‘Vacanza di Carnevale’ brought on March in Ticino. I suppose this school holiday is better known as ski break or winter break in other parts of Europe. Something new to get used to. Moms on the last school day (before the week long break) would wish ‘Buon Carnevale’ to each other. Which simply implies to have a great week holiday with your family.

International Women Day

From one generation to another we always celebrated on March 8. Women in my family would get a little plant or flower and we would definitely have some sort of cake at the dining table. I suppose it is another excuse to indulge in some naughty extra calories.

Father’s Day: Brunch at Monte Generoso

Highlight of the month of March has to be the trip to Monte Generoso on Father’s Day. Last year on Mother’s Day we visited Säntis. It set a theme in my mind for any future Mother’s and Father’s Day. Interestingly, in Switzerland, many attractions like this, come up with an offer for the fathers and mothers visiting on the respective dates.

Father’s Day in Ticino is different to the rest of the cantons of the country. It is aligned with Italy. On this day, they celebrate Saint Joseph, or in Italian San Giuseppe, and is an official public holiday.

With an extra bank holiday in the pocket, we could freely set off to visit Monte Generoso. Read here about our trip to this beautiful mountain at the border of Italy / Switzerland.

Garden works: Sowing & Planting

As the days got longer and warmer, we spent more and more time in the garden. First we dusted off all the items left outside during the winter. Once it looked a bit more orderly, we measured out a small strip to convert it to a small kitchen garden. This part is the sunniest although most of the time our garden is in a shade from the tall trees on the side of the plot.

This small strip was fenced off then filled with over half a ton soil. The weather did its part in integrating the soil to its new home, by raining heavily for about a week. Once the clouds cleared we carried on with sowing seeds. Here you can see the before, during and after images of the reno.

It is a great little project for the kids. They all seem to enjoy looking after this small plot. Easy excuse to spend more time outdoors, since the seeds / plants need water. Water is the middle name of my family. I think we were all some sort of fishes in our previous lives.

Swimming Sessions

This month the first period of swimming lessons came to an end. The second had started straight away though. Our eldest levelled up from crab (Granchio) to little seahourse (Cavalluccio). Our youngest also completed their lessons and received a duck badge that we need to saw on their bathrobe (accappatoglio).

As I mentioned before we all love the water and being in the water. We visit the pool 2-3 times even on days when there is no lesson. It is a safe place where all the kids are happy.

1000 Hours Outside Challenge

Over 72 hours spent in the nature. This is almost two full working weeks. This brings our yearly count to over 150 hours. I am so happy with our progress and I am proud to see our little ones enjoying themselves in the nature.

We are lucky to be surrounded by such beautiful mountains and many lakes. Our local bucket list of places we would like to explore. We hope to bring you along our tiny trips by colourful travel journal entries, many picture and videos.

Hello April

Swimming, gardening, Easter holiday, cousins visit – these are just a few of the things we look forward to doing in the coming month.