springtime walks
The way Bao is now (i.e., difficult) means that J and I currently avoid going to crowded places with her. Shopping malls are a waste of time since she repeatedly throws fits about not being able to pull things off shelves, run down the escalator, etc. She's at that phase where she's desperately trying to assert her will and independence but has no sense of danger, propriety, or reason. Neither praise nor threats mean anything to her, or even if they do, she just shrugs them off and continues on her rampage. Last Sunday it was rainy and grey and not knowing where to go, all of us ended up at the almost-empty mall near our home again. Even though most of the shops were shut Bao still managed to find trouble - scaling the railings on the second floor, for one - and it was still a stressful affair for all involved.
So now whenever the weather is good we only have one option: outdoors. Although she still manages to fit in a tantrum or two as well, at least it's in a wide open space and she doesn't bother anyone.
Last Saturday was partly cloudy which was just nice - not too hot but not chilly either. We headed to the famed Jardin Botaniques (Botanical Gardens) that is a stone's throw away from where we live. Out of all of Geneva's parks, this is one of my favourites because there is more to see than just trees and plants. There is plenty of open space, several working conservatories and greenhouses, a pretty landscaped area with lots of benches dotted around so you can stop for a sit and a snack, a grand promenade with huge trees that supposedly date back to the 19th century, and more. For the kids there is a large playground, a vintage split-level carousel called the Carousel of Fairy Tales and a small petting zoo.
Depending on our mood we usually pick an area of the garden to focus on. This time we decided to take it easy and explore the greenhouse area. I won't bore anyone with descriptions of plants and flowers; it's enough to say that spring makes up for all the dreariness that winter brings! Bao was happy because she got to walk wherever she wanted without anyone trying to hold her hand or restrain her. She picked up random pebbles and twigs along the way, tried to draw in the gravel with her fingers, and often lagged far, far behind the rest of us, but once she was happy with whatever she was doing she would catch up with us, pleased as a bird.
We got sushi takeout for lunch back home and Bao took her nap willingly, tired out after all that walking.
After she woke and had her lunch we wanted to take advantage of the sunshine and went out walking again, this time to a nature trail called L'etang des écrivisses (the pond of crayfish). There isn't an actual pond, at least not one that we found that day, but there is a small stream that runs right next to the trail. No idea if there were any crayfish though! The other side of the trail opens out into large rapeseed fields dotted with copses of trees. It is located in a very quiet residential neighbourhood and we only discovered this thanks to a brochure detailing places to explore in Geneva's countryside.
Again, both kids enjoyed the walk immensely. There were a couple of incidents concerning Bao vs. the stream, but on the whole the walk went well. Bao is happiest outdoors or at home, I think, where she can (mostly) march to the beat of her own drum and explore things. The kids especially loved all the dandelion puffs that are everywhere right now; Bao can't blow on them yet but she rips them off with her hands and throws them around.
The fun has to end somehow…
So that was us, whiling Saturday away slowly amongst Mother Nature. I guess one of the reasons why my family quickly got bored of all the parks and scenic walks was because the pace was too slow for them. They still had Singapore's fast-paced rhythm beating through them. For the four of us living here though, we've slowed down a lot because that's simply the pace of life here, and having a recalcitrant toddler to wrangle shrinks our world and sense of time even more. Time has slipped by quickly just like that, and in a couple of months we will have spent our first full year here.
So now whenever the weather is good we only have one option: outdoors. Although she still manages to fit in a tantrum or two as well, at least it's in a wide open space and she doesn't bother anyone.
Last Saturday was partly cloudy which was just nice - not too hot but not chilly either. We headed to the famed Jardin Botaniques (Botanical Gardens) that is a stone's throw away from where we live. Out of all of Geneva's parks, this is one of my favourites because there is more to see than just trees and plants. There is plenty of open space, several working conservatories and greenhouses, a pretty landscaped area with lots of benches dotted around so you can stop for a sit and a snack, a grand promenade with huge trees that supposedly date back to the 19th century, and more. For the kids there is a large playground, a vintage split-level carousel called the Carousel of Fairy Tales and a small petting zoo.
Depending on our mood we usually pick an area of the garden to focus on. This time we decided to take it easy and explore the greenhouse area. I won't bore anyone with descriptions of plants and flowers; it's enough to say that spring makes up for all the dreariness that winter brings! Bao was happy because she got to walk wherever she wanted without anyone trying to hold her hand or restrain her. She picked up random pebbles and twigs along the way, tried to draw in the gravel with her fingers, and often lagged far, far behind the rest of us, but once she was happy with whatever she was doing she would catch up with us, pleased as a bird.
We got sushi takeout for lunch back home and Bao took her nap willingly, tired out after all that walking.
After she woke and had her lunch we wanted to take advantage of the sunshine and went out walking again, this time to a nature trail called L'etang des écrivisses (the pond of crayfish). There isn't an actual pond, at least not one that we found that day, but there is a small stream that runs right next to the trail. No idea if there were any crayfish though! The other side of the trail opens out into large rapeseed fields dotted with copses of trees. It is located in a very quiet residential neighbourhood and we only discovered this thanks to a brochure detailing places to explore in Geneva's countryside.
Again, both kids enjoyed the walk immensely. There were a couple of incidents concerning Bao vs. the stream, but on the whole the walk went well. Bao is happiest outdoors or at home, I think, where she can (mostly) march to the beat of her own drum and explore things. The kids especially loved all the dandelion puffs that are everywhere right now; Bao can't blow on them yet but she rips them off with her hands and throws them around.
The fun has to end somehow…
So that was us, whiling Saturday away slowly amongst Mother Nature. I guess one of the reasons why my family quickly got bored of all the parks and scenic walks was because the pace was too slow for them. They still had Singapore's fast-paced rhythm beating through them. For the four of us living here though, we've slowed down a lot because that's simply the pace of life here, and having a recalcitrant toddler to wrangle shrinks our world and sense of time even more. Time has slipped by quickly just like that, and in a couple of months we will have spent our first full year here.