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!

Remembrance

It's been rather quiet this past week on the blog as the living of life has taken precedent over the documentation of it. In the span of nine months, both members of the celebratory couple in the photo above have moved on from this world.

'Lost one's battle with cancer' implies a number of things that were not in Jean Dwaileebe's character, chief among them admitting defeat. I am not sure that stubbornness is technically on the list of cancer treatments, but I can't help but think that it might be now and should probably be studied for its surprising effectiveness. 

Stubbornness, a penchant for mischief and the ability to always appreciate a good joke are the characteristics that she had in spades. On my best days I like to think that I embody two of these traits. On the rest, the other one. We are, all of us, a mixed bag of personality from the various members of our family trees. I feel lucky that I was able to get to know and love the source of many of mine.

Unpacked

When moving into a Swiss apartment there is a formal meeting that takes place between the previous tenant, the leasing agent and the new tenant (and in our case our relocation agent). All parties meet at the apartment in question and the leasing agent goes through the entire residence inch by inch, noting anything that is damaged or irregular. During the inspection, the leasing agent who I will refer to as PF (for Perpetual Frown) took the better part of two hours to scribble endlessly on her notepad face like a thundercloud, muttering angrily in French while we looked on, completely perplexed.

It is expected that the outgoing tenant leave the residence in spotless condition. As in eat-off-the-toilet-seat spotless. Given the massive security deposits that are required to rent anything here, it's no wonder that most people hire a company to come in and scour the place.

After her inspection, the PF pointed out three things that were not cleaned to her satisfaction (one side of the door on the dishwasher, a 3''x 3'' spot on the gleaming tub and some spots on the bathroom grout) and listed the total fine if the areas in question were not cleaned by the end of the week (500 CF...seriously). After we all shook hands and went our separate ways, I made a mental note to cover the entire apartment in Clorox-soaked bubble wrap during our stay to avoid getting nailed when it is time for us to leave.

We were able to pick up the keys a few days later and set a move-in date for Friday. Setting a date was exciting not just because we were finally moving into our home for the foreseeable future, but also because it meant that our belongings had made it to dry land and were not, in fact, sitting on the floor of the Atlantic.

As someone who's idea of moving, (until now) has involved bribing various less-than-enthused friends and family members, carrying absurdly large items on public transportation and filling garbage bags with everything within arms reach, just the idea of having movers still blows my mind. When they actually showed up on time (!), were insanely nice(!!) and had our things off the truck and unpacked within a matter of hours (!!!) I was pretty sure I was in some sort of dream and would soon awaken to reality (which in this case would involve all our furniture tossed in a heap at the bottom of the staircase and some little imp laughing at me as I tried to lug it upstairs while crying)

The fact that the moving crew were not just smiling, but singing after carrying my monstrous black cabinet up five flights of stairs was more than I could handle. For I have had to move that cabinet less than fifty yards and the words that came out of my mouth while doing so were along the lines of "I'm dead now! My back is broken! Leave me - save yourselves!" etc.

After the Jolly Movers had left and the dust settled, we began the arduous task of Putting Everything in Its Place. Anthony was a hero and rewired all our lamps while I set about the  (equally demanding) task of making things look pretty. We started on Friday afternoon and did not stop moving until Saturday night when our legs gave out and we had to start self medicating with wine.

It is very surreal to be rearranging one's possessions on a new continent. Every time I put something away, my brain would say ''my electric toothbrush! The last time I saw this I was in Chicago! I can't believe it's here! How cool!'' Contrary to popular belief, this did not get old.

And then, at some undefinable point, we stopped putting things away in a new apartment and started putting them away in our new apartment. We cooked a meal and ate it in our living room while watching a movie. Bliss.

It's good to be home.