La Fete de l'Escalade continues...

This week, life happened. Adalyn had so many fun activities planned at school and a dance recital, and unfortunately she was sick from Sunday night to Thursday with strep throat.  Eliza was also sick with bronchitis, so between the two, we watched a lot of movies this week.  Thankfully, they are both healthy now and we are hoping for a healthy week before our departure and a healthy time back at home.

On Tuesday, Adalyn seemed to be doing better at noon, so I decided to take her in to school so she could be part of her class Christmas program.  It was a lot of fun to watch her performance- after that things went downhill and we were home bound for the next couple days.

Our Little Snowman

All Smiles -

On Friday night, the kids were feeling better so we decided to celebrate the Escalade with the Marmite de l’Escalade, one of the biggest symbols of this celebration.  The marmite, which means cauldron, is made of chocolate and filled with marzipan vegetables.  Tradition is that the eldest and youngest in the room smash the marmite, while reciting, "Ainsi perirent les ennemis de la Republique!"  Which means, "Thus perish the enemies of the Republic."  The marmite is to symbolize how Geneva defeated the enemies by pouring the vegetable soup over the soldiers.  The girls had so much fun smashing the marmite- and of course eating it!

The Marmite de l'Escalade- they range in sizes and price- 

some people spend hundreds on their Marmite- 

Unfortunately the video of Eliza smashing the marmite wouldn't post- 

she cared more about eating it- then actually smashing it!  

It is also tradition during the Escalade for children to dress up, so Eliza dressed up Thursday for Garderie, and they both dressed up for the smashing the marmite.  

On Saturday, it was so nice out so we decided to go check out some more Christmas Markets.  It is impossible to describe how beautiful Geneva and the surrounding villages are during the holiday season.  They put in so much time and effort creating a charming holiday spirit.  In the morning, we went to the Carouge Christmas market- we were also hoping to go ice skating, but they were playing a hockey game, which was probably for the better since we had no idea how that was going to go with Eliza!  In the afternoon, we went down by the lake and Old Town Geneva to walk around their market and window shop.  The streets were packed with people- between the Escalade celebration and Christmas shopping, it was crazy!  

Saturday night, Chris and I went out to dinner with friends.  We went to Old Town, which was a great decision because they were celebrating the Escalade throughout the whole night.  Every fifteen minutes a marching band would go through the town, and they also had musket firing demonstrations.  There was also an area set up as if it were 1602 where people were making candles, pottery, and cloth from sheep's wool.  It was very cool to walk around and see it all- the people of Geneva definitely have a huge amount of pride and it was fun to see them all come together to celebrate the historical day.

They would march to the front of the cathedral and people would sing the Escalade song- 

Sunday was a quiet day- just getting organized for our big trip home!  This week we have Eliza's school Christmas program, which we are really excited about.  Since her school is all in French, we don't know much about what she is learning and doing, so it will be fun to see how she interacts with the other kids, who all speak French, and to hear all the songs they sing.  She does love singing, Frere Jacques, so we know one song!

Looking forward to a wonderful Christmas time back home- wishing you all a Joyeaux Noel et Bonne Annee!

Signing off until January-