Our Swiss Beach House

A lot of you have been requesting pictures of our apartment. We lucked out in finding this gem of a place. When my mom came to Zurich she kept calling it "our" beach house, which I thought was really cute of her. We always feel like we're on vacation. It's an old house that's been refurbished, and it's got an amazing view. A few of my favorite things about it are the old wood floors, the bright yellow fridge (probably because it's the only normal size fridge I've seen in Europe), and the tiny bathtub, which Josh seems to hate. lol! I didn't get a picture of the office. But it's just another room. When I think of our place, I think European all the way. It's full of character.

Nice, France

For those of you who don't know our vacation style. Josh is happiest when his trip is full of adventure and he comes home in pain because he has pretty much beat the crap out of himself(As he puts it). I on the other hand am at my happiest when I can sit on a beach somewhere and can bake in the sun the entire time. Well if you haven't noticed, we have quite a few blogs on Josh's adventures(Ski towns). But I realized last month that I was in major need of a beach that Josh has been promising me since we got here. So my cute husband took it upon himself to plan it for us. We rented a car for the weekend and drove down to Nice, France. It was the perfect time of year to do this trip because it's now considered off season. We were able to get some good sun, and didn't have to fight the crowds. Luckily, we only had to worry about the local nude women. I can't even imagine how many exposed people we would have seen a couple months ago. LOL!!

Geneva

A couple weeks ago there was a art show going on in Geneva, Switzerland. So we caught a train down there for the day. So basically, every year people from all over Switzerland are chosen to paint an area of which the organization chooses for them. There were literally hundreds of painters all over the city. At the end of the festival, the artwork gets judged. Then they auction off the pieces. It was quite the site to see. We also had the pleasure of being serenaded by accordions and violins with french music during our lunch. Geneva is known for Jet d'Eau (water fountain), propelling 500 litres of water per second to a height of 140 metres. It was huge from close up. And the wind happened to shift in our direction, which meant we got a little wet.

Josh's playground

I decided to do another another blog, separate from Nice because of the importance it has to Josh. After we left Nice, France. We went to Monaco. And I have never seen Josh as giddy as he was there. He was like a kid in a candy store. It was so cute watching his face the whole time. I must say that seeing all the yachts was pretty impressive. Don't you worry Sweetie. Someday we'll get you one of your very own.

So you think you can dance

Star in Your Own JibJab! It's Free!I saw this bit on a friends blog and thought it was hilarious. Hope you all enjoy!

Girls Night Out

One of my favorite things about being over here is the friends I've made. Most of us came moved to Zurich within a couple months of each other. And we all hit it off right away. We've all tried to have a girls night out at least once a month(without kids haha!) We usually go to an upscale restaurant. But this time we decided to spice things up a bit and do a spa night. Erin was gracious enough to hold the get together at her house. And we all brought potluck to enjoy during all the fun. We all took turns pampering one another with face, hair, and foot treatments. And we tried to watch Pride and prejudice, which I've never seen. But we all got caught up in the girl talk. So the movie will have to wait for another night. Thanks to Alyssa for finding "Lush" (the spa creams), I will definitely will be getting some more soon. I wonder if Josh will be up for a spa night. Ha!

Cinque Terre

Josh went backing packing through Italy with his friend Tally a couple weeks ago. It was 10 mile hike through 5 cities along the Mediterranean coast. They didn't have a hotel available in any of the cities. So they ended sleeping in a parking lot by their car. Josh said it was quite an adventure, seeing as they cliff jumped, swam, hiked, snorkeled, laid on the beach, explored the cities, and took pictures of crazy Europeans. Ha! They ate Italian food and even enjoyed freshly squeezed lemonade. While hiking they found lots of fruit trees, vineyards, and olive trees. They had a blast exploring world war two bunkers, cities and people. But after one night of sleeping on cement, they decided to call it a trip and head home. On the way back they stopped in Lugano to eat pizza one last time before getting back to reality.