Sun and Fun at Makadi Bay in Egypt

We have just returned from a relaxing week away in Makadi Bay, located on the Red Sea in Egypt. The five of us left early last Thursday morning, toting only 3 suitcases and a couple of knapsacks. We were determined to keep it simple and low-key, and our choice of an all-inclusive resort was key to that decision. After a relatively short and uneventful 4&1/2 hour flight, the plane landed at the airport in Hurghada and we joined the hordes of tourists lining up for visas and customs. We were pointed in the right direction to our coach bus by the Swedish speaking tour guides and we settled in for the drive to Makadi Bay. Hurghada is a small, bustling city, and a popular tourist destination known for its excellent snorkeling. It sits on the edge of the Red Sea and is surrounded by desert. The road we followed skirted around the city on our left, and showcased the sand, more sand, and even more sand, as well as some distant mountains to our right. Makadi Bay rose up into sight about 30 minutes later. We drove through a security checkpoint and past an impressive golf course with more than it's share of sand traps! Our resort, Saraya Suites, was nestled in the middle of a group of hotels and a small shopping center. We arrived at about 3pm, and there being still plenty of sunshine to soak up, we quickly swapped our travel clothes for tank tops and flip flops!

Kris woke up early the next morning (for some reason he is always the first up when on vacation) and snuck out of the room to get a feel for the day ahead. He quickly returned, though, and searched through his clothes to find some warmer layers. A strong wind had whipped up during the night and it felt downright frosty out there! This blustery and cool weather stayed for a few days, but we didn't let it stop us. The most strenuous decision we faced each morning was, where to lay down....beach or pool? Should we go for a walk first or sit in the sun and drink a hot, foamy cappuccino? We were determined to put the relax into relaxation!

The kids had no trouble keeping themselves occupied. They sunbathed, built sandcastles, and meandered along the shore shell-seeking. The first time we were on the beach, their attention was immediately captured by the sight of a dark-skinned Egyptian man wearing traditional clothes and yelling, "Yaddah, yaddah, yaddah". He was offering rides on the giant and gentle camel that sauntered along behind him. We told him, "No money today", but that when we had some we would find him to give the kids a ride. When it came time to have their turn, he wanted to take only 2 people at a time, so Kris voted for me to accompany Graeme. I couldn't believe how high up we were sitting. The man offering horse rides came up along side of us and we loomed over him and his horse! It was a slow, swaying ride, that began and ended with excitement when the camel lurched to and from his feet from a sitting position on the sand!

Each of the kids, and me, tried snorkeling for the first time. Kris was our teacher and I surprised him with my interest. He knows that swimming in the ocean is not really my thing! Elise and Renee mastered the art of breathing through the snorkel, but Graeme and I seemed to suck in more disgusting salt water than air. The fish we saw were colourful and interesting, but because we were doing our snorkeling within the bouys bordering the swimming area, we really only sampled a small bit of what was out there to be explored.

Towards the end of our week, the kids had caught the attention of Anastasia, a lovely Russian girl in charge of the international kids club at the hotel. She encouraged them to come out and participate in an inter-hotel Olympic games and included them in the fun at the Mini Disco each evening. The kids really enjoyed bouncing along to the German, Swedish and Russian songs. Graeme dances a mean robot dance! The kids also found the Chief Animator, Sameh, to be quite a clown. He had them laughing with his crazy antics and he never failed to smile and say "Hello" whenever he saw them.

The Saraya Suites resort did not disappoint us in our quest for a relaxing and happy vacation. The rooms were clean and we were amused by the animal made from towels and left on our bed each day. The buffet-style meals never left us hungry and we followed up every meal, even breakfast, with dessert of some kind! Renee made a big dent in the hotel's bread supply and Graeme topped everything off with chocolate sauce! The kids will miss the freedom they had to pick and choose whatever they wanted to eat and drink, now that they're home again! "It's not a restaurant" is one of my favourite mealtime mantras and I can't wait to use it again!

Now that the sun has set on our Egyptian vacation, we will all look back on it with happy, relaxed hearts. The loads of laundry awaiting attention, the pile of sand that fell out of a overturned suitcase, and even the dry, flaky skin on our bodies, nothing will get us down right now, especially if someone could mosey up to the bar and order me a hot cappuccino...maybe with a slice of cake....?

Touring Bogesundslandet

Our enthusiasm for new adventures was still high when we woke up last Sunday morning to another overcast day. We didn't let that stop us from planning an outing to Bogesundslandet, an area known for it's extensive walking paths and a 17th century manor house, Bodesund Manor.

Bogesundslandet is located near Vaxholm, a short drive north of the city and east of us. The kids were excited to see such an old home, and they explored the grounds hoping to catch sight of proof of the original owners. A glimpse into a lower level window revealed a very modern kitchen, but surely it was haunted! The manor house is open for tours in the summer months, so we plan to return to see for ourselves.

We visited with some horses at a nearby stable, then hopped back into the car to continue exploring the area. We spotted a well-marked walking trail and decided to go for a hike.
Graeme was playing "Mario" and he made me laugh when he scooted ahead of us on the trail. The sight of his lopsided red hat bobbing up and down in the woods earned him a new nickname, "Jackrabbit Joe"!

We headed for home after our walk in the woods. We enjoyed the rest of Sunday just by hanging out at the house.

Gamla Stan

After touring the Aquaria museum we headed into Gamla Stan, the old town, to walk around the cobblestone streets and take in the sights. Having been there in November, I was anticipating the appearance of the life-size trolls that had captured my interest. I was happy to spot two while out strolling on Saturday and got the kids to pose with each one. The kids were oohing and ahhing at the brightly coloured window displays full of Swedish knickknacks. Graeme had to stop and point out every wooden horse he saw. He admired a Viking costume, complete with helmet and vest, that was just his size. The girls spotted sweet-smelling candy stores and pleaded with their big, brown eyes for us to buy them a giant-sized lollipop! We were getting hungry, so we decided on an early dinner at an Italian resturant that Kris and I had eaten at before. The kids had pizza, made before their very eyes, and Graeme polished off most of one by himself!

After dinner, we followed our footsteps back to the car as the fog settled in even thicker around us. We were all invigorated by getting a taste of what the city has to offer us. Kris and I are happy to be getting our bearings and the kids are realizing that we now live in a pretty cool city with lots of things to see and do. All of the brochures we're collecting in a kitchen drawer contain a treasure of untold adventures yet to come!

Aquaria Vattenmuseum

We woke up Saturday morning to a dull and overcast day. We decided it was great museum weather so after an early lunch we headed into Stockholm to the Aquaria Vattenmuseum. It is located on the island of Djurgarden along the Baltic Sea.The island consists mainly of the National Urban Park so it is a little oasis of green just a short drive away from the city center. The Aquaria museum is just one attraction in this area, so we will be heading back again sometime to check out the amusement park and Skansen, the world's oldest open-air museum.

We were not the only family to think that this was an ideal spot to spend a foggy Saturday. The tiny entrance was over-run with families and their strollers. It was not an expensive admission price, so we took our chances. The girls armed themselves with their cameras and we were off!

There was lots to see. A realistic rainforest exhibit that went from sunny day to rainstormy night got a thumbs-down from Graeme. He thought that the roof must have come off the building and that the rain and thunder was real. It took alot of coaxing before he would stay still and look around with us. The mudskippers with their bulging eyes gave us the heebie-jeebies. We were worried that they might decide to crawl out of the water onto our feet as they spend most of their time on land. The marine tank filled with sharks, moray eels, coral and brightly coloured fish was the most interesting of all. We watched the sharks have lunch and we were amazed by a tiny fish that swam inside the mouth of a moray eel to pick at the leftover food!

I took this picture of Kris and the kids outside the museum where they have a chute of sorts that sea trout leap up in the autumn to spawn inside the museum.

After seeing all that the museum had to offer, we hopped into our car and drove to Gamla Stan, the old town.

This Old Dog is Not Learning a New Trick

I know that I'm not all washed up. I know I have many good years ahead of me. I'm not dumb or close-minded. But I know when I am just not "getting it" and that, chances are, I never will. I'm talking about learning to drive a stick-shift in a foreign country. I tried...a little...then I GAVE UP!!! Now, I don't want to point any fingers here, but my lovely husband thought that it wasn't a big deal. Just take a couple hours to learn how to drive the standard car we had been loaned (because our new automatic car would take 10 weeks to arrive) and then start driving myself and my three children all over a strange city! Don't worry if you don't know the rules of the road yet, just wing it! Don't let the aggressive Swedish drivers upset you with their rolling stops. Don't worry about directions, just plug in the GPS and go! Coffee mornings, play dates, birthday parties....what's the big deal? Well, I thought I had it licked. I could manage the drive to and from the school, if the kids were absolutely silent in the backseat, and if no one needed to stop in front of me on an incline. But the nightmares and shaking legs were getting to me. The anticipation of doing the school drop-off and pick-up was causing me serious anxiety. Last Wednesday, I had had enough! I took matters into my own hands and tried to find a rental car in the phonebook. Before long, Kris was involved. And he wasn't very happy about it! But a coworker took pity on him and made a few calls and located an automatic car we could borrow and arranged for a new lease that would take only 2 weeks! Bliss!

Unfortunately, this new car was up in Avesta, a two hour drive north of us. But I wasn't complaining! So early Saturday morning we piled into the hated car and set off on our way. We were about one hour into the drive when Renee was car-sick. The drive was really lovely, but the smell of sick mingled with Kris' own digestive complaints took some of the enjoyment out of it. We made it to Avesta by lunch time and I had the keys to my new car in hand just like that! We stopped to get a couple pictures of the kids under the giant wooden horse and one of me with my new car, and then headed home.

I'm not saying that I will never try to learn how to drive with a stick again, but I can tell you this, it won't happen if the pressure's on!

Stocksund's Newest Hockey Player

Graeme has joined the ranks of the Swedish hockey organization. We zipped home after school on Wednesday to suit up our player then raced down the hill to the outdoor rink. We had been by the rink on Saturday and one of the trainers on the ice encouraged us to just show up one day to sign Graeme up. We entered the Ishall (ice hall) and were pleasantly surprised by the clean (meaning odor free!) and homey atmosphere (there were candles lit up and tableclothes on the tables in the snack bar area!). We spotted a young man hopping around on one skate and asked him to point us in the right direction. Turns out, he spoke excellent English and he is one of Graeme's "trainers". Within 10 minutes we had Graeme on the ice and all the paperwork done! I can't believe how easy it was! Needless to say, Graeme caused a bit of a stir when he made his appearance. Not only was he the only child out there in full hockey gear, but he spoke no Swedish!! The other boys gathered around Graeme and spoke to him but it all sounded like garbledygook to him!
They quickly got down to business doing drills and such, very similar to what Graeme is used to. The ice surface is quite a bit larger than what we are used to in Canada, and it was outside so a bit darker than usual too. Graeme is going to continue to play hockey three times a week on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday until early March when the season ends. It was amazing to watch the way he blended in with all the other boys. He certainly showed us his very confident nature to be able to make it look so easy!

All's Well That Begins Well

It's been 14 days since we loaded ourselves and our 15 bags of luggage onto the plane in Ottawa to begin this journey one-quarter of the way around the world.

Since then, there have been moments of confusion, sadness, frustration, excitement, wonder and happiness. I have no intention of focusing on the negative aspect of this adventure, only to say that, even though it feels like a dream at times, it is still really only just "life" with it's inherent ups and downs.

The two weeks have passed in a sort of blur. The children started school immediately after arriving and so their days have been full. They received a very warm reception at school from other children eager to meet the new arrivals. Now it is up to them to forge ahead with new relationships. While this has been relatively easy for both Graeme and Elise, Renee's quiet nature with new people has made this a bit of a challenge for her. Kris and I are trying to encourage her to show her wilder side, realizing that this experience will certainly strengthen her people skills!

Kris barely had time to get his tie on straight before he was off and running up the corporate ladder. He has gone through a trial by fire consisting of non-stop meetings, for which he has had to forgo weekend activities with the family to prepare for. I am assured that this will not be the case this weekend, as a briefcase full of brochures arrived home yesterday! Now we are watching the weather forecast and planning accordingly...will it be a day spent indoors at the Aquaria Vattenmuseum or a stroll around Gamla Stan, the Old Town?

My days here so far have been both quiet and full. We are still awaiting the arrival of our container from Canada, so the nest is not yet feathered! Learning how to operate the mini-sized washer and dryer took up the better part of a morning. I think I have it figured out, but it still takes about 3 & 1/2 - 4 hours before one small load of clothes is clean and "mostly"dry! I have made frequent trips to the local grocery store, the ICA, located just down the hill from us. It offers a small selection of most things we need. And small is the word! Package sizes are at least 1/2 if not less than what they are in Canada. Hence the need for frequent trips! The local library houses a modest sized English section and they were kind enough there to let me use their computer to check my email when our Internet was not yet connected. I have gone for a run or walk every day here. The hills and icy sidewalks have given me quite a workout but the charming scenery keeps me going!

The house is situated in a lovely green and hilly neighbourhood called Stocksund. Judging by the tracks in the snow in the morning, we have an abundant wildlife community as well! It is comforting to look out the window and see Chickadees flitting about in the bushes. We are a 5 minute drive to the school and the highway that connects us south to Stockholm and north to the mountains. The house is a charming grey clapboard set upon a rocky site. I see that there are lilac and rhododendron bushes that will bloom in spring, periwinkle and lavender as well. Inside we have three levels for living. The basement has the laundry room and a mudroom and is conveniently accessed from outside. This is the entrance we use most often. The first floor has the main rooms for living, the kitchen, study, living room, dining room, bathroom and 4th bedroom, as well as the second entrance. Upstairs we have three bedrooms, one bathroom and a play area for the children. I can hardly wait for our furniture to arrive so we can put our personal touch on this blank canvas!