He sets a tone, a mood, and just "love on people" (his words). He knew many tourists on a first name basis and just talked with everyone and welcomed them all. It was a true gift of hospitality, and it was such a blessings to have met him here in Singapore, of all places. I've attached a video of him playing the piano.

As a side note, the Raffles is known for being the inventor of the Singapore Sling, a juicy alcoholic drink. So Dave took me to The Long Bar, the famous Raffles bar, where I had my first Singapore Sling. It was momentous, and touristy and fun. Come to find out they sell over 10,000 Singapore Slings a day at the Long Bar. At $11 a drink, you do the math. That's a lot of money from just one drink. Also, the Tiffin Room restaurant was like eating in a slice of history, because they serve this really extravagent Indian buffet, and their prized dish is a masala buttered curry whose recipe dates back to the beginning of Raffles as an institution. Plantation owners and travelers would go there on Sundays to partake of this same curry. They became famous for it. Anyway, it was fun to eat the same curry eaten by visitors over 100 years ago.

So we got home about 10:30 PM. We opened the door to Brandon saying "shhhhh, they are finally sleeping". Seems that between the two kids, it took 4 adults to babysit. Molly said they passed the crying Dashel around as Molly and Don took turns tending to Declan to get him to sleep in our room. I was trying to picture 4 adults in my mind with 2 crying kids and a bit of anxiety permeating the air. It made me laugh. Oh well, I thought, at least they are asleep now. Though it must have been funny for Brandon, because he's never had kids and I thought "what an introduction!". You know, as that "old sage" Hilary once wrote, "it takes a village to raise a child".

Zoos a Go Go

So Dave's parents got in late on Sunday night, and after catching up on the last 3 months of their life, we went to bed--but only after Dave's mom asked us "Does anyone go to bed around here?" (It was 1 AM when she asked this). One of the side effects of jet lag: My body still doesn't know when it's supposed to be tired.

So Don decided to go get a massage this morning, and Dave opted for some reflexology. So while they were away this morning Molly and I had a mission: To find gifts for Dave's brother and sister-in-law's two new babies. They live in Bali, and are expecting a girl, Eliana, in early June, and have also just adopted a baby baby boy, Samuel, who is a few weeks old. So, in essence, they are going to be raising the equivalent of twins. And they needs lots of stuff. So Molly and I hit Toys R Us to get the essentials, and then bopped around some other stores in search of affordable infant clothing and a piece of luggage which we could ship this stuff in to Bali. The Toys R Us is just as large as ours in the US, but with some different brands carried. We did find a breastpump, but it cost like a gagillion dollars here. What we needed to know was if the Singapore and Indonesian outlet plugs were identical. If so, we'd need to buy a pump here in Singapore rather than the US. That way they never have to convert the currency or add a compatible plug. But we'd have to google that when we got home because no one in the store knew if Singapore and Indonesia shared plugs. Anyway, Declan was getting restless, and I wasn't about to let him out of his stroller, because he was sure to run the aisles and pull toys off. Dave had given me his phone earlier in the day, so I tried calling Don's phone to see if they would meet us at Toys R Us and take Declan and the bags back with them to the apartment so Molly and I could finish shopping. Just as I was calling Don, Dave and Don come walking up. It was perfecting timing and really funny. Very unexpected. So off we sent Declan, the stroller, and the boys packed down with bags.

So, off to the next store--Borders. Yes, they have a Borders here, too. Picked up some books and lullaby CDs for the babies, then ate lunch. Asked around for more places to shop (You wouldn't believe the amount of stores and shopping malls this one street contains! Imagine the whole Galleria in Houston multiplied by 30 or 40. I'm not joking) for kid's clothes and luggage, and were led to a few more shopping malls. Finally found a Japanese department store called Takashimaya. Found clothes and a huge duffle bag with a telescoping handle and wheels. Perfect. Now home. I was pooped. Don't quite have the shopping staying power I used to!

When we got back everyone took naps (jetlag setting in) and then when we awoke we hurried ourselves into a cab and headed to the Singapore Zoo, reported to be one of the best in the world. We did a Shanghai Run on the zoo (only an hour left till closing). Kind of like doing the zoo on Speed, but very "McAlvany". Don and Molly once did the Louvre in Paris in 15 minutes--before heading for their airport departure. If you're not familiar with how big the Louvre is, it would be difficult to see everything in the Louvre in under 3 DAYS. And that would still be quick. So, an hour for the zoo seems a fitting McAlvany outing. And to be perfectly honest, probably the perfect allotment of time for a toddler to see the zoo.

I'd have to say it probably is one of the nicest, cleanest, and most well planned zoos in the world. It meanders through a peninsular that jetties out into a very large lake. So it has the illusion that most of the animals are naturally roaming in front of water. And they have cleverly set animals in "open" areas, making you feel like you are in with the animals. They really aren't far from the viewer. I mean, sometimes you think, "Can't that Orangutan just swim across that water and walk out?" Or "Can't that tiger just leap over that hedge and come get us?" Truth is, they have cleverly disguised electric wires all over the place. And they use water where they know certain animals don't like it. It gives you the feeling you are freeroaming with the animals. I really liked this. I've attached the picture of Declan and Dave when they walked under "free roaming" orangutans in a tree above them. They look as if they would just come down at any moment, but actually the trees the ropes are suspended from have massive electrical wiring around the upper base of the tree, so they can't even get close to the ground. But it was pretty cool standing underneath real monkeys swinging and climbing. The whole zoo is very tropical and there are hidden paths leading to other animals all the place. Oh, and the bathrooms were amazing. Funny, huh, to take note of the bathrooms? They were spotless, beautiful, open air, and felt a little like a tropical luxury resort bathroom. I was certainly impressed. They even had red wagons at the front of the zoo for patrons to use while at the zoo--for no extra cost. Then they had a tram that could pick people up if they got tired of walking. Oh, and they had elephant rides. And you can have breakfast or tea with an Orangutan. Really cool.

Well, 6 PM came quickly and we headed for a restaurant to tide us over for an hour before the Night Zoo next door opened at 7 PM. Yes, a night zoo. The concept is that you can see night animals when they are most active--at night! Nice concept, but despite its popularity, the Night Zoo fell short in being as interesting as the main zoo, owned by the same people. I can't explain exactly why it fell short, we just all agreed that it did. You just had to be there. You take a tram ride around to see all the animals. Takes about 40 minutes total. They have dim lights in trees lightly illuminating the animals. I think maybe they needed a little more drama to distinguish it from the main zoo. Maybe the lions could have been tearing apart and eating a fleshly kill. That would have been way more exciting. As it was, we couldn't even see the lions cause they were asleep. Ironic. Though they did do something I loved. They don't make moms with infants wait in line to get on the trams. They take you to the front of the lines where they have 2 rows of benches and let the moms sit there with babies while waiting for the rest of their party to get to the front and board the tram. Ingenious really. Why hasn't Disney thought of this?

Got home exhausted and ready to take a bath. So all done for now. Oh, by the way, I added the YouTube search link at the bottom of the blog so that if anything I mention peaks your interest, you can type it in and watch it. For instance, there are lots of videos of the Singapore Zoo--even one of the breakfast with an orangutan. Check it out.

Cheaper Than I Thought

Okay, so correction from yesterday: Everything in Singapore is CHEAPER than in America. Yesterday I said it was a little above American prices, when in actuality I was converting the Singapore dollar equal to the US dollar, when the conversion is 1 US Dollar buys you 1.51 Singapore Dollars. So in actuality, things are pretty cheap here. Our cabs are cheap and we ate a terrific meal for 3 with 2 large fresh squeezed juices for lunch for $15.00 Singapore dollars, which was almost $10 US dollars. I can't even buy us fast food in America for that cheap. Now I understand why Expats love it here.

So this morning we slept in, again. We're still adjusting our jetlag. Woke up to a gorgeous day. Made it outside about noon and headed straight for the Maxwell Road Food Center, where Anthony Bourdain swears one can find the best Chicken and Rice in all of Singapore. If you haven't seen his episode of No Reservations on Singapore, watch it. You can download it from iTunes Store. In the episode he talks about why the way THIS chicken and rice place, Tian Tian, cooks their food makes is so good. Anyway, the Hawker Center--as they are so called here--is, in essence, a glorified foodcourt. But a big one with LOTS of choices of food. And at Tian Tian in Maxwell Road Food Center, the line hinted that this place just might be THAT good. It was the only place with a line. All the other hawker stands had maybe one person in line. But Tian Tian had a 10-15 minute wait for food. So was it really worth it? Yes. DELICIOUS! Really good and a great local experience. Afterwards we got fresh squeezed papaya/mango juice and fresh-squeezed carrot juice. Really yummy...and did I mention cheap?


Maxwell Road Food Court is across the way from Singapore's China Town, so we took a stroll and found a place to buy some really great "Lawrence of Arabia" scarves for Dave and Declan and I. They seem to have a thriving Sunday market with almost anything under the sun available to buy.
Then we headed to the Arab part of town to walk around. The Arabs here seem to specialize in rugs (big surprise there) and textile/fabric--especially silks. After browsing a bit, it started to look like rain was abrewin, so we decided to alight to a hole in the wall "turkish tea house". David got to smoke a Shisha, apple flavored. And he had a turkish coffee and I had a generic drink (no caffeine for this nursing moms). We sat at a table next to the alley-like road (though hardly any cars could pass down the narrow passage), under an eave and watched the rain start to fall. Actually it poured. Declan fell asleep in the stroller, and I held the baby. It was a relaxing and enjoyable way to spend a Sunday afternoon. And funny enough, just as we were thinking it might be time to catch a cab home, a cab appeared in the rain, right in front of the little restaurant, saving us a long walk back in the rain to the major thoroughfare. And now we're home, waiting out the storm, and waiting for Dave's parents to arrive from Switzerland. So here we are, doing one of my favorite things during a rain storm--having tea and cookies, together.

Expat Family Paradise

So bear with me a sentence. Disregarding the “evil empire building” thing of the 18th and 19th Centuries and be thankful that English is spoken the world over, and no where better than in former colonies. Because the sun never set on the British Empire, places like Singapore speak English. Much to my great delight. I can see why Expats love it here. It gives the term “going bamboo” a whole new meaning. It’s Western, but it’s not. I think I could live here. Probably my favorite Asian country so far—though I still have a lot of places on my list to visit in Asia. But, given it’s size, and the fact that it is in Asia, I’ve never seen so many Americans and English walking around an Asian country in my life. We went to this “mall” today—really it’s a street called Orchard with lots of these inside “malls” lining it—and the whole thing was dedicated to expectant moms and kids. They even had a nursing mom’s room, which I used, and loved! What a great idea. I think American malls and stores could learn a thing about catering to nursing moms! There were kids everywhere. And I’ve noticed in all the visitor and Expat literature these indoor play centers for kids. I think at last count there were 8 of them. These huge warehouse places full of toys and games and activities and play structures. And one of them even has a restaurant, coffee bar and a nail salon attached to it, so mom’s can drop off the little ones and have some catch up time with friends. Ingenious really. Why hasn’t anyone thought of this in the US? What about adding a wine bar to it? Mom and Dad can sip on wine while little ones thrash about. I’m liking the sound of this already.

So Dave says that when he came to Singapore in the early 90s that the airport felt more militarized than it does now. He said they took all the arrivals straight from the plane to get their bags, then took them to a big room, wouldn’t let them go potty, while machine gun toteing guards and sniffing dogs checked all their stuff. I mean, technically Singapore is a bit of a police state—no spitting on the sidewalks or chewing gum—a draw back, but they really do have CLEAN sidewalks. Actually the whole place is clean. The airport was spotless, the cab was spotless, the apartment we are staying in was very tidy and spotless. I’m impressed. But no more machine gun toteing guards at the airport. I think they decided to change their image a bit in the late 90s when they spruced up the airport, to make themselves a little more inviting to travelers. I mean, who wants to visit a place where your welcome sign is an AK-47?

Anyway, as per the suggestion of Anthony Bourdain, whose show I am absolutely hooked on (No Reservations—I love this guy!), we are set on trying some really great local food at the local food pavilions. They are like the food courts we find it malls. Except cleaner than ours. No kidding. Singapore is supposed to be a foodies heaven. This is a crossroads of cultures, so the food is reflective of this. And I’m SO excited. I really love to eat.

The rest of today is going to be hanging out by the pool. A little R&R. And then it’s Family Night tonight. We found ice cream and root beer (for root beer floats) at the grocery store, so we’ll be eating pizza and the floats and watching a movie tonight. So more tomorrow.

And this is a side note for my new friend, Darcey: You’d love Singapore, too. Cost wise, probably a slight more expensive on the grocery side than the US. Eating out comparable to the US. Beautiful, with weather probably most similar to Houston.

An International Incident

So Dave says I could cause an international incident. I've got the whole Texas thing on my side, he says. You know, like all Texans somehow could bring the world to a stand still with just one word. Yeah, maybe he's right. I told him I was just having a bit of fun today. I mean, I was feeling a lot better, and, well, a little slap happy. I needed to break up the stress of traveling. You know. Well, anyway, we're on the plane and to our right there are three arabs in full sheik attire--white robes, sandals, rings on top of their heads holding on their head shawls. Anyway, one of the men had his head scarf wrapped over his eyes, you know, like an eye sleep shield thingy, while he tried to sleep. So in very low tones I mention to Dave that there are many uses for the head scarf, as modeled by man number 1. To which he says I just may cause an international incident. And knowing that Dave was looking for a lightweight scarf, I mention that what he really wants is what man number 2 has on his head, a light, white, 100% cotton, scarf, perfect for Dave's travels. I told him he should ask the man where he purchased it. Dave scowls at me. A little later later after looking at the written Arabic language, I make a remark about the way it looks, how there are just straight lines in between what look to be characters, and I'm wondering if the length of the line is a character itself, and does one need a ruler to measure the length of the line to know what the letter might be. Anyway, look at Arabic written sometime and you'll know what I mean. To which Dave replies "I'm going to sleep now, so as not to provoke you anymore." And then, when the men decided it was prayer time (according to Islam) they set blankets on the floor of the plane and faced East. But really, don't you need a compass on the plane to know you are really facing East? I mentioned this to Dave and he said that he had a compass on his watch and that they were off a bit from East. I told him he should mention this to them. Again, a scowl.

And yes, this was a very multi-national flight. It was Emirates Airlines, after all. I kept waiting for some other American traveler to run up to a steward and mention that there might be a terrorist on board because there was "suspicious" praying activities going on. The xenophobia of Americans is hilarity on this kind of a plane. Half the plane "looks like" a terrorist! ha! Anyway, on this plane, no one makes them sit down, no one tells them the hour long prayer session is getting in the way. No, just business as usual. Backward airline, you may think. Actually, no. I was probably the best airline I've ever ridden on. Makes all American run airlines look like trash. It was a spotless plane with the best service I've ever received on a flight. The stewards were gracious and SO helpful and went above and beyond to make us comfortable. They LOVED the kids on board and gave Declan two stuffed animals, a Dr. Suess book, a coloring book, crayons, a backpack (I'm not kidding!), and some other little goodies. Dashel gots lots of baby treats. And they actually seated us in the bulkhead area with the bassinet set up for us to put the baby in. Unheard of! They had individual tv screens with like a trillion things to watch. It made the 7 hour trip feel like 1 hour. Really. The food was great (yes, they actually feed you on flights outside the US!). Oh, I could go on an on. Our airlines really suck. Oh, and I even watched The Ascent of Money, a series made by Niall Ferguson (for those of you who don't know, just Google him. He's entertaining and brilliant!) for PBS. I was hooked on it the entire flight. I couldn't believe they had such intelligent tv on a plane! Yeah, terrorist looking people or not, I'm flying that airline again!

Now, the airport in Dubai was a spectacle in itself, and really not to be envied. It was like a huge palace with all this unused wasted space. And it was SOOOOOO confusing. Where exactly did our flight check in? We were finally ushered to this ONE, VERY long line, whereby everyone can get their boarding passes for whatever flight they may be on. Which was funny, because the whole check in area was bigger than many terminals of airports in the US. Really massive. And all these check in areas, but no fights written on them. Just all Emirate Airline flights. We were dumbfounded and confused really. Anyway, if you ever go to Dubai, you'll understand what I mean by confusing and cavernous.

And now we're in Singapore. We're staying at a serviced apartment and it's so nice to be able to unpack and know we'll be someplace for longer than 4 days. This feels like home away from home. More later.

Sick, Sicker, Sickest

I think being sick is my bodies way of saying it would rather be on vacation. Last night by the time I got to the hotel I had chills and a fever of 103.8. I was beginning to think my cold was turning into a bacterial infection. My lungs were full of that "snap, crackle and pop" sound, and it was uncomfortable to breath. Which, of course, made me worry about my kids. Who cares if I have to go the hospital and get hooked up on ventilators and the like. But not my kids. So I had Dave call the front desk at midnight to book a doctor first thing in the morning. He came at 9, much to my delight, and gave me an anti-inflammatory shot, some antibiotics (yeah!) and some cough syrup. Only this cough syrup was made from Thyme. Yip, thyme. Who knew such a tasty herb was also terrific for your lungs! The Doctor-- Lebanese by birth, also a Muslim, but married to a Jew (funny what you learn about people in only 15 minutes of meeting them)--said he thought it was viral, and not bacterial and that my lungs actually sounded good (the babies too), but would give my antibiotics, particularly because I would be traveling and thought it could turn into something bad later. I thought his diagnosis was off, and that I already had an infection. But who am I? I told Dave this, and told him I should be a doctor and be able to prescribe my own medication, to which he laughed and said I was crazy. So, being sick, Dash and I had a "mommy day" in bed for the morning, and Dave and Declan had a "daddy day" and went exploring the city and went to the Gold Souk. I told them to surprise me with jewelry from the Souk, and he and Declan returned with a very beautiful necklace and earrings they picked out together, which made it even more special. I kept the sliding doors open all morning and listened to the birds while I slept. They weather was great today, overcast and breezy. The perfect temperature and humidity really. Last night it poured, which is really unusual in Dubai. In fact, a hotel employee today said he's been here 6 years and it's the first time in 6 years it's rained. Can you believe that? Anyway, it made our time here very comfortable, and a nice place to thaw out from the European wet cold.



By the afternoon I was feeling pretty good and back to myself. My mom has a friend, Darcey, from Houston, who lives here who told her, through Facebook, that she lived here now and would love to host me for a play date with our kids while we are here. So I took her up on it in the afternoon and she came to pick Declan and I up and take us to her house where Declan could play with her daughter, Jordan. She also has a daughter who is 20something days older than Dashel, so we let the little ones play, too. It was fun to get out of a hotel and into someone's home. It was also fun to make a new friend. We chatted and had tea and cupcakes and talked about Dubai, and what it's like to live there as an American. It was lovely. She talked about how expensive it was to live here. How clothes cost 30% more here. How private school is absorbetant. Of course, up to now, all I've seen is hotel prices, and like most hotels, the prices for things in hotels are always absorbetant. She had asked two nannies to come over and help with the kids while we were there. Both of the women where from Asian countries and had two boys of their own. They lived here and their kids lived in their home countries. They were here to get money to send back home. As Darcey said "we have no idea the sacrifices other people make". It's true. And here in Dubai, there really is no middle class. There's a great divide between the ones who can afford to live here, and those who have to be here to get money and live very simply.

And like here, as in the other countries I've visited, I've noticed that the people who clean the hotel rooms are not from this country. Is there a country out there where this is not the case? In Scotland the help is Polish, in America it's Hispanic, in Dubai it's mainly Asians. If you can think of a country where the citizens, and not an immigrant, actually clean your hotel room, let me know.

I also noticed on my way from the airport yesterday that Dubai seemed like a mix between Las Vegas (on steroids) and Miami Beach. It felt very American--not European, but American in the way things looks and the way highways were set up. Of course, there's the Islamic and Arabic influence which is undeniable. But not overwhelming like in some parts on the world. Even the airport arrivals termail felt like an American airport, albeit a super nice one. Actually, it felt more American than any airport I've been to outside of the US. Well, it felt American up the point where you go through passport control and you're really not supposed to make eye contact with Arabic men (no joking). Okay, so that didn't feel very American at all. But everything else did. Kind of funny, though, when some women are in full Hajib black dress with only their faces or eyes showing, and others are wearing tight leggings and heels and busting out all over. Such a dichotomy. In the hotel there were sister, one wearing a full covering with her face showing, and the other looking more like a street walker. Very bizarre. Oh, and there was this one girl walking around with two other fully covered women, only she was carrying her covering. No kidding. Just carrying it around. I know I wouldn't last one day as an Islamic wife. The second I was told to put on a full covering by a man, I'd say "you first".

And Dave had an interesting encounter today with a taxi driver. He said there were Islamic tracts in English--much like Christian tracts--in the back of his taxi cab. It was basically a tract about Islam answering the basic questions of meaning and life, where we come from, why we are here, what our purpose is in life. It gave Dave the heebeegeebees.

One last word tonight about our hotel. The Mina A' Salaam Madinat Jumeirah is on Jumeirah Beach and is a gorgeous hotel. Actually, the beach is pretty lovely too. White sand, green blue water. The Mina is heavy on Arabic Architecture and decor, which I personally really love. It's a huge hotel, but well planned out. The food is delicious, and so far we've gorged ourselves on Arabic food. Really tasty and healthy. But, like all hotels in Dubai, it's expensive and more expensive. Actually, really expensive. Too expensive.

An Experiment in Futility

Well, our time in Zurich is wrapping up, and I have spent my morning racing around trying to take care of last minute details. I need to ship a box back to the US full of all of our winter things, because they are too bulky to keep with us for the remainder of the trip. So, this morning, before Dave was set to have an important last meeting, we rushed to the airport where there was supposed to be a FedEx drop off location. Well, the FedEx people failed to inform me that it was only a FedEx location for document drop offs. So, load the box back in the car and get our bags out to check them in ahead of time. Only, by the time we find the right local to check in, it's time for Dave to head back to his meeting. And the line is way too long. So, back to the car again and reload for the second time. A true experiment in futility. Off to the hotel. I get back, Dave goes to meetings, and I take a much needed nap. We wake up and get ready to go find the official FedEx point somewhere 15 minutes from the hotel. Well, our flight leaves at 12:45 PM and I still need eat breakfast, go to FedEx and check in. It's now 10 AM. So we head down for breakfast, and while down there Dave's friend, Frank, offers to mail the FedEx box from his office. Which is GREAT!!! So one thing off the list. Breakfast, that's two. And then there's check in. Well, we cut it a little close. By the time we get to the plane, they are half way through boarding. And given that, I have to get offline.

Is that Subtle Subliminal Advertising?

Two kids in the same room at night, each waking the other crying, has it's challenges...mainly, no sleep for mom and dad. So was my last night. Every time Declan cried he woke Dashel, then Dashel would cry and wake Declan. Once Declan asked me at 4 am, "Mommy, please ask Dashel to stop crying. He's waking me up." So the morning began with one tired mom. Oh, did I mention we had to wake up early at 6am because our 7:12 (no kidding, exact, right?) AM train leaves on time. No ifs, ands or buts about it. We had to be in Zurich before noon because Dave was catching a flight out for a meeting in Amsterdam, after which he was flying back to Zurich. We were going to stay in a hotel near the airport while he was gone for about 7 hours for his meeting.



So, we stayed up late packing so we could wake up "late" at 6am, eat, and head out to the train. Overnight it snowed about 5 inches, so we were going to have to plow down to the train station on foot through a blanket of white. And cold. We saw the owner of the hotel on the way out and he asked if we were going for the train, we said, "Yes, the 7:12" to which he replied, "Oh, let me check the train schedule. It may be leaving at 7:13". NO JOKING. You just can't script these things. We should have a camera following us around. It made me laugh. Anyway, we get to the station, get down to the car in Lauderbrunnen, and start to make our way up to Zurich through the snow. The way back is half by way of mountain two lane roads. One going, one coming. The snow had forced 3 big trucks to pull over and put on chains, which caused a traffic jam going up hill, in snow (always tricky). And everyone was passing one by one and watching for oncoming traffic (going downhill, in snow, also always tricky). It was white nuckle driving for awhile. And we had a two wheel drive car. Also tricky in snow. But the upside was we had navigation in our car. It kept rerouting us because of current traffic reports being signaled to it. It did get us to Zurich in time for Dave's flight, which was the plus.

So we check in to Park Inn Hotel by the airport. It had a McDonalds as it's hotel restaurant. And funniest of all, when we got to our room, David noticed that the headboard appeared to be in the shape and color of the McDonald Golden Arches which could be seem from our window. Hmmm, subliminal advertising???



Dave headed off to the airport, we ate McDonalds, and I piled the boys in the car to go find tape. Yes, packing tape. I was told they sold it at a store called Obi, so I asked the front desk for the closest Obi and headed on another adventure. Me and my GPS. What ever did we do before GPS in foreign countries? Actually read maps? So, to my GREAT surprise, it's only 10 minutes away, and just happens to be in an area with LOTS of places to shop. Wish I had known about this place when we first got here. So I get tape, some decongestant for the boys (for the plane--their ears), and head over to the HappyBaby SuperStore (the real name). I find these socks I've been looking for since our last trip to Zurich when Declan was 16 months old. The entire bottom of the socks are covered in a rubber that sticks to the floor like shoes do. But they are socks. I love them and have been unable to find them in the US, so I stocked up on them here. Also found Declan another lion. He had lost his lion in the train from Lauderbrunnen to Wengen, and the train people never found it. So this store just happened to have the SAME lion. It was great. Anyway, got home, at McDonalds for the third time on this trip, which is funny because I don't eat at McDonalds in the US. Declan was melting down and I wasn't about to sit in a restaurant with two kids by myself dealing with Declan's melt down and a hungry infant. McDonalds to the room. Hmm, maybe a McDonalds hotel restaurant isn't such a bad idea after all.

Back in the room I was educated in an other minute detail of cartoon translation into German. Spongebob Squarepants is "Spongebob Schwamkopf" which I'm guessing is "swimpants"? And Curious George is called "Coco". Is it really that hard to call the monkey George? I mean, really? Declan kept asking me "Who is Coco, mommy?". Funny.

Sick Day

So everyone, expect Dave, is officially sick. We have a cold. Which seems very fitting for Switzerland. Last time we were here we were all sick, too. The baby and mine is at coughing stage, and Declan's is at sneezing stuffy head stage. So, instead of it being a fun day outside sledding or taking the train to the top of the Jungfrau, we are staying in to watch a limited amount of tv (the TV has 8 channels, only one in English). I've learned that with kids you just have to be SO flexible. I figure that I'm going to be getting them out tomorrow to go back to Zurich, and then the next day we'll be on another airplane, so I should probably just keep them in when I am able. So, today will be pretty uneventful. At least for me and the kids. Dave is out skiiing with his long time Swiss friend Frank. So I'm sure he'll come in tonight commenting about how amazing the snow was and the skiing, and I'll ask him the watch the kids for 30 minutes so I can take a bath! Oh the things one looks forward to when kids are around! Hopefully, there will be something more exciting to talk about tomorrow. Tschuss for now!

Up Up Up on the Mountain Top!

So I'm finally able to write again. We're in Wengen, a ski town in Switzerland that is surrounded by the Eiger and the JungFrau. The JungFrau is the tallest mountain in Europe. The Eiger is pretty famous--there's a Clint Eastwood film about the Eiger that you should see if you are interested in it.

The mountains here are jagged and amazing. I try comparing them to our moutains in Southwest Colorado--like those around Telluride. Mountains have their own uniqueness. The way they rise from the earth or spread out. The way they throw rock up or just unfold. The mountains here seem more magnificent. And being around them I don't know how anyone could believe there is not a God. Switzerland is a pretty godless country, which is sad really. With this much grandeur around, it seems to harken to God. Dave and I have a theory about beautiful places. We think that the more beautiful a place is, the more screwed up and strange the people you'll meet there. We find this to be true in Colorado. It's a magnet for really messed up people. So the idea is that when people have an emptiness inside, or are in emotional or psychological pain, they tend to be attracted to beautiful places that have a soothing effect on them. It's like beauty can overcome the pain or the emptiness. Anyway, that's our theory. Switzerland seems alot like that, too.



So Friday we travelled here from Zurich. It's about a 2 hour journey by car. When you get to Lauderbrunnen you leave your car in a car park and take a train up the mountain to Wengen. It's a car-free town, so only electric vehicles are allowed. We had to pack all our bags plus all the filming equipment onto the trains--which was a serious project in itself. When we finally all got up we trekked up to the hotel. It's a very small town, but the views in all directions are stunning. I've tried to download some pictures and video for you to see. They put us up on an attic room that has a little ladder leading to the loft area where there are two beds. Declan loves it. It's like something out of a fairytale, really. Big darkwood beamed cielings and a Ripunzal style balcony build into the roof. Because we are at the top of the hotel, we have sky lights that look up at the towering mountains all around. It's amazing to wake up to.

The other room we booked was one of the suites downstairs where most of the filming is done. Don and Molly and Rebecca came down for the weekend from Chatel where they have been for a few months now (it's near Geneva). Don and Molly stayed in the suite for the weekend with all the camera gear and lights set up all around. The views from the suite are unbelievable! So they've gotten some amazing footage filming in there.



It's been absolutely stunning weather the last few days. Yesterday Molly, Declan, Dashel and I explored the town while everyone else filmed all day. Declan played in a little winter playground. The filming crew took a train up from Wengen to Kleine Scheidigg, a large mountain 30 minutes up by train. Dave said it was the view was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen, particularly because the sky was absolutely clear. Last night we ate traditional fondue at Mary's Cafe--a LONG 25 minute walk from the hotel. It's funny, because we left at 7pm, thinking the hotel was right there in town, when it actuality it was about a mile from the hotel. The hotel reception neglected to mention this to us. So what we thought was a short stroll became a long walk in the dark and cold. We were walking in the opposite direction of town and everyone was sceptical that there would be a restaurant that far from town. But there was. It was a good dinner, but nothing like Dave's fondue and raclette. I'm convinced he makes the best in the world.

Today is the last day of filming and I know everyone is just exhausted. Tomorrow Dave plans to ski with his good friend, Frank, who is coming up from Zurich today. Both Declan and Dashel are slightly sick, so I'm praying it doesn't turn into something big for either of them. Don and Molly leave to go back to Chatel today. It's been nice having Molly around to help me with the kids. She watched them both last night so I could go to dinner with everyone without either child "appendage". It was a nice change of pace. Though I think I drank a little too much wine.




Hope to write again tomorrow, before we head back to Zurich for one night more before departure. I'm getting the itch to go someplace warm! And believe me, the rest of the trip will be VERY warm.

Zurich American Style

Today we played cat and mouse with Dave and the film crew. Shea, the boys and I were supposed to meet the crew for some filming in downtown Zurich. Only, we got our Starbucks mixed up and never quite met up, so Shea, the boys and I made a day of it in town. We did ye ol' American thing and grabbed a Starbucks coffee (is it a sin to drink Starbucks in a country with coffee that is so good?) and then went next door to McDonalds for some fast food to take with us to the river front. We sat by the river and ate our American food and watched the swans and ducks float by. It was a pretty lazy day. We did make it over to H&M-a British clothing store-as I felt bad that this was Shea's first time to Europe and I'd been dragging her to all the kiddy stops, which she loved. But I still felt she should get something to take home with her to the US. Afterall, she leaves tomorrow. So we managed to get Declan to be good so we could do a little browsing.



After a nice long afternoon nap, we all went to eat in Old Town area at the Zum Roten Kamel Restaurant. Truly a dynamic meal. It specializes in traditional Swiss food, but with a modern twist. I had a Hunter's Stew with local meat paired with a Swiss Merlot and it was to die for. Really, it was that good. And they had the absolute best bread I've ever eaten. They make it in house, and it has that perfected crunchiness on the outside with a super soft inside. Unbelievable really. I also had a pureed vegetable soup that was killer. All in all, a much anticipated dinner. Afterwards, the guys went back to the camera and filmed a little of David in the nightime by the River Limmat that splits Zurich in two. It was freezing out, but we got some great night shots. It's a really romantic town at night. And as a thank you to Shea, Sid filmed her in the Old Town doing some of her lines from her upcoming theatre show. He filmed it in a Bergmanesque style--in an old cobblestoned alley, leaning against a wall, the light strong on only half of her face. I think it made the trip for her. Just something fun to show her friends back home.

Declan Gone Wild

Doing things in Europe always take longer than you think they do. Mainly because everything is foreign and different and exceptionally complex when you aren’t used to them. I’m so thankful Shea Orrick, Kevin Orrick’s daughter, is here to help me with the kids on this portion of the trip. The prospect of handling two little ones by myself in Zurich makes me want to stay in my room, especially when Declan is essentially insane with jetlag right now and putting us all on edge. He’s a little out of control…and very loud. Well, compared with Swiss kids, he seems very “American” and outspoken. As Shea said, everyone here seems so quite. It’s true. It’s a controlled quite culture. I laughed thinking my well mannered son had become the epitome of what many Europeans think male Americans are—loud, disruptive, a little out of control and very much cowboys. Okay, my son was acting like George Bush—a real cowboy throwing European caution to the wind and going at it alone. Today has been comical. We went to the Zurich Zoo and chased Declan—who didn’t hear a word we said to him all day and who yelled and ran around like a wild animal. He chased ducks with reckless abandon. He was the only kid riding the ponys and saying "yipee" "ride em cowboy" at the same time. Fitting, really. I've attached a video of him petting a Rhino (really), and riding ponys. We got home—exhausted! Dashel was great. A little crabby from the jetlag, but in essence pretty happy.



The first day here was exhausting. The chain of events happened as follows.

Monday was a blur. Because we were put on another transatlantic flight from the US to Europe, we were not able to get the bulkhead seating for the flight. The transatlantic bulk heads had bassinets built into the bulkhead walls whereby an infant under 6 months old can sleep on the long flights. Without such luck, I was reduced to holding Dashel the entire flight. This is a mighty task, given that the flight was 9 hours. I did all I could to sleep, but my uncomfortabilty kept me from sleep. Declan kept waking up in his chair and crying because he’d get really uncomfortable sleeping, so Dave finally moved him to the floor for the last few hours of the flight. I was so sleep deprived by this time that I didn’t even consider laying the baby down in Declan’s seat to sleep so I could get in a comfortable position and sleep myself. That is, until the last 20 minutes of “sleep” time on the flight. Once I finally fell asleep, I only slept for 20 minutes before they turned all the lights on and steward came to ask me if I wanted breakfast. Blurry eyed, I accepted and woke up, only to discover that only 20 minutes had elapsed since I went to sleep. Our next flight got us from Frankfurt to Zurich in under an hour. But our great casualty in that flight was our stroller, which got left on the tarmac by the airplane stairs. Yip, just left. They took us on a bus to the plane, so we put the stroller down near the first step of the stairs, like we do in the US when you want to leave your stroller for stow and retrieval upon arrival gate side. But this time it didn’t get picked up. I was devastated. I almost cried. I had searched for WEEKS for this stroller and bag and now they were gone. And Dave was in a sour mood, worried that he might miss his interview for the Weekly Commentary with Hernando De Soto. He didn’t have time to inquire into the whereabouts of our stroller. We’d just have to leave it be.



So my first stop on Tuesday was to find a stroller. I wasn’t going the rest of the journey without one. So I had to find a nearby hotel to ask their concierge where there was a children/infant store. The one they led me to was called MacBaby (yes, a fitting name, I know). I was suspecting maybe 3 choices of strollers, but to my great surprise there were about 75, so I took awhile working with the sales lady to help me learn how to fold and open each stroller. She spoke no English, so it was like a real game of Cherades. Quite funny, actually. When she finally understood I was asking her about a stroller that had a travel bag available, too, she led me to one model which did have a bag. So my choice was narrowed considerable. Satisfied to have found a new stroller, I could happily face the prospect of the rest of the trip. So onward to the Zoo.


We happened upon the Zurich Zoo, a really great zoo built on the side of a mountain that encompasses a lot of acreage and animals. They’ve done some really amazing exhibits where you get really close to the animals—you are the other side of the glass from Apes that stare back into your eyes only inches from you. And there were a lot of baby animals in the Zurich Zoo. Baby arangutans, gorillas, camels, lions, and monkeys. Interesting, because in America most zoos seem to not promote breeding programs, so when a baby animal is born in an American zoo, it’s some kind of phenomena. I remember at the Oregon Zoo there was a new baby elephant and the line to see the elephant was a 2 hour wait. So this experience was great.

Dave’s main purpose in being in Zurich is business, and the main focus of that business is a DVD he is filming on the gold storage program here in Switzerland. His filming has been time consuming and exhausting for him, but I think the end product should be great. I think he’s hoping for the DVDs to come out by mid-Summer, latest. So if you’re interested in one, contact him.

So far, traveling with 2 kids has been a challenge. From little sleep on the flights, to even less sleep upon arrival is wearying. Last night the baby was up every 2 hours crying. I don’t know if it was jetlag, gas, or not feeling well. But whatever it was kept me up most of the night, so that today, while driving home from the KinderZoo, I thought I was going to pass out driving. Which is so unlike me, because I can never imagine myself falling asleep behind the wheel of a car. But I could have today.

And Declan has gotten in enough German cartoons to last a lifetime. A great way for him to continue to learn German, I have to admit. The apartment we are staying in has a tv, but all the programs have been dubbed in German. Funny, really. We were told that there is a specific German actor for each character or actor in another language. For example, Brad Pitt is always dubbed by the voice of the same German guy. And the same goes for every actor.

Even cartoon characters. Anyway, Declan has watched alot of Winnie the Pooh, Mickey Mouse Club and Dora the Explorer in German. And WAY too much Sponge Bob (I HATE that show). Yesterday he was watching Dora and he said "Mommy, Dora speaks German!" It was cute.

So on that note I’m going to try and get some sleep. With any luck I’ll start feeling like myself again in about a week.

Say What?????

Early morning are bad enough with kids.  Very early mornings are worse.  And what should have been a quick pass through of the Denver International Airport has become a full day in airport hell.  

Love to travel. Hate Airlines.  

So our flight from Denver to Washington Dulles was late, so it was going to make us miss our connection to Zurich.  So Dave rushes to Customer Service to stand in Limbo for what seemed like an hour, and we were reassigned a new flight with Lufthunsa from Denver to Frankfurt to Zurich.  Right. So, we would have to spend 5 1/2 hours in DIA with 2 children. Yipee!  I'm writing from the Mezzanine level of the A Terminal where few people walk and where it is relatively quite (take note all moms who travel through DIA).  We've sprawled out and have a mailing address here now.  Feel free to write us care of the DIA.  

And Dave's PR gal just rearranged his interview schedule for the Weekly Commentary (see www.mcalvany.com) to be Monday at 3:30pm.  (We get into Zurich at 2pm).  He's not happy.  Originally he had scheduled an interview for Tuesday and again for another one on Thursday.  She changed it all and gave him back to back interviews on Monday.  Which means he's in a horrid scramble to prepare for tomorrow.  Yeah, right. With kids in tow? Who has time to read anything?  Like I said, he's not happy.

So, we'll keep you posted. More tomorrow. Or the day after.  Tschuss.

How to Begin?

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So we leave tomorrow at 7:40 am and I'm getting a little nervous. This is a massive trip and my apprehension is mingled with excitement. I'm not sure if I'll be able to write every day, but I'm going to try. I just got an iPod Touch and I'm hoping to write on the blog from the Touch as much as I am able. To all of you who are reading this, thanks in advance for your thoughts and prayers. I (M-C) have always had an insatiable wunderlust for travel. I remember a line the school teacher said in Anne of Avonlea, something to the effect that "I'm not content just to read about the places, I want to see them for myself". That has always resonated with me. But it was alot easier to travel by myself, and then with Dave. Now we have two young boys in tow. No time like the present, right?

When Dave first dreamed up this idea I thought he might be a little crazy. I mean, I was just about to give birth. We had travelled with Declan from Zurich to Switzerland when he was 17 months old, but now there would be two boys, and one of them nursing. Ack! We were blessed that Declan potty-trained this year. Otherwise there is the whole issue of enormous amounts of diapers!

The whole trip was an afterthought of sorts, and really only came together in the last 3 months. Dave has work almost everywhere we go, so it unfolded as a stream of smaller trips we just decided to bunch together. And I had told myself that if I was ever going to travel again, it was going to be with my family, so might as well start now. SO here we go! Our first stop is Zurich. One of my favorite cities in Europe. I hope to post some pictures of each city we visit as we go.

I'm most nervous about the long flights and the two major time changes. Well, and I'm always a little concerned about foreign diseases. But what mom wouldn't be?

So, as Garrison Keillor says, "Do good work, and keep in touch." Auf Wiedersehen.