Last Tuesday was looking to be foggy and soggy, but my parents and I stuck with our plan to visit Montreux, Switzerland, to check out Château de Chillon and the city’s famous jazz festival. We took a late morning train around Lake Geneva and arrived in French-speaking Montreux an hour later, greeted by the patter of raindrops on the train windows.
switzerland
Lausanne: Citius, Altius, Fortius
It seems as though summer has *finally* arrived in Switzerland, so Guillaume and I opted to stick close to home over the weekend and soak it in. We had a relaxing Saturday that started with homemade brunch (thanks Gui!) and then spent several hours checking out the “soldes” (sales) advertised in the windows of Geneva’s left bank shops. Turns out, those signs are no joke: The usual sky-high Swiss prices are delightfully low right now. Welcome, new 5-franc shirt from Zara!
With more sunshine predicted for Sunday, we decided to walk down to the train station the next morning and take the short journey around the top of Lake Geneva to Lausanne. Continue reading
Le Salève Between Rain Showers
Our first house guest arrived from London late Friday night with grand plans to spend the weekend hiking the nearby mountains and sailing Lake Geneva, but Saturday’s weather refused to cooperate (rain, rain and more rain). When we woke up Sunday to a forecast predicting a few dry hours, we shoved some breakfast down our throats, took a quick bus ride to the Swiss-French border and walked past the security hut into France. We arrived at the foot of Mont Salève a few minutes later, determined to get a hike in before the sky opened up again.
Three-Month Anniversary
It’s been exactly three months since we made the move to Switzerland and we’ve had quite the ride.
Bern: A Charming Capital
I’m excited to share photos from our wonderful weekend in Bern, but first I should warn you: I’m currently on *hornet watch* so you’ll have to excuse any sloppiness. You see, I came home from French class and climbed up to the loft to open the shade on the skylight and almost brushed my hand against a giant hornet snuggled right into the edge of the wood. I jerked the shade back and screamed (perpetuating the worst female stereotypes, I know), but she didn’t move so I thought she might be dead. Wishful thinking, apparently: An hour later she started buzzing and my husband called the caretaker from his office to come “remove” her and look for a nest. Long story short, because she appeared to be nesting and we haven’t had the windows open, the caretaker said there may be a nest tucked out of sight and to keep an eye out. So as I continue to scan the loft for more yellow and black neighbors, here are the highlights of our trip to Bern!
The Plaid Shirt Diaries 