Switzerland

Well my time here in Switzerland is quickly coming to and end. I’ve been fairly busy so i’ll just tell you what i’ve been up to this last week.

My plane trip to Frankfurt went quite well. No complaints there. Actually... I was trying to get some shut eye in Frankfurt and there is absolutely NO place to lay down and rest. So with lack of chairs and sleep I was determined to find a spot to sleep. I found a spot by the escalator, pulled my jacket over my head and tried to sleep. I was half asleep when I felt something land on me. I took my jacket off of my head and couldn’t see anything so I pulled my jacket back on my head. The only difference is that this time I had the smell of Juicy Fruit the whole time I was trying to sleep. I looked for this bloody piece of gum but I only found it once I got up. Someone spit their gum at my head from the escalator.

After my tragic gum incident I boarded my plane to Geneva! I was looking out the window in the plane and all what I saw was the foothills. I was thinking to myself that the Alps weren’t that impressive! Yes I know, blonde moment. But then the plane turned around and there they were in all their glory. No matter how many times I see mountains they never cease to amaze me!

The landing was smooth. I collected my luggage, went through customs (I didn’t get a stamp for my passport!) and ran into Carolyn’s beautiful arms.
We drove a little over an hour to her home in La Tour-de-Peilz, very close to Montreux. It is absolutely beautiful here!! I thought I might not make it to South Africa. Becoming a snowboard bum is very tempting! We did some running around, went by her brother Kevin’s flat (Mel you should date him) and then back to her mom and dads.

The next day we went snowboarding at Crosets, about an hour from La Tour-de-Peilz. It was cloudy and snowy, but I will take anything besides Mission Ridge!! It took me about an hour to catch on and then I was boarding like a pro! Because of the snow conditions you couldn’t see where some of the trials dropped off. Good thing for the coloured poles to help you navigate through the run.

After the boarding we relaxed our poor bodies in some natural hot springs at Lavey-les-Bains. I could’ve stayed there all night! It was sooo nice. You’re surrounded by the Alps. Why do I want to leave?? Oh yeah, SA;o)

Okay, what day am I on?? So on Thursday the 9th Carolyn had to study for a final for Friday. He sister Tamsin took me around Lake Geneva (Thanks Tamsin), saw a statue of Freddie Mercury and then to Chateau Chillon, a castle in Montreux I believe. I’m not a fan of history, but it was really cool to see the inside of the Castle and to see how people survived. The view from the top was astonishing!! After the Castle we went to Vevey I think. Walked around for a bit and then went back home.

Some random French guy at Chateau Chillon.

On Friday I slept in while Caro wrote her exam. I’ve been getting up around 5:30/6 every morning, but today I slept right through to 8:30! Oh yeah, but that will end once I get back to SA. 5:45 am here I come! Umm, I kinda veered off there.

So after Caro got home we went to Lausanne (where Caro goes to Uni.) and looked at the shops. It was very hard to say no to some of the clothing. No room in my luggage:o( Probably a good thing. We stopped off at a shisha bar and had a shisha and a beer. We got back to La-Tour-de-Peilz around 9:30, quickly packed some overnight things and drove about an hour to Caro’s friend that lives in Neuchâtel. When we finally arrived her three friends were patiently waiting for us to eat a very late supper of spaghetti.

Sat. morning we got up and had breakfast (i’m gonna miss the chocolate croissants!!!) and then toured around Neuchâtel. The villages/town’s here are so cute. We then went to the village where Caro was born and departed ways from her friends. They were all very nice! Too bad I can`t speak french. Next time!

Sunday morning we got up to go skiing at Verbier. I was pumped all ready to conquer the mountains. Boy was I wrong!! You see in Canada I always snow boarded goofy foot and when I boarded the first time here I went the opposite way. So we changed the board to goofy before we hit the slopes and I was much better the other way (I guess i’m regular then!). I kept on trying to catch on goofy and it wasn’t happening. Of course stubborn me wanted to beat the goofy so I didn’t change the bindings until an hour after. Everything was good until about two hours later when I had a nasty fall and then I couldn’t board anymore. I couldn’t do anything and I was getting soooo frustrated. The F-bomb came out a few times. I even swore at the mountains. They conquered me!! Little do they know I will come back and kick some serious butt!! Finally I decided to quit before I did some serious damage. But the view from Verbier was gorgeous! It was well worth the view!

Nice view while eating lunch.

I had enough at this point.

The kissing picture is for Mel. I just couldn't get it by the picture.

After snowboarding we went to Caro and Tamsin’s friends. They have a cute little flat in a mountain village. We had some tea and dessert and headed back to Caro’s home.
So here I am on monday taking it easy before I have to take off tomorrow. Gotta pack (the room where i’m staying is a wee bit messy!) Oh yeah I forgot to tell you I ate horse and the ironic thing it was imported from Canada!! Hahaha.. It tastes like beef, but the texture is a wee bit different.

Check it out Megan, it's the Canadians that butcher their horses!

That's it from Switzerland. Next time South Africa!!