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
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