Yesterday the new Au Pair arrived! Her name is Toni and she flew in all the way from Cape Town in south Africa. We are doing a little hand over for the rest of the week so that I can show her the ropes a bit. She's a great, fun and happy person who I think will fit in really well with the family! Yay!
I leave Switzerland in just a few days time. My Dad and Brother-in-Law came by this evening and dropped off my niece Isabelle on their way to Italy (just across the border) where they will be skiing for a couple of days. So I have my little buddy and niece with me (whoop whoop) for my last few days till Sunday when my Dad and Brother-in-Law come back to Geneva to take me home. It doesn't fell real yet. I still have one day left of work, people to see, things to do, places to go. I doubt it will sink in for a while yet.
Tonight though was the first of my official goodbyes. I went to my last Link Au Pair meeting to say my final goodbyes to a few people I had met a few months ago and just a few days ago. More so than anyone else I wanted to see Becky and Paul who run the Link group.
I wanted to say a big THANK YOU to them!
They do so much for the Au Pairs in the area. The trips they organise so that we get to see the country are brilliant. I would not have got to see some of the places I have seen because of those trips. They have helped myself and many friends with various Au Pair or life worries. They are at hand to talk, always. It has been a great comfort to know that they are always there to help if need be for any reason big or small.
So the final goodbyes have begun, but not just yet for this blog.
Just goodnight for now.
Thursday, February 28, 2013
A Friend Came To Town
On Friday evening a Miss Eleanor Jest arrived
in town on a little orange plane from England.
I was just a bit excited to have a visitor from my homeland come to see me,
and my Au Pair life in this part of the world.
We talked at ten miles an hour late into the night rapidly jumping from
one topic to another till we realised we did actually have the next four days
to catch up, not just this one night.
Saturday morning was to be the start of the ‘Eleanor Swiss
Adventure’. We had plans. Big plans.
Plans all written out on a scrappy piece of paper.
On Saturday morning Eleanor and I, plus
three other Au Pairs (Iveta, Sondie and Naomi) all squeezed into my car for a
day of traditional Swissness. It’s a day
that I have done before with all the Link Au Pairs, but it was so good I had to
share it with those who hadn’t been to these places before. We first went to the Caillier chocolate
factory where a LOT of chocolate was eaten…and purchased too. You have to buy chocolate when you visit a
chocolate factory! Despite all the chocolate that you have just eaten two
minutes before you entered the shop.
Mmmmmm…..delicious though!
We then drove to the little, but
beautiful Swiss town of Gruyere sat on top of its snowy hill (with a couple of
photo stops on the way, of course). After parking the car we wrapped up very
warm and walked to the top of the hill into the centre of the town. We got there just in time to see a
traditional marching band dressed in bright blue and red, being led by a priest
and some children, to church for mass.
It was a lovely little surprise to see that in Gruyere. Pretty much made the day even better than it
already was, being with some great people, having a good laugh while
discovering new places and all.
After walking around the town, peering
into all the shops, laughing at the tributes to the alien films, taking silly
photos in door and window frames and walking up to the castle to see the
spectacular view across the mountains we got all cosy in a restaurant for some
traditional Swiss soup with Gruyere cheese.
Yum! A box of chocolates helped
the dark drive back to Geneva! We all
had had a fun day getting to know each other better, revelling in the
beautifulness of Switzerland.
Sunday Eleanor and I took it easy. Watching Peter Pan, going to church, baking Oreo
cookie cookies and taking too many photos of ourselves whilst time just escaped
us completely!
If Saturday was a day seeing the
traditional and beautiful side of Switzerland, then Monday was seeing the
intellectual and international cooperating side of Switzerland. Eleanor, Iveta and myself went to the
U.N. I had organised for a bunch of Au
Pairs to meet up together to go on a tour.
Once we got there and met up with our fellow Au Pairs, Christian (the
token boy Au Pair for the day) took over and got us a group pass to join a
tour.
It was really interesting walking
through the U.N. seeing so many different people from all over the world
constantly on the move to and from their various meetings. The building is far bigger than I imagined,
and we didn’t even see half of it. It is
full of beautiful art from every country covering all the walls. We also walked past the library, but I was
gutted that I couldn’t actually go in and lose myself amongst the hundreds of
books. However the President of Germany
did walk past our tour group and say ‘Hello’ to us on his way to a meeting that
we had been looking in on earlier. That
had to be the highlight of the day!
After the tour everyone came back to
mine for lunch (where the Oreo cookie cookies that Eleanor and I had made the
day before got devoured). It was lovely
having a nice lunch with a few new people I hadn’t met before that day and a
couple of old (like Anna and Christian).
Once full we all headed back out to take a quick look around CERN. We got to the CERN globe at the perfect time
to see the lights dim and stars appear all around us as the current project at
CERN was explained through beautiful images of space. We also had a lot of other items in room that
looked too technical for Anna and I to understand, but were fully explained by
Christian (who was in his element that whole day).
After a great but busy day of the U.N.,
CERN and then actually doing my Au Pair job Eleanor and I dragged ourselves out
of the house after dinner to see a little of Geneva by night. We had a little wonder through old town and
down my favourite street that has lighted blocks on the floor with sayings in
many different languages.
Tuesday was a day in France. So where do I take someone in France? My favourite place, which is Annecy of
course! The clouds had finally decided
it was time to part a little and let the sun shine through. We got a beautiful view of the lake and
mountains in Annecy while we shivered and took more photos. We strolled through the town seeing the rivers
that run through the place, a little art gallery and eating crepes of
course. Most of our time was spent in my
favourite shop in Annecy that is full of hand made and painted pottery. I have admired the shops contents many times
and promised myself that before I left for England I would finally get myself a
pretty jug to remember Annecy by. The purchase
was made…eventually! The afternoon ended
with us eating some extra large macaroons by the river in the sun.
The time quickly came for Eleanor to be
taken to the airport and kissed goodbye.
We had a fantastic few days exploring Switzerland and France together
with many other people along the way. Yet
of course four days later we still needed more time for everything we wanted to
say and do.
Eleanor, it was brilliant having you
here!
Sunday, February 17, 2013
The Final Snowy Countdown
Hello!
For the last couple of weeks I have been in Les Gets, France. It is a ski resort in the Alps about an hour from where I live in Geneva. Here's a little fun fact for ya...Bradly Wiggins does cycle training in the area! Wahey! Again, my brother can hang his head while I cheer for myself getting to walk down the same road as Wiggo! Mwahahaha!
My host family ski in Les Gets every weekend, so when the February half-term got close they decided to book a flat last minute for the week. I had the week off, so I had two choice's. I could pay to fly home for the week, which I would love, but I'll be back there very soon anyway. That left me with hanging around the house in Geneva by myself while my friends are all working. So I asked if I could tag along to Les Gets where I could wrap up warm, bask in the beautiful sight of snow and take it easy for the week.
No I was not going to ski like everyone else on the planet would. My host family were skiing every single day! I do not ski! I just can't, don't, won't ski! I have in the past. There are plenty of skiing lessons and skiing holidays to prove that I have tried. It is not for me. The more I watched all the skiers on the slopes each day for the past week, the more confused I become about skiing. Why do people want to constantly repeat the cycle of taking a lift up a mountain side to slide down it on flat sticks? Their face gets whipped by the freezing air. They ache all over at the end of the day. They always have the possibility of getting taken out by all the other people doing the same thing within a couple of feet of themselves too!?
I had a lovely week though. Ticked things off my 'to-do' list. Read books, Watched films, listened to music, wrote letters walked in the snow and baked delicious cookies! I curled up in cosey jumpers and blankets next to a fire watching the beautiful snow fall outside. There was a LOT of snow to watch fall!
There was over two meters of the snow! At the start of the week records showed that there hadn't been that much snow in Les Gets for at least 30 years. There was a lot more than that after it snowed constantly for the next three days though. So so so so so much snow! I was loving it! I have never seen so much of the beautiful white, pearly, sparkling stuff in my life! It was great to spend a week in that winter wonderland of Narnia! I won't forget it. I did come back to a snow clad Geneva too, but that is winter in Switzerland for you.
I only have TWO WEEKS left in Switzerland!!!
AHHHHHHHH!!!!! TWO WEEKS!
They will be a filled with lots of busy beeness to keep myself busy busy busy. It's back to work, but with a some treats here and there (a few of which have been provided by sister and family in the form of two boxes stuffed with goodies that I found in the post box yesterday).
My good friend from England, Miss Eleanor Jest (the brilliantly wonderful girl that she is) is flying over on Friday for a few days. I shall be giving her the grand tour of my area of Switzerland. The day after she leaves the new Au Pair, Toni, shall be arriving from South Africa! Yes a new Au Pair has been found! Yay! I helped, and I am very happy to say that she seems pretty great, and will fit in with my amazing host family very well. Toni and I will do a little swap over for a few days to help her get into the swing of things here. The day after Toni arrives My Dad and Brother-in -law will be in the area skiing for a few days (skiing...weirdo's!). I'll have a final day out in Switzerland on the Saturday and then be packed up (with everything I have accumulated whilst being here, that's a lot of stuff it would seen) in my Dad's car driving across France Sunday Evening.
I will be back again to tell a few story's before the end of this little Au Pairing adventure happens.
So for now...Bon Nuit!
For the last couple of weeks I have been in Les Gets, France. It is a ski resort in the Alps about an hour from where I live in Geneva. Here's a little fun fact for ya...Bradly Wiggins does cycle training in the area! Wahey! Again, my brother can hang his head while I cheer for myself getting to walk down the same road as Wiggo! Mwahahaha!
My host family ski in Les Gets every weekend, so when the February half-term got close they decided to book a flat last minute for the week. I had the week off, so I had two choice's. I could pay to fly home for the week, which I would love, but I'll be back there very soon anyway. That left me with hanging around the house in Geneva by myself while my friends are all working. So I asked if I could tag along to Les Gets where I could wrap up warm, bask in the beautiful sight of snow and take it easy for the week.
No I was not going to ski like everyone else on the planet would. My host family were skiing every single day! I do not ski! I just can't, don't, won't ski! I have in the past. There are plenty of skiing lessons and skiing holidays to prove that I have tried. It is not for me. The more I watched all the skiers on the slopes each day for the past week, the more confused I become about skiing. Why do people want to constantly repeat the cycle of taking a lift up a mountain side to slide down it on flat sticks? Their face gets whipped by the freezing air. They ache all over at the end of the day. They always have the possibility of getting taken out by all the other people doing the same thing within a couple of feet of themselves too!?
I had a lovely week though. Ticked things off my 'to-do' list. Read books, Watched films, listened to music, wrote letters walked in the snow and baked delicious cookies! I curled up in cosey jumpers and blankets next to a fire watching the beautiful snow fall outside. There was a LOT of snow to watch fall!
There was over two meters of the snow! At the start of the week records showed that there hadn't been that much snow in Les Gets for at least 30 years. There was a lot more than that after it snowed constantly for the next three days though. So so so so so much snow! I was loving it! I have never seen so much of the beautiful white, pearly, sparkling stuff in my life! It was great to spend a week in that winter wonderland of Narnia! I won't forget it. I did come back to a snow clad Geneva too, but that is winter in Switzerland for you.
I only have TWO WEEKS left in Switzerland!!!
AHHHHHHHH!!!!! TWO WEEKS!
They will be a filled with lots of busy beeness to keep myself busy busy busy. It's back to work, but with a some treats here and there (a few of which have been provided by sister and family in the form of two boxes stuffed with goodies that I found in the post box yesterday).
My good friend from England, Miss Eleanor Jest (the brilliantly wonderful girl that she is) is flying over on Friday for a few days. I shall be giving her the grand tour of my area of Switzerland. The day after she leaves the new Au Pair, Toni, shall be arriving from South Africa! Yes a new Au Pair has been found! Yay! I helped, and I am very happy to say that she seems pretty great, and will fit in with my amazing host family very well. Toni and I will do a little swap over for a few days to help her get into the swing of things here. The day after Toni arrives My Dad and Brother-in -law will be in the area skiing for a few days (skiing...weirdo's!). I'll have a final day out in Switzerland on the Saturday and then be packed up (with everything I have accumulated whilst being here, that's a lot of stuff it would seen) in my Dad's car driving across France Sunday Evening.
I will be back again to tell a few story's before the end of this little Au Pairing adventure happens.
So for now...Bon Nuit!
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
A Not So Hot Air Balloon Festival
Last Saturday morning found me and 15 other Au Pairs outside a supermarket in Ferney-Voultaire (France) piling into four cars with a baguette each in hand. One of the 15 Au pairs had got us all together to go to a the 35th annual hot air balloon festival up high in the snowy mountain town of Chateau-d'Oex.
The festival has people from all over the world coming to take part in the flights, or just be there to watch the beautiful sight of 50 balloons flying high in the sky amongst the mountain tops. Unfortunately for myself, I did not get to see such a glorious sight, because of all the glorious snow!
It's Switzerland, in winter. Snow is to be expected, especially in the mountains. That wouldn't stop the hot air balloons taking off, but falling snow would. As I drove further up the mountains winding roads, the heavier it snowed though and then I drove slower and slower.
When my car load arrived (cheers all round please) in Chateau-d'Oex the only hot air balloon we saw was the metal statue of one in the middle a roundabout. Clearly the weather had stopped everyone from being able to marvel at the bright colours of silk floating in the air.
A couple of the other car loads bailed out half way hearing that there was a LOT of snow, and we didn't even see the other car load because it took ages for them to get there. So no hot air balloons at the festival, but Iveta, Anna, Julia and I still had a great time in the pretty town!
What's not to like when it snows huge, sparkling, pretty snow flakes whilst you drink hot drinks all wrapped up in our cozy coats!? Plus we had a good laugh taking photos with anything that resembled a hot air balloon as the whole town was decked out to celebrate. So we still got our balloon photos to show people, hopefully they wont notice that they aren't real?
After our jaunt around the land of snow town, we got back into the eventually boiling hot car to then stop in the town of Lausanne on the way home. It's one of the larger towns around Lac Leman. A beautiful place with some rather nice shops!
The lesson of the day was that it's up to you how much you enjoy yourself. Even though I didn't get to see what I had driven 1 hour and 40 minutes for, I still had brilliant day in a gorgeous place with some fantastic people.
Nothing is gonna get me down!
The festival has people from all over the world coming to take part in the flights, or just be there to watch the beautiful sight of 50 balloons flying high in the sky amongst the mountain tops. Unfortunately for myself, I did not get to see such a glorious sight, because of all the glorious snow!
It's Switzerland, in winter. Snow is to be expected, especially in the mountains. That wouldn't stop the hot air balloons taking off, but falling snow would. As I drove further up the mountains winding roads, the heavier it snowed though and then I drove slower and slower.
When my car load arrived (cheers all round please) in Chateau-d'Oex the only hot air balloon we saw was the metal statue of one in the middle a roundabout. Clearly the weather had stopped everyone from being able to marvel at the bright colours of silk floating in the air.
A couple of the other car loads bailed out half way hearing that there was a LOT of snow, and we didn't even see the other car load because it took ages for them to get there. So no hot air balloons at the festival, but Iveta, Anna, Julia and I still had a great time in the pretty town!
What's not to like when it snows huge, sparkling, pretty snow flakes whilst you drink hot drinks all wrapped up in our cozy coats!? Plus we had a good laugh taking photos with anything that resembled a hot air balloon as the whole town was decked out to celebrate. So we still got our balloon photos to show people, hopefully they wont notice that they aren't real?
After our jaunt around the land of snow town, we got back into the eventually boiling hot car to then stop in the town of Lausanne on the way home. It's one of the larger towns around Lac Leman. A beautiful place with some rather nice shops!
The lesson of the day was that it's up to you how much you enjoy yourself. Even though I didn't get to see what I had driven 1 hour and 40 minutes for, I still had brilliant day in a gorgeous place with some fantastic people.
Nothing is gonna get me down!
Sunday, January 20, 2013
My Eye's Are Itchy
Bonne Annee!
It has been one of those busy but fulfilling days! The fact that my day didn't start til 12:30pm is beside the point (church starts at 2pm again! Lie-in Sundays are back!). The itchy eyes are the only thing keeping me awake right now! Once I wash my face and get in pj's my list of things I promised myself I would get done will be forgotten, as a climb onto my bed and fly to the land of bliss!
I just wanted to say hello! Yes, I am still alive! I only have a month and half as an Au Pair left in Switzerland!!! The time has gone so quickly and yet I still find myself needing to find a few things to fill my last remaining days with. However, for a week in February I'll be going to a ski resort with my host family. I wont be skiing (that would require some actual skill in balancing), but I will be soaking up my last dose of snowy mountains while I still can! It will be my last 'HURRAH' of living on the continent!
This evening I went to a CES fireside where I got the chance to see a couple of old friends (especially Carole, who happened to serve in the same mission as my cousin Becky) that I have made whilst living here. Plus making some new ones too! Think I may have been the only person there who's first language is English! I didn't even have to try to speak in French because everyone is so good at English! I should feel more ashamed at my lack my language skills....but I don't!
The itchy eyes are telling me to go to bed! So for now I shall just say.....
.....Bon Nuit!!!!!
It has been one of those busy but fulfilling days! The fact that my day didn't start til 12:30pm is beside the point (church starts at 2pm again! Lie-in Sundays are back!). The itchy eyes are the only thing keeping me awake right now! Once I wash my face and get in pj's my list of things I promised myself I would get done will be forgotten, as a climb onto my bed and fly to the land of bliss!
I just wanted to say hello! Yes, I am still alive! I only have a month and half as an Au Pair left in Switzerland!!! The time has gone so quickly and yet I still find myself needing to find a few things to fill my last remaining days with. However, for a week in February I'll be going to a ski resort with my host family. I wont be skiing (that would require some actual skill in balancing), but I will be soaking up my last dose of snowy mountains while I still can! It will be my last 'HURRAH' of living on the continent!
This evening I went to a CES fireside where I got the chance to see a couple of old friends (especially Carole, who happened to serve in the same mission as my cousin Becky) that I have made whilst living here. Plus making some new ones too! Think I may have been the only person there who's first language is English! I didn't even have to try to speak in French because everyone is so good at English! I should feel more ashamed at my lack my language skills....but I don't!
The itchy eyes are telling me to go to bed! So for now I shall just say.....
.....Bon Nuit!!!!!
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
My Far Overdue Winter Wonderland
Joyeux Noël à tous!
This has been a long time coming, about two months since I last wrote. Sorry! The first reason being that I just never got around to sitting down and writing about what I've been up to, lame, but true. The second reason being that I can no longer upload photos of my little adventures for you to see!! I've used up all my allowed blogger online space thingy blah blah blah. HAH! That is very true though (you'll know this if you've seen my blog before!) So for the last month I've been putting off writing anything without finding a way to do so with some pics. Alas, it is not going to happen, so here I am sans le pics!
So here is a run down of what have been planning to say over the last couple of months. I'm currently sat on the end of my bed, suitcase packed in front of me, writing this on my phone, with an hour till I need to be at the airport! Last minute? 'Better late than never is my motto'! Yeah!!
Over the last couple of months I have made an amazing friend called Amy! I've told you about her before of course, but we've become even closer friends since then. She's actually coming back with me tonight to England for Christmas and New Year! Whoop whoop! It feels like Christmas Eve for me! I'm finally going home for two glorious weeks with lots of family and friend fun time ahead! I'm am all Christmasy and like a little over excited kid this last month waiting for tonight!
Anyways.... Amy is a ledge, and we get on like crazy kittens rolling around on the floor giggling away at anything and everything. I've basically lived with Amy at the weekends, just relaxing the weekend away. It'll be fun to have her around my home, and show her some of beautiful English countryside! Sadly though, she is leaving the continent on the January 2nd so the next 10 days will be our last hurrah together before she leaves. We WILL see each other again though!
I attend my second Thanksgiving whilst being here! This one I was actually invites to, unlike the crashing of the missionary thanksgiving of 2011! This time it was at Amy's place with two other lovely girls, Erica being one of them, who has been another great person I've gotten to know before she left for home last month! This meal was made up of an American, Canadian, Mexican and English goodness! It was delicious!
It's been a beautiful winter wonderland in Switzerland this month, making it truly feel like Christmas has been upon us. Till last week that is when it all got rained away, and hasn't stopped tipping it down since then. Just my kind of weather! I'm not even kidding! I love the cold!
A couple of weekends ago Amy and I went to Annecy for an afternoon in the snow covered land to mooch around the Christmas markets. We watched really pretty light projection show on a building, ate crepes and hot chocolate in a little cafe, took some beautiful photos from the lake side and slipped and slide all over the place! A magical afternoon if I do say so myself.
All in all it's been a nice couple of months again, and I hope the next two are just as lovely! I better be getting to the airport to catch my flight right about now! I DO NOT want to miss that! I would cry big time!
For now I shall wish you all a very Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year!
Remember the reason for the season!!!
This has been a long time coming, about two months since I last wrote. Sorry! The first reason being that I just never got around to sitting down and writing about what I've been up to, lame, but true. The second reason being that I can no longer upload photos of my little adventures for you to see!! I've used up all my allowed blogger online space thingy blah blah blah. HAH! That is very true though (you'll know this if you've seen my blog before!) So for the last month I've been putting off writing anything without finding a way to do so with some pics. Alas, it is not going to happen, so here I am sans le pics!
So here is a run down of what have been planning to say over the last couple of months. I'm currently sat on the end of my bed, suitcase packed in front of me, writing this on my phone, with an hour till I need to be at the airport! Last minute? 'Better late than never is my motto'! Yeah!!
Over the last couple of months I have made an amazing friend called Amy! I've told you about her before of course, but we've become even closer friends since then. She's actually coming back with me tonight to England for Christmas and New Year! Whoop whoop! It feels like Christmas Eve for me! I'm finally going home for two glorious weeks with lots of family and friend fun time ahead! I'm am all Christmasy and like a little over excited kid this last month waiting for tonight!
Anyways.... Amy is a ledge, and we get on like crazy kittens rolling around on the floor giggling away at anything and everything. I've basically lived with Amy at the weekends, just relaxing the weekend away. It'll be fun to have her around my home, and show her some of beautiful English countryside! Sadly though, she is leaving the continent on the January 2nd so the next 10 days will be our last hurrah together before she leaves. We WILL see each other again though!
I attend my second Thanksgiving whilst being here! This one I was actually invites to, unlike the crashing of the missionary thanksgiving of 2011! This time it was at Amy's place with two other lovely girls, Erica being one of them, who has been another great person I've gotten to know before she left for home last month! This meal was made up of an American, Canadian, Mexican and English goodness! It was delicious!
It's been a beautiful winter wonderland in Switzerland this month, making it truly feel like Christmas has been upon us. Till last week that is when it all got rained away, and hasn't stopped tipping it down since then. Just my kind of weather! I'm not even kidding! I love the cold!
A couple of weekends ago Amy and I went to Annecy for an afternoon in the snow covered land to mooch around the Christmas markets. We watched really pretty light projection show on a building, ate crepes and hot chocolate in a little cafe, took some beautiful photos from the lake side and slipped and slide all over the place! A magical afternoon if I do say so myself.
All in all it's been a nice couple of months again, and I hope the next two are just as lovely! I better be getting to the airport to catch my flight right about now! I DO NOT want to miss that! I would cry big time!
For now I shall wish you all a very Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year!
Remember the reason for the season!!!
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Toblerone Land
Last weekend I went on another Link Au Pair trip to Zermatt, where the Toblerone mountain lives in all its glory. Being in the presence of such a great chocolate association of course meant that a lot of Toblerone had to be eaten! YUM!!!
These weekend and day trip planned by Paul and Becky are perfect for the foreign and skint Au Pair. Everything is planned for you, so you don't have to worry about where the best places are to go, or whats the best things to actually do are. You just pay the money that is required and that sorts out where you stay, what you do, travel and most of what you eat. The best part though is that so many different people get together and share a great weekend away from work and just explore somewhere new as you get to know each other.
It was another early start on Saturday morning. So early that I got to watch the sun eventually appear from behind the mountains, as a sat rather snugly next to my new buddy Taylor on the coach. I say snugly (and note that I have literally only just met this person...for the first time...at 7:30am) because we were somehow accidentally one person over booked on the coach. I was on the back row (one of the last to arrive as usual) when Taylor sat next to me (running late too) and gradually more and more people filled up the back till we were one to many despite getting very close to each to make space. People ended up taking it turns sitting on the floor though. However for me and Taylor after that first close encounter (which somehow stayed pretty close throughout the rest of the journey) we were practically attached at the hip for the rest of the weekend. We were provided with many private jokes for life all because there was one extra person on the coach. She is from the States by the way, and is amazing!
The sun emerges....................
The view from the top of Lake Leman..........
Remnants of an avalanche near Zermatt.....
The odd thing about the beautiful town of Zermatt, which is very very close to the border of Italy (if you were to walk 6km over some glaciers you would be eating pasta) is that there are no cars. The only way to get into the town is by taking a 20minute train ride which takes you into the town centre of Zermatt!
Spot allllll the Au Pairs........
The Mattahorn Mounatin (aka the Toblerone mountain).........
After arriving in the town all 53 of us made our way, carrying our loads up, up and painfully up just a bit more to the youth hostel that we stayed in for the weekend. Or course people may associate the 'youth' part of a youth hostel with people that are young, full of life and fighting fit. Hence this must be the reason why it was such a climb of practically vertical slopes and many, many stairs to get to it, because 'youth' can handle that, right?! I'm gonna talk for everyone and say NO! Everyone hated that climb, especially at the end of a flipping hike! Rant over!
We dumped our bags, ate our lunch and got ready for our little Saturday afternoon hike to a tiny place called 'Zmutt'. You had the choice of taking the more grueling 'uphill' route with Paul, or the 'easy' (aka lazy) route with Becky because you would take a cable car part of the way to avoid getting sweaty! So naturally I took Becky's 'Easy' route with 12 others taking in some amazing views from the cable car as it took us over the tree tops. My little group that I was with had a good laugh as we meandered to our destination through the gorgeous autumn surrounded paths.
We even spotted some Edelweiss on.......
Zmutt! Pointed out to you by Paul.......
Zmutt, the tiny town that beholds treats........
Once we reached Zmutt we sat outside a little restaurant in the blazing sun (yes, my English skin got burnt of course!). For some reason we were all rather smug with ourselves for taking the 'easy' route as we sat waiting for the 'uphill' group to arrive. When the red faced, slightly sweaty 'uphill' group did arrive we were felt even more smug! Hahaha! Even though we hadn't worked as hard as some others, we still basked in our cool refreshments and ordered some delicious Apfelstrudel. Maybe I should say that we weren't completely lazy, we did walk the same distance as the 'uphillers', just didn't have to walk SO much uphill!
Apfelstrudel................
Ye old hay barn.............................
Here's a little historical lesson for the day about the hay barn above. The reason that it is has blocks of stone on stilts under the structure is so that little rodents cant climb into the barn and ruin its contents. These are all over the place in Zermatt!
After our hike we gathered food for the next day from the shops and gained access to our rooms at the youth hostel. I was roomed with Taylor (or course) and two fellow Englishmen (women? Englishwomen? Is there a female term for that) called Hannah and Shiffy, plus Sanita from Latvia. After we filled our stomachs with as much as they would take of the Youth Hostel food, Taylor and I got ready for bed. Even though we were way tired, being ready for bed by 8pm was a bit...errmm...sad? It's okay though because we ended up talking about Au Pair life (mostly) till the late night hours. Gradually everyone in our room (who just couldn't leave such riveting conversation to go out clubbing, only to be faced with THE climb back up to the Youth Hostel) ended up slipping into p.j.'s too.
Sunday morning everyone was packed up and ready for the big hike of the day which was promised to start with a snow capped Gornagrat mountain (that's where we were headed). We took a train to the top of the Gornagrat at 3069meters high, from which we were to hike our way down back into the town of Zermat. The day was full of misty clouds (which when walked through left you just a bit damp) and rainbows! I should say that a LOT of photos were taking on our hike. A LOT of silly, silly photos. The majority of which did not make it on to here, because if you weren't there you just wouldn't find them funny. So just humor me here, as always. You should also enjoy the Edelweiss bandana that I was rocking all day. I bought for no particular reason at the top of mountain, but my very cold forehead was extremely pleased that I did!
Our hike down the mountain was absolutely beautiful! Paul had talked to us all that morning about how getting away from our work place to the gorgeous natural landscape of somewhere like Zermatt for a weekend was a good recharge for our souls. He was absolutely right! Being surrounded by such beauty and spending your time with so many wonderful, new and funny people lifted my spirit even higher. You could feel the buzz between everyone as we took in the glory of the mountains and each others company as different groups of people joined together the day went on. It was a fantastic day!
Making our way through the town center.......
Waiting for our train tickets............
The red train route to Gornergrat (you can see that Zmutt was very low down).....
Zermatt from the train.......
Mountainous glaciers........
Arriving at the top station..............
Group Au Pair photo (I was in the loo)......
It wouldn't be Switzerland without a St.Bernard........
Taylor owning this space................
My bedroom gang...Shiffy, me, Taylor, Hannah and Sanita..........
Me...owning this space...?...........
RAW for the hike.............
My favorite photo from the day of Taylor and I........
A 'good luck' note left under a rock pile.......
Follow the red arrows to find your way......
Making our own rock pile..........
One of many lakes scattering the mountain......
Sun ray...........................
The lunch rock......................
Get your face in it..........
Toblerone fight................
Shiffy in the rainbow and clouds......
The dinosaur mouth........
I may be a little stuck.......
Help...........................................
Walking, walking, walking.......
We are still good to go.............
You can always be a kid................
Shiffy disappearing into another cloud.....
Zermatt is the distance...............
Finding the main road.........
Just as we were near the end of our hike we took a route that would take us to a gorge with beautiful flowing blue water cascading down and through the gorge called 'Gorner Gorge'. It is a canyon created by the last Ice Age. Not everyone took this route on their way down, so I was very glad that we did, because it was the cherry on top of the whole day!
Gorner Gorge...........................
Steady down the steps..................
The start of the Gorge..................
Some of the group...................
Desperately hoping that the walkway holds up.....
The rest of the group.................
Once we all came out of the Gorge we were in Zermatt a minute later! Bags had to be collected from the hostel and we all gathered at the train station with achy legs and done-in knees ready to get back on the bus at the other end.
The back of the bus.................
Taylor and I squeezed into our family little coach corner happy to nap all the way back to Nyon!
Sleepy time..........................
I am so glad that I went on this trip to Zermatt! It was a place that I had really wanted to visit whilst I'm here. I again met new people and got to know them, as well as getting to know many others a bit better than I did the previous week. In the words of Paul...I was left fully charged for another week!
Sleep time.........
These weekend and day trip planned by Paul and Becky are perfect for the foreign and skint Au Pair. Everything is planned for you, so you don't have to worry about where the best places are to go, or whats the best things to actually do are. You just pay the money that is required and that sorts out where you stay, what you do, travel and most of what you eat. The best part though is that so many different people get together and share a great weekend away from work and just explore somewhere new as you get to know each other.
It was another early start on Saturday morning. So early that I got to watch the sun eventually appear from behind the mountains, as a sat rather snugly next to my new buddy Taylor on the coach. I say snugly (and note that I have literally only just met this person...for the first time...at 7:30am) because we were somehow accidentally one person over booked on the coach. I was on the back row (one of the last to arrive as usual) when Taylor sat next to me (running late too) and gradually more and more people filled up the back till we were one to many despite getting very close to each to make space. People ended up taking it turns sitting on the floor though. However for me and Taylor after that first close encounter (which somehow stayed pretty close throughout the rest of the journey) we were practically attached at the hip for the rest of the weekend. We were provided with many private jokes for life all because there was one extra person on the coach. She is from the States by the way, and is amazing!
The sun emerges....................
The view from the top of Lake Leman..........
Remnants of an avalanche near Zermatt.....
The odd thing about the beautiful town of Zermatt, which is very very close to the border of Italy (if you were to walk 6km over some glaciers you would be eating pasta) is that there are no cars. The only way to get into the town is by taking a 20minute train ride which takes you into the town centre of Zermatt!
Spot allllll the Au Pairs........
The Mattahorn Mounatin (aka the Toblerone mountain).........
After arriving in the town all 53 of us made our way, carrying our loads up, up and painfully up just a bit more to the youth hostel that we stayed in for the weekend. Or course people may associate the 'youth' part of a youth hostel with people that are young, full of life and fighting fit. Hence this must be the reason why it was such a climb of practically vertical slopes and many, many stairs to get to it, because 'youth' can handle that, right?! I'm gonna talk for everyone and say NO! Everyone hated that climb, especially at the end of a flipping hike! Rant over!
We dumped our bags, ate our lunch and got ready for our little Saturday afternoon hike to a tiny place called 'Zmutt'. You had the choice of taking the more grueling 'uphill' route with Paul, or the 'easy' (aka lazy) route with Becky because you would take a cable car part of the way to avoid getting sweaty! So naturally I took Becky's 'Easy' route with 12 others taking in some amazing views from the cable car as it took us over the tree tops. My little group that I was with had a good laugh as we meandered to our destination through the gorgeous autumn surrounded paths.
We even spotted some Edelweiss on.......
Zmutt! Pointed out to you by Paul.......
Zmutt, the tiny town that beholds treats........
Once we reached Zmutt we sat outside a little restaurant in the blazing sun (yes, my English skin got burnt of course!). For some reason we were all rather smug with ourselves for taking the 'easy' route as we sat waiting for the 'uphill' group to arrive. When the red faced, slightly sweaty 'uphill' group did arrive we were felt even more smug! Hahaha! Even though we hadn't worked as hard as some others, we still basked in our cool refreshments and ordered some delicious Apfelstrudel. Maybe I should say that we weren't completely lazy, we did walk the same distance as the 'uphillers', just didn't have to walk SO much uphill!
Apfelstrudel................
Ye old hay barn.............................
Here's a little historical lesson for the day about the hay barn above. The reason that it is has blocks of stone on stilts under the structure is so that little rodents cant climb into the barn and ruin its contents. These are all over the place in Zermatt!
After our hike we gathered food for the next day from the shops and gained access to our rooms at the youth hostel. I was roomed with Taylor (or course) and two fellow Englishmen (women? Englishwomen? Is there a female term for that) called Hannah and Shiffy, plus Sanita from Latvia. After we filled our stomachs with as much as they would take of the Youth Hostel food, Taylor and I got ready for bed. Even though we were way tired, being ready for bed by 8pm was a bit...errmm...sad? It's okay though because we ended up talking about Au Pair life (mostly) till the late night hours. Gradually everyone in our room (who just couldn't leave such riveting conversation to go out clubbing, only to be faced with THE climb back up to the Youth Hostel) ended up slipping into p.j.'s too.
Sunday morning everyone was packed up and ready for the big hike of the day which was promised to start with a snow capped Gornagrat mountain (that's where we were headed). We took a train to the top of the Gornagrat at 3069meters high, from which we were to hike our way down back into the town of Zermat. The day was full of misty clouds (which when walked through left you just a bit damp) and rainbows! I should say that a LOT of photos were taking on our hike. A LOT of silly, silly photos. The majority of which did not make it on to here, because if you weren't there you just wouldn't find them funny. So just humor me here, as always. You should also enjoy the Edelweiss bandana that I was rocking all day. I bought for no particular reason at the top of mountain, but my very cold forehead was extremely pleased that I did!
Our hike down the mountain was absolutely beautiful! Paul had talked to us all that morning about how getting away from our work place to the gorgeous natural landscape of somewhere like Zermatt for a weekend was a good recharge for our souls. He was absolutely right! Being surrounded by such beauty and spending your time with so many wonderful, new and funny people lifted my spirit even higher. You could feel the buzz between everyone as we took in the glory of the mountains and each others company as different groups of people joined together the day went on. It was a fantastic day!
Making our way through the town center.......
Waiting for our train tickets............
The red train route to Gornergrat (you can see that Zmutt was very low down).....
Zermatt from the train.......
Mountainous glaciers........
Arriving at the top station..............
Group Au Pair photo (I was in the loo)......
It wouldn't be Switzerland without a St.Bernard........
Taylor owning this space................
My bedroom gang...Shiffy, me, Taylor, Hannah and Sanita..........
Me...owning this space...?...........
RAW for the hike.............
My favorite photo from the day of Taylor and I........
A 'good luck' note left under a rock pile.......
Follow the red arrows to find your way......
Making our own rock pile..........
One of many lakes scattering the mountain......
Sun ray...........................
The lunch rock......................
Get your face in it..........
Toblerone fight................
Shiffy in the rainbow and clouds......
The dinosaur mouth........
I may be a little stuck.......
Help...........................................
Walking, walking, walking.......
We are still good to go.............
You can always be a kid................
Shiffy disappearing into another cloud.....
Zermatt is the distance...............
Finding the main road.........
Following the lopsided man off the road again......
Just as we were near the end of our hike we took a route that would take us to a gorge with beautiful flowing blue water cascading down and through the gorge called 'Gorner Gorge'. It is a canyon created by the last Ice Age. Not everyone took this route on their way down, so I was very glad that we did, because it was the cherry on top of the whole day!
Gorner Gorge...........................
Steady down the steps..................
The start of the Gorge..................
Some of the group...................
Desperately hoping that the walkway holds up.....
The rest of the group.................
Once we all came out of the Gorge we were in Zermatt a minute later! Bags had to be collected from the hostel and we all gathered at the train station with achy legs and done-in knees ready to get back on the bus at the other end.
The back of the bus.................
Sleepy time..........................
I am so glad that I went on this trip to Zermatt! It was a place that I had really wanted to visit whilst I'm here. I again met new people and got to know them, as well as getting to know many others a bit better than I did the previous week. In the words of Paul...I was left fully charged for another week!
Sleep time.........
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