Geneva Week 3 (5/24 to 5/30) - Doggie Day Care, French Lessons, Caves Ouvertes and Aosta

This week started off with a beautiful Monday morning in Geneva and a Swiss holiday; therefore, Jason was off work and we all got to spend it together!

Jason and Natalie started off the day eating homemade crepes filled with fresh cherries and Nutella. We all then headed out to the back of our house where we met up with our landlords, Silvio and Christianne, and their dog Eliot in their garden.

I had a lot of fun playing with Eliot and today was the first day we broke ground together (i.e., digging), which is a good sign that our friendship is going to be a lasting one. Today was also the first day I ventured into the Swiss-French river, in which I eagerly swam and splashed around!

Meanwhile, Natalie, Jason and Silvio planted green beans. For lunch, Christianne and Silvio barbecued some fragrant merguez sausages on the grill in the garden. They (I didn't really get any this time) enjoyed sausage on crusty baguettes with whole grain mustard as the condiment, all of which was washed down with a Cote d'Rhone wine.


After we cleaned up from our excursion into the garden and surrounding play areas, Natalie, Jason and I ventured into Carouge and downtown Geneva for an afternoon walk. That evening, we had a restful dinner at home and I slept well in hopes I'd have another fun day ahead of me on Tuesday....little did I know this'd be my first day at Truffes and Co. doggie day care.


Natalie, Jason and I left the house somewhat early on Tuesday morning. This was definitely not my normal schedule, so I was quite suspicious. After sitting in the car for almost an hour wading through Geneva traffic (apparently, this is quite unusual), Natalie dropped Jason off near his work and we continued driving. About a half hour later, we arrived at Truffes and Co. in the town of Etoy. 


I recognized this place from our visit the week before and I realized I probably would be hanging out here for a while today. Natalie dropped me off (I was good and went along - I could've been stubborn if I wanted to) and she headed towards Saint Prex, which is right near doggie day care, aka 'DDC.'


While I was familiarizing myself with these new people, new dogs and new surroundings, Natalie was soaking in the sunshine on the Saint Prex beach. Since it had been a stressful few months with the move, etc. Natalie decided that she could have one day of rest and hang out on the beach for most of it, so, that's what she did.


The morning consisted of reading Harry Potter book 7 and getting the beginnings of a sunburn. For lunch, Natalie slowly made her way into the Saint Prex village and found a fabulous place to eat at. She had a buckwheat crepe, topped with mushrooms, bacon and vegetables. Apparently, it was quite delectable. The only downside was that Natalie sat in the sun for the entire lunch and got really sunburned! After lunch, Natalie's afternoon consisted of much of the same (reading, working on her computer, etc.) and then at 4pm she came to get me!

(A view of Lake Geneva from the Saint Prex beach!)

(Natalie's fantastic lunch in Saint Prex!)


I was very excited to see her and I'm proud of myself, because I only cried a little bit. We made our way back into Geneva (DDC is about an hour to our house; however, stopping in Geneva first cuts the trip in half) and met up with Jason for dinner. 


For dinner, Natalie and Jason dined at Brasserie de l'Hôtel de Ville in Old Town, Geneva.  Jason had a collection of Geneva sausages and Natalie had what she thought was traditional Cog au Vin; however, the 'Coq' was more like short-ribs, or something along those lines. Either way, they both immensely enjoyed it.


After getting through my first day at DDC (which seemed like forever; although I actually did have some fun while I was there), the rest of the week just flew by.  Natalie finally got the house 90% finished and has asked me to include some pictures, which are below. Jason and Natalie still have a TV, some bookshelves to buy and pictures to hang, but for the most part, they're done and can enjoy the home!

(View #1 of the Kitchen)

(View #2 of the Kitchen)

(The wood-burning fireplace next to the kitchen)

(View #1 of the living room)

(View #2 of the living room - me and my couch!)

(View #1 of the dining room)

(View #2 of the dining room)

(The 'decorative stairs' in the main room leading up to a loft/sitting area)

(The wood beam in the main room)

(A view of the bedrooms from the main room - thanks April for the suggestion on the chaise!)

(View #1 of the shower room)

(View #2 of the shower room - that's right, no curtain. I hear you get used to it, though.)

(The cozy 'toilette.')

(View #1 of the guest bedroom.)

(View #2 of the guest bedroom - the window overlooking the village rooftops.)

(View #1 of the master bedroom - Natalie and Jason never make their bed. It drives me crazy.)

(View #2 of the master bedroom - there is a workloft that Natalie and Jason use to store books currently, but it will eventually be an office.)


I went to DDC one more time on Thursday and, again, Natalie and I met Jason in Geneva after his work. This time, while waiting for Jason, Natalie and I sat at a wine bar in downtown and I looked out on all the ducks in the river and Natalie continued to read Harry Potter, while drinking a French Chardonnay. Dinner, this time, consisted of fondue at a little place in Old Town (I think Natalie and Jason like this part of Geneva!)

(Looking out over the water at the wine bar.)


Friday was a restful day; however, that evening Natalie left me to go downtown! Apparently, Natalie and Jason had their very first French lesson. It sounded like the lesson went well; however, Natalie was pretty sure the pronunciation was going to be a problem for her. After their French lesson, Natalie and Jason had a fantastic dinner at Cafe Jules Verne in the Plainpalais district of Geneva. Natalie had a wonderful dish of cod, topped with roasted tomatoes and served alongside haricot verts and a beet-cinnamon puree. Jason had a flavorful roasted chicken with hummus.


We all slept in a bit on Saturday morning and since it was a nice day out, Natalie and Jason took me to downtown Geneva and we all went for a very long walk along the waterfront.  Afterwards, we ventured into the shopping area and Natalie and Jason finally bought a TV! It's a 41 inch LG LCD flat screen, which they plan to pick up early next week.

(Checking out the Jet D'Eau! This is a large fountain in Lake Geneva and is one of the city's most famous landmarks!)


After we arrived back home, Natalie and Jason went off to join Silvio and Christianne for Caves Ouvertes. I stayed at home and rested as this particular outing is not really my thing. Caves Ouvertes is a once a year event where the local wineries open up their caves and let the public taste the previous year's vintage. It's quite crowded and I can't really drink wine (although I do like to sniff out the vines), so, I didn't have much interest in attending.


The first winery Natalie, Jason, Silvio and Christianne visited was in Chevrens, right next to their house. Chevrens is the actual name of the village Natalie and Jason live in. Anieres is the official city they're in and Geneva is the canton, or 'state' Anieres is in.

(A picture of the caves ouvertes sign, which were posted all over Geneva leading up to Saturday's events.)


This winery had really nice wines and a pleasant view of the lake. It was at this winery that Natalie and Jason discovered Gamaret. Gamaret is a local grape to Switzerland and it actually comes from a hybrid vine of Gamay Beaujolais and Reichensteiner. Natalie and Jason liked this particular variety so much that they bought a bottle - they will definitely be getting more though, as family at home (particularly Natalie and Jason's brother-in-law Ken) will love this wine!


After the visit to the Chevrens winery, everyone headed to the town of Anieres and visited three more caves. There they sampled more gamaret, chardonnay, muscats and pinot noirs, all of which are grape varieties grown in the area.


The final cave they visited had a jazz band and also raclette! Raclette is a type of cheese, but also a delectable dish of potatoes, pearl onions, pickles and the hot, melted alpine mountain cheese made to order. Natalie, Jason and Silvio all had the raclette dish and after a long day of drinking wine, nothing ever tasted so good.

(The raclette! Need I say anything more :-) )


Natalie and Jason made it back by early evening and since our car was in downtown Geneva (we left it there after our walk) and they were too tired to cook, we bussed it into downtown and had a nice Italian meal at Via Roma in Carouge of truffle pasta and crab tortelloni.


On Sunday morning, we all discovered the best bakery yet, which was in Veigy, France and literally 5 minutes from our house. The bakery produces crusty and chewy breads all day long and it's more likely than not you'll be leaving the place with hot bread in hand and almost any time throughout the day! Christianne told Natalie about this place and there is no doubt Natalie and Jason will be visiting this bakery frequently over the next two years. 


Sunday turned out to also be our grocery shopping and travel day.  Since stores are closed in Switzerland on Sunday, Natalie and Jason went to Carrefour in France to buy the week's groceries. 


After all the bakery discovery and shopping was done, we settled into the Qashqai and decided that it was time to venture into Italy! 


It only took an hour and lots of tunnels (plus one really long and expensive one - the Mont Blanc tunnel) and we finally arrived in the town of Courmayeur, Italy. Courmayeur is in the Aosta Valley and sits at the foot of the alps. It is primarily known for its skiing - since we are past snow season a bit (however, unfortunately not rain season), the town was somewhat quiet. We all stretched our legs and went for a walk and then found a great wood-fired pizzeria for lunch.


Now, we've all had good pizza in the U.S. and in Switzerland, but, nothing really compares to Italian pizza. The quality and freshness of ingredients are unmistakable, the saucy is tangy, the cheese is gooey, but not overly gooey and that crust...well, that crust is the perfect blend of chewiness and crustiness, with a slightly sourdough taste at the finish. Needless to say that, with my help, Natalie and Jason had no problem finishing their Italian wood-fired pizzas.

(Natalie's Parma pizza, which was topped with Parma Prosciutto!)

(Jason and his pizza! He chose fresh sausage and mushrooms.)


After stuffing ourselves to the brim, we got back into the Qashqai and headed to our final destination of the day, which was the town of Aosta. It only took about another 30 minutes from Courmayeur. A few more tunnels later, we were in the square of this very cute town!


We walked all up and down the streets and discovered lively cafes, many gelaterias, small boutique grocery stores, pastry shops, wine bars and even some small home decor shops. Natalie and Jason also discovered the Aosta Cathedral right outside the square. This Roman Catholic church was very ornate and Natalie and Jason just marveled at the amount of detail work that went into building these churches back in the 15th and 16th centuries.

(The village of Aosta against the Italian Alps.)

(A quaint little walkway leading to a restaurant in Aosta.)

(An image of the ornate detail of the Aosta Cathedral.)

(The Aosta Cathedral clock tower.)


After enjoying cherry, grapefruit and yogurt gelato, we all slowly left the village of Aosta; however, resolved to return very soon, especially with Natalie's parents when they visit in September.


Sunday evening back at home was a rainy one, so, we all stayed indoors and relaxed for the week ahead. It was yet another fun week in this new and exciting environment and I can hardly wait for the many discoveries that lay ahead.


Paws,
Sabrina

Geneva Week 2 (5/17 to 5/23) - Discovery, Becoming Swiss, Saint Prex and Chamonix

I am starting to feel at home. Although the smells are still new and I don’t understand the language of those speaking around me, I am really enjoying all the nature, as well as the very large lake I am anticipating swimming in.

This week was the first time Natalie and I were on our own. April had left to return to San Francisco on Saturday and Jason was back at work.

Each day started off with Natalie and I walking Jason to the bus, which he took into work. After the walk, Natalie usually set off for a 30-60 minute run.  Based on Natalie’s lack of grudging before each run, I could tell that she was enjoying her daily jogs and if she keeps it up she may actually be ready for a marathon this fall.

During the day, Natalie and I took walks to discover interesting areas near our house.  We found a futbol (i.e., soccer) field behind our home, which is the perfect size for throwing frisbee. Our landlords also tipped us off to a very peaceful and enclosed dog park, which is just a ten-minute walk from our house. Natalie calls this place ‘twilight’ park since the scenery reminds her of the Twilight Saga books.

(Here I am sniffing out Twilight park.)

Probably the most interesting thing we discovered right near our house was a small, flowing river. This river is on the border of France and Switzerland; therefore, when I’m on the home side of the river (near our house), I’m in Switzerland. If I cross the river (which is only about 8 feet wide), I am in France.

In addition to locating all the fun play areas near to where we live, I also discovered lots of farm animals. My human cousin, Tommy, will go nuts for this and I can’t wait until he comes and visits to watch all of them with me. The farm animals consist of cows, chickens, goats and donkeys.  If Natalie and Jason wanted to, they could pet every one of these animals; however, they like to save all of their pets for me.

(Goats!)

(Cows!)

(Me! the wannabe farm animal and oenophile, sniffing out the vineyards, making sure this year will be a good vintage.)

Natalie also spent a good part of this week doing laundry, figuring out how to drive the new car (she’s already hit a pole with the side-view mirror, so, now Jason says it’s officially not a new car anymore), and doing her best to grocery shop, while not being able to speak any French.

The week was also spent making me a Swiss citizen – that’s right, I’m Swiss and my dog-parents are not. In order to do this, we had to go to the Vet (those people follow me everywhere!). The Vet Natalie and Jason chose is near their house, in Vesenaz. The Doctor’s name is Gabor Luka and, even though I’m not a fan of the Vet, he is really nice and speaks good English, which is helpful for Jason and Natalie.

In order to make me a Swiss Citizen, the Vet gave me a couple more vaccinations and then they filled out my Swiss Passport! I was now officially official! The last thing we need to do is get me acknowledged in the town Jason and Natalie live in and pay a tax on me. I am so official, I even have to pay taxes!

The last major logistical task Natalie and Jason did this week was finalize my doggie day care.  They had taken me to Truffes and Co. the week before, which was in Vaud and they took me to a place in France.

I, of course, wasn’t a fan of either, since no one could ever replace Doug and Ashley from the Hound Lounge; however, I understood Jason and Natalie’s need to find me one. I am, deep-down, a sociable dog and also Jason and Natalie would be flying to Sicily in a couple of weeks; therefore, they’d need a place for me to stay overnight.

Natalie and Jason ultimately decided on Truffes and Co. and it sounded like, from Natalie’s phone conversation with the owner, that I’d be going on Tuesdays and Thursdays, starting with the next week. I’m not sure about all of this; however, I do get to sleep in the owner’s living room when I stay overnight, which isn’t too bad.

The evenings were spent enjoying a few meals at home and on a few nights, Jason and Natalie ate in downtown Geneva. On one of these occasions, they took me and we went to pizza in Carouge with Jason’s co-workers. On another occasion, they left me at home, but from what I learned when they got back, Natalie and Jason had beers at a Belgian Bar in Old Town, Geneva (Natalie discovered her new favorite beer, which was Tripel Karmeliet) and then they went to a trendy restaurant nearby called L’Armoire. They both had burgers and it sounds like the most expensive burgers they’ve ever eaten at 26 francs each!

(Tripel Karmeliet - it was so good, it was worthy of a picture!)

The one thing about Geneva dining is that it is not cheap. Apparently, it is not that uncommon to pay upwards of 40 francs just for the main course. Starters (called ‘entrees’ in French) are about 20 francs.

When the weekend arrived, Natalie and Jason left me at home (on a beautiful Saturday, I might add) to do home shopping at Ikea. Ikea is no different than the Ikea in the U.S. – it’s always busy and they have Swedish meatballs. Natalie and Jason picked up some storage furniture and it’s now sitting in our storage unit downstairs waiting to be put together.

After Ikea, Natalie and Jason picked me up and we went for a nice walk in downtown Geneva. There, I discovered swans, and again Tommy is going to be so excited when he sees all of this! Prior to dinner, Natalie and Jason went back to the Belgian beer place for drinks (and a new favorite was discovered, called Duchesse de Bourgogne) and then for dinner. They had pizza (again) at Lacustre, which was a restaurant on the Lake.

Since all the retail stores in Switzerland close on Sunday, this was our day to travel around and the day that we’d be visiting the beach for the first time!

The Canton of Geneva is actually fairly strict about my kind swimming in the Lake. The Canton of Vaud is not that strict. Therefore, we took a nice drive up the right side of the lake to Vaud and found an area in Saint Prex that is not completely restricted to dogs. 

When I say ‘not completely’ it means dogs are allowed on leash only; however, we met a very nice person at the beach who’s dog was playing in the water (off leash) and he said that we all just need to use judgment when determining if I could go off leash, or not. 

Luckily, for this beautiful Sunday morning, Jason and Natalie used good judgment and I got to play Frisbee in the water at the Saint Prex beach for the first time! It was a great experience and I can’t wait to go back. Apparently, my new doggie day care is right near this beach, so, my hope is they’ll be taking me here on occasion and applying good judgment, as well. J

(My first time in Lake Geneva!)

(Getting some water at the 'water fountain' in Saint Prex. I know it's drinkable when the fountain says 'eau potable' and there's a wine glass symbol next to those words.)

After a fun time of Frisbee playing, Jason and Natalie headed up around the lake towards Montreux. Montreux is another lakeside town on the tip of Lake Geneva. One event it is known for is its music festivals. In fact, the Montreux Jazz Festival is occurring this July and Natalie and Jason are going to see Vampire Weekend and Broken Bells there!

We went for a nice, long walk in Montreux and had some lunch (which wasn’t that good; therefore, Natalie asked me to not bother writing about it). After lunch, we hopped into the Qashqai again and made our way towards our final destination of the day, which was Chamonix. Chamonix is a town in France that is well known for great skiing.

We got into Chamonix in the afternoon and were all amazed by the absolute beauty of the place. It is essentially surrounded by mountains on all sides and has a very quaint, ski village feel to it. We explored this town a bit and Natalie and Jason stopped at a nice café to get a cappuccino and double espresso.

(Beautiful Chamonix!)

After coffee, Natalie and Jason visited the most delicious chocolate shop they’ve ever been to, plus the nice shop person gave Natalie and Jason a lot of samples. Natalie and Jason decided on blueberry truffles, rochers and the most scrumptious ‘candy bar’ they’ve ever eaten. This ‘candy bar’ had two layers of marzipan filled with a hazelnut-like praline, all of which was enrobed in dark chocolate.

We left Chamonix in the early evening and took the short drive home (it’s only an hour from our house). We decided to eat at home for the evening and Natalie and Jason snacked on a fabulous cheese they bought in Chamonix and then cooked up this very interesting pasta (it was thick and shaped like really tiny squares) they also picked up at a store in Chamonix, served alongside with pork roast.

(The storefront of a cheese store in Chamonix - April, I know you love cheese, so this picture is for you!)

Needless to say, it was a very busy week orienting ourselves to this fabulous new country we’re in. I am having a lot of fun so far and am excited for the weeks and months ahead.

Paws,

Sabrina 

Geneva Week 1 (5/10 to 5/16) - Unpacking, Fondue, Annecy and Destination Zurich

The initial part of my first week in Geneva was spent watching Natalie and April rip through the house and get the place unpacked and settled in. Those two (when they set their mind to it) can work!

In less than two days, Natalie and April took the house from being full of boxes to being completely livable. The only items left to do are to purchase bookshelves, etc. Since Jason wants to participate in this part of the home process (I think he's afraid Natalie might buy things with flowers, cherries or butterflies, which is her latest obsession), the final stages of home design and set-up will have to wait.

(April and I enjoying some downtime in the newly unpacked house!)

(Me on the new rug Jason bought me!)

Since my paws are not really designed to unpack boxes, my job was to oversee the operations from the couch. From my perspective (when I was awake), Natalie and April worked quite efficiently and did their best to not disturb me. It had been over two months since I had seen my couch and all I wanted to do was sleep on it. For the most part, Natalie let me sleep, except to go on short walks, or when it was time to go out or go to bed.

After a couple days of hard work between the work week for Jason and April and Natalie's constant unpacking of boxes, Jason, April and Natalie treated themselves to some delicious fondue at a restaurant called Au Vieux in Carouge. The fondue they had was called 'moitie-moitie' and includes a combination of melted gruyere and vacherin cheeses (local Swiss cheeses).  They all ate until they couldn't eat anymore and washed it down with white wine - I gather fondue will become a staple meal during our time here in Switzerland.

(April with her fondue and white wine! Does it get any better than that?!)

Luckily, Jason got Thursday and Friday off for Swiss Holiday so, after spending most of my first three days in Geneva in the house, we actually got out a bit. Since April would be leaving town on Saturday to go back to SF and since she'd be leaving from Zurich, Jason, Natalie and April decided to spend Thursday exploring a bit of France and Friday, exploring some of Switzerland.

On Thursday morning (well, late morning - we all slept in), we got into our new Nissan Qashqai, which Jason picked up on Monday night and we drove down to Annecy, France. Annecy is a small town south of Geneva that Natalie heard about from her friend, Amira. Annecy is also a candidate for the 2018 Winter Olympics.

While in Annecy, we walked near the beautiful lake and walked up and down the charming streets that border a canal running through the city. From what I hear people saying, the town has a bit of a similar feel to Venice.

(A shot of Annecy and the canal.)

We also visited a few shops in Annecy, with one of the more notable ones being a shop entirely dedicated to cookies! I got to go in and smell all the delicious treats, as well as watch Natalie drool all over the cookie displays. Natalie and Jason bought a number of treats and the most delicious ones were the orange flower cookies and the sugary almond cookies.

(Here I am in the cookie shop! I'm standing right next to Jason's favorite - the orange flower cookies!)

We stopped for lunch and then slowly made our way home from Annecy and had a restful evening as we prepared for yet another day of adventure and April's last full day in Switzerland.

On Friday, our ultimate destination was Lucerne; however, we made a couple of stops along the way, which included Evian and Interlaken.

Evian is in France and yes, this is where the water comes from. Evian was a very beautiful town sitting right on Lake Geneva.  We walked around town and walked right into a farmer's market!

This was the first farmer's market I had ever been to, since San Francisco doesn't allow 4-legged creatures into their famed Ferry Building Farmer's Market. I have to say that I wasn't much interested in the jam, honey and soap tables, but when we got to the cheese and meat selections, it was a different story. At that point, I turned into a vacuum-dog, sucking up every morsel I could find on the ground. I also sniffed the food stands and gave the vendors my best sad eyes, in hopes I'd get a treat. I had no such luck, but, Natalie and Jason did purchase some goat cheese, which I know I'd get to sample later.

After leaving Evian, we drove to Interlaken and had lunch. Interlaken is a popular town for tourists and definitely has a very lively feel. It was raining quite a bit, so, we didn't walk around all that much, but, from what we could observe, Interlaken would be a fun town to spend the weekend in.

We left for Lucerne in the late afternoon and arrived in the evening. It was still raining, so, exploring the town on foot was not really an option; however, we did get to cross a really old wooden bridge and eat near Old Town Lucerne.

Saturday was April’s last morning in Switzerland (for this trip, at least…she better be back soon). We all got up reasonably early and had a quick breakfast at a little bakery on our way out of Lucerne.

We got to the airport in Zurich at around 10am and helped her get checked in and then said goodbye. 

I had a really nice time with April on the Queen Mary 2 and during our first week in Switzerland - I am going to miss her a lot, especially the part where I jump on her bed each morning and wake her up.

After leaving the airport Natalie and Jason headed out of Zurich and back towards home. It was a nice, yet bit of a rainy drive back. A couple of hours into the drive, we all stopped in the very picturesque town of Murten, Switzerland. Natalie and Jason ate more fondue and then explored the town.

The town of Murten reminded Natalie of Harry Potter. The village looked similar to what one would expect Daigon Alley or Hogsmeade to look like. I think Harry Potter was on her mind since the day before, when they passed near a town called Grindelwald (she is also currently re-reading book 7). Grindelwald is one of the characters from the Harry Potter series. Natalie mentioned that she wouldn’t be surprised if J.K. Rowling got some inspiration for the books out of all these cute towns in Switzerland.

(The 'wizard' clock tower in Murten.)

On the way back from Murten, we stopped in Etoy, which is in the Canton (or State) of Vaud. Vaud is next to the Canton of Geneva. I wasn’t quite sure while we were stopping there; however, it became clear soon enough. Natalie and Jason took me to visit a doggie day care!

This day care is called Truffe and Co. The owners seemed really friendly and there are no kennels at this daycare (similar to the Hound Lounge in SF); however, I wasn’t sure I was ready for this. I just got into this new town and now I’d be given to brand new people, who I barely understand, a couple of days a week! Natalie and Jason explained that they had to do this, since they’d be going to Sicily in a couple of weeks for Jason’s cousin's wedding. I understood; however, didn’t like it.

After Natalie and Jason talked to the owners a bit, I encouraged them to leave and leave quickly.

We raced back to the car and headed back home. Saturday night was a quiet one after a busy weekend.

On Sunday, we visited another farmer's market (no complaints here!) in Douvaine, France. This market is near Natalie and Jason's home and is open on Sunday mornings. Natalie and Jason picked up sausage, cheese, nougat, etc. and made a tasty dinner that evening with all of their finds from the market.

(Is that some French cheese I smell?)

It was definitely a busy week 1 in my new home! I was ready for a good nights sleep in my comfortable bed and was looking forward to the week ahead!

Paws,

Sabrina

May 9, 2010 - Arriving in Geneva!

After Jason, Natalie and April munched on a traditional German breakfast of cold cuts, cheese and bread (all of which I got to sample, since I got to go inside the restaurant again!), we set off from Fribourg to my new home, Geneva!

We drove through the rest of Germany at record speed and arrived into Switzerland just before noon. For lunch, we stopped in Lausanne. Lausanne is a very cute town on the right bank of Lake Geneva.  On this particular day, there was a carnival running through downtown that caused the city to be incredibly noisy and busy. I wasn't much into it and from what I gather, neither was April.

We found a restaurant for lunch (and to get away from the crowds), which was called La Brasserie. La Brasserie is a brewery and specializes in unique beers. Natalie and Jason both got the beer of the day, which was a peach-beer. Even though I didn't try it, from what I gathered it was very refreshing.

Natalie, Jason and April all got the 'Poutine' for lunch. 'Poutine' is a dish that consists of french fries, topped with melted cheddar cheese, merguez sausage and a brown gravy. From what I could smell and the pieces I got fed under the table, it was really rich, but very delicious.

After lunch, we all rushed out of Lausanne, after a Starbucks break, of course and made the final trek to Geneva.

We arrived in Geneva late that afternoon and drove right through it! This surprised me, because that is where I thought I'd be living. Natalie and Jason quickly calmed me down though, and told me we were actually living in a suburb of Geneva, called Anieres. Anieres is about 25 minutes North East of Geneva on the left bank of the Lake.

Now that my confusion got cleared up, I could rest my anxiety and take in all the scenery and beautiful blue lake around me as we were driving up to my new house!

We finally got to our house and I was pleasantly surprised to see that our home was in a very quaint countryside. There were farm animals all around me (cows, donkeys and goats!), vineyards and lots of green land to sniff! This was definitely going to be a very fun place to live.

I stepped inside the home and besides all of the boxes everywhere (the movers had just arrived with all of our items from SF about a week prior), the home was very cute. My first thought was that it had a Swiss Chalet feel. Once it gets set-up properly, I'll send pictures.

Jason had gifts waiting for all three of us when we got in. Natalie and April both got sweets and I got toys and treats!

(The gifts display from Jason for me, Natalie and April!)

After we assessed the place and unpacked a bit, we were off again to dinner. Dinner for our first night in our new town was in Carouge, which is just south of Geneva. We went to pizza and I got to sit inside the restaurant again and sample all the tasty food.

After dinner, we went back to our very cluttered, yet charming apartment and I rested and slept very well in my familiar bed with my favorite people.

Paws,
Sabrina

May 8, 2010 - Off the ship and in Germany

The morning of May 8th, Natalie and April came up to the kennels for the last time. I knew this was the day I'd be leaving as I saw them come up with their bags and they just had that look on their faces that it was time to go.

Luckily, Natalie was overly detailed about completing all of my paperwork; therefore, no one needed to check me out before getting off the ship. The last thing for me to do was to eat, which I did very quickly. After breakfast and a failed attempt to get me to go to the bathroom (I was just too excited), Dayle, Natalie and April opened that gate to let me out!

Dayle personally escorted me out with Natalie and April following close behind. Once we were off the ship and on solid ground, everyone gave everyone hugs, the customs people checked Natalie and April's passports (and tried to pet me, with no luck) and Natalie and April located their bags.

(Dayle escorting me out...sorry it's so fuzzy. Natalie was having trouble getting a clear picture!)

We waited outside the ship terminal for a short time and then suddenly Jason arrived! This was turning out to be a very good day.

(Natalie, April and I at the ship terminal.)

Jason helped Natalie and April with their bags, we all got into Jason's rental car and were off on our journey towards Geneva.

In the car, Jason mentioned that we'd need to go all the way through Germany to get to Switzerland and since it was a long drive (about 9.5 hours), we'd be staying the night in Fribourg, Germany. Fribourg was about 6 hours away. I was fine with whatever, as long as I got to sleep on my people's bed that night.

Our first stop was for a quick breakfast in Hamburg. We got pastries and Starbucks, went for a short walk (where I finally went to the bathroom) and were on our way.

The road through Germany was a fast one! We drove on the autobahn (which is essentially the name for the German freeways) for most of the way and Jason definitely kept a healthy speed. At one point, we were going close to 115 miles an hour and Natalie had to put her 'two cents' in, where were 'slow down!!'

Prior to getting into Fribourg, we stopped for a late lunch at a quaint little town in Germany called Bacharach. It was a nice day out and I figured we'd be sitting outside to eat like we always do, because restaurants don't like my type inside the building; however, I wrong!

(A picture of Bacharach where we had our late lunch.)

Most restaurants in Europe allow dogs to sit inside with their people. The restaurant we chose was no exception. They even had some food and water for me! While I properly begged and enjoyed all the smells of this unfamiliar environment, Natalie, April and Jason enjoyed pork, spaetzle, french fries and beer - a hearty meal to get us through the rest of the trip.

(Here I am in my very first restaurant, eating and begging!)

I wasn't sure about this whole living in Europe thing before, but now, knowing that I'm welcome most places my people are definitely changes my outlook.

We got into Fribourg late that evening and checked into our hotel. Fribourg was a very nice town that had a section of it closed off to foot and paw traffic only - meaning, no cars were allowed. Our hotel was right in the middle of this pedestrian zone and it was quite nice to be able to go for a walk without having to worry about being hit by a vehicle.

Since everyone was still full from the late lunch, we (well, Natalie, Jason and April) decided to just get a good German beer at one of the bars and then head to bed. The beer was tasty and the environment was lively (Fribourg is also a university town), which was a nice ending to a long day.

After beers and a walk, we all headed to our hotel and tucked in for the night. I was so happy to be sleeping on the bed with my people again that I almost forgot I'd be seeing my new home the next day....so many things to be excited for :-)

Paws,

Sabrina

(Here I am enjoying the comfy bed in Fribourg!)