One of the great things about living in a shared apartment is the different roommates you may encounter. This couldn’t be truer in my case. For about 3 months, I lived with this adorable Swiss girl named Vanessa. A bit of a tomboy with an odd obsession with monkeys, I knew we would get along well from day one. Her father being English, she was fluent which made it nice to speak to someone apart from my other 2 Spanish roommates. She was here for a short time to study Spanish. I was sad to see her go so soon but it came with an upside; she said I could come visit here whenever I wanted. All I had to do was pay for my plane ticket. Within 6 weeks of her departure, I took her up on her offer.
I left Madrid early one Friday afternoon in February. I must confess that I knew little to nothing about Switzerland and never thought about travelling there before I met Vanessa. Therefore, I flew into Geneva with little expectations and no game plan for that weekend. Vanessa met me at the airport and drove us back to her gorgeous home in the hills of a little town about an hour outside Geneva. Along the way, we talked about the usual catch-up topics and then what she recommended me to see while I was there. Unfortunately, that part of Switzerland wasn’t blessed with great weather at that time of year. So a lot of our possible activities depended on what Mother Nature had in store for us.
It was already late evening by the time we arrived to Vanessa’s home. I was greeted by her parents with welcoming arms and slippers for my feet. We sat around and chatted about Spain and our own culture’s before eating dinner. Her mother had prepared one of Switzerland’s typical meals, called
raclette. There’s a little bit of everything from cheese, to raw veggies, to cold cuts and boiled potatoes. We put all the ingredients on our plates and prepared our individual slabs for the heater. It was simple, filling and delicious. Her father kept conversation flowing easily like the red wine he served. I took an instant liking to Vanessa’s parents. They were obviously well-off but extremely down-to-earth and the most caring family I have seen to date.
Vanessa and I retired upstairs after dinner to relax and prepare our big day. I left early on Sunday so Saturday would be the only time I had to really see any sites. She said we could start with a local tour of the Alps and the lake because they were right our outside her door before heading into Montreux to see other things. Being pitch black as we drove up, I didn’t really understand to what extent she meant ‘right outside her door.’ Well, morning came after a long peaceful sleep in V’s sister’s room. I got out of bed, stretching as I walked to the window where I was met by this:
Well, GOODMORNING to you too!
She really was kidding when she said that The Alps were right outside! I knew I was in for one memorable day. I hurried up and showered before V woke up, excited to start the day. As I finished getting ready, Vanessa came and got me for breakfast. I followed her down that stairs when suddenly my feet flew out from under me and I tumbled down the remaining steps almost taking an antique vase with me. If you haven’t figured out, I’m not the most graceful of people. Vanessa and her mother ran to my rescue and I mortifyingly giggled to hide the extreme pain my rear-end was in. Then her mother asked, “Where are the slippers I gave you?” Looking at my bare-feet and back at her, my embarrassment on multiplied… not the way I wanted my morning to start! Haha I quietly ate my cereal as Vanessa talked to her dad about things we should do. Sadly, a heavy fog had set low on the Alps so a trip into them was pointless. With several ideas in hand, Vanessa and I set out for our daily adventure.
The Castle of Chillon
Me and the Alps (left) and Freddy Mercury Statue (right)
We started at
The Château de Chillon and parked near Lake Leman to take some photos as we continued into Montreux. Here we stopped to walk along the lake to see some of the monuments and artwork and stop in little shops to get my necessary tourist items. It was a modern city where all 3 Swiss cultures (German, French and Italian) could be found. Vanessa explained that one of the most famous
Jazz Festivals took place here in the summer and it is the favorite destination for many celebrities for its quiet, clean and very up-scale atmosphere.
Then we continued to another large nearby city heading towards Geneva called Lausanne. This was probably my favorite city that I say in my quick trip to Switzerland. It was very clean yet had an old-European feel which I love. There were cute antique stores and unique boutiques on every corner. Bakeries and ‘chocolaterias’ filled the small streets with overwhelming and tantalizing odors. My favorite sight had to be the Nestle Restaurant located on the lake. I actually never stepped foot inside the restaurant but it still grabbed my attention because of another aspect…
Yes, that is a giant fork built into Lake Leman!
Lausanne is also the home (for many decades) to Charlie Chapman. So paying homage to American cinema, I had to take a picture.
We walked around a bit more into some small shops before heading to Lausanne’s shopping center. I was in desperate need for something that I cannot buy in Spain… BRAS! Sorry guys, but this was vital. Spanish women aren’t really endowed in that area so finding anything above a ‘32C’ in Madrid (besides specialty stores that charge 90 euro or Granny-style over-the-shoulder, boulder holders) is near to impossible. Therefore, I brought extra money in hopes of finding something more my style in Switzerland. I was in luck at this mall’s H&M. So let this be a lesson to any woman wanting to live abroad: do your research on these things before you leave!
Continuing, I stopped at a supermarket to pick up my fill in cheese and chocolate for myself and for colleagues back in Madrid. Then we headed into Geneva for the World Olympics Museum. This was pretty badass; I’m not going to lie. At the time, it was only days prior to the Winter Games and the first year of the museum. It contained articles and memorabilia from the Olympics in the ancient times to the earlier part of the 20th century and today. I’m pretty big on national pride (USA and now Spain with a little of the Queen’s English mixed in as well) so it was inspiring to see so many things from these countries and the evolution of the Games itself. The museum itself was impressively laid out with 3 levels. The lowest level being a library full of books and documents about past Olympics. The main level was the gift shop, ancient Greek Olympic artifacts and the best: every Olympic torch to date. The upper level contained memorabilia dedicated to the museum from an athlete from every country for every sport. The walls were paneled with a brief history and highlights from the Olympic Games starting from the 20th century. There was also a side exhibition of native artwork dedicated to the 2010 Winter Olympics hosted in Vancouver.
Vanessa and I closed down the museum and headed back to her house to drop our goodies off and go to dinner. She had made a reservation at her and her boyfriend’s favorite fondue restaurant in Lausanne. I had fondue only once in my life before that day and it was with Vanessa in our apartment in Madrid. But she claimed at the time that it was 100x better in Switzerland so I had very high expectations for the coming meal. We arrived to the quaint little restaurant where we were met but 2 very nice, hippi-esque waitresses that sat us in a corner table. I let Vanessa do the ordering as this was clearly her area of expertise. We started off with a simple salad to get out ‘veggie’ intake of the meal before we were brought a huge meat platter with gherkins and onions. After consuming half a cow, Vanessa reminded me that the best was yet to come: The Fondue. Suddenly, harmonious music begins to blare from some hidden speakers as a huge smile creeps along Vanessa’s face. I look at her with a confused look as she meets my glance and says, “It’s our national anthem. They play it here whenever anyone orders fondue.” To stunned to comment, I quickly took out my camera as our waitresses stomp out of the back with the kettle of fondue and the Swiss flag in hand. It was all too good to be true! Vanessa clapped and quickly told the waitresses to let me pose with the flag as other customers clapped at my obvious display of ‘foreign-ness’. A little rosy-cheeked, I reached for my dipping fork and a chunk of bread, attempting to remember how V had taught me some months prior. The next 30 minutes were spent sipping warm tea (nothing but warm beverages should be consumed because they keep the cheese from solidifying too quickly in your stomach. Safety first people!) and consuming as much bread and melted cheese that I could stand. Vanessa carefully scraped out the last remaining crust of dried cheese at the bottom of the kettle as I tried to figure out who could roll me out of the restaurant before I exploded.
MEAT!!!!
I left there content with life and ready for a long nap. However, Vanessa had other plans as we drove back to Montreux to have a few drinks with some of her former students. They were 2 cute girls but I definitely felt a bit too old for the crowd so I wasn’t disappointed when drinks ended quickly. We drove the girls back to their boarding school up in the Alps (yes, you read that correctly) and continued our journey up the side of the mountain. It was an experience I’ll never forget. The winding roads surrounded my icy rocks had me praying for dear life but the view over looking the cities below were breath-taking. Vanessa and I parked at a ridge and sat looking over the edge for a few minutes as I took in the sites and wished I could share that moment with everyone I knew. I tried to take pictures but they came no where to doing it justice so I won’t even dignify them by adding some here.
We drove back to her house rocking out to some electro-rap mixes as I took in the last sites of the countryside. We finished the night by watching a movie in Spanish and eating some of her mother’s home-made berry ice cream. I went to bed extremely satisfied with everything I had experienced this trip. It was new and exciting but also very relaxing at the same time. I woke up morning and took the train with Vanessa back to Geneva to the airport. Her mother packed us a delicious lunch of lamb stew and couscous that we ate while I watched the Alps disappear into the city. I caught my plane back to Madrid refreshed and exhilarated by this weekend trip. I guess it pays off to not have high expectations because when it actually is one of the best trips you have taken to date, you know it will be something you’ll remember for the rest of your life. So this blog is dedicated to the lovely French-Swiss people especially Vanessa and her lovely family. Thank you roomie for your hospitality and friendship!
