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Published: July 19th 2013
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Aareschlucht Gorge
Ooops forgot to mention I got pretty thirsty during a trip to the gorge :-) A very long overdue hello to everyone from Switzerland...
I'm pleased to say, for the most part anyway, that summer is here!
I have been soooooo busy (working! because funnily enough that's why I'm here...) hence lack of blogs so prepare yourselves - you will need refreshments to carry you through this one :-) and I'm not even going to apologise for it's length. I just hope you enjoy it and can share it around.
So where to start... BON JOVI in Bern were as fabulous as ever - thanks guys for a great show! That's about a dozen times I've seen them now and they never fail to impress - Ali, Hazel and I all had a great time - still can't quite believe we got our ticketyboos at the end of last summer before we even knew where we'd be working - that's either extreme confidence or extreme stupidity... So let's run with the confidence angle ;-)
Still on a musical note... A very pleasant evening, one of several to come, was spent in Interlaken watching/listening to a local band called TRACKS BAND - check them out... My friend Sam is the singer, she's a
Bon Jovi Bern
Hot or what...? Brit, the drummer is an Italian friend named Umberto and the other guys are Swiss - they do a mix of covers and their own stuff. Can't wait for the next gig :-)
And another musical based outing was to the world famous Montreux Jazz Festival - for the second year running the reps descended on this beautiful French area of Switzerland armed with copious amounts of food and wine - set up camp in the park, barbequed and drank whilst listening to some fab free jazz... What a way to spend a sunny afternoon! Just a shame we couldn't get organised enough to all go on the same day :-(
On another outing to Bern I went to see an exhibition in the History Museum of the Terracotta Warriors... Very impressive, there's only about 10 of the warriors in Bern but many other ancient artefacts and I find it incredible how they transport these priceless museum pieces around the world - I loved it and seeing as I have no plans in the near future to visit China was especially pleased that some of the Terracotta Army chose to reside in Switzerland this summer. They
Bonigen Alphorn
This guy rocked up and placed his alphorn on the lake and played... amazing! must have known I'd be back...
Didn't have time to see the biffy bears but I will be back to see them soon - apparently there is a bit of rivalry going on with the females so I'm hoping the family unit settles down again else they'll have to be segregated from each other - bears are usually solitary animals anyway and only get it together to mate, the cubs usually stay with their mother for a couple of years before venturing into the word alone but because these bears have been bred and raised in captivity they formed a family group with a mummy bear, daddy bear and the two cubs (one male and one female) seems the girlies have now got the claws out and into each other vying for attention from the male members of the family. I will keep you posted as those of you who know me know how much I love my bears!
So back in Wengen the tourists are coming in their hoards along with assorted day trippers etc. It's quite a bustling little metropolis at the moment, I had a new neighbour for a couple of weeks, a American base jumper called Jimmy - he was a great neighbour and now I have another couple of base jumpers next door whose little dog, Whisper, has also tried her paw at base jumping - and before everyone starts shouting animal cruelty let me assure you - she willingly jumps into her little harness and lets them put her little goggles on, and I should say Whisper has also tried surfing and wears a little life vest - too cute. That dog has done more dare devil stuff than I ever will... And if you're unsure of what base jumping entails just search for Lauterbrunnen valley base jumps on line and you'll get the picture :-)
The weekly pub quiz in Rocks Bar is still going strong and lots of guests are joining in too - it's a good night out so if anyone is in the area and free on a Sunday night just pop along... although I should warn you the questions aint easy... This was one of the questions a couple of weeks ago... What is the collective noun for a group of domestic cats? Don't cheat - just message me the answer - I can tell you our team went with a Curiosity of cats... and we were wrong :-) Emily, Laura and Euan are strict too - so no half hearted answers allowed!
Also in Wengen there's been many an enjoyable evening sat on my wonderful balcony drinking coffee and putting the worlds to right... I'm not sure why we always drink coffee when there are several bottle of wine kicking about the place... maybe it's to give ourselves a break seeing as we seem to end up in Rocks Bar most other nights. There have also been climbing and BBQ combo days... I'm not sure about the climbing but apparently I gotta have a go at some point - presuming I actually survive then I'll let you all know how I get on - I have visions of getting up but not being able to get back down!
It was great to see Nicola and Gary in Locarno last week - top marks for research guys - that restaurant, La Giardino di Lago was fabulous and my risotto was yummy!! It was gloriously hot down in the Italian bit of Switzerland and I could have happily stayed longer but other business to attend to meant I had to come back to the mountains... See you both in a few months though when I'm home :-) and snuggles to M&S
I've also had a shopping trip to Konstanz with a bunch of the other reps and friends - nipping over the border into Germany to buy toiletries is such a summer tradition now... and oh so cool! Best of all though I got a total bargain on a new Jack Wolfskin jacket - it has a zip out fleece liner and is sooooo soft and snuggly people stroke me when I'm wearing it - I may have to take up purring ;-) at least it's safer than climbing...
My pal Eirwen was out visiting - it's always god to see her, we had a sneaky little trip up the Schilthorn one day (I think I mentioned before it's where one of the Bond movies was filmed - not the best Bond movie by far though... On Her Majesty's Secret Service) and out on the terrace there were a group of Swiss Yodellers harmonising and well, yodelling... it was lovely with such fantastic mountain views as a back drop it was really Swiss! She's back out again soon and I can't wait - we still have our First Flyer tickets to use!!
While she was here we also had a mini reps day out to Saas Fee and despite searching we didn't see any marmots - they were sleeping off their lunch probably - which considering the distance we'd travelled to see them was really quite rude... There will be other visits to Saas though so better luck next time...
Oh, just while I remember, massive thanks to Hazel's mum & dad for the Pink Grapefruit squash from M&S - you guys are great and I know you read the blog... isn't that how you find out what your daughter has been up to :-) She's got my squash in Zermatt so I'm heading over there in a couple of days to collect and enjoy!
So finally, as I sit in the sunshine in Café Schuh (of chocolate show fame...) typing this long overdue blog I would like to wish you all safe and happy travels - please pass the blog on and don't forget I want to know what you think a group of domestic cats are called...
Take care everyone and have fun
Love Tallulah x
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Summer in Switzerland part 6
A Clowder or Clan of Cats Enjoyed Blog luv Rosemaey