May Day

The first May holiday of four (yep, four, pretty amazing!) provided the wine club to have an event with a holiday the next day. Maria hosted, as it was her last event in her fantastic flat.

Magnum PI

Yesterday we had the honour of going to lunch with Magnum PI (not to be confused with Burt Reynolds, or Chris Mellard!)). Matt, I mean MW, and Magnum, were ridiculous pretty much all day!

We had a lovely day in France. Matt then generously treated me to sushi back in Basel (as we had not eaten enough all weekend) but I have no photos as I lost temporaily lost my phone (as per usual, without Suzanna to find things for me, things have been a bit tricky).

Had a great weekend with MW, cannot wait till his next visit :)

Mr. Watson

Arrived yesterday afternoon for his annual visit. Sadly, summer decided to leave us for a bit, but we certainly made up for the cool conditions with a little over indulgence...

We were a bit late (not very Swiss) but still got a

fabulous meal (scallops and asparagus, honestly heaven).

Then back to Basel

for a drink or two... Great night, and great to have Matt here :)

Mama Frumoasa

Imi place intalnirile cu prietenii mei parinti. Pentru a vedea unde sunt prietenii mei vin de la. Asa ca a fost foarte buna de a intalni Raluca's mama frumos noaptea trecuta si acum pot vedea de ce Raluca este atat de minunat. De asemenea am de gand sa trebuie sa lucreze pe romansec mea, asa ca data viitoare cand ne intalnim, putem discuta modul de a educa bine copiii din ziua de azi!

Summer Loving

I love summer. I am happier, nicer, full of life. All my pupils pick up on it, as I jump from chair to chair, take them outside to make Venn diagrams and all round a bit more off the wall than usual. And what a fabulous summer day, finally over night everything is in full bloom...

Lola is hopping and hiding again in the fields.

And we love it!

Fabulous Students

Not only have I lucked out in the friend department, but also the student department. Not only great, bright, funny, and charming but also extremely thoughtful and kind. Five pupils made me a cake, brownies or cup cakes yesterday which was not only shocking but also extremely filling (clearly had to have some of each one, was bursting by end of the day).  Grade 8 and 9 both came with cakes and other treats, all morning long I ate.  
And then finished the day with cup cakes from one of my Grade 11's from last year (Ellie, who baked loads for my class last year)
I felt again so lucky and totally spoilt. Starting today though, no more cake.

Fabulous Friends

I think I am one of the luckiest girls in the world, everywhere I have lived I think I have just ended up making friends with the best people in that place. My gals in Canada, my family and friends in Barbados, my Bruton and other British crew and now my Swiss (well expats in Switzerland) gals and guys. I was totally, completely, over the top spoilt yesterday, with lovely gifts, kind words and love (I know bit sappy but that is how I felt!).

It was a lovely day and I am so thankful to have such wonderful people in my life :).

36

One would think that 36 is not so different than 35, but they would be wrong. 36 is miles different, first off it just sounds bad, no ring to it, secondly there is no escaping that you are definitely closer to 40 than 30. Oh and there is the fact that it is an even number, a common even number with loads of factors, totally boring. So thank God I have some terrific friends who took me out for a ladies pub crawl (never mind that I feel like death now and have to start preparing food for thirty).

How did I ever think having 30 plus people over today was a good idea, I should have known I am no longer a 35 year old spring chicken, for goodness sake I am 36 now!!!!

My (attempt) at Baking

Well it is safe to say I am probably a better teacher than baker. I have spent the entire night trying to bake a special cake for my grade 12's tomorrow for our last class. I love these kids, not only my first diploma class to go through but also fabulous people. I am very proud of them (not so much my cake) and have loved teaching them over the last two years. I hope they all remember me (not my cake) when they become rich and famous :)

The Best Ever...

is when you wake up to not only spring but a boiling hot summer day!


So of course we all run



To the Rhine..



For a fabulous



BBQ..



Food



Drink



Friends



Sunshine



Even Lola loved it, bring on summer :)

Hats Off

If I were five months pregnant with one baby on the way  let alone twins, I can assure you I would stay well away from wine club and certainly would not volunteer to host it. So hats off to Laure who not only hosted, but it did it with a smile and a soft drink!

It was a lovely night guessing what region in France each wine was from, even better there was a prize for the person who got the most correct (I knew all my hard work would pay off ;)).

Jet lag

I try and pretend I am not getting older, that I am hip and cool. But this last recovery from jet lag has proven otherwise, every night I have been exhausted at 9pm and then wide awake the minute I go to bed for the entire night.  So last night I decided to have people for dinner to stay up later and cure it..

Spent

I plan to do nothing for the next 48 hours, possibly lie on the sofa and watch TV, maybe read a book but that it is it. After getting home late yesterday, I got showered, I dressed and then went straight to Pia and Chris's birthday bash. I am now totally spent and going to spend quality time with my girl Lola.
Really did not matter how tired I was though, I had to go out as this tan cost a small fortune!

Home Now

Back in Basel and have posted all the posts that I saved while away as could not get on line in Cuba. Had a fabulous time and miss Mandy and Brad already. But am happy to be back and quickly getting ready after a 28 hour trip to go out on the town with Suzanna and my good friend white wine.

My Top Ten

This morning watching tv I was reminded of one of my favourite late night television personalities, David Letterman. I use to love watching this late night show and one thing I loved was his daily 'top ten' list. So as my holiday begins to wrap up I thought I would do a top ten list of my favourite things about Cuba and my trip.
#10. No chains. How wonderful to have no Star Bucks, McDonald's, tesco, Walmart. Just Cuban.
#9. No goggle. Real discussions and debates that do not end quickly due to a google search (although to be fair I am emailing Brad a long list of proof about why I am right about almost everything when I get back;)).
#8. No vices. I have learnt I can live without diet coke, chocolate and white wine, who would have thought...(okay except we found good wine the last night)

#7. The sun. After complaining all winter I can hardly not have the sunshine on my top ten.

#6. The cars. Fantastic, they are just fabulous.

#5. Salsa. I love dancing, love the salsa, the music, all of it.

#4. The food. Not the hotel buffet crap but the real food.

#3. Havana. Fantastic city, real Cuba, and if I come again I would travel to other cities and explore the countryside. A resort strip does not count as seeing a country.

#2. Che. My new hero, reading all his diaries and after teaching I think I may start a revolution (location yet to be determined).

#1. And the number one thing I have loved about Cuba is the people. Happy, friendly, helpful, proud. In fact I think you would be hard pressed to find another country that you felt so safe and looked after everywhere and by everyone.

Mandy and Brad

I have known Mandy Bosch (now a days Amanda Saunders) for thirty years, we have certainly been through a lot together and I can confidently say I know her better than most. We decided last Easter that we would meet in new places rather than each others home countries and somehow her husband Brad has piggy backed on our holiday idea. And I am thrilled to bits he did, the three of us are having a fabulous time together, learning loads about each other (now definitely have to be friends forever), having some serious 'discussions' (where of course I am usually right), taking in the sun, having a few drinks and a lot of laughs.

Brad and his Amanda's

All Inclusive/Old Age Home

I imagine that an all inclusive resort is a bit like an old age home. You have designated meal times, the food is probably not great, and in between meals different activities are put on for you by the staff. Probably a place of routine where you feel fairly content but must get out once in a while or you may go completely mad. That is how I feel here, happy and content to have my designated meals (mainly cucumbers and rice for me), and in between soak in the rays and read my book (eventually I plan to do the water aerobics and the coconut toss, just working up to it). But then after the dinner and the nightly show we make our escape, and the next day we are happy to start the process all over :)

Digging into the buffet.

Soaking in the sun.

Night out of resort with friends we made in Havana :)

Havana

I have absolutely loved my time in Havana. I have loved the people, food, amazing buildings, history, salsa dancing, all of it. I have learnt loads about their history, present and hopefully the expected future. It has been so interesting to see and learn and what I experienced was a nation that generally want change but are also tremendously proud of Cuba. I felt safe in places that I would not of in almost any city in North America or Europe and saw genuine happiness amongst the people. Certainly a far from perfect world but not sure I know what is.

Today we have left for the beautiful beaches and some relaxation but also sadly left Cuba as really for all we know we could be in the Dominican or Mexico or wherever...

Enjoying our roof top sunshine.

Our last fabulous meal in the city.

A drink on a roof top bar (with our very helpful Cuban guide and friend, Francesco) and then onto the

National, old mafia hot spot.

We enjoyed our last morning stroll before heading to the beach

in our beautiful taxi.

And now enjoying a mojito in sunny Veradero.

Cuban Culture

Well a couple days in and we are predictability back to the good old days... We decided to have a day

Our square :)

Taking in the atmosphere



The bar I had to find so we could

sign the wall for some reason.

Daiquiris at the Floridita.

A little history (cuddling Hemingway).

A fabulous, best ever

meal (Aubergine not burger)

Finished off by a night of salsa dancing, in Cuban club (definitely only tourists, but we held our own on the dance floor).

24 Hours

I have decided that twenty-four hours is about my limit on my own, I really do actually enjoy my own company and have a nice time but then I find myself a bit boring. So luckily, Mandy and Brad arrived just in the nick of time last night. We have celebrated their arrival today by getting caught up over a wander and few drinks in old Havana.

Before they arrived I did explore, loved these dogs and

again the cars.

But thrilled they are here now and

looking forward to our time together. Although, I do wonder if poor Brad has any idea what he has gotten himself into...