Strolling on Sunday

The Russian Breakfast. Photo by Louise, because I am
stupid and forgot to take pictures. 

I don't know how other people spent their Sunday morning, but I was drinking vodka while caring for my daughter. Okay. It was just one shot, and in my defence it came with breakfast at Cafe Ansari. 

On the other hand, my fabulous companions Louise and Nayana and I may or may not have ordered that particular meal (the "Russian Breakfast") because it included the vodka. It doesn't sound like something we'd do, but one never knows. In any case, it was delicious - the food and the vodka - so everyone in Vienna should just get over there immediately. It helps to bring Louise and Nayana if you can. (Thanks for the tip, Nora-San!)

Nava was with us but did not order the vodka-laced brunch combo. After being a dear and allowing us grownups to have a proper conversation about whatever it is grownups talk about, Nava ate a pumpkin-based slurry from a convenience store that was romantically and optimistically named something like "spaghetti in a mild vegetable sauce". 

My pumpkin eats pumpkin (on a different occasion).
Only one of us is *really* enjoying herself.

Like everything else she eats, it was in fact a flavourless homogenous paste, but of course when your main goal is seeing how much of it you can fling across the shiny new world that hardly matters. She smeared it across her face, got some under her chinny-chin-chin and dribbled gobs across her tights, dress and onto the floor, so overall I'd say that was a great success. Heck, she even ate some. 

Nava and I then went to meet Alex's family for a stroll through the Prater, which is an enormous park and fairground in Vienna. The Jesuitenwiese and its accompanying playgrounds are a municipal treasure and I hope they live forever. 

Anywhere along the Hauptallee. I swear, every other part of the park is really quite charming.

Of course, I am a dodo and didn't take a picture of the pretty part, which looks a lot like the place where the Teletubbies live. I forgot to break out the camera until we were on the Hauptallee (main avenue). This is an endless paved road lined with chesnut trees that cuts through the park and that is shared by every unimaginative runner, walker, stroller, in-line skater and biker in Vienna. It's kind of amazing how long and boring it is, but on either side are any number of playgrounds and tree-lined groves and meadows to hang in, so we'll forgive it. 

Taking a break from walking with my handsome
husband and father-in-law.

After walking pretty much all the way down this baby we sat slowly freezing to death and drinking coffee and eating cake in the falling darkness. We came home pooped and the little one slept like a lump of pumpkin all night long. 

Down at the Pumpkin Patch

Just got back from Thanksgiving with my aunts, uncles and cousins in Houston! But before I get into all of that, I just have to share our photos of the baby at the pumpkin patch. 

Pretty much the only reason for pumpkin patches is to photograph your offspring at them, right? 

A likely-looking pumpkin patch at the Dallas Arboretum

The whole family was in one place, including Nava's Uncle Elliott, and to my knowledge none of have taken pictures at a pumpkin patch in years and years and years, because it's kind of a weird thing to do without kids, but this time we had a kid and so off we went! Or rather, my mother was working but ordered the rest of us to go. 

We had a sapphire sky and high hopes we had for pictures of adorable punkins and rosy cheeks! 

Unfortunately, it was also the very last day of the pumpkin patch season, freezing cold, the sun was setting and the baby was asleep under many layers of blankets. 

Isn't she adorable up on that bridge to nowhere? Awwww. 

Oh well. There's always next year. 

Nava, her granddad and a pumpkin

Makin' those memories to last a lifetime with Elliott

She's in there somewhere, promise.