Jac

We are in Florence, or a least a suburb of Florence, a little more out of town than we expected. By the time we arrived and settled into our new Airbnb we weren’t just a little hungry, rather we were “I will eat anything” seriously hungry. We walked a very long way in a couple of directions trying to find a place to eat, e,g, imagine trying to find a restaurant in Derwent Park! In my hunger delirium, I visioned another Florence: Florence Henderson, TV mother of the many Bradys, suddenly appearing with a hot Thanksgiving Lunch of basted turkey and veg (I was so famished that vegetarianism would have been an inconvenient truth). Thankfully Dan saved us by her practical and patient nature and knocked up a much appreciated “mutte rigatoni”.

We’ve been seeing quite a few pigeons around public areas and train stations. The “Pidglies” (as Stella calls them) are also inside the stations, and if you thought plovers were tricky, it’s a must for young travellers to look out for swooping pigeons because they have usually spotted their food of choice a couple of coos before, and are definitely up to the task. There is also nothing lucky about being both swooped and pooped, especially when ‘Airbnb with laundry facilities’ seem to be a rare commodity!

Anyway, I’m looking forward to venturing into the hub of Florence tomorrow, to relive my Ancient History and Art days at Uni and see Michelangelo’s amazing artworks and sculptures!

Daisy

We spent time creating art on our iPads.  I made up a character called Jeff who was a bank robber. That inspired us to create a family of good people that weren’t Jeff.  We had Jeff’s girlfriend, sisters and step sister, mother, dad, step dad, step mother and cousins. The step mother wasn’t very nice and taught Jeff to rob banks.  It took a long time to draw.  Stella’s were the posh side and mine were the ‘ragged, cool and yeah baby’ side.

These are my characters:

Here are Stella’s:

Stella

I was inspired to draw this person because today we had to go on a very busy tram after we got off the fast train from Venice to Florence.

Dan

I’m a very big fan of Italian Fast Trains: quiet and spotlessly clean, with plenty of room for luggage to be stored below, above and in between the rows of seats. The rolling hills, covered with farms, villas and vineyards, literally raced by! Before I could wake myself up properly from a mid-morning doze, we were slowing down for our arrival at Firenze Santa Maria Novella.

Jac and I last visited here in 2006; the new tram lines making it extremely easy to move around the city. In less than 30 minutes we had navigated our way from FSMN to ‘Federica’ and located our 14th century Florentine detached house (HoFlo), located within a large courtyard.

The reaction of the girls to this older home was less than anticipated, especially with the traditional shutters that kept the sunlight from reaching the rooms inside! There were comments such as “this place is creepy” and “it’s so old it must be haunted…”  However, with a few window shutters opened up and lights turned on we could see the charm that the owners had referred to in their listing.

Lunch was on everyone’s minds, but it seems that in these parts, restaurants close at 2.30pm. So when out and about mid-afternoon, looking for a place to eat and getting a feel for the area, we could have purchased a car, a haircut or even whitegoods from the locals but not a sniff of pizza or pasta until 7pm (or later) when the restaurants re-open!  Suffice to say, I whipped up a quick meal for the ‘Hangry Troops’ and we spent the rest of the afternoon settling into the place and preparing for our MoFlo adventures tomorrow!

Dan

Today has certainly been memorable, made special from start to finish with my girls showering me with presents, my friends and other family members sending me birthday messages and of course our location, location, location!  I can’t say orange hair and ‘Elton John esque’ glasses would be my first fashion choices; the little Swiss apron on the other hand….? Well, it did make a lovely cape for the Moet that Jac and I drank to complement the savoury and sweet party nibbles on offer from Daisy & Stella.

We took our time this morning before mixing it with the May Day Public Holiday crowds – it seemed every overloaded bus was heading towards Venice!  However, we quickly blew off the masses, by taking a few swift right and left turns into vacant alleys.

As we began our meandering approach from Academica to St Mark’s Square, we realised that we needed to get euros to pay cash for the must-have gondola ride, which we all had decided was our ‘big ticket item’ here in Venice. Foolishly, we decided to change Australian dollars at a money changer rather than use an ATM, and of course I felt less than happy with the 85 euros we received in exchange for the $200 we handed over. But, as I told the girls, Bresnehans and Triffitts bounce back, and we will be better off for the experience! And I must say that the Gondola ride was worth it!  We think that we chose a great time to get out on the canals; the driver was ‘fresh’ and the waterways less crowded than we saw after lunch (described by Stella as gondola jams)

My birthday lunch was a real treat, and, as I couldn’t decide between the Seafood risotto and pizza, I ordered both!  Traditionally-prepared, our pasta, risotto and pizza were just devine and, to top off the experience, as I walked out of the restaurant I exited underneath a couple of fully-loaded washing lines which, as regular blog readers would know, ‘fills my bucket’!

The sightseeing was completed after our visit to St Mark’s Square and the meandering walk back to the bus terminal.  Of course, the kids were anxious to get home and begin the “real party”…

Jac

A lot of people turned out for Dan’s birthday in Venice today- it was packed from St Marks Square to the Hard Rock Cafe. We gave Dan a bevy of presents that shifted her from the girl who says she doesn’t need anything, to the girl who loved the presents that she didn’t know she was missing: a portable mini table tennis set, a very small Swiss apron and a door stopper in the shape of a small foot- seems to be a downsizing theme happening. Then tonight we upsized to a bottle of Moët to toast the birthday girl! I’ll leave it with Dan and the girls to give you a run down of today’s special birthday events.

On the nose front, Dan has been battling a sniffly cold, and I got her some effervescent cold and flu tablets that need to be dissolved in water. I prepared one this morning about 7.00 am and upon seeing the amber fluid on the bedside table, Stella remarked “Is that Mum’s first beer of the day”?  She also tried on Dan’s “18th birthday” glasses and looking at herself in the mirror, realised that these glasses had longevity because Dan could use them again when she turned 81- as long as Dan still wants to look in the mirror at 81!

Tomorrow we’re off to the beautiful city of Florence!

Stella

Day 18 – Hurray today is mum’s 49th birthday  Let’s Party 🥳woohoo! Cool.

We went back to the watery part of Venice. Awesome. We explored the different paths and tracks, oh and if my class is reading this, when I come back I will ask Mrs McConnon who has been showing the school  values as I bought a present  for those people!

We were even on a gondola ride but something happened before we got on. Mum went to change the Australian money  for Euros but they didn’t give us enough, but we still had enough for the gondola ride. Phew!

Then we went home  and we started partying. Today was definitely fun ,

PS here is the joke of the day. Why couldn’t we go on the Gondala ride? Because he’d Gondala-lunch.

Daisy

Mum’s birthday today hurray! We woke up and gave mum millions of presents Maybe not even millions… maybe trillions! We went to Venice the Island  and we went on a gondola. I was a little scared at first but then I got used to the rocking. We went on the gondola for 30 minutes – Stella set her timer ⏱
When we got off we started to go to this lion  square that mum wanted to go to. The architecture was amazing  and beautiful at the same time. Then we went home to enjoy a lovely  birthday  tea.

 

 

Stella

Day 17 – Yay  today is our first day in Venice so we all caught a bus into the watery part of Venice. Finally, on the way we saw a lot of water  taxis ⛴ When we got there, there was a lot of water  and it’s not from a shower – Oi! get out of there you shower emoji – no not you- you! Ok now, get out of there, get lost, shoo! Shoo! Ok that’s sorted. sorry  but it’s over and done ✅ with.  Hey get out of there! Ok it’s sorted now…phew. I’m glad that’s over 

So when we arrived at the watery part of Venice we started exploring. There were a lot of souvenir shops around selling masks and magnets to put up on fridges. Oh I forgot to tell you teddy came and he was the most helpful, handsome, loved little teddy bear in the world . We went to a chocolate  store, it even had a chocolate fountain, and since Daisy loves glass shops we just had to go into every single glass shop we saw. Today was fun .

Daisy

Yo yo yo Today we actually explored Venice. Oh it was so beautiful  you have to go there (if you can afford it of course).  Venice definitely lives up to it’s standard !🥰 We walked through the winding streets and came across a chocolate  factory. My dreams came true! There was a chocolate fountain! After my hankering for chocolate fountain was crushed by chocolate biscuits we looked in every glass shop in Venice. When I finally found what I was looking for I bought it. I had so much fun today!

Jac

Stella’s been loving our Airbnb and yesterday, when we were settling in, she called out excitedly, “Hey everyone we’ve got the smallest hand basin ever. I had to kneel down to wash my hands”. She’d come across the bidet, which took some explaining, but not before the explanation was turned into another one of Stella’s never ending “butt” jokes.

Milk teeth are the new Bitcoin, and losing a tooth is becoming a serious financial transaction. Daisy pulled a tooth yesterday and wondered aloud “How much do you think my tooth will be worth?”, contemplating what the exchange rate would be if the tooth fairy left Euros. What happened to the days when the going rate for the tooth fairy was 20 cents with no add-ons for an extra white one?

We weaved around Venice today. We combined shopping with seeing the historical sights and trying to sidestep the tourist crowds. There was a cruise ship in so Venice was packed with a sea of tourists wearing blue caps and selfie extenders.

An interesting fact about Venice is that it has the third highest number of Airbnb properties in Italy, which is creating issues for the locals trying to rent properties. I’d love to know how easy it is to navigate finding your Airbnb in Venice, let alone accessing it.
A source of giggly curiosity for the girls today, were the BBQ cooking aprons being sold in the Venice streets, showing a full length representation of the statue David. Stell very practically said that she would just cover up “that area” with tomato sauce! Security will have to check her for a Rosella squirt bottle when she sees the real thing in Florence!

We’re gearing up for Dan’s pre-50th birthday tomorrow, which also happens to be a National holiday! Daisy and I have been collecting some Italian birthday treats – just think Sacher. We are spending the day in Venice and Dan is keeping her ideas floating about how she would like to spend the day, rather than making anything too definite, however I imagine most of the ideas will be water-based.

Dan

Rattle Teddy came to’ Venice On the Water’ today and was ‘over-the-top’ excited!  The household awoke at around 6.30am: a little too early for me, but once the first one gets up there’s nothing stopping it!  After puzzle action (Bresnehans love a 500 piece challenge) the troops were ready and willing to hit the streets, literally!

We spent the best part of today, meandering the alleys and cobbled streets of Santa Croce and San Polo, all paths leading to the Rialto bridge via the one hundred and one glass shops that Daisy visited!  I was so relieved when she finally found ‘exactly the right piece’ of jewellery to buy as her memento of Venice….

Free chocolates, biscuits and more were handed out in a number of the stores we visited – although disappointingly the Cannabis Store Amsterdam weren’t offering any promotional freebies, not even one of their new-range lollipops!

There were architectural surprises around every corner for those of us who were able to look up, beyond and behind the crowds and shops!  The waterways and gondolas were fascinating for the girls; Daisy couldn’t believe that the houses ‘literally floated on water’, and of course she stopped to observe the tourist painting a scene on the banks of the Grand Canal and wished she had her sketching pad with her today!  The good news is that we will be back tomorrow to explore San Marco for the May Day Holiday!

Dan

We arrived at Brig train station with plenty of time to spare, unlike the young couple who arrived 5 seconds after the conductor had fiercely blown his whistle and the doors locked in front of their outstretched hands!

We had a lovely last night in Brig, eating Mexican with a few of the locals and with our girls dancing up a storm on the restaurant’s dancefloor; at 7pm in front of the TV screen with the sun still firmly in the sky…

We decided to take a last stroll around town and literally only passed a handful of people, most likely travellers like ourselves taking one last opportunity to view the magnificent skyline before the night set in.

Today it was Daisy’s turn to feel unwell, so we dosed her up with Panadol and settled her into her train seat to enjoy the visual feast that was to come.

We arrived at Milano Centrale to the big city commuter hustle and bustle that we had escaped from these past 6 days.  However, this only added to the excitement that Venzia Mestre was just around the corner (well actually 2 hours away by train!)

When we finally made our way to our new apartment in Mestre, Venice, we were warmly greeted by the host Adrianna, who had prepared a fantastic 3-bedroom abode for us and a bottle of bubbles already chilled in anticipation of our arrival.  Looking forward to the birthday celebrations that are about to begin!

Daisy

A sick day…Today I woke up and had a really bad headache. It hurt so much that I could hardly eat breakfast. Soon after breakfast my stomach started to ache. I’d never felt so bad. Later my throat started to hurt. As we got on the train at 8.45am, mum gave me Panadol. The tablets were so fizzy. Mum made me swallow them. It hurt so much but it did the trick.  It stopped my stomach from aching, my head from hurting and my throat from burning for a couple of hours.

On the train ride, it started hurting again. As we got off the train for a quick break we had morning tea and then got on another train.  I didn’t eat much. The view was really cool. The mountains were beautiful and we went through this reaaaaalllllyyy long tunnel. I started feeling a little bit better as we got off the train at Venice. Yay!  We’re finally here.  This is going to be the best part of the trip as Italy is my favourite place and I’ve always wanted to come to Venice.

Jac

We had another sightseeing treat on our train journey from Brig to Venice today, which Dan captured so well in words and pictures. Once we headed out of Milan, the scenery became more industrial and high rise, so it gave me a chance to catch up on my current read- Sally Field’s autobiography “In Pieces”. For those too young to remember trunk calls, Sally Field was Sister Bertrille in the TV series “The Flying Nun”. She had the habit of getting airborne in strong winds, somehow managing to keep on her cornette. The daily plot was that the good Sister would find herself in trouble, sort it, and then by the end of the show be safely back on her feet ready to pursue higher order duties, with a reminder to check tomorrow’s weather forecast. The autobiographical word is that Sally didn’t really enjoy her Flying Nun role, however just like Nicole Kidman in “BMX Bandits”, every “I wish I hadn’t done it, but I needed the money” role has an Oscar lining!

One of the things I’m looking forward to in Italy is a real cappuccino. In France, I ordered a cappuccino which set me back 6 Euros. It consisted of a shot of expresso and a wispy 10cm turret of froth, which didn’t touch the sides of the cup or me. My relationship with that French cappuccino lasted less than a minute. In Switzerland, my caffeine relationship was more distant. Coffee was dispensed from a multi-function machine, for all manner of hot water/milk consumers, so it didn’t quite have that warm and interactive “cafe culture” ambience. So in Italy, I’m looking for a cappuccino that’s hot, full bodied and keeps me company for at least 10 minutes!

Stella

Ok today was so exciting we had to go on two, two hour trains. On the first one I played and wrote in my scrapbook . I even got to make a fake passport in my scrapbook 🧷✂️We all had a little bit of food 🥘 before we got on to our train 

Daisy was feeling a bit ill   and mum gave Daisy some tablets. They fizzed inside Daisy’s stomach but it did the trick. She still felt a little ill 🤧 but she felt better when we got off in Venice. I asked – Where is the water? and Mum said that we weren’t properly in the watery part of Venice. Mumma Jac had quite a lot of trouble finding the place that we were to stay in, but eventually Mumma found it, phew  ! Today was fun .

Daisy

We are young and life is fun, we’ve got to make the most of it! And that’s why we’re on this trip. To make the most of life!
Today we had a lovely breakfast – still missing the homemade stuff. But the best thing is that we half went to school today ! Well maybe a half school excursion.  But it was the most perfect, best place ever!
Well, we went to the World Forum in Switzerland that explained about glaciers. We got golf balls from the lady at the desk and put them through an opening and pressed the button next to it. The ball was sucked up into a tube. It was so exciting watching the balls go up and down and round and round in the funnel, and when they came out the other side there was such delight🤩

We learned how rocks make their way though ice and watched a movie  about the glaciers.

I learned so much about the glaciers and more. l had so much fun today – by the way it’s Sunday .

Stella

Ok yesterday I forgot to tell you that I will sometimes be doing a little extra surprise just for you. It might be a joke of the day or it could be something different.

So today we went to a museum all about glaciers. There were little balls with a picture on the front and there was this really cool machine that you put the little ball into it and you pushed the flap and then there’s these tubes that the ball goes up and comes out the bottom.

When we went upstairs there was something similar where you put the ball in it and dings a bell  and knocks down a pirate ‍flag and comes down the bottom. There were also lots of little hidey holes  that you could put your balls in. Then we went and saw a little 5 minute film  about the glaciers. Today was fun 

Jac

Brig is very quiet today and it feels like everyone has hibernated. Dan has come down with the European cold so is snuggled up for the afternoon. It is so cold outside and we’re feeling the snow from the mountain. Yesterday the town came alive with the sound of running. It was a local fun run: 1 km, 5 km and 10 km events, which they called a ‘marathon”. Of course, if our preparation had been better and we hadn’t been deconditioned by patisseries, baguettes and fromage, we could have mustered a late entry and added an international Stadtlauf Brig-Glis medal to our family City to Casino ones!

Today we went to the Nature Forum at Naters. Naters is a short walk through the Brig train station. We saw an incredible 3D movie on a huge screen about the glaciers and Alps and the cinematography created a feel that you were right there amongst it. It showed an amazing and brave history of pioneers who built tracks and access ‘bridges’ across the Alps. In the photographs, none of the pioneers showed a hint of acrophobia, as they posed on cliff faces and mingled with thousand metre drops.

The girls have discovered Movenpick ice cream, Swiss chocolate and Stracciatella are the hot picks, so they’re going to experience some diet-lag having to return to Bulla vanilla. We’re training to Venice tomorrow via Milan, traveling through the Simplon tunnel (19.5km, taking 50 years to build), across the Lepontine Alps. It will take about 6 hours but once again both the scenery and life’s dilemmas will fill our time.

Dan

Our Sunday morning stroll to Naters delivered a lot more than expected.  As I wasn’t feeling 100%, I was thankful that the walk to the World Nature Forum was short and the temperature inside was warm.  Daisy and Stella relished the opportunity to explore the interactive exhibits, and Jac and I found the information and cinematography both fascinating and stunning.

As we hadn’t ventured to this side of the river before, and this would be our one and only chance, we decided that we would stroll the streets and see the sights (much to Stella’s disgust as she was cold and wanted to go home!) Of course all roads lead to the village church, and as we slowly made our way towards the spire of St. Mauritius we came across an unusual building with a semi-circular opening sitting behind an ordinary-looking house.

At first it was unclear what this place was, then the girls saw skulls and bones behind the statues and crucifix and had lots of questions to ask. It turned out this place was an ossuary, the final resting place for locals who, living in a place where burial space is scarce, were first buried in temporary graves then their remains transferred to this site.

With Daisy finding the place scary, we quickly moved on to enter the church where Stella and Daisy were able to sit for a while in the warmth and make peace with the world.

 

Jac

Dan

Upon arrival, via the 511 bus, we were not put off by the less-than-flattering description of the establishment…

Following the signage and navigating the locker system also required more cognitive load than expected, so it was with some relief that I entered the water to soak those worries away, albeit after a cold shower outside in 12C (I’m still unsure whether that was really required!)

There’s something unsettling swimming and spa-ing (is that a word?) in full view of the most amazing alpine skyline I have ever seen, with lifeguards wearing t-shirts that made me want to follow every rule in the joint!

However, my concerns were soon allayed as we all soaked up the atmosphere, including people watching the locals in full makeup and sunglasses reclining in the spa recesses.  The kids were able to mix it up with outside rock jumping and inside kids’ pool action, and I set a new record of staying in a pool for over an hour.

Happy days.

Daisy

Ok. Today we went to the thermal pool ‍ Oh wow it was better then any pool I’ve ever been in ! We relaxed in the biggest thermal bathtub  this world  has ever seen! There were even bubbly thingies that blew bubbles under water , they felt really good on your face.

When we finally finished at the springs we got on a bus  quote : beep beep The wheels on the bus  go round and round, round and round,  round and round
Wheels on the bus  go round and round, all day long. End of quote.

Stella

Daisy

Ok  today we woke up bright and early and plopped in a train. It was very fast! We spent about 2 hours on the first train and on the second train we spent 3 hours. It was so exciting to see all the snow  capped mountains  in Switzerland, and wow  they were beautiful! After that we decided that we would go on a walk around the village. Guess what we found? A palace! It was so big. The gardens were extremely beautiful.  Wow  I wish I had a garden as big as that!

Stella

Day 13 – Yay  today we move to our hotel  that we stay in for three nights. Hooray .  But I’m not so happy that we have to go on a three hour train ride . I bet that I will get train sick 🤢 yeah about that. Mum wasn’t so sure.

 

Anyway I can’t even believe that we survived that.

When we got here we looked around the little apartment. It was so tiny and cute. Awww. Then we went on a homey walk. By the end of it my legs were killing me. So mum was very extremely lovely, kind and generous and gave me a little piggy back. Then we sat down to have a quick drink.

After that we headed back to the apartment. Ahhh so nice and calm.  Today was great. Tomorrow another adventure, yay .

Dan

Jac and I have been trying a variety of reds throughout the trip, as per Dr Wine’s orders, and earlier tonight we decided that we would head out for Italian (there are alot of Italian restaurants here in Brig) where we were bound to find a meal that the kids would love and a wine that we were sure to enjoy.

However, still not feeling 100%, Jac declined the wine, leaving me to make a reasonable guess as to what would be a good choice to accompany the pesto spaghetti and napoli pizza. Looking down the list I wasn’t confident; white wine wasn’t going to cut it, pinot would be too light and chianti reminded me of Hannibal Lecter.  I took a chance and ordered the Boccalino Barbera, after confirming that it was indeed a red.

Soon enough, out came the deep red-coloured wine quaintly presented in a ceramic jug – I guess I did order the bigger size!  I waited patiently for my wine glass to be delivered, wondering if I had been forgotten in the rush of the meal service. After a few minutes, and with the wine calling out for me to try, I caught the waitress’ attention and asked her for a glass.  She laughed at me and signalled that I was expected to drink the wine directly from the jug.

Following my attempts to sample the wine from the elongated spout, I decided that a glass would be a better option, especially given the lack of washing facilities available to us for the next few days!

Jac

What a treat we had today! The scenery coming into Lausanne and onto Brig in Switzerland was magnificent. The Swiss Alps looked like they were covered in whipped-to-perfection meringue. It’s hard to capture the scale of the Alps except to say that the cattle and houses looked really small.

The Swiss are well known for quality chocolate, watches and tennis players but what is less known is that they are innovators in hygiene design. The toilet on the fast train had an “all in one”, flush, wash, and dry console. For most, it’s a straight forward design that looks easy to operate, but as is often the case for Pisces people, particularly around water (chasing our tails), I ended up drying my hands before washing them! (Understandably, I drive an automatic car and have a Nespresso machine.}

In between feeling like we were travelling across an endless Disney backdrop, our time was spent contemplating what we would do in certain dilemmas. The one that created the biggest moral dilemma was finding a winning Tattslotto ticket in West Hobart (worth $28 million) and, before taking it in, finding out that an identifiable someone had lost their ticket in the area you found it.

Stella’s moral compass shifter was finding out if the person who had lost the ticket was rich or poor- she would return if poor, with “poor” defined as them living in a house made of “sticks and bark” (No houses like that in West Hobart, so Stella, by elimination, gained the loot).

Like mother, like daughter, Dan and Daisy said they would do lots of investigative work first, to meet their “its all mine“ criteria. These included determining whether it was a quick pick or the person’s favourite numbers (ie how much thought had gone into picking the winning numbers), matching fingerprints with the winning ticket, and checking honesty indicators like the presence of fake or inflated news on the person’s Facebook page etc. Once they had ticked all boxes, neutralised any residual feelings of guilt and tolerated 3 months of delayed gratification, they would claim the millions and run.

As for me, I decided to accept unconditionally and without hesitation a wonderful gift from the universe.

Stella

Oh, before I start telling my wonderful adventures with you, I just want to say that there are no more jokes of the day.  I know that you’re all a little sad, but cheer up, I’m going to tell my adventures with you now 🤩. So we awoke to a sunny  day and all of us had breakfast  Ah so peaceful.

Ok I’m back to being serious. We went to another museum (Natural History Museum) and it was so cool  but quite crowded.  We went to this really cool part were there was a dug up skull  of a ginormous T. rex. We even saw a skull  of a mammoth  and some birds and old fossils.

Then we went to the next museum (Science Museum & Planetarium) and we saw some things that you watch and you press a button and you move to see pictures of rocks and pictures of the planets.Today was so cool. Oh, and I forgot to mention that Mum was telling me and Daisy about solar eclipses. Today was so much fun 

Daisy

Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow! The museums were absolutely amazing, fantastic and beautiful  all at the same time. It was so epic – you should have seen all the amazing, amazing, amazing, ok I think I’ll skip most of the 10,000,000,000,00 amazings. There was a gigantic, enormous geode. Inside of the geode was filled with amethyst, it was so beautiful  . Did you know that the rarest amethyst is called deep rusen. It is extremely rare and found with Dimonds. We also saw loads of stuffed birds, some were very funny .

Jac

I considered calling in sick today, thinking my copy would be one sneeze short of a blow! However, I decided to cough something up so I wasn’t left with a hanky full of disappointment and guilty residuals! If only I had a Days of Our Lives-esque clause in my contract which says “Unfortunately, due to illness, Jac’s writing space will be filled by JK Rowling”*

I’ve been sneezing my way through Dijon, having succumbed to the common cold. However, there is nothing common about sneezing in a 13th century Gothic church because the acoustics are amazing. The crescendo of an “ah ah ah” followed by the release of a strong ending ‘choo” reverberates around the ancient walls and saturates the air with a cumulus cloud of human essence. And when someone says “bless you”, it somehow completes the spiritual experience!

*Member of the international relief writers pool for those not wanting to permanently / temporarily commit to turning up each day to produce a 500+ page turner.

Dan

Words came tumbling out of my head when I awoke this morning.

Insomnia 

Talking men.

Stomping feet.

Slamming door.

Breathe…

Restless legs.

Moving sheets.

Creaking floor.

Breathe…

Ruminate.

Perseverate.

MEDITATE!

Breathe…

Quiet steps.

Sliding door.

Whispering child.

Breathe…

Dawn is breaking. 

Snuggle in.

Sleep at last.

Breathe!

After my restless night, I was keen to recharge the batteries. Call me crazy, but having a suitcase full of clean clothes really delivers the goods! This time around I had to seek out a laundromat, and I was all the more richer for the experience as I was fortunate to meet ‘Madame Laverie’ in the process.

Just a 6 minute walk to the Laverie in Place de la Banque (which actually took 15 as we overshot the turn off) Stella and I arrived to find all the 7kg front-loaders in full flight, with a 20 minute wait time, and Madame Laverie (ML for short) transferring her freshly washed clothes from the 13kg monster into 4 massive dryers in the corner.

An expert in her field, she assisted all who came in, offering advice & direction on navigating the payment & machine programming systems.  When it came time for me to access a machine, she dutifully came to assist and, before I knew it, I was sitting with Stella watching all the ‘Laverie’ action.

To be honest, I was surprised at the number of people requiring help, especially in how to add detergent (3 required this service, excluding myself). But the winner of the day was a 20-something sporty guy (SG), who would have looked much more at home on the soccer field. He accessed the ‘how to add detergent ML service’ before exiting the building. However, in trying to cram 3 bags of washing into the 13kg machine, SG neglected to notice that he had jammed the sleeve of a red top in its door. As the machine filled up and began its cycle, water started trickling out of the door and over the floor. SG, outside on his phone, was unaware of the unfolding drama. ML was also busy, organising her partially dried clothes between her allocated machines. Stella however spotted the problem and went over to alert ML, who she thought ran the joint.

Of course ML took immediate action, opening the door, calling out to SG and instructing him to come back to stop his machine. However, it wasn’t that simple. The pause button on the machine wasn’t working. Other customers tried to assist but nothing would stop that machine turning and the water flowing.  In the end SG was directed by ML to phone the number on the wall for assistance. SG exited the building on his phone and we (Stella and I) were left watching and waiting for a solution to unfold.

Which, inevitably, it did. The red shirt miraculously dislodged itself and the leaking stopped – just before the owner arrived.  This was the cheapest two hours of entertainment, in a laundromat, that I’ve had in a very long time!

Dan

What a breath of fresh air Dijon is – literally.  I have loved traversing its pedestrian-friendly streets, following the ‘golden owls’ and exploring the history of this wonderful place sans cigarette fumes, police sirens and bustling crowds.

Yesterday the sun was shining as we started the trail, today the rain was falling as we completed our 22-stage mission!  But the weather certainly didn’t dampen any of our spirits.  After being held close throughout Paris, the girls relished the chance to run ahead of the adults, following the owls and stopping at the numbered plaques to take in their surroundings. I’m not sure they were that interested in listening to me read facts from the guidebook, but they were polite enough each time to wait until I’d finished before asking if they could run ahead again!

Our apartment is in Place du Theatre, a stone’s throw from the Palace of the Dukes, the Town Hall, Notre Dame and other churches, and 100 steps from one of the most beautiful royal squares in France – Place de la Liberation. During our morning walk, we stopped by the Palace to check out the Guards’ room in the fine arts Museum and see the tombs of John the Fearless, Philip the Bold and their mourners.

We followed that up with a visit to the Saint Anne district and the Museum of Burgundian Life, where we saw costumes, furniture and recreations of many shops that used to line the streets of Dijon.

We finished the walk with another ‘church stop”, Saint-Benigne, where I was able to follow up previous conversations and show the girls a wooden confessional booth, and point out its 21st century equivalent, located at the back of the building.

After lunch we decided that we would go to the Archaeological Museum, located in the former Benedictine Abbey of Saint Benigne.  Both Stella and Daisy are interested in rocks and Geology and were keen to explore the fascinating collections on display in the 11th century chapter room and scriptorium, 13th century monks’ dormitory and 17th century staircase. It was here that Stella asked where she can ‘dig’ when she gets home and said that she wanted to go to ‘digging school’.   I will need to do some research on that before I return!

Stella

Day 11 – Ok things went so well today. Can you believe that we went to two different museums? We went and saw this lovely museum with so many lovely statues that had been found deep down inside the earth  It was so interesting. There were three ginormous rooms that seemed to go on forever. In the second room there were six kids that got in trouble for giggling  and being noisy. My favourite room was the one with all the dug up fossils and old bones.

 

Then we went to a two dollar  shop and me and Daisy got cool  swords.  Daisy’s sword was silver and mine was green. We played sword ⚔️ fights. Today was so much fun.

Daisy

I had so much fun today  First we woke up to a sunny ️ start . Then we had a breakfast 🥞 of cereal 🥣 It was so yummy   Next we went on a quick walk. We passed a church and decided to go inside. In this church there was a very, very, very big organ! It was bigger than 50 elephants  It was fun, but it also gives you a sad vibe. After that we went to two museums. They were very big but it was really interesting. My highlight of the day was the short walk this morning!

Jac

We saw a selection of busts of very important men in Dijon history today at the Fine Arts museum and Daisy and Stella put them through the aesthetic ringer! Each bust was critiqued, and none escaped scrutiny without fault. The busts were judged as to whether they were “handsome” or “unhandsome”.  Pretty black and white but nothing that we haven’t seen on Married at First Sight!

It was a tough critique based on their hair: “ that one’s got a big head of hair”, “he’s too balding”, “his moustache is too curly”, “ his beard is too long”; and the size and shape of their noses: “ too slopey”, “too giant”, “too squished” (that bust was actually missing a nose). If what happened today is any indication, good luck to future partners!

Talking about hair, there were some pretty fancy wigs adorning the French ladies of the day.

I particularly liked the hairdressing techniques that the women had to endure all in the name of beauty. I’d be very surprised if the perming technique seen on the model below didn’t end up being the prototype for the French Space programme!

As for the second model my rough guess is that she asked for the special of the day- bowl cut with vacuum dry, scalp tightening and a neck alignment, with a couple of pain du chocolat thrown in if she managed to stay in a sitting position without blinking!

Stella

Hooray  today we moved to our new house  that we stay at for three days. Hooray  we are going to stay in Dijon.

Emergency  joke of the day! How do you start a letter to your neighbour in a French accent? Dijon.  Get it “Dear John” p.s John is our neighbour.

So, we went on an hour and a half train but this time we went on one of those really fast  trains  It was so cool ..

When we arrived at Dijon we went inside. There was a lovely lady who showed us around the dear little department. It was so tiny and cute and an adorable little place. Then we went exploring. We went on a cool little owl 🦉 walk. On the way we got to go inside a church  and I got to pray. Today was so much fun 

 

Jac

Message from My Fitness Pal this morning “A reminder to get on your scales and update your weight today”. Fat chance. Who needs a fitness buddy app like that when you’re tasting your way through Europe!

Today we arrived in Dijon by fast train, travelling an incredible 246 km/h, taking us 1 1/2 hours from Gare de Lyon! It was nice to sit back and enjoy the beautiful country side. We have really lucked it in at our new Airbnb abode, with host Chantal leaving the girls an Easter chocolate bunny and frog and Dan and I, a miniature bottle of Creme De Cassis De Bourgogne (liqueur) to be poured over the A La Confiture D’Orange (orange sponge cake), a tradition in Dijon. She also left us mustard and four different homemade jams. Happy days! Dan also managed to get a consultation with Dr Wine and he said that she was making great progress!

What I didn’t realise until we did the famous “owl” walk is that there is quite a history to my name in Dijon. There is a Jacquemart in Dijon, which is not a brand of supermarket that I’ve put my name to, rather the Jacquemart is four metal automatons for the clock on top of the Dijon Notre Dame church (the only intact one left). Two of the automatons called Jacquemart and Jacqueline, sound the hours by striking a large bell with a hammer. The other two, their children, Jacquelinet and Jacquelinette, strike the quarter hours. Ok not a lot of imagination in the name stakes and there is some debate (in my mind) as to whether the younger of the two children became Jacquelinette because of her whittling size, eventually looking like a marionette (but not being able to be named so because Marion was not a Jac prefix), or if it was easier for the hammering time-poor parents to add another ‘te” than think of a more original name like Djackota (with a silent d). In a similar vein, (useless information unless at a trivia night with the special subject being families of West Indian cricketers) Dwayne Bravo, named his daughter Dwaynice and his son Dwayne Bravo jnr.

Dan

It is amazing what kids think about when they have the chance to spend time reflecting on their world and talking freely about it. I have been surprised so many times throughout these early days of the trip by the questions our girls have asked in order to make sense of what they are seeing. And religion has been high on their list.

During our visit to the cemetery earlier in the week, Stella questioned me about the different ways people were buried, what I thought happened after death and whether I believed in Jesus! Probing deeper, she then asked me where she could visit me when my ashes were scattered (there won’t be a place where you will be anymore), what Margaret and Poppy would think if they knew I didn’t believe in Jesus, and why I had to tell someone at church about my sins when I was a kid (hard for anyone to understand the concept of catholic confession and absolution of sin…)

Trying to keep the conversation at a manageable level for an 8 year old and without giving too much information about my past “sins” was difficult in itself, let alone trying to work out what I actually felt and feel about all of that “stuff”.  I guess that was why I left the shopping bag behind in the park…given that I was deep in thought about death and the after life!

And so today, when we visited the Dijon Notre Dame Church and sat down for a few moments to take it all in, it was not surprising that Stella had more to ask and say on the matter of religion:

Daisy

Today was so much fun I wish I could find a better way to exaggerate the word ‘fun’. All right let’s get on to it. So, first we caught a very fast  train to Dijon, discovered a personal buffet and we got Dan a beer  It was surprisingly sweet, Jac liked it. In a whispering voice “Jac hates beer ” .

When we arrived at our new house in the center of Dijon we sat down on the couch  and felt relaxed . We were reading  up on Facebook and found out that there was a trail on the history of Dijon. Well we couldn’t say no to that, could we? We had so much fun on the trail, we even saw the Dijon version of Notre Dame and went in side.

Here is something I would like to say my grandma. Brenda has been in hospital recently with liver cancer. She hasn’t been well lately. l put my left hand, the closest to my heart, on the owl and made my wish . And I want everybody to know that it is not easy to go through surgery, especially not for cancer. So I wished that Brenda gets better soon and that people care for her and send her love  and kindness. This is a special note for Brenda xxx.