Liam’s Blog
The pool is OPEN
Only 2 weeks earlier the pool was a swampy green, and we were told that they would be draining it to fix the light, and cleaning it for the season. Once it was full of water I figured it would be at least a month before it was warm enough to swim in -- but it seems...
Happy 53 Mumma
Okay... not a lot about liam in this post either!! As luck would have it, my birthday (again) fell just after the rules started to relax in France, and the curfew had been pushed back a bit, and outdoor restaurants were allowed to open. So we book our favourite...
Days at the RACES
Not a lot about Liam in this post.... but it's my big 'race season' so I thought I'd throw it in there. In end April we had the Historic Grand Prix (held over from the cancelled event in 2020)... and my boss was racing. Only Monaco residents were allowed to be...
Spring in our new flat….
It's been a wacky weather spring... lots of wind. Some warm days, some cooler days... but we've been enjoying it nonetheless!! The sun has shifted further north... but the sunsets can still be spectacular. We've started watersports for the season (paddling and...
Out and about… Confinement III
Third confinement is still lighter than the last two. We still have curfew of 6pm for weekdays, but now that the school holidays are upon us they have instated a total weekend lockdown (from Friday 6pm until Monday 8am) -- which means that we are only allowed to go...
Our new apartment….
It's been almost four months since we've moved... and the apartment has started to take shape bit by bit. It was a completely unfurnished flat, so we needed a few things to make it homey -- and I've spent a lot of money getting it sorted, so couldn't do everything at...
Valberg Weekend
Ski resorts are closed this year... which sadly means no ski trips for us this year. We could (theoretically) make our way to Switzerland where he slopes are open -- but we're really not allowed to travel for leisure and cross country borders. So we'll do as we're...
Happy 11th Birthday Liam
Another weird birthday.... Liam didn't get to celebrate his birthday last year because within days of our return from our annual ski holiday, we were plunged into an a two month long lockdown. And again this year... a full year later, we aren't really free to organise...
Christmas 2020
The WORST Christmas !!! A bit of a stressful one this year!! But it all ends well... On Christmas eve Adam and I both had to pop out for 20 minutes. I had to go down to town to pick up our Christmas Log Cake from LAC (our tradition). And Adam needed to get something...
Getting out in the new ‘hood.
Sorry we haven't posted since we've moved!! It's been a lot of 'settling in' -- and the short days and dark evenings don't help. We're loving the new flat. As you'll see in the photos, the view is EVERYTHING. But it's taking a while to pull it all together. Will post...
Out with the old…
As excited as we were to move into our new place... we were sad to leave the old. Liam was absolutely distraught about the idea of moving until he saw the new place. But the promise of a bigger room, his own balcony, and a pool eased his pain 😉 This was the only...
the Autumn that will disappear from our memory…
We were lucky to have a fairly free summer (although we still did our best to stay socially distanced)... but come autumn we were thrown into lockdown again. Even children over the age of 6 have to wear masks in public AND in school... and as of late October, we were...
SEPTEMBER 2020
Such a weird year. Well, summer is over, and Liam is back in school. Fortunately for him it's his last year in primary school, so masks are not mandatory for kids his age. Hopefully the mandatory masks will be all behind us by the time he starts junior high next year....
Dolomites, Italy — the last 2 days. Meh. And trip Videos
Yes, we were very sad to leave Santa Cristina Val Gardena. Very sad to leave our lovely apartment (very sad to leave the sauna in my bedroom). And VERY sad to leave Oreo. But she did come for a visit in the morning -- as did all three cats, which Liam has named the...
Dolomites, Italy — Day 4
Weather forecast was pretty dodgy for our fourth day. I briefly considered doing a Via Ferrata, but decided that if the skies opened and the rains came, the last place we'd want to be is on exposed rock relying on steel cables and iron ladders to get back down again....
Dolomites, Italy — Day 3 (more hiking!)
Oh dear.... I am keeping my eyes open on the weather forecast, and it looks like this, our third day, will be the LAST day of sun. This puts us in a dilemma... What to do? I carefully weighed out our options of things I wanted to do: a) another via ferrata -- but Liam...
Dolomites, Italy — Day 2 (Via Ferrata!!)
So if you aren't familiar with Via Ferrata -- it literally means 'iron paths' and they are a series of protected climbing routes -- which generally began in the Dolomites in WW1 to help with the movements of troops over the mountains. They could be composed of...
Dolomites, Italy, Day 1 — Secada Ridge
We were blessed with incredible weather for our first day... but looking at the long term forecast, the rain could come in another day or so, so we have to make the best of it NOW!! One of the landscapes that I fell in love with when doing my 'mega quick' planning for...
Dolomites, Italy — the long drive…
Covid kind of pooched our holiday plans this year (as it did to everyone else) so since we couldn't really go anyway truly interesting as we have the past few years, I decided it was a good time to explore the dolomites (the mountainous area in northern Italy.... part...
Away in the treetops!
We had committed many months ago to head to the mountains and stay in a treehouse with our friends Hayley and her son Tom. Hayley turned 50 earlier this year during the confinement, and was really bummed about how her plans for her 50th were so dismal... So this is...