le 29 juin - Crans, Nyon, Yvoire

After a quick trip back to the airport, Austin and I rented the car uneventfully, which was a huge relief.  By the time we returned to the village of Crans, Patrick's fever had subsided.  Sophie slept later than ever, so we work her up finally at 10:30am.  We headed along Lac Léman (Lake Geneva) up to Nyon, Suisse.  (That's not the Nyons-with-the-olives in southern France)

Nyon is a lovely medieval town overlooking the lake.  Austin needed some decent leather sandals for strolling around quaint European villages, so we did some shopping.  We paused for a little picnic next the lake with some baguettes, some other yummy bread, brie, sliced ham (why is it so much better in Europe?), salami, and some fresh cherries.  The kids walked along the stone wall, tempting the swans, ducks, and little birds with the crumbs from their baguettes.  After, we crossed the street for our first espressos of the trip which were perfect, while Heather and her friend Susanne had "des renversés," which seem to be basically "café au lait", but here in Switzerland apparently they are more likely to be called "renversé."  Booming thunder in the distance pushed cold air into town, so our stroll around Nyon was quite comfortable in the upper 70s.  At the café after lunch, Patrick became really chilly and we realized his fever was back.

We took the boat across the lake to France, to a gorgeous little village called Yvoire.  It's not far from Evian, where, obviously, Evian water has its source.  The flowers in the window boxes are beautiful and lush, and the boutiques were charming.  The kids enjoyed dipping their hands under the flowing water at the public fountains, learning the difference between "eau potable" and "eau non-potable."  Austin and Patrick sat around on corners, since Patrick wasn't feeling too well, while the "girls" did some window shopping.  One gift was bought, for my mom.

The lightening across in Switzerland never reached us, but the rain did, just before boarding the boat to return.  This boat was a big, good-looking paddle boat, with a proper dining room and first class area.  Patrick nodded off while Austin and Sophie explored the ship.

Now Patrick is sleeping on the rug on the floor of the living room.  Sophie challenged her dad to a game of chess, Susanne is doing work on her computer and Heather is planning her vacation for southern France, not far from Carcassonne.

A simple dinner is planned, because we didn't really plan one.  Austin and I hope the Spain-Portugal game will keep us awake and alert so we can get over the jet-lag.

Les Grandes Vacances

I was going to write a clever email detailing our first 24 hours in Geneva, Switzerland.  Instead, here are just a few highlights:

Sent the incorrect itinerary to our friend Heather who lives here.  She arrived to meet us on Monday around 11:30am, but we didn't arrive until 3pm or so.  Took a while to figure out how to call her on a pay phone.  Pay phone!  When is the last time you used one of those.

Geneva airport has a French and Swiss side.  Went back and forth between the countries trying to find the right Hertz.  Patrick straddled both countries for a few minutes.

The reservation we had for our rental car didn't exist in the system.  No cars were immediately available, and if we took a car that day, we were going to have to pay close to $1600 for 24 days - and for a small/medium-sized car.  Austin figured out the free wi-fi at the airport and sitting on luggage next to Hertz, reserved and paid for a car to pick up on Tuesday morning.

Finally made contact with Heather and met her!  Stuffed all our luggage and the 5 of us into her car, and went to her Swiss village of Crans.

Had some good local wine from the chateau/winery here in the village of Crans at dinner.

Sophie slept from 8pm to 10:30am.

Patrick woke up at midnight and tossed and turned until around 2am.  He woke up this morning at 8:15am when Austin and I got up to go back to the airport for the rental.  Patrick has a headache, and a fever.  Heather walked down to the pharmacy to get a thermometer and kids' ibuprofen.  He is still pretty docile and not feeling great, but not grouchy.

We might take a boat across Lake Geneva to a French village to stroll around.  No big plans until Patrick feels better...

Go Get Swabbed - Be a Bone Marrow Donor

If you are in the DC area, please consider a few minutes out of your busy day to support this cause.

Dear Friends,

Please consider signing up as a bone marrow donor on Saturday.  It is as simple as filling out a form and having the inside of your cheek swabbed with a Q-tip!  This Sat., Oct. 17, 2009, from 9am-12pm , we will be holding a bone marrow donor drive at Key School ( 2300 Key Blvd. , Arlington click here for a map) in connection with the Family Fun Day and “MasonMile” Fun Run/Walk held at the school that day.  The bone marrow donor drive is organized in partnership with DKMS, the world’s largest bone marrow donor center.

With the drive we hope to raise awareness about the need for bone marrow donors, and to register people to potentially help others in need, like Marquis (see attached photo).  Marquis is a 14 year old sickle cell patient living in our area who, due to his condition diagnosed at birth, has had chronic issues with pain and damage to his internal organs. He has had three strokes, has been hospitalized 25 times for acute chest syndrome which leaves him unable to breathe and has endured over 100 hospitalizations for pneumonia.  Because his type of sickle cell disease is life threatening, he is in need of a bone marrow transplant, as it is in the bone marrow where either healthy cells or sickled cells are initially formed.  Marquis has been on the transplant waitlist since April but still no match has been found for him.

If the proper match can be found, Marquis will have a chance to live.  However, it is very difficult to find exact matches for those in need, particularly for people of African American or Hispanic descent, mostly because the pool of donors is not large enough.  At this time, only 3 out of 10 patients will ever find a match.  We need more people to register as bone marrow donors so that kids like Marquis and others have access to as many potential matches as possible.  Just imagine that the simple act of signing up for this bone marrow drive might save someone’s life!

Our goal is to recruit as many new bone marrow donors as possible in order to give hope to more patients around the world in need of a bone marrow transplant.  Click here to understand your commitment and find out if you are eligible to register.

Please forward this email today to everyone you know - your colleagues, friends and family - and encourage them to attend the event and register as a bone marrow donor.

DKMS is a non-profit organization with the goal of promoting bone marrow donations for the National Bone Marrow Registry and matching these with people in need.  Through the generosity of donors, DKMS is able to finance the $65 fee to cover the costs of processing the tissue type of each donor and preparing it for the National Registry.  Registering to be a bone marrow donor on Oct. 17th is free thanks to the support of DKMS, but donations are always greatly appreciated.  Every dollar counts, and 100% of your donation will be used to register donors and add them to the National Registry.

I hope that I'll see you at Key School this Saturday, Oct. 17th, and help kids like Marquis get a second chance at life.  For more information, please visit www.dkmsamericas.org.

Thank you,

Adrienne Connolly

Half the Sky

I heard about this book, Half the Sky, on Oprah recently, and just bought it last night. Even though I haven't finished it yet, I believe this is a cause we all MUST care about and TAKE ACTION. Women and girls can have a huge impact on our world, as you already know, but are being repressed in so many horrible ways worldwide. Let's talk together about how people like you and me can make a difference. I promise to write more as I read explore the book and the movement. For now...

The words that follow are from http://www.halftheskymovement.org/spread-the-word.

Come, share your passion to raise the status of women and help end global poverty. One way to start is to read "Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide." It is a new book by Pulitzer Prize-winning authors Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, and it will move you, just as it horrifies you.


But don't take just my word for it. Let me tell you what others have said of it.


Melinda Gates called it: "Both a brutal awakening and an unmistakable call to action, this book should be read by all."


Tom Brokaw said: "This is a book that will pierce your heart and arouse your conscience. It is a powerful piece of journalism by two masters of the craft who are tireless in their pursuit of one of the most shameful conditions of our time."


Angelina Jolie said: "For female readers it gives a new sense of what it is to be a woman. For husbands sons and fathers, it will infuriate and astound you. You will not want to put it down."


George Clooney, Fareed Zakaria, Greg Mortenson, Anne Rice and Khaled Hosseini also gave praise, but I'll let you see for yourself.


Kristof and WuDunn are master storytellers. Through the stories they tell of women around the world, they help us see that the key to economic progress lies in tapping the potential of half the developing world's resources: women. It turns out the best way to fight poverty and extremism is to educate and empower women and girls!


With "Half the Sky," Kristof and WuDunn are sparking a movement. Please read it, join my hand and join this new movement.

Go to: www.halftheskymovement.org



Hopeful and inspired,

Katy