Monthly Archives: January 2010

A little posting on the news from 2009 as sent in our Christmas Letter.
As in the previous year, 2009 has been an eventful year for the Melbourne McGlynns. We began the year plotting and planning for our European perambulation. Cath spent many hours cruising on the internet for accommodation, travel tips and places to visit as we built up an itinerary. Meanwhile Siobhan joined the Australian Girls Choir, continued her tennis and keyboard lessons and started preparing for her First Communion. Kiara also took up tennis and was progressing with her keyboard. Dad’s taxi was getting quite the work out.
While the Europe trip seems to dominate the first half of the year we did manage to celebrate Siobhan’s First Communion, though a little earlier than everyone else because of our planned trip O/S. This seemed to suit Siobhan as she managed to avoid most of the attention and fan fare and most importantly the dreaded white dress.
We also finally managed to get a builder to start on the renovation of the old bathroom and of course the start time was about 3 weeks before we were due to fly out of Australia. Fortunately Cath’s brother Joe offered to help out and manage the job while we were gone. So we crossed our fingers and let it start… I also finally managed to find the time to replace the weatherboards on the North side of the house. Could all our renovations be nearly done?
Finally at the beginning of June our grand trip began. First stop Bangkok for a week with Therese and her family. A nice bit of wind down after all the hectic build up and some family bonding with the cousins. We managed a little trip up to the Royal Summer Palace and to the Grand Palace in Bangkok to see some marvellous Buddhist temples. From Bangkok it was on to Vienna for 10 days were we visited Cath’s friend Jacqui and her family, which entailed much play between our two girls and their two 9-year-olds, plus visits to various ice cream parlours, cathedrals, palaces and art galleries. The girls were rather impressed with their first taste of European culture but more so with the ice creams and Jacqui’s twin daughters.
From Vienna we went to Halstatt, a picturesque village by an alpine glacial lake. Truly magical. In Salzburg, it rained a lot but we still managed a medieval festival (great fun!) and a “Sound of Music” tour. Austria gave way to southern Germany and the Romantic Road where Cath braved driving the Autobahns and I hid behind the maps. She’s a brave and patient girl.
Onward we travelled to Padua & Venice, where Siobhan celebrated her 10th birthday with a gondola ride complete with spunky young gondolier who actually sang. From Padua we visited romantic Verona. Then a too-brief stay in Turin, home of the “Mole” and the museum of cinema. Must go back there some time. We had a few days in Lyon with its amazing Fourvière district and the traboules before meeting up with Cath’s brother Paul and his family for a brief stay in a little village called Sarcey outside Lyon. Ah for the country life, marching in a Bastille Day parade, visiting the most picturesque medieval village in France, smelling the cows as they come into be milked, fighting off the !@###@ flies!! Finally it was on to Paris for some serious culture and several fairs to keep the kids amused. Kiara and Siobhan were mainly interested in playing with their cousins and we in sampling the French cuisine. Still we saw the Mona Lisa, Sacre Coeur, the Paris Sewers, the Arc de Triomphe and the finish of the Tour de France (just 2 hours before the riders got there!).
Finally it was back home via Paris airport and a bomb scare (watch out for Barbies with pink bags), a midnight transfer at Vienna and an over night stop in Bangkok. Megabytes of photos and a blur of memories but still so worth it. Siobhan loved Italy and Kiara loved ordering ice creams there. They can now order ice creams in four languages.
Having got back home after 2 months away we now found we had a beautiful new bathroom and hallway. We finalised the installation of some solar panels to do our bit, and feeling we had a bit of free time started planning a belated 50th for yours truly.
Once again Cath was a tower of strength and planning skills, even organising a live band for the big day. So with people coming from near and far, including a few repeat party animals from Sydney in Sue and her family, Mum and Liz a great time was had by all. It has been suggested that I may have got a bit merry on the night, but I don’t remember any such thing. BTW thanks for The Beatles set – we’re all enjoying it.
Siobhan came back feeling a bit ambiguous about Australian Girls Choir until the end of the year concert in which she performed at the Arts Centre. It was a fantastic show & a great experience for her. I’m not sure she has come down from the buzz yet. Tennis and keyboard also keep Siobhan busy as she continues to improve.
Not to be left out of the excitement Kiara has been enjoying her keyboard and is progressing well. She also seems to be enjoying tennis and having had a taste of NETA (pre-netball) has signed up to play Netball next year. She is also trying to work out whether to do singing or dancing classes if she can fit them in. Meanwhile she sings morning, noon & night and in her sleep as well! We all love that.
Paul has accepted a promotion for next year & returns to full-time work for the first time since Kiara was born in 2001. Cath will cut back a bit & is looking forward to some more time at home and a chance to get some painting done.