I came here to Zurich on Thursday morning by train from Geneva. I ended up staying a few extra days in France with Helen and Aaron.. I enjoyed a wonderful six days with them. While I was there we walked around Geneva, went to the farmers market near their apartment, took a day trip to Annecy (a cute, old lakeside town south of Gex) where we walked around the lake and ate lunch at a burger place. We hiked a couple mountains in the Mont Jour range and rode the ski lift up Crozet to get a view of the Gex and Geneva areas and eat lunch at the cafe. We worked on a 1000 piece puzzle and watched some movies and a couple cooking shows. Last Sunday I attended their church with them, which is English speaking. It was an encouragement to be in church in another part of the world and be reminded of the unity we have in Christ. Most favorite of all was eating together... They both are good cooks so we ate many delicious and health meals together! One of my favorites was one day for lunch we had open face fish sandwiches with arugula and apple slices with lemon juice and mayo. Mm! The morning I left they made crepes for breakfast. Oh and always plenty of good tea and coffee!
So, Thursday I rode the train here to Zurich to visit cousin Lorraine. (She had been helping her friend who broke his arm skiing and was in the hospital which is why I stayed longer with Helene and it worked better to meet her later in the week. I'm thankful all the logistics worked as smoothly as they did.) Thursday was a beautiful, sunny day so after she met me at the train station we walked several blocks toward the river and found an outdoor cafe along the river and enjoyed panini sandwiches and fancy coffees while we basked in the sunshine and chatted away about life, family, growing up, and God. It was a sweet time. I then went to a textile exhibit at the Museum Bellerive while Lorraine went to an appointment she had. Thursday night we made cheese fondue at her friends which we enjoyed with apples and bread, and red wine.
Friday we walked around a lot of the city and went to Lake Zurich to take in the views of the lake with the alps in the background... Just stunning! We then hiked a couple miles up a rather steep mountain to get a view of the city from the top. My legs and lungs surely got a good workout in from that. After getting photos at the top we enjoyed some hot cocoa at the cafe near the top before descending back to the city. I helped cook fried rice that evening which we ate together with one of Lorraine's roommates, Carmen. I was feeling in need of some quiet time/alone time so stayed in that evening while Lorraine visited some of her friends. (I got caught up with downton abbey season 6 and took a shower. Yay for being clean!)
Saturday I went out walking in the morning around the city a bit and in a park near Lorraine's. In the afternoon we rode bikes to the National Museum, Zurich and spent a couple hours taking that in. Biking in Zurich includes hills... Whew, another major leg and lung workout. I kept reminding myself..."Lorraine has been biking this city for over two years"... Yes, I was quite a bit slower than her. We biked home to have dinner and get dressed up fancy for going out to the Opera House where we saw the Flying Dutchman. We took the tram to the opera house since it was raining and we were in dresses. :)
Sunday we went to church at St. Andrews. We biked again. What a great way to start the day. We got pretty wet on the way home, so we dried and made tea and played banana grams and enjoyed a lazy afternoon at home. We made brownies, from scratch! I took a nap, ahhhh. And in the evening we rode bikes about twenty minutes to Lorraine's friend and cooked pasta for dinner and ate and enjoyed wine and then later tea and brownies before biking home again. I was pooped and ready for bed by 11.
Now that brings me to today... Monday, in the cafe sipping coffee while it drizzles rain outside. Tonight I fly
to South Africa! I have enjoyed these past 2.5 weeks in Europe forging new friendships, having quality time with some cousins I don't see as much, and taking in all the beauty of the places around me. I feel ready and rested for the couple months ahead and am, in a way, looking forward to having some daily responsibilities again. Thanks for following with me in this journey. Until next time. Xo!
A few photos. 1) Today's pie and coffee, 2) Saturday night's opera house cousin date, 3) Museum Bellerive Textiles, 4) fondue night.
