Chamonix and Tuscany

We got up really early on Sunday morning to make sure we had enough time for lunch at Claire and Matt's place before heading to our cabin near Chamonix. Naomi drove over the mountain switchbacks crossing over from Switzerland to France. Quite the challenge for her, being from a very flat country! We got to return to Patagonia's first European location once we got to downtown Chamonix. Hard not to spend a lot of money there. We got wet on the way back to the car when it really started to rain. I drove up the mountain to our cabin and that was a challenge for me! Low visibility and lots of potholes, road work, and very narrow roads.

Our cabin was great. It was at the end of the paved road right next to a ski lift. Nobody else was around. The backyard was a river. We had views of Mount Blanc from the balcony. It was a great spot to rest and recharge. Took some nice hikes, ate some delicious food, watched the snow and the mountains, drank out of some mountain streams, played some games, and the girls had a blast playing outside. 

We weren't quite ready to leave on Wednesday, but on our way to Tuscany, we stopped at the Cinque Terre (five terraces) which are five villages along the Italian riviera. The only way in is by train. It was incredibly crowded, but fun to hang out by the water in the sushine and explore some very narrow streets. So many tunnels along the highway and so little traffic - maybe that's why we had to pay over 100 euros in tolls that day. 

On Thurdsay we got to go to Pisa. We learned that the popular attractions in Italy need to be booked at least a few weeks in advance. The booking sites are third party, and they take a huge cut. What a scam. We were able to get tickets to climb the leaning tower of Pisa, but the cost was 80 euro for the four of us and we had to pay 98. Not cool that 18 euros goes to some German company. We did get to enjoy delicious pizza in Pisa, and even swam in the Mediterranian after. It was a late dinner.

Friday was Florence. Huge traffic jam on the way there. The cathedral there is like nothing I have seen before. Tickets to go in were 50 euros, with a huge line, and a guided tour. We didn't want the tour so we explored the city instead. Found a nice quiet lunch spot and were helped by a Dutch server. Naomi did some shopping and we found a good bakery. Crossed the river on the famous old bridge, Ponte Vecchio. Full of jewelry shops. It was an earlier evening. 

Saturday we packed up and drove 3.5 hours to Rome. Abigail was the first one ready. She couldn't wait. Another 20 euros in tolls. We arrived at 1:30 at our house, a really nice place with a gated parking spot and close to the metro. It took us 2.5 hours to unload our stuff and meet the family in the city. Over an hour on the metro and more than half an hour of walking. Rome was so crowded. Takes the fun out of it. Could hardly walk down some of the streets. Had to put Abigail up on my shoulders to catch a glimpse of the Trevi fountain. Couldn't get into the Pantheon as reservations were all used up. Supposed to be free and open to the public. Dinner was great! We had such a nice time with the Sankeys and Claire and Matt. We were an hour late, but the food was excellent and being able to meet up in Rome was quite special. 

Today is Naomi's birthday, and we are all tired. This morning we will relax and pick up some groceries. After lunch we can head back into the city to meet with Claire and Matt.  

View of Mont Blanc from our balcony.

Nearby town where we went grocery shopping.

French treats.

Hiking in the mountains.

Vernazza - one of the five villages that make up the Cinque Terre. 

We got to climb the tower!

Pizza in Pisa.

Inside the cathedral.

Fun in Florence.

Italian treats.

Tired after meeting the family in Rome.

Celebrations!

We had a great visit with the Sankeys this week. It was a lot of fun to see how much we have in common, and how well everyone got along. On the night of their arrival, the first copy of my book also came, so we got to celebrate that. On the second night the girls were officially accepted into their new school, so we got to celebrate that. On the third night, it was Naomi's last day of work, so we celebrated that too! 

Also had a lot of fun at the windmill, hanging out in the backyard, and going into town for some ice cream. On Thursday they took a bike ride through the woods and to the royal palace, but it turns out both were closed. They had fun anyway, and the forest guards let them off with a warning as they weren't Dutch. The normal fine was 110 euros per person. I thought the forest was open by now - whoops!

They had a lot of fun in Amsterdam, got to see the tulips at their peak, and on Friday made it to their next stop, Cologne, without much trouble. Today we are getting everything packed up and ready to go for a very early morning departure. Lunch with Claire and Matt followed by a cabin in the French Alps. We will all meet up in Rome at the end of their journey for a birthday dinner on the 29th. Mary's is on the 28th and Naomi's on the 30th. 

I gave Beth some woodworking lessons in exchange for the awesome book cover she made.

Celebrating the book.

Cool cover!

Celebrating Naomi's last day of work.

Beth's cutting board.

Lunch at the windmill.

First ice cream of the year!

Seeing the book for the first time.

Battling Amazon

Not that I liked Amazon before, but my experience with trying to publish a book this week made me like them even less. They offer free ISBN numbers, but they can only be used on their platform. So I had to buy them from the only company that sells them. $125 for one or $295 for ten. Another scam. Got the copyright registered. Pretty straightforward. Another $65. Then I learned that if I sell my book for 20 bucks, and it costs 9.50 to print, Amazon takes another $8 and leaves me with $2.50. I thought this would be a better deal financially for the author than traditional publishing. Guess not. It's crazy how much they control. From the Internet, to the printing presses, to the distribution networks and even the digital devices. Too much of a monopoly for my liking; as an author I don't really have a choice.

Formatting was a huge job, but I think it turned out well. I wanted to get a proof copy to double check the book before publishing, and Amazon insisted that wouldn't be a problem. It isn't if you live in the US, or Germany, or France, or lots of other places. But it doesn't work in the Netherlands. Have to publish before you can see how it prints. Makes it impossible to have a proper book launch here. Was really hoping to get a hardcover copy for Beth as she designed the cover, so I thought I could ship it to her parents before they leave to come visit us, but it would have arrived on the day they left. The Sankeys should be arriving in Amsterdam today! 

Still need to check out the printed versions to make sure they are okay, but won't be able to until after we get back from Rome. Trying to figure out how to put together a Kindle version as well. Once that is done, can put together a delayed launch. Probably too late to get any traction with Amazon, but that's okay I guess. It is just a tool to get my book out there and make it available to a few people. Not trying to write a best seller. Will be fun to get it into some local bookstores and such once we are in the States. 

Easter Brunch!

It was sad to say goodbye to Claire and Matt, but we had a great visit!

Naomi and the girls had a kickboxing lesson with her former student. 

My last chance to bring the table back into spring mode. 

Happy Easter

It has been another eventful week! Claire and Matt took lots of day trips, exploring some cool spots around the country. They even managed to find a stroopwafel factory. On Friday I had to work, but the girls were home from school, so they got to tag along for an adventure. They took the ferry to the biggest Dutch island, Texel. It was a surprise for the girls. When they got up to the ferry, Abigail asked, "Why is that big boat causing such a traffic jam? It should go faster."

They had lots of fun on the island and got to spend some time watching seals. We had been wanting to take her there for a long time, so happy it could finally happen. While they were having fun, Naomi and I had a nice dinner out at the castle. 

I had a big win on Friday with the darts tournament at school. Beat one of the favorites while everyone else was in a training session. Those sessions are just really frustrating and not at all relevant to me. The management doesn't know how to do their jobs, so they hire consultants to come in and try to come up with a school vision and mission statement. Something that should have been done five years ago when they made all the big changes. Made some good progress on finalizing the novel instead. 

Both girls got to sleep over. 

Dinner after the island.

Our fancy dinner at the castle. 

Lots of fun on Texel.

Easter breakfast at school.

Abigail played in a soccer tournament.

School trip to the bakery museum.

The frost killed most of the magnolia blooms.

GREEN CARD

Finally. After more than a year and a half of stress and uncertainty, Naomi has her green card! What a terrible process. Big relief to have it out of the way. We all went to Amsterdam for her interview at the consulate, which only ended up taking about six minutes. She already got her passport back with a visa in it allowing her to enter the US, and her physical green card will be sent later on. 

While in Amsterdam, we got to visit the Rijksmuseum and saw a collection of old guns. The girls found this much more interesting than the paintings. Susan was able to meet us there and then we all went to have lunch with Ron and Edith for their birthdays. Susan just happened to be meeting someone else at the same cafe. What are the chances? 

Ron and Edith left to pack up for their trip to Israel. Edith couldn't find her passport, but luckily they could arrange for an emergency passport just in time. Susan joined us for a visit to the Stedelijk museum and then we stopped at the French bakery on the way home. After dinner we met with our housing inspector and our realtor to finalize our bid for the house. 

On Thursday night we found out that we didn't get the house. There were six other offers, and the sellers chose a lower cash offer. Very disappointing. I had trouble sleeping. Hopefully the market will pick up as the snow melts, and we can find another option. 

On Friday Claire and Matt arrived! They will stay at the Bosrand for 10 days. Claire picked up a bit of a cold, so hopefully she is feeling better today. On Thursday Amélie gave her first presentation at school. All about plastic - her choice. Abigail's is this coming week. No surprise...she chose seals. Yesterday Abigail played an April Fool's joke on Naomi. I helped her climb up on the roof and she started talking to Mommy through the vent that goes to the kitchen stove. Naomi was confused and Abigail loved it! Amélie also took part in an orchestra concert last night. Jan and Heleen came along with Claire and Matt. It was a late night!

The book of paperwork Naomi had to assemble for her interview.

The consulate! 

We were having more fun than Mommy. Found the smallest and biggest guns.

Museum fun with Susan.

Celebrating the green card.

The passport came back quickly!

An idea to make a boring house more interesting.

Amélie's first concert!