Vevey Pt. 1: The Market

After a busy week at work, we decided that the focus of the weekend needed to be on relaxing

(and eating...but we'll get to that in a moment).

Vevey is about a fifteen minute train journey from Lausanne and with a similar oldness-to quaintness ratio as that of Montreaux.

After departing the train, we followed the crowds to an incredible open air market. 

Even though I had just eaten breakfast, I began immediately counting down the minutes until lunch. I mean, cheese, bread, meat, chocolate, vegetables, cheese...the stalls were endless.

Cured meats: my New Favorite Thing in the Entire Universe. I never thought I would get excited about tubes o' meat but well, apparently people can change.

The man we bought this cheese from had eyebrows that were reminiscent of wild, hairy butterflies trying to free themselves from his forehead. 

What he lacked in facial hair restraint he made up for in spades with his wheels of magnificent dairy goodness. I have a chunk of that yellow beast above sitting in the fridge right now and had to stuff my face with chocolate to stop thinking about it.

As we hunted and gathered our way through the stalls, I decided that we needed to pay a silly amount of money for the two morsels pictured above. It was worth it though. SO worth it. I should probably learn to make them though so I don't go broke from an addiction to pretentious (and oh-so-tasty) desserts.

When we had achieved success in the four most important European food groups, we found a bench near the lake and delved into our spoils. Anthony got us some wine from a nearby restaurant and we enjoyed one of the best lunches I have ever had in my life. 

Tomorrow: photos from the town.

Montreaux Part 2

Okay, we left off right when we saw the castle and I started hyperventilating about princesses and childhood dreams of living in a giant stone refrigerator. Whoops. The cynicism is supposed to come later. Along with what I learned about witch hunts and torture in thee olden dayes.

Giant stone clock - a nice touch for any imposing domicile. 

Just the cutest little tower EVER.

Interior shot...where I had a Game of Thrones moment. 

The great thing about Chillon was that you could walk through almost the entire building. There were all sorts of twisting staircases and long passageways and a hidden rooms. It was many magnitudes of awesome. Being that it was built entirely of stone, wood and metal with little access to sunlight, it was also freezing. And since I had decided to leave my trusty puffer coat at home in favor of a more professorial look, I was smote.

After climbing many steep and daunting staircases, we were treated to this view (note: all epic shots in this post were taken by Anthony).

I don't know what this thing is, but it's adorable.

There was a display of medieval armor in several of the rooms. Which inevitably led to the question: if the enemy were storming the castle which weapon would you choose to defend yourself? Anthony chose the mace which, from the photo above is clearly a ball of evil and I, having read far too much George RR Martin, chose the giant broadsword...you know, because it's subtle. Later in the gift shop, Anthony had to talk me down from buying a replica broadsword. I relented only after realizing that the edges weren't even sharp. How would a dull broadsword help me in the event of the End Times?

Some interior details

Okay, so, witches. They had a special exhibit going on with lots of relics of the period and while I have watched The Crucible, know a decent amount information about the general horrors of witch hunting, it is much more poignant to see handwritten documents detailing the various interrogations and sentencing of innocent people. And just to drive the exhibit home, when you walked outside into the inner courtyard there were some example pyres that had been erected. Yeesh. 

Oh, and in case you were wondering, yes, the amulet pictured above does indeed have abracadabra engraved on it. I predict it will be the Next Big Thing in accessorizing this fall.

Back to pretty things: doorhandles

Cool typography

The incredible view from the highest point of the castle. 

All in all, this was a great little daytrip and I can't wait to come back here with my family in August. We also found out that Montreaux is the start of the Golden Pass which provides several incredible rides through the mountains. When the weather gets a little warmer, I think we will definitely be checking this out. 

Montreaux Part 1

I had passed Montreaux on the train to Milan earlier in the week and it peaked my interest. So on Saturday, we decided to take the quick train ride over and check it out.

Anthony had heard about a castle perched on the lake's edge within walking distance of the town, so we decided to make that our destination. We set off along the quay.

Montreaux was very quiet. Except for some exuberant jogger-types it was just us and the waterfowl.

Luckily, they were cool. 

The mountains are a lot closer in Montreaux.

After a healthy (and gorgeous) walk, we saw it in the distance. For real, that is a castle on the water. Like in a storybook.

More photos to come.

Work travels

This week I had the opportunity to travel to Milan for a day-long meeting. I left Lausanne late Monday evening - just as the sun was setting over the lake. I have seen some lovely sunsets in my life, but this was magical...as in I was waiting for the herd of unicorns to descend from their mountain lair and take wing over the water magical.* Alas it got dark much to quickly for me to see the unicorns, but that does not mean they weren't there. The other people in the cabin must be jaded towards sunsets and mythical creatures as they all seemed rather more interested in their various gadgets than the rainbow colored delight out our window.

(The only strange part of the journey involved a girl sitting across from me who sang and laughed to herself in a baby voice for a solid hour. Creepers. They be everywhere.)

My train got in pretty late to Milan so I decided to get up early on Tuesday so I could explore for a bit before work began.

As I was crossing the street from my hotel the next morning, a looming brick wall caught my eye. It was a castle. In the middle of the city. (Insert something about Kansas and small dogs here.)

I walked through the gates into a huge courtyard. The castle is now home to a museum. Note to self: check this out in its entirety at a later date.

I walked around and admired the decorative patterns covering some of the inner walls. I am sure there is a proper 'arty' term for decorative patterns, alas I do not know it.

Later that day, I had about 30 minutes to stroll around before catching my train home. The evening sun was casting a golden glow on all the buildings.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw this:

I had accidentally stumbled upon the Duomo di Milano and was transfixed. It had the trifecta of ornate detail, perfect light and contrast against the sky that rendered me pretty much speechless.

I stayed there, compulsively photographing it until I had to tear myself away and find a cab. I can't wait to go back to Milan. From some of the other people in the office, I have heard that the Design Week that takes place in April is a must see. Time to start making plans.

*Do unicorns live in lairs? Lairs sound so ominous. But then again so does a giant pointy horn sprouting from a horse's forehead.

Aaaannnddd we're back!

A particularly lovely sunset from my bedroom window.

It's been a whirlwind the past two weeks as we left for Chicago on the 29th to get our visas. All we knew about the process was that it involved loads of paperwork, cash money, some poor quality Walgreen's headshots and could take anywhere from three days to a week. So, we packed our bags, bid our little apartment adieu (French!) and headed back to our former stomping grounds.

It was pretty strange being back in Chicago after a very definitive parting of the ways in December. In the span of six weeks, it seemed like everything had changed and yet our old haunts were comfortably unchanged. As we went to grab a bite to eat at a favorite restaurant it would hit me - I thought we already said goodbye to this place and yet...here we are. Then I came to my senses and decided to stop philosophizing about the delicious pizza that was awaiting my consumption. At times like this, it is helpful to have such an insistent stomach as it helps a girl keep her priorities in order.

It was all in all a busy but emotionally fulfilling ten days. Between work, I got to see these guys and watch a rehearsal for this as well as get a surprise visit from my family. I stored up a lot of good conversations and time well spent with all the people I love that will hopefully last until I see them next.

As our last day in Chicago drew to a close and we still had heard nothing regarding our visas, we began to get anxious about our chances of making our flight back that very night. At the last minute, they came through, we raced to the embassy and jumped on a plane.

Now we're back

(and legal)

. Let the adventures begin!

The view from here

If you could not tell from the previous post (written under hazy-at-best brain clarity) we have landed in the mountainous, chocolate and skier filled region that is known to the world as Lausanne. Or, as I have now come to know it, The-City-That-Is-Built-On-A-Mountain-Where-The-Coolest-Stuff-Is-On-Top-Of-The-Mountain-And-You-Always-Seem-To-Be-At-The-Bottom-Of-The-Mountain-So-Then-You-Need-To-Climb-The-Mountain. Given my recent tendency to sloth-like behavior, I think that this is probably a very good thing.

The really wonderful thing about hiking up and down though, is that the sights along the way are just spectacular. I'm not talking about grandiose, overdone fanciness here, just hundreds of little things along the way that could have been created without thought or care, but instead were created with an eye for beauty.

The place that I am reminded of the most as I walk around here is Disney World (well, minus the kids). The residences and pedestrian-only cobblestone streets and people strolling arm-in-arm in the evenings seems almost too perfect to be real. Granted, the reality is very present, but right now in the first rosy days of our stay here it is easy to pretend it doesn't.

As the sun set over the city, lights popped on in apartments on every street. As a total stranger here, it gave me such a sense of comfort to see people going on about their daily lives in their tiny, softly lit apartments. It reassures me that someday soon we too will be settled in a tiny apartment of our own and begin to belong here instead of looking at everything through the eyes of visitors.

We were able to see just a bit of the mountains before the sun went down. I hope to be able to photograph the scenery again soon when the weather is more accommodating. We capped off this evening's stroll with dinner at one of the few hotel restaurants open on New Year's Day. In the spirit of trying new things, I opted for the steak tar tare and it was incredible.

Cheers to a new year.