Wow it is already June and it's Summer here now too. Hope you have a while because this next post is huge as I have been really busy. Now... let me think back.....
April rolled around quite quickly yet it feels so long ago but a few things that I did included my good friend Huws 'bad taste party', it was really alot of fun getting ready for this party and choosing the outfits.
So half way through April I stopped using my crutches and was able to walk by myself just in time for the annual Sechselauten parade. I also attended this special local tradition last year and you may remember me mentioning it is when a snow man is burnt to symbolise the ending of winter and to predict the type of summer that is to come. This year the snowman took a really long time to burn so it is said that this summer wont be so great. The snowman finally blew up after 14 loong minutes. In 2003 the snowman burnt in a just 5 minutes and that year in Zurich it actually was 30 degrees plus for the whole month of June or something like that. So maybe this tale is true...
In other news my friend Javier left to go back to Peru as his visa expired and my friends and I attended his farewell .
The following week, on the Friday night one of my favourite new bands, A Fine Frenzy, was playing at the exclusive Kauflauten Club and some girl friends and I went for only 40chf. Really great concert. The singer was amazing and I think Zurich was the first european city that they came to so the atmosphere was really good.
On Saturday 19th of April my friends and I went on a day trip to Lausanne which is in the south of Switzerland, near Geneva. I had always heard that Lausanne was a really great place and it didn’t disappoint. The student town is very scenic and called Switzerlands San Francisco.... I didn’t understand why until I started climbing the never ending steep hills through the shopping district.
Jess, Carson, Abbey and I had a great day at nearby town Ouchy, sitting by the lake and entjoying the beautiful weather. We also walked to the International Olympic Commitee headquarters and had a look around outside. Here are a few photos from the day:
Saturday night I then met a few other friends at a death metal bar in Zurich called Kontiki. It wasn’t exactly my scene but it was a good night and a chance to say goodbye to my friends as I was to leave for a 4 week holiday on Monday.
Sunday was spent by the lake with my friends Markus and Bernd.
Monday arrived and my little kids, Catherine and I were off to Belgium on the TGV. After a long train ride and a few train changes we finally made it to Lille, in France on the border of France and Belgium. Catherines Dad came and got us and the next 10 days were spent at the grandparents house.
On the 26th of April, seeing as I don’t work weekends, I caught a train to Antwerp which is in the Flammish part of Belgium to the North. It was a fairly lonely weekend as I was by myself and I wasn’t staying in a hostel so I didn’t meet anyone, but I fell in love with the city. It was fantastic weather the whole time I was there and the city itself is very clean, scenic and interesting.
I did a lot of shopping whilst in Antwerp and enjoyed typical Belgian food such as pomme frites (hot chips) and waffles. I think it would be possible for me to live off these two foods and I would be happy.
Back to Tournai, where Catherines parents live on the Sunday night, we stayed there for another three nights.
One of the highlights of my stay there was the fact that I got to go to Mini Europe which is in Brussels and see all these miniature models of famous places or cities in Europe. The place was outside right under the famous Atomium. The models also had signage which quoted population, currency and other facts about the country which was really interesting.
Wednesday morning we then caught a direct TGV from Lille all the way down to the south of France to Saint Raphael. My boss Beat met us there and then we drove an extra hour to our destination: Port Grimaud about 15 minutes away from St Tropez.
The family holidays on this part of France every year and I was also here last year. We actually came a bit later in the year last time so it was warmer but we still went to the beaches but didn’t really swim. I think one day I jumped in the ocean and caught a mild case of hypothermia after that so it did not happen again… that and the fact that I saw a huge jelly fish floating right near once I came up for air – I don’t like sea life!!
Lacey came down on the Friday night to spend a long weekend with me. We hired a car and on the Saturday we drove to Monaco with Beats brothers au pair too.
I had already been to Monaco but this time around I got my passport stamped so it made it extremely worthwhile… as I am a freak about collecting stamps in my passport.
The weather was really nice and we saw some things that I had missed on the previous occasions.
We got home late Saturday night but Lacey and I braved day 2 and drove all the way to Avignon. After the 2..5 hour drive we were pretty exhausted and wary of French toll booths (as they are so expensive) but we enjoyed the city immensely. We had the chance to see some markets, the famous bridge, and the Palace for the Popes. The Palais des Papes in Avignon, France is one of the largest and most important medieval Gothic buildings in Europe. It is one of many places called the Palace of the Popes. Avignon became the residence of the Popes in 1309, this palace was huge!!! Also at the time we were there they were having a rose exhibition so it was really pretty.
On the Monday being the last day of Laceys stay we had an easy day and went shopping for a little while, had a drive through St Tropez and then lunch on the beach. We were to return the car to Saint Raphael at 3pm so we drove there dropped the car off and said goodbye to each other. Lacey had dinner with my parents in Nice that night as they flew into France earlier that day, So after impatiently awaiting my parents arrival I finally saw them Tuesday 6th May after a few hiccups such as their car breaking down after they had it for all of two hours.
My Mum and Dad then stayed in the same hotel complex as my Swiss family and I for the remainder of the week and went to the beach with us and also enjoyed a day at the historic town of Grimaud which still has ruins of a castle.
Saturday as my Swiss little family had the 9 hour drive to Zuirch to look forward to my Mum and Dad and I caught a plane to Malaga in the South of Spain. We spent a night in this port city. After reports that Malaga was a city not worth visiting because it was just full of English tourists who holiday there year round I was pleasantly surprised.
The city appeared lively and touristic and I am glad I got a chance to visit it.
The Sunday we caught a bus back to the airport to pick up our hire car and begin the drive to Seville, which also turned out to be of the most stressful days, of my life.
Hahah, we had our trusty GPS with us and found our way to Seville. Without accommodation booked we weren’t concerned as it wasn’t peak tourist season.
It wasn’t until we began driving through the old part of Seville that our dilemmas began for the day. Without warning the wide streets of Seville became narrow alleyways barely wide enough for a bike to fit through. We basically got lost slash stuck slash totally freaked out as Dad had to manouvre the family sedan through unknown territory as Mum and I prayed to God. At times we would end up in dead end streets and have to slowly reverse. At other points we just tried to navigate through the maze without much luck. Finally after becoming stuck in a one way pedestrian street right near the major tourist point in Seville did Mum go into a hotel and ask how the hell were we meant to remove ourselves from this horrid situation.
First internet corner we found once escaping the nightmare I ran in and booked a room for two nights in a hostal. Five minutes later we arrived at the accommodation thanks to our trusty friend Karen (the GPS lady)
We had a nice walk through the city once were settled and found that we really liked it. Mum and I took a liking to the famous Sangria and made it our mission to learn how to make a good one!!
Monday was spent on foot, walking through the city as we decided to leave our car safely parked until it was time to leave the city again – no one wanted to repeat the experience we had on Sunday.
We found the bull ring of Seville and went on a tour of the bull ring which included a visit into the museum, a look at the bull ring itself and the places where the horses and toros prepared and had an excellent English guide who answered all our questions.
I thought the tour was excellent as it really enhanced my knowledge of the bull fights. Some toros earn up to 10 million euros per bull fight. Also I didn’t realise that all the bulls die every time. In the history of the Seville bull ring only 1 bull had been honoured and not killed because he fought bravely and that was in 1929. The bulls are bought for an average of 5000 euros each only to be killed but all proceeds from the shows (every Sunday, with 6 bull fights) all go to charity.
We then walked furthur and went to the famous seville sites and had a lovely afternoon sipping coffees in secret corners of Seville.
Later that night we actually watched a bull fight on tv in a pub and were glad that we didn’t have to watch a live showing, I personally found it horrible. What seems horrible and cruel to animals to me though is a huge part of Spanish history, culture and tradition so I am glad I got to see what all the fuss was about!
Tuesday morning we had a reasonably early start and drove to Cordoba. We looked through the city and had lunch there. A city under construction it impressed me as to how the Spanish were trying to preserve and restore the cities monuments.
After a brief visit we continued driving to the talked about city of Granada. A real cosmopolitan city we were staying right in the centre at a cute hotel. We spent another day wandering and taking in the sites (and shops) We enjoyed a few different tapas meals down a strip of Granada.
Wednesday we left early to get tickets early into the Alhambra. Apparently another 50,000 people had the same idea, so we got tickets for 2pm. So that morning we went back down the huge hill that Alhambra sits on and went in search of the cathedral. After a bit more shopping a a quick lunch we went back up to the Alhambra (in the bus this time as the hill killed us) and spent the afternoon wandering the gardens, looking at the buildings and taking in the view over Granada from the imposing position the Alhambra holds on top of the city.
So back in the car again that afternoon we drove to Alicante which was a longer drive of about 2 hours but it let us reach the east coast of Spain. We stayed on the outskirts of the town as it was just a stopover and had dinner at the hotel which was brand new and was really nice.
After a delicious buffet breakfast we left at about 10am Thursday morning and drove furthur north up the coat to Valencia.
We arrived in Valencia easily thanks again to Karen. I had chosen a hotel/ hostel called rooms deluxe which had all different rooms designed by different artists. My room had an African theme…. It was really great – check out the photos:
Valencia is the third largest city in Spain but less touristy than say Bareclona. Home of the Americas cup it also had modernised itself and we were lucky enough to stay in the Art and Science district which housed some amazing architecture.
That night we went to the beach and had a great meal… at about 11pm we headed back to the hotel.
Our flight to Palma de Majjorca wasn’t until midday Friday so we arrived in plenty of time to drop off our car.
After probably the most scariest flight of my life which reminded me of an amusement park ride we arrived and waited at the airport for Mum and Dads german friends Lothar and Beate,
They were regular visitors to Majjorca and choose this place to see Mum and Dad!
The hotel we stayed at was not in the city but in the country side of Majjorca, was amazing and had views that stretched forever. Lothar and Beate knew all the great places to go so they took us to the city and we sampled the best tapas, really good wine and had the chance top go to some of the less touristy but much more beautiful sites.
Dad and I swam in the amazing pool at the hotel and we all had a great time.
Sunday morning at 7am I had to head back to Zurich so I flew home but Mum and Dad didn’t leave Palma until the following day and headed to Barcelona.
I arrived back in Zurich to grey skies and rain but I met my friends and we all went for coffee and cake at our favourite café, CakeFriends.
Sunday night when I finally got home after being away from Meilen for 4 weeks, it was a pleasure to see the kids and see how the house had transformed from Spring to pre- Summer weather. All the grass has grown and the flowers were all in bloom. After now living in Meilen for exactly a year our house is finally complete!
The adjustment period after being on holidays for so long was fairly easy as the kids wasted no time in reminding me of our usual routine.
Noel was at school and the twins are slowly saying goodbye to “baby” time as they will head to school in August.
Nicolas, Maxine, Oma and I headed to the circus on Wednesday and had fun there and during the week I decided to discontinue my French class and re-begin German lessons.
Ideally my aim is to move back to Switzerland or Germany at some point in my life so I figure that perhaps the Deutsch language will be more useful as oppose to French.
Truthfully, I don’t think learning languages are my forteit but its worth another shot, hahaha!
So here I am after a weekend down in the South of Switzerland at one of my favourite places in the world Lugano. We went to the largest factory outlet in Switzerland, Fox Town and also had a lovely dinner down in Lugano. Then today we met up with my Aunty and Uncle in Cannobio which is on Lake Maggiore on the border on Switzerland and Italy. We enjoyed a nice lunch and catchup and then everyone will spend the next two nights in my mums favourite hotel in Cannobio, Hotel Bellevdere.
Dad and Mum dropped me off in Locarno (near Lugano) at 6.30pm and I am now nearing the end of the three hour trip back to Zurich.
Another week tomorrow and also the joy of getting my wisdom teethe out on Wednesday (would you believe……)
So after Mum and Dad spend the next few days in Cannobio they will head to Milan on Tuesday and catch a plane to Prague. After three days there they will then spend 7 days travelling through Austria beginning in Vienna and then heading west through to Swizerland.
So I wont see my parents again until June 6th and then they spend their final 10 days in Europe at my house in Meilen.
Just in time for the Euro 2008, I am really looking forward to it!!
Switzerland had gone crazy with national pride and the public viewing stadiums are being set up so everyone can watch the games and enjoy the euphoria!!
Can't Wait!
p.s next time I will try hard not to write a novel type blog and try and do this more regularly xox
