Traversata 2010

The finishing line is blown up...

Canoes are ready... to catch any drowners, dawdlers and my husband if he again tries to leg it to Italy... Ready and in position
My better half is ready and promising to keep a straight line this time and to leave the canoeists alone.

Just waiting for the official times of the 2 and a half kilometer crossing of the lake to be added online, between clicking refresh button time and again, I thought I should use the time wisely instead and show off some of the photos I snapped today of my wonderful husband, and some other swimmers that took part in the 78th crossing of Lake Lugano.

This is how it starts, we don't get to see it as we are waiting on the finish line, so I took this image from the newspaper online clipping (they are fast) of Ticinonews. So about 500 swimmers (530 this year record) go in water on the other side of the lake and proceed for 2,5 km in vague direction of the opposite shore in the hope to arrive to the public beach, or as it would be better known by Italian speaking public Lido of Lugano.

They are coming! I can see them with my bare eye... All 500 odd of them.
And here is my husband, and still despite his promises he ended up tangled up on the floats to the side of the finishing line with people pictured here in the boat shouting themselves hoarse "To the LEFT! Keep to the LEFT!" Except of course, when you are swimming with the face in the water it must be hard to hear...
He made it anyway, and in comparison with last year took 20 minutes off the time. This year he did the 2500 metres in 59 minutes according to the date stamps on the photos. I am so proud! The whole family is very proud! And now off to check the official times... again.

Must sees around the area

If you ever tire of catching lizards and bugs in our back garden here are



10 favourite places of the Biddis family are ( in no particular order) as it comes to my mind really

1) our swimming pool, it's Olimpic sized, and open-air, and it's rather vast and beautiful, you are allowed to jump and generally have fun in it, like a bomb-diving 42 year old wouldn't be frowned upon for instance, it has got two types of lizards for children to catch in the grounds, if you are into it, and it is a pool Italians cross the border for and bring their families for a Sunday out to.



2) Val Verzasca with the Dam where they filmed something of James Bond and a Roman bridge, famous with topless jumping German ladies.

3) Bellinzona Castles three one on top of the other, on the slope of the same mountain with magnificent views (wonderful day out, as children can really let the steam out running around after a tasty pizza) and parents can have a leasurely walk around and absorb the view


4) Monte Tamaro where you go by the cable car , and find yourself in Adventureland

for the kids, roaming cows and a super picnic spot, just plonk yourself anywhere in the grass :)

5) walk through the Botanical Gardens just a few steps up from our back door to the "Horses place" Alpe Vicania , through the forest down to Morcote and our lake , and a visit to Parco Scherer

6) visit to Town of Lugano, especially during the street performances of the Estival (summer festival)

7) High altitude Lake Ritom with a four hour walk through the Alpine meadows and marmots, and a multitude of insects if you happen to like those, as you will see the flowers you might have never seen before

8) Locarno and Lago Maggiore

9) Parco Ciani and Lido (beach)

10) our village, actually, pedestrian old part of it at any rate

Can't hunt for more photos, as it's close to midnight and tomorrow is a work day for JB, ttfn, sweet dreams.

Manchester

And what do you do for holidays? We played tag-along kids with JB this time, he had to make a tutorial for other geeks in Manchester, so we went too, it being summer hols for kids, and it being held so close to home... and the timing so close to release of the new Twilight installment... Going to see Eclipse on Sunday ! Woo-hoo! as my special Birthday treat, slightly postponed... good things are worth waiting for, aren't they?! :)


So as for Manchester. You'd hear it's grey and mucky and wet... Not if you have a week of bright sunshine, and England is still (not for long but still) in with a chance for a world cup... No, in that case the sky is blue, people - smily, and to tell the truth, I was pleasantly surprised with people... very very friendly, very polite, happy and observant, ready to help, absolutely opposite of Londoners indeed. Scary looking and covered with tatoos youths, saying thank you and have a good day to a bus driver, pierced alll over and bubblegum pink-haired teens giving way to the elderly, and offering help to people with prams... I am in awe!


So thanks to these two factors: wonderful weather, and lovely people, the grey didn't look grey but sand coloured, or sun-kissed, and the life was beautiful and easy.


Manchester is really not boasting with green, trees are hard to come by and far apart, and parks are a bit scantily clad with grass...
This is the biggest green patch we found, called Piccadilly Gardens. And you can see the extent of its beauty... So for the second best we went to all the musea that were within our walking range, or walked among industrial landscape, and had generally a very good time.
Nice to have easily amused kids, here is the oldest enjoying a cord or two on the piano that we found by the ladies' bathroom at Frankie and Benny's one lunch time.

Our gecko's sad tale

This is a sad "tail" indeed, as our new-ish pets Edward and Bella had a surprise for us this morning. Edward's tail was missing. Not the whole tail luckily, just a segment of almost half its original length. The kids were upset, we were upset, and we were trying to figure out what was going on. If Edward and Bella were fighting, then we have to separate them immediately, if they weren't... "who dun it?" so to say.

this is our beautiful leopard gecko Edward, the last picture with the tail still there, taken yesterday, after a day at the pool...

This is the tiny lizard the kids caught at the pool. We figured it being so small and diurnal she'd be no trouble for our leos... with hind sight I wish we left her there and then.

I am glad we didn't get this dude, come to think of it... This one is locally known as a Ramarro, or a grass lizard



We came home, fed the geckos, and Edward wasn't hungry, or already intimidated by his in-mate...??? aka our beautiful Bella.
She is licking her chops, if she is the one, and the tail of her mate gone and eaten, brrr... I am shuddering to think it... But then they were co-habiting quite happily for two months or so... I don't want to believe it but neither do I want to find our sweet little Edward chewed up tomorrow. We have thrown out the little intruder, brought by the kids, and we hope that Edward will recover very very soon!
But for now it is a sad poor Edward... My poor dear Edward...

С днем Рождения, Баба Марина!

Дорогая баба Марина,

Если ты сегодня чувствуешь себя без нас немножечко вот так


или вот так,


а может быть так?!!

то это нам совсем не пойдет!

Мы хотели бы приподнять твое настроение вот так:

или перевернуть его вверх тормашками вот так

или хотя бы повеселить тебя немного вот так...

*****************************************************************

Если бы только была чуть-чуточку поближе, мы бы приготовили тебе завтрак
вот так....
отжали бы свежий апельсиновый "носочек"!!!
вот такой...,

мы бы даже дали тебе облизать ложку
вот так
**********************************************************
Мы собрали бы тебе свежий букетик
вот такой....
или даже целую икебану
вот такую...

Да мы подарили бы тебе весь куст
вот так!!!!

Мы бы сыграли тебе новую песню,
вот так...
прочитали бы тебе новую книгу
вот так...
отвели бы тебя на прогулку
вот так....
обняли бы тебя крепко-крепко
вот так!!!!
приготовили бы тебе "тортик-мортик-скортик"
вот такой!!!

и даже дали бы тебе порулить и побибикать

вот так....

Как ты думаешь, сработало бы?????


******************************************************
Мы правда старались... приблизиться к тебе хотя бы самую капельку...
вот так... Хотели, чтобы ты улыбнулась ...вот так...

повеселела
вот так...
запела бы
вот так
и даже, может быть, запрыгала...

вот так!!!
Но теперь о серьезном! Мы по тебе скучаем! Мы желаем тебе хорошего настроения в твой день Рождения!!!
И хотим только одного! Поскорее увидеться!!!

А посему...



Целуем, твои Биддискомбы и Биддискомбчики!