Boxing Day

So it's finally happened again. The day after X-mas it snowed. Just as the last remaining crusts of hard ice had started to melt, the snow came. Silent and mysterious as always, it fell, blanketing the world in a cold and still layer. We turned off the lights in the kitchen and stared out the open french windows, watching the snowflakes gently drifting down from the sky. It was quite hypnotic. And the air never smelled so pure.

X-MAS EVE 2005

A dusting of tinfoil hearts and stars exploded in the elevator as I opened Britt's Xmas greeting card, which I found in the letterbox. The shimmering confetti burst out of the envelope, sprinkling all over the elevator floor. I left them there; they might brighten the elevator rides of the other tenants.

I can't believe that this is my last Xmas in Switzerland! My last white Xmas!

Yesterday we went out to Oops, the local, our friend Zep's bar. So we went out and saw lots of people, old friends and new ones we made while lining up at the bar. (Drunks who came up to Nick and me for a chat.) Those who overheard us speaking English were curious enough to come up and use us to practice their language skills. And while I was gone a while, cueing in the ladies', Nick was hit on by a guy... He's never been so happy to see me return from the loo!

Giulia and Roger and all the old crew were there, so we drunk lots of VBs' (yes, VBs!) Roger’s got a job in Zurich now, so we haven’t seen each other since that time we all went sledding up in the Engadin, in the Alps near St. Moritz. But that’s two Xmases ago now. Everyone gets out of the woodwork at this time of year. Giulia brought me presents wrapped in my favourite colour, fuchsia: a compilation CD of electro-dance music and some more novelty magnets for my fridge collection.

Got up this morning with a whooper of a hangover but, fortunately, no pain. In spite of feeling a bit wobbly, I pulled on sweatpants and boots and got on my scooter to go shopping for the long weekend. But by the time I got to the first set of traffic lights, I realized I was still feeling a bit drunk!

In the supermarket people were pushing their shopping carts in random directions, which resulted in me feeling quite dizzy. I bought fresh croissants, two bags of blood oranges to make fresh juice for breakfast, and tomato juice to make myself a Bloody Mary as soon as I got back home.

Climb Every Mountain...

Nothing compares to the sheer contentment one feels when admiring a breathtaking view, after spending hours conquering narrow, steep goat trails to conquer a tall mountain peak. A truly priceless pleasure!

The Silly Season

Samu and I spent Friday afternoon at the Locarno markets. Although I'd rugged up, I still forze and after about an hour I protested that I needed to go sit inside a warm café. We ordered hot chocolates and Samu smoked a cigarette. The place was full of old ladies eating desserts. Afterwards it was back into the cold.

The stalls were screaming Quaint. With fairy lights hanging all around them and home-baked cakes and jars of secret recipes for fig and chestnut jam arranged on checkered tablecloths. Samu bought a packet of cous cous, hand-made soaps from Egypt, beeswax candles and several jars of marmelade. My purchases consisted of chestnut cream, a Gritti-Bünz (which is a traditional sweet bread in the shape of a man) and a hand-made panettone that was decorated with dark chocolate and candied fruit.

Samu and I browsed the entire old city centre, getting cold whilst admiring the many stalls and evaluating the merchandise on display. Finally, I seduced her into savouring a fulte of Champagne. The wine was enhanced by the tangy fresh juice of pomme-grenades. Simply divine! But when the bells in the old church tower struck six, we headed back to Lugano for an aperitivo at Penel, my favourite wine bar, near home.

Untitled

Soft as a whisper
Silent as a cat
Blank as an idea
Cold as a headstone
The taste of childhood
The scent of a mountain stream

Creative Novel Writing

During the month of November I've been posting my novel, Pia Mater as part of the National Novel Writing Month competition. If you'd like to know more about NaNoWriMo click here. To read an excerpt of my novel, click here.