Across the Lake in Evian

The little street market

Going along with my theme of trying to make the most of this summer, Paul and I headed out for a day trip on Saturday across the lake. We took the ferry which was free for Paul with his GA card and half price for me! So we checked times and leisurely wandered down to the dock to wait for the next boat. Once there I remembered that I hadn't brought my passport (oops), but it turns out nobody checks those when you're just going to France. On the way over, we got a beer and relaxed, enjoying the views out the window. It's lot a long trip across (about 30 minutes) so we were there before we knew it. Evian is a small little town with not much going on. We walked through a small market which was very touristy, then headed back to the water in search of a bar that would allow us to enjoy the great weather an gaze over to Switzerland. After much walking we finally found a nice place and settled in. I forget sometimes how much I just enjoy talking to Paul. Life seems to get in the way sometimes and even this summer I have been so active we haven't had as much us time as I'd like. This day more than made up for that! After a few drinks, we decided to try to find a dinner place. It took us a while, but we found a nice Italian restaurant called Momento. Yum! I literally could not stop eating my meal and the house wine was incroyable! We finished just in time to catch the next ferry home - during the sunset! The ride was so beautiful and everything was so calm. I need to remember to make more time for days like these :)

This tree was growing horizontally with supports!

Evian coast

Appetizers before dinner

Look! It's France!

LOVE this sunset!

Pulling into the harbor

Canyoning and Hiking in Interlaken with Fun Club!

The summer has ticked away slowly, each day another chance for something fun and interesting. Most days I do my best to relax, clean a little, practice my French, see friends, and get my training in. Last weekend Paul and I traveled with several members of my Run Club in Lausanne to Interlaken (quickly becoming one of my favorite places). Saturday we were all set for canyoning and Sunday we had a big hike.



Canyoning is the type of adventure you think you'll have only once in a lifetime. I'm lucky enough to have been able to go three times! I think this time was my last, as next summer we will be busy packing and moving. As I didn't buy the pictures this year, here are some pictures from my last two adventures, in case you've never seen canyoning before. It's pretty awesome, especially when you go with friends! Alessa and I went the first time, and then Paul came along the next summer!

So everyone enjoyed canyoning last weekend, and afterwards we had the most fun at my favorite Mexican restaurant in Switzerland - El Azteca. Their owner is super friendly and plays music for you. The food is delicious as well, but it is the margaritas that are the most delicious! It's the only place I will even consider drinking a margarita in all of Switzerland! Seriously, just go and have some. I promise you won't regret it. Our group of ten loved them as well!!

After the night of Mexican and margaritas, we all got a good night's sleep. In the morning, most of us ended up doing our own things. My friends Wendy, Scott and Ciara decided to make the most of Interlaken and do a beautiful recommended hike. We took two buses to get to the start, and then started going up... and up... and up.... seriously. Like 2 hours of going straight up. It turns out I am not as fit as I would like to believe. We climbed from lake level to here: 

Mmm, wild strawberries! My favorite part!

And up some more... (this is looking behind me)

Finally lunch time! We found this cute shelter with a great view and ate our bread, meat and cheese.

Part of the hike goes through meadows like this, guided only by painted rocks or occasional posts. I skipped through this meadow, wouldn't you?

At the top of our climb!

After finishing the up, up, up portion, the hike got much more enjoyable. We hiked through fields and meadows and it was all so breathtakingly beautiful. 

This forest was like a little piece of heaven, so quiet and green and almost glowing.

Its beauty is deceiving!

Next our quiet took us through a gorgeous forest with so much green and soft, spongy ground. The photo above left can't even capture it's beauty. Next, we followed the painted rocks down a little meadow. We were about to come to the most dangerous and difficult part of our journey. The picture below left shows Wendy in the flower ravine, where it must have taken us more than an hour to go about a kilometer. Why did it take so long you ask? There seemed to be no real path, so we were hiking in a semi wet river bed, but because of these flowers we couldn't see where our feet were going. The rocks were unsteady and there were plenty of hidden holes just waiting to break an ankle. By the time we finished that part we were just completely exhausted, but nowhere near finished. 

We made it out alive, but we were dead!

We then started our descent on a paved road. I have never been so happy to see concrete! I was no longer worried about my feet and ankles for every step. We could hear ourselves coming closer and closer to our goal - the waterfall! Here was our first glimpse.

Then we suddenly arrived in this little valley that looked like a made-up version of what people think Switzerland looks like. The river bed was perfectly lined with rocks, everything was glowing green and the little houses were perfect. There were even cows (not pictured here)!

We were getting dangerously close to missing the last boat home, so we picked up speed and my picture taking became more sparse. We basically ran down the side of the mountain, and finally, FINALLY, made it to the waterfall at the bottom. It was as beautiful as I remembered it!

We made it to the dock with 20 minutes to spare, and got to rest a bit before getting on. Finally, it arrived and we joined the other passengers. They serve beer and wine on board, we some of us got a celebratory drink. We totally earned it! It was a beautiful ride back, but I could already feel my legs getting tight from all the hard work. We picked up our stuff from the hostel, got dinners to go, and grabbed a train. It was a jam-packed weekend, but totally worth it!

Summer Time

I am officially just over a week into summer holiday, and I am loving it! It is nice to finally sit back, sleep in, and relax a bit. My favorite part about summer is that I have so much freedom to choose what to do. I went to a BBQ last Friday and met some American girls who were visiting Switzerland and going to Interlaken on Sunday. I was trying to describe a hike they should take and some of the things to see and then I just thought, Hey! I'll come with you! So Sunday morning I packed a small bag, hopped on a train and arrived in Interlaken. We had a great day hiking, enjoying the views and then some Mexican food for dinner (with margaritas of course). The next day we did a bit of shopping, more eating then I just headed home. I like being able to be spontaneous, and I really want to use my summer to the best of my advantage. Although it can be tempting to just sit inside and veg out with a book or a movie, I am trying to get myself up and out of the house to do things that are fun, challenging, unique and exciting without going completely broke. I want to remember my summer, not just look back a little sad and think about all the things I didn't do because I was too lazy.

If you had 3 weeks of summer holiday where you live, what would you do? Would you push yourself to be active and out there, or would you spend a lot of time relaxing with all your free time? Remember, most of your friends are probably still working, so your adventures may be alone!

I read this quote today which I thought was very interesting - using every minute of every day, as you will never get your time back.

On the other hand, if you spend all your time rushing around, you may never get to really enjoy nice, quiet, solitary time. I find it very difficult sometimes to relax and just enjoy taking in the view or do nothing. I'm all go go go.

Our hike to the valley - it was mostly uphill on the way there and slow going.

We cooled off in this lovely, shower like waterfall.

The end of our hike, beautiful as ever. 

Remembering

What do you remember from your childhood? I remember bits and pieces. Mostly, I remembered lots of love coming from my parents. Hugs and kisses and tickle wars and elephants (mom and dad, you know what I mean). I remember building forts, playing in the backyard, digging holes, playing on my balance beam and tree house, pretending to be an orphan with Andrea, jumping off the wall and hiding under the blanket, lots of soccer games and soccer practices. Then there are the very proud moments - winning the bike rodeo, making All Stars, winning the Limbo competition in 6th grade, playing the Wicked Witch of the West in third grade and a witch in Macbeth in 6th. There are also the sad moments - when my dad told me my grandpa had passed away, my my dog Shelby ran away from our house the first week after we adopted her and she got hit by a car, when I felt as if I had no friends and my mom offered to be my sleepover friend instead (I yelled "I DON'T WANT TO HAVE A SLEEPOVER WITH YOU!" and she nodded her head knowingly and just hugged me as I cried). Luckily for me, the good memories and feelings seem to outweigh the bad.  Everything is very vague - few specific memories remain. There is one, however, that I remember very well. I remember playing hopscotch in my garage and thinking, "Will I remember this moment?" I also remember that this happened many times in my young childhood. I wondered what, exactly, I would remember. It turn out, I would remember very little other than a warm, fuzzy, happy feeling. I think we would be crazy if we remembered every single moment of our lives.

So we blend the things that happen day after day (for years and years) into one memory. The things that are different stand out and are remembered a little more clearly. Special parties, visitors, trips, etc., are all remembered very well because they are unique and special. As I walked home from a party on a Friday night, I rounded the corner in Lausanne to face my apartment. The light was on in the kitchen, something I had seen many times before, telling me that someone was already home. Something so comfortable and familiar. Would I remember this moment? I asked myself. Probably not. What moments do you remember? What are the things that stand out in your life? Do you have ordinary moments that somehow become important?