Yikes! A million things have happened so I'll run with images instead of words this time. Some explanatory notes: 1) "Slowups": events where they close the roads so that thousands of cyclists can use them instead. The one we went to was just north of here and the course was 22km around a little lake. Just lovely. There were literally 20,000 cyclists, and about four walkers. We were two of the walkers, and we'd invited the other two. It was terrific fun...very pretty and we feel we got real value for money by walking. The entire event was free, which [View Full Entry]

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Writing this from a haze of sleep. Our weekend was terrific...on Saturday we cycled to the airport, then took the train to Lausanne and cycled 70 km in delightful weather to Yverdon Les Bains (not really lesbians, but that's what we call it :-)) It was a lovely ride, starting along Lake Geneva, up and down hills and dales, through fields of barley and sunflowers, past train stations and factories, detouring for a run on a BMX track under a freeway, then racing along some lovely single-trail in the forest, , ending up at the lovely castle town of Yverdon Lesbians. [View Full Entry]

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Well. I survived the US with my sense of humour and length of temper only mildly pruned. To return to the simple joys of Geneva, and to further distance myself from the horrors of football-field-sized carparks and football-team-sized people, let me steal a story from some friends: These friends, like us, speak little French. And they, like us, live in an apartment block. Well, how lovely! One day there is a knock on their door and it’s a young Frenchman. They soon work out that English is the common language, he introduces himself as the new neighbour, they smile and make [View Full Entry]

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For some reason the Powers That Be assumed it would be easier for me to drive from Chicago to Madison, Wisconsin, than to fly. It was not easier. It was absolutely horrendous, for the following reasons: 1) the car is somewhat larger than I am used to 2) the oncoming traffic is on the opposite side of the road 3) the steering wheel is on the opposite side of the car 4) I have traveled all day: my brain and eyes and body think it’s midnight, and I keep thinking of those driver safety ads that tell you how your [View Full Entry]

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O mai gard! O mai gard!! America. Where the airline food is better than the Swiss could ever dream of, and the airline shopping literally has something for everyone. Most of the wackiest things ever invented are available for sale at skymall.com, and displayed in an inflight glossy brochure as thick as the latest Harry Potter, which is yours to take home. On top of this epic shopping adventure, you can also peruse the duty free catalogue, which is full of the usual expensive lolly waters (both sprayable and drinkable), and of course, the in-flight magazine, which is mostly full-page [View Full Entry]

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Some called us unlucky Team 13, but we did not flinch. We wore our number 13s proudly, and called ourselves “les electrones libres.” This is apparently funny in French: electrons are usually masculine, but we added some letters to make them feminine, because we were girls. This must’ve been really hilarious because when our team name appeared on the official list, the official somebody had corrected our spelling and returned our electrons to their masculine state. D’oh. So much for French humour!! We were one of only thirteen all-girl teams running in the annual CER [View Full Entry]

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Zermatt is a delightful valley village where cars have literally been banished in favor of bicycles and rectangular electric cars. Car drivers must leave their vehicles in a massive Petrol Tomb about seven kilometres out of town, and then catch the train into the fabulous little town. Zermatt is also at the base of the Matterhorn, and hence the gateway to some of the highest skiing in Europe. Thanks to some summer skiers stomping around town in their boots and overalls, we now have a vague idea of what it will be like in winter (although in winter you can't [View Full Entry]

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The Glacier Express! A must-do for all you potential visitors! 7.5 hours in a low-speed glasshouse, the most appalling food you’ve ever been overcharged for, and non-stop sensational scenery. Every misconception you’ve ever had about Switzerland is true and you can see it all without leaving your seat. Tips for those thinking of indulging: 1) BYO lunch. Even if it’s only bread and cheese. Don’t be fooled by the nice-looking menu or the gourmet words. The “breaded filet hake with salad” was a fish finger hammered flat with a mallet and served with a bo [View Full Entry]

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I woke up grumpy, the day was gray. Just twelve hours later I am back to contented and happy. We have traveled across the entire country, from the French-zone to the German: just when our French was approaching survival levels, it became completely useless. We are now in St Moritz, surrounded by snowy mountains, overlooking a lake, hemmed in by designer stores and expensive hotels. Luckily this is the low season and all the stores are closed until June. If they were still open we would surely have spent all our savings on one handbag and half a shoe. Today [View Full Entry]

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Saturday was an open day for our local wine region, which incidentally produces very drinkable, very reasonably priced wine that the Swiss seem to snub. To get there we took a bus, changed to an extremely crowded train, got out a stop early, and then walked up a hill to discover we could see our apartment from the vineyards. We spent the morning wandering through a few cellars, and then walked home. That evening we took a local white and a heap of strawberries and cheese to a Eurovision house party. We watched beautiful people from miscellaneous European countries try [View Full Entry]

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