Jodi News
Babymoon
| How is it I manage to always leave it so long between updates. Every time I post something new I vow that I will be more diligent in the future - yet despite many requests to get some more pictures and news up I never get around to it. I blame work (seems only fair!) But brace yourselves - this is going to be a long entry! I should also add that Craig is going to start contributing to the site as well since there are plenty of people checking in to find out what he's been up to. So you may see some messages from both of us on here from now on. So here goes... 6 months in a nutshell! As I write we are on our babymoon - our final long trip before Isabelle is born. It's been a monumental 6 months for us. The summer following my last entry wasn't incredibly eventful - though I did manage to go to Ibiza for a week with Aref, which unbeknown to me was my last chance to really let my hair down for a while (and let my hair down I did). We had a great time, dancing up a storm - quite literally in fact - I found myself dancing in the rain and hail on top of a table in Bora Bora. Good fun! It was good to have time to catch up with Aref as well - it's not often we have time together any more. And a few short weeks after getting back Craig and I got engaged. He had bought me a trip to Paris for my birthday and it was while we were there that he proposed. It was a really magical night. We had spent the day wandering around Paris, sitting in cafes, eating crepes all the usual and that evening we got dressed up and went to Michel Rostang's restaurant (2 Michelin Stars). Absolutely beyond compare in terms of food and ambiance. It was just perfect! Afterwards we walked over to the Eiffel Tower. As we crossed the bridge in front of the Tower I stopped to take a few photos as there was a full moon right by it's tip. When I turned back Craig got down on one knee and proposed. People were cheering and clapping and I think I did well not to faint backwards over the bridge with all the excitement!!! I definitely couldn't have hoped for a more beautiful proposal and of course I said yes. It was only a few short weeks into the engagement that we then found out I was pregnant. I'm not going to pretend it wasn't a shock. I found out at 5.30am - about 15mins before I had to take a taxi to Heathrow to fly to Edinburgh for work. Craig had gone to get some milk and when he came back I threw open the door and blurted "I'm pregnant" and burst into tears. Not that I was unhappy - but it's not generally something you expect on an early Monday morning. The Times perhaps, maybe the Independent - but certainly not baby-news!I then had to rush off to Scotland for the week so no time to sit and talk, or assimilate the news together. So the first week was a bit of a blur, and probably the next few as well. We only started to tell people about it a month later when we'd reached 11 weeks and we'd had our first scan (which was a amazing - little baby doing somersaults inside me!). That was the same time that we had our engagement party which was great fun. Lots of friends, lots of alcohol (though none for me) and general merriment. We held it at Heidi's apartment in Cambden which was perfect. I had wanted to make an announcement during the night but there seemed to be a constant state of flux and no right time, so we ended up telling people as they left, which resulted in 1 minute of flurry before they had to rush off to their taxi. Not ideal - but it felt good to have told people finally! So phew... a lot has been going on. I realise just how much as I write this !!! So as alluded to, during this period I was working up in Edinburgh from Monday to Friday. Lovely city - really beautiful - though I didn't have much chance to sight-see. Aside from the fact I was working up to 13 hrs a day, I was absolutely shattered from just being pregnant, so many a night I crawled back into the hotel, ordered room service and promptly feel asleep. I was quite lucky because I didn't suffer to badly from morning sickness. Mild nausea and tiredness were my main complaints. It meant I could get on with work without too much trouble, but any thoughts of big nights out were snuffed out! In October I went to France to visit mum as planned. I stayed for a week and Craig joined us for a few days at the end. It is a beautiful area Chateau le Peyrat - and perfect for long walks, sitting in front of open fires and eating croissants! All of which I did plenty of. Craig and I are hoping to spend a month or so out there during my maternity leave. Time again to relax - but this time as a family. Or perhaps I'm been idealistic thinking it will be relaxing with a 2 month old baby! At any rate, it will be good for us all... Once back from France it wasn't too long until Christmas which we hosted at our place. A bit of a squeeze with nine people (Ben and Kristy joined us) but plenty of food, wine and presents made for a good day. On the 27the we jetted off to Turkey for 4 days. We stayed with Craig's friend Nazli in Istanbul for the first two, and then made our way down to Iznik where her father has built two homes by a lake. Absolutely idyllic! We stayed in the top bedroom of the house which has wrap around windows and uninterrupted views of the lake and surrounding mountains. I opened my eyes at sunrise on the first morning to see the sky painted with oranges, reds, pinks - all without having to lift my head from the pillow. I certainly haven't experienced that before. So our trip to Turkey was lovely. It was great to meet Nazli finally, and to see Iznik (which is Craig's little Utopia). We flew back on the 31st and were in our hotel sipping champagne for midnight. About 10 mins later I was asleep. Oh and of course on the 5the January we had our second scan -and we found out we are expecting a baby girl. Isabelle! From what they could tell everything is absolutely fine and she is growing healthily. A big relief I can tell you! And now we are a few weeks on and enjoying out baby-moon. 3 weeks of traveling through Europe. Our last big trip before Isabelle is born. We started in Rome - 7 nights in a penthouse apartment within walking distance of all the sights. And walk we did. I think we must have averaged 8 miles a day which is no small feat when you're pregnant let me assure you! But I feel pretty energetic, not much different from normal really, so it hasn't been difficult. And walking meant we got to really take in the full grandeur of the city - all the little streets and unexpected monuments which seem to spring up from everywhere. Highlights - the basilicas, wandering through the artist's district, eating gnocchi in a small Trattoria, the view from the Capitol over the Forum and the Vatican (the Gallery of Maps and the Sistine Chapel in particular). At the end of 7 days we were ready to leave, but I think it was the perfect amount of time to see Rome. Anything less and you would feel like you were just checking sights off a list which is never fun. So onwards we went - to Venice. Both of us had been there before, but in summer time and not particularly enjoyable. This time the number of tourists was comparatively small and we were staying in a lovely apartment (owned by the partner of Nazli's dad). We spent all our time just wandering through the streets, along the canals, and in cafes or restaurants. We were there for three days and I think that was enough to soak up the atmosphere. Highlights in Venice - watching a Vivaldi concert, drinking hot chocolate in a square while enjoying classical guitar, eating dinner at La Piscina, meandering along the many canals and of course Craig's birthday - 27 years old! With Venice under our belts it was onto Vienna. In retrospect I wish that we had stopped off in Florence for 3 nights en route to Venice, but we weren't aware the train took that route at the time we booked everything. As it was we had made arrangements for 6 nights in Austria. There is no doubt that Vienna is beautiful - lots of gorgeous architecture - but with temperatures below zero and blistering winds we weren't embracing the daily strolls. Neither of us are ardent art lovers so one big museum was enough for us, and there were seemingly no good concerts on so that option was out. As such we were left to spend most of our time in cafes and restaurants again. This was ultimately a good thing because it gave us time to sit down and chat about future plans a bit more - the wedding, Isabelle, buying a house. And with clearer minds we were able to make some decisions we otherwise wouldn't have. After much thinking (and news of the arrival of Craig's second niece or nephew in September) we decided to postpone the wedding plans for Australia - and will most likely rearrange to have the wedding in the UK in mid 2008. Though details are yet to be decided. We have also set in motion our plans to buy a house which we have been trying to get sorted for a while now. So all good things... And while in Vienna we also made a day trip to Bratislava, which again was bitterly cold but surprisingly beautiful. At least the historic quarter was. The outer areas were very much a testimony to the sombre architecture of communism. Grey, cement blocks. It was good to break up the stay in Vienna though and to see another place. It would be a good place to visit in Spring or Summer I think. So highlights of Vienna - sitting in cafes drinking hot chocolate and eating apple strudel, seeing the Sante Orazio photo exhibition at Kunst Haus Wien, visiting the butterfly museum and seeing Rubens paintings at the KKunsthistorischesMuseum. And of course just having the time to sit, think and decide! So finally we find ourselves in Prague. My favourite city in Europe. Why? Because there is no pressure to sight-see - just the chance to wander around what is a very beautiful place. Of course there is a lot to take in but the charm is in the city not in isolated museums or monuments. We are staying in a lovely hotel on the outskirts of the city centre. We have 24hr Internet and movies here which means that I can actually catch up with some e-mailing in the mornings and in the evenings curl up and watch a movie or two! We spent yesterday walking around the city and castle, and today we'll likely do the same, though we hope to also fit in a concert. Hardly an arduous agenda - the perfect way to complete our baby-moon... And that brings me up to today! Now Craig would like to write something. Seeing as I have written a novella here you may want to go grab a coffee before you embark on his section! And of course, my next task is to upload all the photos to accompany this entry. Which I will do next week (most certainly - I'm almost positive - yes almost sure). Jodi |
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Nov 30, 1999