Today us 3 girls hit the town! Well, sort of. I put Evie in the baby carrier (piggy-back style) and Josephine in the buggy and off we went exploring our neighbourhood. It was actually quite fun and both girls really liked it. I had to cream them with sunlotion before leaving and put a sunhat on Evie (Jozie has the buggy hood for shade). One only realises the steepness of a hill when one has to walk (and push) up it. From the comfort of an airconditioned car, it's a cruise. But with the weight of 2 little children in sweltering weather, one feels it. But it was good exercise! I'm hoping to get into shape by doing it!
We found "Happy Road" which was a mere 500m from our place (at the top of the hill basically) and it was a nice amble then down the road which has lots of little shops and stores. Mostly food stores, laundry outlets, odds and ends, but nevertheless interesting! We stumbled upon a bakery which Wiebke in Germany who has lived here recommended. "Little Mermaid" will surely be frequented regularly! Got some doughnuts which Jozie chose for us all to prepare a little teaparty at home in our nearly empty lounge. After we got home, we spread out a towel (our picnic blanket) on the floor with plates and juice bottles. Evie was bobbing to get some of that stuff in her little mouth and when she did, she never let go. Jozie picked all the chocolate sprinkles off (she doesn't like anything that looks "messy" on her food) while Evie chewed and chewed her doughnut with all 4 teeth until that thing looked....wierd. She took it out of her mouth from time to time, clutched it tightly, looked at it intently, turned it over, shoved it back in and repeated this process over an over. Gross.
In the late afternoon, we were in the mood to go out again and this time we didn't take the "long route" to Happy Road, but went up the hill straight to it. As we left our apartment, the skies looked heavy. Everyone had umbrellas. Everyone except the Schmidts. Well, have mercy on me - pushing a buggy, carrying Evie...an umbrella would have tipped me over. So we decided to brave the drizzle. And that's all it was. A very very light, gentle rain. It's rainy season here and actually, what I've seen so far, it's just really soft. But everyone has an umbrella.
Some impressions:
* a school girl with a lovely straw hat, 2 dark pigtails, a neat uniform, white socks, black buckle shoes and her mustard yellow umbrella ...waiting at the traffic light. If only I had a camera with me - she was somehow lovely.
* a queue of elderly Japanese people waiting at the bus stop. I didn't know how to say "excuse me" so waited and waited till someone finally saw I wanted to come through. But most impressive was their stature. Tiny people! They take me up to my shoulders. Small frames, very dainty, all with dark umbrellas. Few had grey hair.
* I'm constantly amazed at how tight parking is. I will post some photos when my camera arrives as I can't explain it in words
* perfectly shaped trees and bushes. Not many gardens, but where there is a tree, boy they take care of it.
* a tiny young lady (probably in her late 20's) driving a big truck with a tractor on it's trailer. You could hardly see her behind the wheel!
* detailed attention paid to wrapping and presenting things, even the most menial. Milk (or anything from the fridge section) is wrapped separetely in a clear bag with a small neat pack of ice, if you like, to keep it chilled till you get home.
* Expensive!! Just saw grapes - a handful of them (admittedly very nice looking ones, but nevertheless - going for a cool €18 (not per kg, but for that handful!). Scary. Will have to get a feel for where is the best place to buy these things.
