FRANKFURT

ONE NIGHT IN FRANKFURT By now the kids are beyond fried and hungry. We park the car and walk along the river. Which seems to be the prettiest part of town, which is NOT saying much, since Frankfurt is an armpit town. But pe

ople are out and musicians are playing. Unfortunately, we can’t find any food for them. Hubbie finally searches out a gelateria and gets Petite some ice cream while M.P. is fascinated by a group of musicians singing by the river. All is much better and we eventually pile into the double bed in our air-conditioned room. GETTING TO KNOW FRANKFURT’S CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL *I have been to urgent care and children’s hospitals in Paris, various parts of Italy, east and west coast of USA and now Germany. Shall I be continuing a tour of worldwide pediatric facilitites? The next day Miss Pudding is still having trouble breathing. Hubbie has a very important shoot for Apple. I had no idea Frankfurt would be so crappy. Hubbie drops me with Miss Pudding at the children’s hospital (after first going to the wrong hospital). Luckily, the doctor is not an idiot and understand immediately to prescribe a liquid steroid. I can’t manage Petite in hysterics at the hospital so Hubbie takes her to the Apple shoot with him. Thank goodness this doctor knows his stuff (note to self: next time go immediately to the children’s hospital). I pay and stroller Miss Pudding, who is practically passed out, to the pharmacy a few blocks away. She has sucked down so much gunk into her chest that she throws up as soon as we arrive but luckily, before I’ve given her the medicine. I finally get the meds into her and she perks up immediately. I find a taxi and get her back to the hotel. Hubbie drops Petite off with me. Now I have Miss Pudding, who is happy to lie in the A/C and watch a movie, and Petite who is raring to go and to whom, in a state of desperation last night, I had told I would take to a shopping mall. I ask at the front desk and of course, the mall I had spied on route to the pharmacy is still under construction. We are in a hot armpit city and I just am out of ideas for entertaining spirited Petite in our tiny hotel room all day. The lobby isn’t even cool enough to play in. Hubbie’s Apple contact gives me the name of another shopping area and I pop the kids in a taxi and we head to “the mall”. Miss Pudding has perked up and happy to be strolled around while Petite window shops and I search, unsuccessfully, for something for them to eat. Eventually we take a cab back to the hotel and collapse in the AC and wait for Hubbie to return.

URGENT CARE GERMAN STYLE

URGENT CARE GERMAN STYLE Miss Pudding is wheezing so we ask about a doctor. Turns out Urgent Care is next door. Petite becomes hysterical. Absolute terror about being in a medical facility (in the waiting room). Is crying and freaking out begging us to take her outside. But we can’t. I’m holding Miss Pudding and Hubbie is trying to check us in. She’s completely hysterical. We finally get to see the doc. Who speaks English. Miss Pudding is now crying (of course) because the doctor is scary and she’s only 4 years old! The doc seems irritated and says she can’t possibly hear Miss Pudding’s breathing with the stethoscope because M.P. is crying too much. WHAT? I show her M.P’s inhaler and explain that in the past she has been given a liquid or inhalant steroid. The doctor says it is not possible for her to do this (wtf?) And we must give her a suppository. Which I refuse to do because seriously, M.P. has no idea what that is and wouldn’t you be freaked out if someone shoved something up your butt? Plus, I know there is another option – liquid steroid. In a huff, the doctor finally calls the pharmacy and then reports that the pharmacy does not have the appropriate child medication so we will have to go to the children’s hospital. It is now 9pm. The kids have been in the car since 10am, haven’t eaten, are sweltering and completely freaked out. I ask the doc if possibly, another pharmacy IN THE ENTIRE CITY might have the right medication and can she just give me a prescription? “I don’t have time to call all the pharmacies!” she barks. I’m ready to slap her but restrain myself and ask again can she just give me the prescription, I promise I will give the suppository (not). Finally, prescription in hand, the nice receptionist jots down (illegibly) the address of closest pharmacy. We pile in the car and set off (thank god for GPS). The pharmacy is closed but supposedly is open 24 hours so I ring the bell. The pharmacy slides open the little mailbox and I hand her the prescription, crossing my fingers and toes. She glances at it and asks if the doctor is the one who called her a half hour ago. Shit. Then I notice she is pointing to the word “spacer” on the prescription – the inhaler that we HAVE already for M.P. The one the doctor SAW that we have. We don’t need that. We have one! “Oh”, she says, “in that case, no problem. I have the medication you need”. What? That dumb ass doctor. I am so thankful to get the medication. We give MP the inhalant and she seems a bit better.

FRANKFURT

Things REALLY go downhill once we drive to Frankfurt. Traffic, heat, air conditioning in the car goes bust. Miss Pudding has a sniffle that turns into asthma. As soon as we arrive at the crappy hotel (in Frankfurt which is an armpit city!) – I am desperate to get the girls into A/C. We arrive at the hotel and I realize my wallet is missing. I last had it when we stopped along the auto route. I remember searching for 2 euros to buy the girls gummi bears. Now it is gone. I am less concerned about my driver’s license than about than my debit cards for USA, French and Italian banks as well as my Am Ex which, at least, is easy to cancel. Turns out the Best Western DOESN’T have A/C. Honestly, I’m not someone who looks for any amenitiess in a hotel, even A/C unless it is sweltering. Which it is. We don’t know what to do. We have prepaid for the room. They finally give us a room that is practically underground but does have A/C.

ZELL UM SEE

We are headed to Frankfurt for Hubbie’s photo shoot. So we decide to drive through Austria and check it out (why not?). We stop in Kitzbuhel, a ski area recommended by a friend. Then to Zell Um See, Austria, which we pick as a destination because it is a lake on our route. We have no idea it is so well known. Just need somewhere cool to go with the kids. After an hour driving all over the area looking for a room, we end up at Pensione Claudia, a family inn, run by Claudia. It is just a five minute walk to the lake so we stroll the girls down to a lovely grassy area for lounging and a swimming pool, lakeside, and of course a playground. The next night happens to be one of the annual town beer fests. The girls have been angling for us to buy them traditional Austrian dresses and they are so cute I can’t resist. Miss Pudding LOVES hers. Petite just loves buying clothes. As soon as Miss Pudding puts her dress on and notices the dancing stage, she insists on dragging Hubbie up to try an Austrian polka. She exclaims, “I just HAVE to dance in this dress.”

The Dolomites

Next, we drive north to the Dolomites (ocean for hubbie, mountains for me) – cooler and less expensive and gorgeous mountains. Really, with my kids just need a good play park and swimming pool. Fabulous playground with mountain views and a pool in town. LOVE it there. FABULOUS. My favorite place. Hubbie and I had come to Canazei ten years ago to ski. The skiing is fantastic. The towns are charming, the lifts are accessible and there is fabulous food everywhere. We discovered that skiing Italian style is basically, take a lift up, have a coffee and a brioche, ski down, have a glass of wine, take the lift up, have a delicious lunch of risotto or pasta, a meat dish, or a "light" lunch of panino. Of course, enjoy a beer or glass of wine. Ski down, have an espresso. Take the lift up, have a biscotti, ski down and it is probably time for aperotivos. The Sellaronda is a serious of lifts and gondolas that circulate the Dolomite mountains and towns, taking you from one town to another, connecting the towns with ski trails. It is very accessible for the intermediate, casual skier and a lovely way to explore the region. Summer is no less spectacular with cool breezes, hills covered with bright green grass, dotted with almost vividly colorful wildflowers. Snow capped mountain peaks surround the valley of Canazei. It is an ideal family destination in winter, with ski school for children or summer, with adventure parks, playgrounds, biking and swimming pools. Unfortunately, once we left, things went downhill.

ON THE ROAD FROM Villa San Lorenzo

The villa is booked for two weeks so are hitting the road. Packed up the car, strapped in the kids, and starting off by heading south to the island of Elba. We spend a few days in Elba which is lovely but a four hour drive PLUS waiting 2 hours for ferry and then driving to hotel from ferry. We stay at X, an all inclusive family resort. There is an enormous shallow pool, which is perfect for the kids, but is VERY salty and Miss Pudding complains that her eyes are irritated. On the plus side, the place is geared towards families and there is a staff of four college kids whose job was to facilitate games and activities with the kids day and night. My kids are shy but they like the idea. We spend the first night dancing to hokey tunes. The staff immediately love me because I am the only adult who will get up and dance with the kids. I figure, what do I have to lose? And i need the exercise :) Petite is shy at first but is also very intent on copying the teacher's moves precisely. Miss Pudding is happy to do her own thing, moving from modern dance, to a ballet combo, as her whims guide her.

Job

Went for job interview in Bologne, Italy. Left kids with hubbie - he had to reshoot an assignment for a magazine. They requested that he find "more fashionable people". So he set off with cameras, and stroller, 4 year old and 6 year old daughters (Miss Pudding and Petite) in tow. Petite, a born fashionista, had just indulged in a shopping spree (I should get an award for standing in line for thirty minutes at a "hip" clothing store, music blaring, waiting to pay for her clothes). Note to self: do NOT shop on the Sunday of the summer sales. Petite was wearing her new half shirt (bare tummy) and flouncy skirt, paired with Italian sandals. Needless to say she was literally strutting down the streets, pushing her sister in the stroller. I put Petite in charge of searching for "fashionable ladies" for Papa to photograph and scampered away to get to my interview. Miss Pudding's comment "But mama. You don't need a JOB. Your JOB is taking care of us!" followed by a huge hug. Honestly, when she wraps those little arms around my neck I melt!