Sunday 13 November 2011
Charles and Dian's day:
"H..i..i...." The voice on the cell phone at 9 AM was very groggy. Bless her heart, Nicole had heeded the request to call the next morning, not too late, so we could all get together for her pre-birthday lunch sometime before the sun went down. We were anticipating that the newly-reunited Samohi buddies Nicole and Lisa might stay up really late jabbering in Lisa's dorm room at Franklin College in Sorengo, Switzerland. So much to catch up on. Charles was touched by her dutiful effort and told her to go back to sleep, birthday girl, and thanks, we'd see them around noon.
At noon the four of us took off for Lugano (the much larger lake town down the hill from Sorengo) to search for a lunch spot, something fitting to the importance of the celebration, but without spending more for lunch than we did for her birth and education combined. Not an easy task in the land of $20-up spaghetti plates but we finally found a nice panini place with an extensive menu, on the sidewalk right across the street from the lake. Score.
Nicole lucked out by ordering hot chocolate -- she got densa-style, thick enough to require a spoon, for eating not stirring. Presents were presented: a small box of Ferrero Rocher, her favorite chocolates, a cool "18 Year Old" cartoon card in Italian, and something special -- a pendant her mom fashioned of a piece of ceramic Nicole found on a beach in Italy, hung from a chain her mom and dad picked out in Piegaro, at their favorite little store. She seemed pleased, and put it on right away. And everyone enjoyed their paninis (Italian toasted sandwiches).
They strolled a bit after lunch but Lisa announced she had a paper to work on, so she and Nicole headed back while Dian and Charles strolled on, window shopping in the land of Cartier and Rolex (all closed on Sunday) and searching for the perfect special cake for the actual birthday the next day. They held out and finally found a winner, a fantastic-looking pear and chocolate mousse with dark chocolate frosting. Dang, we were glad we had that baby -- you can't just go out and buy a cake like that for yourself for no reason.
Back at the van we faced what turned out to be a very cold night. At 9 PM we heard a knock at the window and bounced outside to talk with a couple of nice RAs who were walking the campus, doing their job of looking out for the students. Usually small college campuses in Switzerland do not host camper vans in their parking lots. Fortunately, at Dian's urging, Lisa had sent an email to the administration alerting them that her visiting friend's camper had died and was stuck in the lot, and Dean Leslie Guggiari had responded, "Thanks for the notice, not a problem."
Dian survived the chill; Charles, always sensitive to the cold, thought he would die and vowed from beneath his layers of covers, Not one more night like this!
Nicole's day:
Apart from the morning festivities of a delizioso lunch and present-opening and walk around the town, Lisa and I headed back to her room. She eventually left to work in the library, but after about seven hours without hearing anything from her, I began to wonder if she'd died, or if she knew I was about to. Luckily, one of her neighbors, came in to invite me to an event going on in another building. He contacted her and as it turns out she had barricaded herself in with a friend to study. I was shown where the room was, and after Lisa apologized (and was chastised by her friends) I brought a book and iPod back so I could stay with them until late. At the stroke of midnight, one of her friends asked, "Guess what time it is?? It's your birthday!" and played a birthday song and celebrated briefly before cracking down again.
I finally called it a night a couple hours after, but Lisa didn't finish working until 7 AM.
Charles and Dian's day:
"H..i..i...." The voice on the cell phone at 9 AM was very groggy. Bless her heart, Nicole had heeded the request to call the next morning, not too late, so we could all get together for her pre-birthday lunch sometime before the sun went down. We were anticipating that the newly-reunited Samohi buddies Nicole and Lisa might stay up really late jabbering in Lisa's dorm room at Franklin College in Sorengo, Switzerland. So much to catch up on. Charles was touched by her dutiful effort and told her to go back to sleep, birthday girl, and thanks, we'd see them around noon.
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| Nicole wearing her new necklace made by Dian from a pottery shard |
They strolled a bit after lunch but Lisa announced she had a paper to work on, so she and Nicole headed back while Dian and Charles strolled on, window shopping in the land of Cartier and Rolex (all closed on Sunday) and searching for the perfect special cake for the actual birthday the next day. They held out and finally found a winner, a fantastic-looking pear and chocolate mousse with dark chocolate frosting. Dang, we were glad we had that baby -- you can't just go out and buy a cake like that for yourself for no reason.
Nicole's day:
Apart from the morning festivities of a delizioso lunch and present-opening and walk around the town, Lisa and I headed back to her room. She eventually left to work in the library, but after about seven hours without hearing anything from her, I began to wonder if she'd died, or if she knew I was about to. Luckily, one of her neighbors, came in to invite me to an event going on in another building. He contacted her and as it turns out she had barricaded herself in with a friend to study. I was shown where the room was, and after Lisa apologized (and was chastised by her friends) I brought a book and iPod back so I could stay with them until late. At the stroke of midnight, one of her friends asked, "Guess what time it is?? It's your birthday!" and played a birthday song and celebrated briefly before cracking down again.
I finally called it a night a couple hours after, but Lisa didn't finish working until 7 AM.
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