Tuesday, February 20, 2024
Exhaustion
Saturday, February 03, 2024
A baby photoshoot
Veronica was completely enamoured with Pickle. He was so small and delicate. She wanted to capture every moment of his life. Our phones were filling up fast with photos and videos, but more was still needed.
Professional support was needed to satisfy Veronica's requirements. She found a studio online that did at home visits to do baby photoshoots. I wasn't sure how I felt about it all. It seemed all a bit much. I loved having Pickle in our lives, but did we need to go to these lengths to capture these early moments of his life?We probably didn't, but like with many things in life, "need" is a strong word. We may not need many things, but that doesn't mean that they aren't nice to have. The pictures came out well. The photographers seemed to be baby whisperers, able to calm and sooth at all times, which resulted in some incredible pictures.
Friday, January 19, 2024
A new arrival
The intensity and the pain that Veronica went through was incredible to witness and to be near. It was an emotional experience as I tried to encourage and support her as best as I could from my position to the side. I held her hand. I spoke as many words of support as I could think of. I helped her count. The nurses urged me to be vocal in my support and so I took on as much of a coaching role as I could. It seemed apt. I gave her timing instructions. I helped her with her pacing. I gave her unwavering moral support. What more could I do? I was deeply invested in this and yet I felt incredibly impotent and powerless through it all. There was ultimately nothing I could really do. This was something Veronica had to go through alone, with all of us mere bystanders hoping to be of some minor help.
Thursday, January 18, 2024
Waiting for a new arrival
I walked around the grounds of the hospital a bit. I tried to stay calm and rational. The fresh air helped, but I thought it best to keep my busy so I went back to the cafe and worked. There wasn't anything else I could do, so I used this time to deal with open work matters and to close things off as much as I could before the baby's arrival.
Once the evening visiting hours arrived, I rushed back upstairs to be with Veronica. She had been suffering but was still it seemed no where close to labour. I waited with her. We walked around the ward together and as I tried to provide her with as much comfort as possible. The nurse checked her again close to when it was time for me to go. There was still a lot of time to wait. She told me that I should go and find somewhere to get some sleep, she even said that it wasn't time yet for me to be pacing in the hallway! I wanted to stay close, so I called a friend who lived nearby and arranged to crash at his place.
Sunday, December 24, 2023
Pavlova Christmas
Fully decorated, it is a thing of beauty. After our dinner, Veronica's family all took a slice and quickly embraced it. Who doesn't love a good pav?
Friday, September 08, 2023
Heavy rains
The typhoon had come and gone. So Hong Kong was now back to normal.
Well that's what we all thought.
Instead we were all in for a big surprise. As I prepared for bed one night, I could hear the rain outside. It had been wet since the typhoon, so this wasn't anything out of the ordinary. The rain was getting heavier. I could hear the rain coming down hard. It was still nothing out of the ordinary. Heavy rain can be common in Hong Kong, so much so that there's a system of warnings in place at the Hong Kong Observatory to warning people when it gets too much. I didn't think much of it as I lay in bed and closed my eyes. I could still hear the heavy rain. It was actually quite a soothing sound and I was soon asleep.
I woke up to the sound of rain.
I wasn't sure if I had slept. The rain sounded as heavy as it had been when I had fallen asleep. I wondered if it was still early or if I had only been asleep a short time. I looked at my clock. There was no mistake, I had slept the full night and it was the morning. I thought that maybe it was just a coincidence that the rain had been at its heaviest when I slept and when I woke. Strangely, in the back of my mind I did wonder whether the heavy rain had persisted through the night.
I stepped out of bed and looked out the window.
It hadn't been a coincidence. It had indeed rained heavily all night. We were to find out later that this had been the heaviest rain that Hong Kong had ever experienced. It was a once in 500 year event that had completely saturated the city and left flooding all over. There was reports and videos of landslides, flooded buildings and general mayhem.This was a different case altogether, and the flooding had gone above that first step which meant a long and expensive clean up for many of the ground and basement stores throughout the city.
Saturday, September 02, 2023
Super typhoon days
The worst of it hadn't lasted that long, but there was damage everywhere. It didn't seem too serious, but trees had been felled and there was garbage and debris scattered everywhere.
What was most amazing though was that everything seemed to be restarting already. Only a few hours had past since the warning signals had been lowered and everyone was already getting on with their lives. Chainsaws roared everywhere as the clean up crews were busily dealing with the trees. We had a farewell dinner planned that night for Rachel. We had been worried it would be cancelled and yet it all still went forward without a hitch.
Wednesday, August 16, 2023
Taormina
For a place completed inundated with tourists, many of whom would day trip in from the region or the much larger city of Catania, we found we were able to easily find places of quiet and calm. Of the main street that crossed the entire town, there were secluded spots where we were able to enjoy a meal or to simply sit and look out at the scenery.
As much as I enjoyed these more unique creations, we were ultimately drawn back to the tradition of Italy. Maybe there was something to be said about keeping a closer adherence to the past in Italy? We ate the traditional cakes, ate the red prawns and tried the granita.
All of it was amazing. I'm sure there was an element of the location adding to the enjoyment, but the quality of the produce used in everything was apparent in everything.
As with many of the other places we have had the good fortune of visiting, it seemed that the evenings were the best time. There was still an incredible liveliness and energy in the place, but the slight decrease in numbers and the heat made the whole place more welcoming and friendly.
The mood of every street seemed to be buoyant, as travelers and locals alike gathered in the restaurants and cafes. We continued our walking up and down, stopping in and out of the stores. Eating the gelato. Trying the granita. Having a drink. Browsing the shops. Over and over again, without any feeling of repetition or boredom. It was a lovely and idyllic time were were having.
Tuesday, August 15, 2023
Approaching Mt Etna
We arrived in front of the grand old hotel. We checked in quickly, and I immediately took Veronica with me down through the hotel garden to the pool with the spectacular view. Perched out at the very end of a cliff, it had a commanding view that looked out towards the ocean. I jumped straight into the water, wading up and down gazing back and forth towards both the sea and the mountain. This would be a good place to spend the next few days.
Monday, August 14, 2023
Ferragosto in Cefalu
I had been a little bit concerned about the timing of the holiday. I had booked the trip for the middle of August, which hits not only the tourist high season, but also the mid year public holiday in Italy called "Ferragosto". This holiday dated back to ancient times and was the mid way mark of holidays for most local Italians. So not only would we be competing with the foreign crowds, we would very likely be competing with the local Italian crowds as well as some potential holiday closures. I hadn't taken any of this into consideration when I had booked the trip, so as the big day approached I was wondered whether there would be any negative impacts for us.
On the night before, we left Palermo and boarded a train for the beach town of Cefalu.
It was a very full train.
A train that became progressively more full the further we went. This wasn't an express train between towns, this was a commuter train that seemed to be doing the milk run between Palermo and Messina. There weren't any other options though, so short of hiring a driver to take us, this seemed to be the only way to go. We were fortunate enough to get seats, but we also had all of our luggage with us. At every stop coming out of Palermo, more people boarded the train. It wasn't long before there was almost no space left at all, with people crammed into the aisle and standing shoulder to shoulder in the doorways. These trains have a reputation for pickpockets and theft, so I kept a keen eye on our bags. Luckily, others were also in similar situations to us and seemed to be just as mindful. The trip wasn't long, less than an hour, but with the constant stopping it felt far longer. When we arrived, we wheeled our bags the short distance to the hotel. We quickly got changed into our swimwear and headed towards the old town and the beach.
The old town of Cefalu is a lovely place. It felt every bit the Mediterranean resort town. The streets were compact and narrow, with the historic old buildings lining all the lanes to give it an intimate and welcoming feel. The tourist trade had been very kind to this town and everything seemed exceptionally well maintained. Everything was neat and tidy, all the shops and buildings were all immaculately restored.Our initial disappointment at not being closer to the main part of the old town also quickly disappeared as we discovered that we were at the part of the beach which had a long sandbank. We were able to walk along the sandbank out several hundred metres into the middle of the ocean. I went out several times, jumping in and out of the water and looking back at the picturesque town. After a few more trips in and out, I grabbed my phone and walked further out again. I stood back with Veronica and we took photos of this surreal location, being so far out in the middle of the water. The water itself was also incredibly clear. We had been lucky the last few years with our travel and we had seen the blue of the Mediterranean in different places, each time uniquely striking in its colour. This time, I was amazed by the clarity of the water. It was like a shimmering glass, so perfectly clear that I could see our feet clearly even as the water lapped at our shoulders.
We went back to the hotel for a brief rest. The beach had been very enjoyable but the heat had been tiring. We napped in our room before getting ready to go out again. It was dark and the intense heat of the day was gone, but it was still comfortably warm. We walked back towards the old town to find a place for dinner. The town had been completely transformed for the evening. With Ferragosto, there were lights and decorations everywhere.