In my travels around Geneva as well as other European cities we have visited, one thing becomes immediately clear. People love to wear faux leopard skin. Faux leopard skin coats, faux leopard skin pants, faux leopard skin shorts, shoes, scarves, purses, hats. Even luggage! Seriously, there is faux leopard skin everywhere. So my advice to any faux leopards out there: stay away from Europe because your coat is a very hot commodity. Continue reading
Month: August 2014
My first real Swiss hike: 1000 meters verticle up to the Rochers de Naye
When I was a kid, my family did a lot of camping and backpacking. I’ve maintained a real love of hiking ever since. This blog post describes my first real hike since arriving in Europe. Chris and I tried a hike in the Jura mountain range, which didn’t really materialize as we had expected, and we did complete a great “hike ” in Spain with Jose and Susan and family which was fabulous and which I will feature in a future blog post, but that was only about 2 kilometers each way, which doesn’t qualify as a “hike” in my mind.
This hike however, was different. Continue reading
We went to Italy, and saw a Minnesota Ultimate frisbee team win a world championship!
My son Chris is a serious Ultimate player for his high school team back in Minnesota. As we were making plans for things to do upon our arrival in Europe, he recalled that one of the coaches of his High School’s girls squad plays for a Minnesota team called “Drag’N Thrust” that would be competing in Lecco, Italy, which is located on the south end of the west leg of Lake Como. That was reason enough for us to make the 300 kilometer trek across the Alps to see more of Italy, and to watch some world class Ultimate! Continue reading
Sometimes it’s tough being tall in Europe!
I am learning that much of Europe was built to accommodate people much shorter than my six foot five inch frame. This blog will go dormant for about a week and a half while we enjoy a vacation visiting a close friend of Nancy’s in the Basque country, but until we return, here are a few candid, unscripted shots of me finding out the hard way that I am taller than most Europeans. Continue reading
We went to Nice! Yep, it was nice!
I just posted yesterday, so because I feel very much caught up on my blogging obligations, this entry won’t display the same level of effort as yesterday’s. So here’s the deal: Chris and I took two days and did a whirlwind tour of the south of France. We drove to Aix-en-Provence — where Patrick studied abroad for a semester — and stayed overnight in a hostel; got up the next morning and drove to and around and through Marseilles; then on to a beach near Saint Tropez called Saint Aygulf where we swam at a beautiful beach for 5 hours Continue reading
An Unbelievable View from Our Neighborhood Mountain, Le Salève
Le Salève, and on a clear day we catch a glimpse of the Alps
Another of the blog posts I am planning will be a description of the coolest things we can see from our apartment. One of the things that will be included on that list is the view we have of our closest mountain, Le Salève. (Yes, it’s partially obstructed, but we are one of the fortunate city dwellers that has any view of the mountains at all.) Continue reading
Swiss Sojourner 