Time flies...when you're not blogging

Two years and no posts, quite the record! Life has moved forward. Our daughter Cordelia was born in March 2012 and with two small children time to think and write is scarce. My day to day routine seems boring compared to the days when I lived overseas - what to even write about? But the desire to write burns deep, and when I come back to read old posts I generally don't feel embarrassed by my words. It's time to start writing again.

New baby!

Our beautiful son Edward was born in March 2010! He is a delightful baby, very gentle and calm, and much loved by his parents and family. I've started a new blog for him, but for his privacy you need to be invited to view it - if you would like to read about his progress please email me, and let me know which email address you use for google services (you will need to be logged in to google to see the blog). If you're not sure where to email me, use julie AT thegreendragonfly DOT com

2008: Week 48

We ended our time in Paris with another meal at our local fave Le Volcan, then flew to Luton and caught a bus to Oxford where we spent a few days with Kerry and Anna. Since we've visited before we skipped the main attractions in town and ventured a little further afield to Blenhein Palace, a stately home belonging to the Dukes of Marlborough. It was mind-blowingly massive, with huge gardens and a lake - very interesting, although possibly not worth the massive entrance fee. Highlights were the gardens and family artworks; not so exciting was the modern-but-cheesy exhibition on the history of the house, complete with animated ghosts.

Our timing meant we missed a chance to participate in high table, but we did catch a Scotch tasting and visit several excellent restaurants. We also managed something of a cider tour of the local pubs - it turns out that there are a lot of good ones on offer along with the ubiquitous (and less tasty) Strongbow and Magners.

Best of the week

- A walk along the muddy banks of the Thames, then lunch at The Trout.
- A visit to Blenheim Palace, grand home and birthplace of Winston Churchill.
- A Scotch Whisky tasting at Nuffield College - very refined! And if you ever see a bottle of Ardbeg Uigeadail, I'd recommend you ignore the price and buy it.
- Spending time with friends, old and new.

Worst of the week
- The VERY long walk back from lunch at The Trout (although the problem had less to do with the distance than with the interval between bathrooms...).

2008: Week 47

This was a week filled with museum visits - we bought a 6 day Paris Museum Pass and then tried to fit in as many places as possible. Highlights included the Musée de Moyen Age located in Roman baths just down the street from where we were staying, seeing Monet's massive waterlily rooms at l'Orangerie, and Musée de Arts et Metiers with its eclectic collection of scientific and industrial history. We also saw some small museums including the rather odd sewer museum and some excavations under the forecourt of Notre Dame.

We also ate and drank well. On Thursday we visited a local restaurant that was serving mussels (beautifully cooked in a slightly creamy sauce), and were treated to a free glass of Beaujolais Nouveau. Beaujolais Nouveau is new season wine, released on the 3rd Thursday of November each year, and an occasion (excuse?) for lots of merriment. We arrived at the restaurant quite late, and discovered that the staff had already joined the celebrations!

Best of the week
- Musée d'Orsay, Musée des Plans-reliefs, Musée de Louvre, Sainte Chapelle.
- Good food and wine.
- Lots of walking through interesting neighbourhoods.

Worst of the week
- Visiting the Louvre twice, and still seeing only a tiny fraction of the exhibits.
- French supermarkets and their weird opening hours - doors locked at least 15 min before closing time, and random closures (in this case for a protest march passing by).

2008: Week 46

After just a week in Zurich we packed our bags again, and caught the TGV train to Paris. A quick ride on the metro, up a LOT of stairs, and we were home for the next 2 1/2 weeks.

The next day we wandered our neighbourhood (close to the Luxembourg Garden) and picked up a few food supplies. I was very excited to find passionfruit flavoured Pim's - chocolate and passionfruit, does it get any better? We also visited our local boulangerie to buy pain (lit. bread, a slightly larger version of a baguette) and croissants.

We also managed to fit in a little sight-seeing. On Thursday we went for a very long walk across town, finally ending up in Montmartre to enjoy the view across town from Sacre Coeur. Then on Friday we had a very different view of Paris with a visit to the Catacombes, a series of underground tunnels which house the bones of thousands of Parisians - the bones were moved from cemeteries that had become over-crowded. The tunnels were also used by the Frecnh resistance during WW2. We finished the week with a visit to the flea market at Porte de Vanves, an evening walk along the Seine, and a pleasant afternoon with a good friend who was in town for the day.

Best of the week

- Finally being in a country where I don't have to ask everyone if they speak English.

- Catching up with Laurent.

- Baguettes, pain, croissants, patisseries, good cheap wine ... you get the idea.

Worst of the week

- Needing to exercise self control with all the good food.

- Wishing my French was better. There has been a lot of improvement in the last year, but there is a long way still to go.

2008: Week 45

Sunday was spent cleaning our apartment and taking care of last minute details (like booking train tickets from Zurich to Paris) before leaving our home for the last month and heading to the bus station. A bus from Amsterdam to Zurich is cheap, but fairly inconvenient. The trip ended up taking 15 hours with multiple stops in 4 different countries and a long stop at the Swiss border. But we made it at last and finally made it to my grandmother's apartment. It was weird to be there without her - oddly quiet. Last time I was in Zurich both my grandparents were there along with a few other relatives!

Our week was spent sightseeing, not the frantic kind where you rush from place to place, but more relaxed. We discovered that a number of attractions were closed for the seaon, and some of the smaller museums are no longer free, and didn't seem worth paying for. Actually, pay is exactly what you do in Zurich. Restaurant food is quite expensive, and a coffee and cake at one of the lovely cafés doesn't seem so tempting when you see the price. But not everything is over-priced. We enjoyed warm chestnuts from street vendors and plenty of chocolate!

We climbed the tower of Grossmünster Cathedral for a great view of the city, and visited the Landesmuseum to learn about Swiss history. We also visited the nearby towns of Zug and Schwytz (less than an hour by train, but very different). In Zug we tried their famous Zuger Kirschtorte (lots of cream, nuts, and cherry brandy), while in Schwytz we gazed at the Alps and saw the first contracts of mutual assistance between the states which eventually became Switzerland. The earliest is from 1291!

Best of the week

- the view from Grossmünster Cathedral

- hot chestnuts

- Schwytz, and the view of the mountains

Worst of the week

- language - Dutch has many words in common with English, but it was much harder to work out what's going on in German. At least the food is labelled in French, so we knew what we were buying .

- difficulty feeling like a local. It's a little hard to explain, but with the language and high prices I felt I was observing, rather than experiencing, life in Zurich.

2008: Week 44

I don't have much time to write this week, but I did manage to post some photographs from the three major excursions of the week, a bike ride to Haarlem, and train journeys to Utrecht and Antwerp. Hope you enjoy them!

Tonight we're off to Zurich - internet access is likely to be rather sporadic for the next few weeks, but my Canadian phone is still working if you need to get in touch.

Bridge in Haarlem

Canal in Utrecht

Antwerp Station

Best of the week
- A bike ride to Haarlem, a beautiful town just 20km from Amsterdam.
- Catching up with Kerry for the first time in a year.
- Canals below street level, and the view from the Domtoren (112m above the street) in Utrecht.
- Drinking multiple flavours of lambic in some great beer cafes.
- Sint-Pauluskerk in Antwerp, a magnificent church which still houses artworks made for it by van Dyck and Rubens.

Worst of the week
- A late train from Belgium, missing the last tram, and the 40 minute walk home on a rather chilly night.
- Getting ready to leave Amsterdam; selling my bike, posting things home, trying to use up all the food we bought.

2008: Week 37

The last week before we head to Europe, and where did we go? Quebec City, the most European city in all of north america! And what a city - such a contrast to Calgary! We camped on the outskirts of town, just a 10 minute drive to the old city where we spent a day exploring the streets and walking on the city walls. That's right, Quebec is a walled city! You can see one of the gates in the photo above.

Highlights included amazing house-made croissants in the cafe where we ate lunch, two shops devoted to selling medieval costumes and accessories, and seeing a woman walking her dog in a pram. I highly recommend a visit if you're in eastern Canada.

The other highlight of the week came on Sunday morning when Lynda called to say she was in Ottawa for a few hours. We were able to change our plans for the day and rescued her from a few hours of boredom at the airport. The time was mostly spent in the car (Matt's parents live about an hour from the airport), but it was still good to spend time together and catch up on the last few months.

Best of the week
- A completely unplanned afternoon with Lynda after her travel was re-routed through Ottawa.
- Quebec City. Gorgeous architecture, great food, and ils parlent français.
- Catching up with friends in downtown Ottawa on Saturday night.

Worst of the week
- The traffic as we tried to drive through Montreal. Unbelievable!
- The last minute rush to get ready for our trip.

2008: Week 36

Most of this week has been devoted to travel as we drove the 3600km from Calgary back to Ottawa. Monday we headed out and made it as far as Moosomin in eastern Saskatchawan. There's not much to see on the way, just mile after mile of flat prairies. Tuesday we drove right through Manitoba (more prairies) and ended up in Thunder Bay, a fairly large town on the western end of Lake Superior. Flat fields gave way to forests and lakes - a nice change, but those winding roads really slow you down! Wednesday was basically spent driving along the shore of Lake Superior. It's a rather spectacular drive, the lake is the largest of the great lakes and has waves that wouldn't be out of place on the ocean. We stopped at a particularly wild beach where the waves were crashing onto piles of logs washed on to the shore, and the sand was replaced by round stones larger than my hand.

Wednesday night we stayed at possibly the cheapest motel on the planet in Sudbury. It was clean though, and a welcome relief after we tried to stop an hour or so earlier and found every motel in town full (it was a paper mill town, and the motels were full of people doing maintenance). Thusday dawned with just 600km left, and we made it to Matt's parent's place in time for dinner. I cannot exaggerate the relief I felt on Friday morning when we didn't get up and drive again.

The last few days have been fairly relaxed, swimming (the first time I've used my bathing suit in Canada) and sorting through boxes to go into storage for a while. This coming week we're planning a short trip to Quebec City, and then the next week we're off to Europe!

Best of the week
- Arriving at Matt's parent's place and getting out of the car.
- Discovering that it's still summer in Ottawa. Real summer, not the sad Calgary excuse for a summer where 30C is an unusually sweltering day.
- Submitting corrections to a long drawn out paper that has been accepted subject to revisions.
- Realising that I can't think of more than one worst for the week, and adding an extra best instead.

Worst of the week
- Four straight days in the car. Canada is a BIG country, and there's not that much to see between Calgary and Ottawa.

2008: Week 35

It's been a while since the last post! With a lack of internet access (I was forced to pay for an hour in Starbucks - but I didn't drink their coffee), and Blogger not talking to my hosting service for a while, suddenly 3 weeks have passed!

After finishing work on August 15th, Matt and I headed to Vancouver to visit his sister, see Radiohead, and then go camping with friends at Tofino, a beach town on the west coast of Vancouver Island. Then it was back to Calgary to pack up our stuff, because tomorrow we head off to Ottawa for the next step of our adventure.

Best of the (last 3) weeks
- The end of work for a while.
- Radiohead (despite the rain at an outdoor concert).
- Finally driving from Calgary to Vancouver and seeing the much-talked-about BC interior.
- The sunset seen from the ferry between Vancouver Island and the mainland.
- Beer on a sunny patio in White Rock.
- The long-awaited arrival of Ethan - congratulations!

Worst of the (last 3) weeks
- Camping in the rain.
- Packing up a wet tent.
- Packing up a tent in the rain when it's 6C! What happened to summer?
- Leaving friends in Calgary.

2008: Week 32

Another week, another box. Well, that's how life feels right now. We have just one week left at work, then another two weeks before we leave Calgary for good. Work is the final rush of getting as much done as possible, and making sure someone else can finish off what I can't. Home is all about posting furniture on Craigslist and Freecycle, emptying out cupboards, and trying to work out how to fit in all those Calgary things I kept putting off (zoo, art gallery, science centre, various restaurants).

I'm also spending quite some time thinking about how to maintain my online life while we are in Europe. Dragging the computer around is a real pain, although I have to confess that the prospect of several months without my baby causes me quite some angst. Internet cafes are fine, but require a chunk of time to be worthwhile. I'm considering an iPod touch as a compromise - they have wifi capability, and enough applications for most of what I need. Any opinions out there? Of course I may just be looking for an excuse to buy a new toy....

Best of the week
- A warm clear evening on Friday for our farewell to Calgary party.
- Matt's birthday.
- Lots of cooking to clear out the pantry.
Worst of the week
- Our drawn out packing - the price of organisation is weeks of empty shelves and boxes.
- Being ruthless with my kitchen gear. I'd love to keep it all, but it's just not practical :(

Summer Coralroot

IMG_3067, originally uploaded by thegreendragonfly.

Seen in Waterton Lakes National Park, July 2008

Pointedtip Mariposa Lily

IMG_3022, originally uploaded by thegreendragonfly.

Seen at Waterton Lakes National Park, July 2008.

2008: Week 27

The first few days back in Canada were a calm change from my visit home. Tuesday was Canada Day, but I was tired, and Matt needed to work, so the only festivities for us were watching the fireworks from our balcony. On Wednesday I finally returned to work, and of course nothing had changed. Summer at the University is very quiet - I think about half my colleagues are on vacation. Even my boss has disappeared for a month!

On Thursday afternoon I left early, and we headed out of Calgary to Waterton Lakes National Park for the weekend. Waterton is at the very southern corner of Alberta, and the park is continuous with Glacier National Park in Montana and Akamina-Kishinena Provincial Park in British Columbia. The weather was a little odd - mostly sunny, but we did experience a brief (and intense) storm which knocked the tent around quite a lot!

Other highlights of the weekend were spotting a grizzly bear, a moose, and plenty of squirrels, chipmunks and deer. The wildflowers were at their peak, so I took lots of pictures, and managed to spot several species I'd never seen before. And finally, on our way home we visited the buffalo paddock, a rather bizarre part of the park where a herd of "wild" bison live in a large fenced-off area. We were able to get up quite close (staying in the car of course!).

Best of the week
- Camping and exploring Waterton Lakes National Park
- Discovering that the tent is much more weather-proof than I thought!
- Coming home to Matt.

Worst of the week
- Back to reality at work.
- Discovering the dog got into my room (and in the garbage) while we were camping.

2008: Weeks 25 & 26

Did I mention that June was going to be busy? After my French exam on the 16th it was time to start preparing for the next adventure, a very brief trip home to Sydney. It was my first visit in 18 months, so I was very excited, but also trying to keep things low key and avoid over-scheduling.

I flew a different route to usual. Air Canada have recently started flying direct from Vancouver to Sydney, so I decided to try them out, and I'm pleased I did. The 777s flying the route are brand new, and the personal TV screens certainly made the trip less boring. Avoiding US customs was great, but Vancouver airport is in rather a mess as they expand for the Olympics.

The time at home flew by as always. I opted to spend a lot of time with my parents and grandparents, and I had a number of bits and pieces to take care of, so there wasn't as much time to catch up with friends as on other visits. I'm planning a longer visit soon, so hopefully I can catch up with more friends then.

This morning I arrived back in Calgary to a heat wave - it was 28C in the house, and about the same outside. Fortunately an afternoon thunderstorm cooled things down a little. Now I just have to finish unpacking, recover from jetlag, and steel myself to go back to work on Wednesday.

Best of the week(s)
- The first glimpse of land out the plane window, then flying over Sydney Harbour.
- Spending (way too little) time with friends and family.
- Passionfruit, haloumi cheese, lamb cutlets, and the red wine I've been storing for years.
- Good coffee. Everywhere!
- Feeling confident after my french exam!

Worst of the week(s)
- Sydney airport and the last glimpse of land out the plane window.
- Too many friends, not enough time.
- Leaving Matt behind in Calgary.

Photos from last week

Moose

The lake by our cabin at dusk

Racoon

Weekend pictures ... finallly!

Waiting for a campsite

Mt Rundle by full moon

Cascade Mountain

2008: Week 16

OK, so we were a little premature putting the patio furniture outside last weekend :) There were a few calls to try bocce in the snow, but no one was really that keen. Matt and I did brave the cold and wind today and went for a short walk. The wind had made some really interesting patterns and textures in the snow, very similar to patterns I've seen in sand at the beach. Most surprising was a patch of very smooth, flat snow which proved to have a hard outer surface over soft snow. Something I've often seen on the beach, but never before in the snow.

Best of the week
- John Butler Trio on Tuesday night.
- An email from a former adviser saying "no more changes, submit the paper"!
- A new session at French, already improved from last time.

Worst of the week
- Feeling tired and unwell.
- Finding the last few details so I can submit that paper.

Spring, come quickly

Another foot or so of snow on the ground this morning, and more to come. Those poor plants who thought is was Spring, they must be cold today!

Winter vs/ Spring

The first photo was taken April 10th, the second taken April 17th. Sadly we're back to the snow this weekend...