Wednesday

Yesterday was Tuesday, which used to be known as laundry day.  Because we have our own washing machine now, any day can be laundry day!  To celebrate, I did not do any laundry yesterday.  Instead, Claire and I went to the beach.  It was a hot day yesterday, so this was just what we needed.  We packed up the beach blanket and toys and walked over to the beach in La-Tour-de-Peilz, which is about a 10 minute walk.  The beach was pretty crowded when we got there because there were a bunch of school kids there for their lunch break.  School doesn't let out till next week here!  After the kids left, we pretty much had the beach to ourselves.  Claire had a blast digging in the pebbles (no sand on these beaches) and splashing in the water.  I don't have any photos this time because I was in the water with her!

This weekend, we have booked a hotel in Italy!  About 3 hours away from us is Verbania, Italy.  It's on Lake Maggiore.  Our hotel is right on the lake and has a pool and a beach, so I hope the weather is good.  I'm looking forward to exploring a new town and, of course, to eating some real Italian food.

Last weekend was awesome.  On Saturday, we drove to Gimmelwald, just outside of Interlaken.  We took a cable car/funicular up to the town of Gimmelwald and explored this little mountain town.  Rick Steves (google him) said it was a must-do and he was right.  We had our lunch at picnic tables that had a magnificent view of the Alps.  Then, we walked through the little village.  I can't even think of the words to describe this town.  All I know is that I loved it and its charm.  Next, we hiked up to Murren, another mountain town.  Charming and adorable, but bigger and more touristy than Gimmelwald.  We explored Murren and enjoyed relaxing here before we got the funicular back down to our car.

On Sunday, we walked over to the beach and let Claire splash around while we dipped our feet in the water.  Then, we set out to find some lunch in Vevey.  We grabbed some "kebab" and fruit from a little shop and walked over to the lakeside path to eat it.  Then, in the evening, we headed over to our friends' house for a barbeque.  It was awesome.  Great food, great company, and a great time had by all.

Monday, we both began our French lessons.  Gordon has one-on-one lessons.  Because I am a spouse of an employee, I am entitled to semi-private, rather than private, lessons.  I have a partner for my lessons.  He is a stay-at-home dad from Mexico and his wife also works for Nestle.  It is very interesting to have French lessons with someone who speaks a different language!  After 1.5 hours, I already felt like I had re-learned quite a bit, so I am confident that by the end of these lessons, I will have improved enormously.

Although I miss my family, friends, and dogs terribly, I am truly enjoying our time here.  I occasionally have a homesick day, but that tends to be on the days where something goes wrong (like the laundry!).  Most days, though, I just can not believe that we are so lucky to be here, doing this.