Cows, Cheese and Chocolate!

I immersed myself in a full on day of traditional and stereotypical Switzerland last Saturday!  It tasted really really good!

I didn't do this all by myself though, I went on a Link: Au Pair trip with about 60 other Au Pairs for a day of the best that Switzerland had to offer...in the region of Gruyere.  As it happens the region of Gruyere has some pretty great stuff to offer, despite the constant rainy day.  Firstly (after a lovely 6am wake up to get ready and into Nyon to board the coach that would take a lot of rather sleepy Au Pairs out for the day) we arrived in a town called Charmey to participate in the cow festival.  Yes, I did just say COW festival!  'La Desalpe' is an event that happens every year throughout many towns in Switzerland during the Autumn months.  Its a festival full of Swiss traditions pouring through the streets to celebrate the herds of cows that are brought down from their summer grazing in the mountains so they don't freeze their udders off in the winter!

Welcome to La Desalpe....................

Horns....................................

I wondered around the little market and streets flitting from one group of people to another all morning, stopping at the side of the road to watch a marching band or a herd of cows when I heard bells ringing throughout the town.  It was a great day for meeting and getting to know lots of my fellow Au Pairs much better.  Kari (from California), who is one of the Elisabeth's (from last year) Au Pair replacement met up with me in Charmey whilst we watched the marching band go down the street (there wasn't room on the bus for her).  We met at a CES fireside at church the other week, where I met the other Elisabeth's Au Pair replacement too.  Kari and I went to last weeks Link meeting in Nyon, which was great because we got to know each other a little better and will defiantly be hanging out in the future.   So I at least new someone already that day, but I got to know plenty more throughout the day!  Before Kari arrived, but after had got to know a native Swiss girl on the coach and then split from a small group of English and American girls I spent most of my time watching the parade of cows with a couple of lovely Danish people.   Although the Mo Pair will have you guess which of the many countries he comes from (including Brazil) before settling on Denmark when you first him.

Christian and Johanna.........

The marching band................

The boys and their big bells (plenty of jokes provided for the rest of the day).....

The cows are coming............

Big bigger the bell, the more milk that cow produces........

Some token goats.................

Check out the headdress..........

Finding shelter from the rain and a veal sausage for my stomach.....

Once we had all seen our fair share of cows, eaten way too many cheese samples from the market and got thoroughly soaked it was time to head back to our coach.  All of us were piled back on to what become a slightly leaky coach, where everyone tried to dry off various items of clothing, we inched along the road at a snail pace in the long queue of traffic.  Why you ask?  Oh, because we were stuck behind all those cows taking their good time getting down the rest of the mountain of course!

Misty shrouded mountain roadside......

All was well though, because we eventually go to the chocolate factory of Switzerland very own Cailler Chocolate!  Mmmmmmmmm....YUM!

Kari and I just a little bit over excited..........

My Kiwi friend Nichole on our factory tour........

Ermmm..it would be easy to say when is it not time for chocolate......

Cracked me up........................

After stuffing our faces and emptying our purses all in the name of Swiss chocolate we crawled (perhaps feeling a little sick) back onto the coach to go to the Gruyere Cheese factory.  Yes we will be eating more food...more cheese...errrrrryuk!

With my 80's mobile guide tour, by a cow........

The adventure doesn't stop at the cheese factory though, oh no!  Most of us clamber back onto the coach for a short drive up a hill (because there was no way I was make it up the hill after all the cheese and chocolate) to the center of Gruyere.  It is a beautiful little Swiss town!  We were let loose to wander around the town before dinner.  I had been told the night before about something rather random in the middle of this little town.  You shall see soon.

The main street..........................

Views from the castle..............

 Gruyere.......................

The randomness!  Because where else should there be a museum and cafe (dect out in full on freaky alien chairs) dedicated to the Alien films?  Gruyere!  The place famous for its cheese of course!......

I did make a rather big purchase that day.  This is my very own little love story!  I bought myself a Swiss watch!  Ive eaten the Swiss chocolate and cheese, hiked through the Swiss mountains and flower meadows, toured the capital city of Bern, heard some yodeling and even celebrated their cows!  But I had thus far failed to purchase a Swiss watch!  I've been in many watch shops since I've been here (you can't really avoid them) but hadn't seen anything I liked enough to actually spend the kind of money demanded on one for myself.  That is until I walked into a small antique shop in Gruyere (not selling any of the tourist tack like every other shop in the town, as the owner happily pointed out to me!  Hahaha!).  I really liked the designs of these hand painted watches that looked like bracelets (as the designer only desinges watches for women and therefore makes all his watches look like jewallary).  I was tempted by them, but not tempted enough.  Then I fell in love!  I fell in love with a watch pendant!  That was it, I knew I was going to get one and therefore have my very own Swiss Watch.  Over dramtic much?!  Yes I know!  But this is love! Ha!  It's vintage, hand painted by the designer (Andre Mouche) wife, handmade in Switzerland (therefore a SWISS watch!  Whoop Whoop!) 18 caret gold and just simply beautiful!  The clock face is under the cover of of the small flower bouqet.

Ah, my little love of a watch................

 
The last Swiss event of the day took place in the top room of a small resturant on the side of the main town square.  We were all to eat some extremly tasty Swiss soup, that you could just have as much of as you wanted (shame that we had all filled up on cheese and chocolate ALL day).  The soup was deilous, but even better than that was sitting down with a group of people, who I had pretty much only met that day and just talking for agggggesssss!  This room that we were all cosily cramed into was full of noise as we all talked and talked learning so many new things and making new friends in the process.

English, Kiwi, American, English/Aussie, Czech, Danish, Cadain and Aussie.....

My soupy soup soup soup...............

Group photo...................

I had a fantastic day full of Swiss fun!  Ive come away finally having made some good friends that I shall be getting to know better as my time goes on here.  I spent the ENTIRE journey on the coach back to Nyon talking to my new buddy Amy from the states, who I get on with amazingly well!  I am so excited about that!  Seriously!  I have been so fortunet to meet so many people that I have truly got on with so well, and felt like we must have grown up toegtehr in another life! Ha!  Amy and I have already hung out this week, starting a beautiful movie buddy relationship already, that will continue with cookies too next weekend!

Tomorrow (very early in the morning, again) brings another Link trip.  This time we are going to Zermatt (where the famous Tobalarone mountain lives) for a weekend of hiking!

I've finally caught up with all I wanted to blog about!

Good night!!!