Author Archives: lgnewkirk

My sister Sarah and brother-in-law Steve (our California family) made a Basel pit stop this weekend as Steve was travelling to Zurich for work. We made the most of our time with these great loves of ours. Steve requested art and castles and I’m a woman who delivers. Out first stop was Basel’s Fondation BeyelerContinue reading “Castles and Art with Sarah and Steve”

The Grandparents arrived soon after we got back from Paris. The first thing we did was go out to lunch and try and fail to speak German with our waiter. After an amazing lunch, we went into a historical church, the Basel Minster, and looked around. When we got back home we ate the onlyContinue reading “Grandparents! (Bavaria and Munich) by Xander, Jacob and guest bloggers Grandpa Ray and Grandma Christy”

This past weekend we hopped on a train to Paris. Three-and-a-half hours of reading, video games and drafting essays for San Francisco high school applications later, we arrived at the Gare de Lyon in Paris. Paris feels busy and urban and maybe even a little gritty. A contrast we never felt coming from San FranciscoContinue reading “Bonjour Paris!”

Leaving SIX boys, a bag of candy and a friend’s dog alone in our apartment (what could go wrong?), Bart, Whitney, Matt and I ventured to Art Basel this weekend. This International Art Festival is staged annually, with thousands of artists from hundeds of galleries shown in the Messeplatz convention center, and public, experiential artContinue reading “Art Basel”

By Xander and Jacob Hocus pocus shmocus, we’re in Spain! On Thursday night, we took a cheap Easy Jet flight to Malaga and we drove to Marbella. We are on the Alboran Sea, close to the Strait of Gibraltar and Africa. – Jacob We’re in Spain for the first time in my life. It’s veryContinue reading “Espana”

by Leah Last weekend, Jacob and I drove an hour southeast of Basel to Lucerne, a beautiful lake city, with preserved medieval architecture. I hope to spend some time here one day, but not this trip. We pick up Tai and her nine year-old son Thilo at the train station and head for the mountains.Continue reading “I Love Luging and Lake Lucerne! (but have some concerns about Texas)”

Our Swiss weekends are full of adventures, good and bad. Football By Jacob We went to a football/soccer game a week ago: FC Basel against the Young Boys/Bern. It was exciting! We were sitting next to the hooligans for the other side and they were loud and setting off fires. Football hooligans are the best.Continue reading “Weekend Fun”

By Leah With my boys going to watch FC Basel play the Young Boys in the Swiss Super League, I decide to part ways and drive into the Alsace region of France. One of the International School moms recommends a few towns for an afternoon of wandering. I drive an hour northeast of Basel, throughContinue reading “Sunday Afternoon in Alsace”

My law school roommate Tai has settled in Zurich with her nine-year old son Thilo. We had a lovely 24-hour catch up while our boys hung out with their dads. It’s a bit of a cliche, but the Swiss train experience is amazing. We live next door to the train station in Basel and IContinue reading “Zurich with Tai”

After a few amazing weeks of travel, we return to our new Basel reality. First, some work on the apartment, which is fully furnished and beautiful but missing some key items. Yes, we take several trips to the place where marriages are tested and children throw their most fantastic temper tantrums. Matt is building outContinue reading “Reality! Back to School and Work”