A Trip to Zürich Area and Bern

Rob is already working in Zürich during the week (actually, in a town called Horgen, right on Lake Zürich) so we decided to visit him. His apartment is in a darling town called Thalwil.

After buying groceries and restocking Rob's bachelor pad, we headed out to the Knies Kinderzoo in the quaint little town of Rapperswil, which is right on the lake. The zoo is a petting and feeding zoo so the girls had the time of their lives. Mariah and Anna even petted this giraffe.

Feeding the ponies.

Anna surprised everyone by riding this pony -- over and over -- she didn't want to get off.

Look at me!

Petting the rhinocerous. Yes, we really got to do this! They had a big brush that we used to brush his horn. The rhino loved it.

Feeding the goats!

Zoom down the slide. The zoo had a big playground too!

Can we come here again Mommy? Anna particularly loved the sea lion show. It was like a miniature Sea World.

Down the slide with Mariah. I think I'm a little too big for this slide.

Feeding the ducks and swans in Rapperswil.

On the way back from Zurich, we stopped in Bern for lunch. It's the capital of Switzerland, but also has a charming old town. Here are KaRynn and the girls.

The big town clock in Bern. (Every Swiss town has to have a big clock!) We arrived just as the clock struck twelve and little figures came out and danced. Just like the cuckoo clock!

Anna at one of the many fun fountains lining the streets.

The Bern Cathedral. It's my favorite in Switzerland so far.

I really loved the decor on the front doors of the cathedral. Surprisingly extravagant, given the Calvinism in this country.

The grand interior.

At the Park. . .

Switzerland has the best parks for kids. Loads of fountains and water toys, huge slides and great swings and merry-go-rounds -- all the things that they don't build anymore in the U.S. because of litigation fears (those darn lawyers). Here we are at Park Milan in Lausanne. The girls got excited about the fountain and stripped down so that they could wade in.

Swinging, swinging.

A really cool water pump.

Yet another water pump.

Anna plays in the water while Mariah tastes it. Yes, I let my kids run around in just diapers and underwear. It's what all the Swiss kids do -- and we forgot to bring swim clothes. Also, this is Europe -- everyone is topless anyhow.

Mariah sneaking a snack from the stroller.

Got it!

Yummy, yummy!

WE'RE MOVING TO ZÜRICH!

Okay, so after a long and grueling decisionmaking process, Rob decided to leave Medtronic and take a job with his old company, Dow, at their European headquarters just outside Zürich. It's been a hard decision for us, especially me. The job opportunity is great for Rob. But it means leaving our wonderful community here AND changing languages -- from French to German (and Swiss German, at that). Zürich is only 2 1/2 hours from here -- but, in many ways, it feels like an entirely different country. It's still Switzerland, but a bit more German-y than French-y. I'm sure that we'll love it once we get settled in.

I have started taking a beginning German class in Lausanne. One night I came home from it with my head spinning. Then I realized that the source of my exhaustion was that I had spoken FIVE languages during the two-hour class period. The class is taught in French, so I had to ask all my questions in French, but also speak the new German words I was learning. Then I conversed during the break with two Spanish-speaking women in the class. I also walked backed to the train with a Ukrainian woman who speaks Russian. Finally, when not trying to converse in four other languages, I was thinking in English. I guess I'm truly becoming a multi-lingual European, except I just speak a LITTLE bit of a LOT of languages.

Dance with Me

Here are a few more pictures of my girls' favorite pasttime -- dancing! Mariah is wearing her little Madeline dress she got from Grandma Tia (based on the Madeline book series) -- Grandma had the name changed to Madeleine, which is how Mariah's middle name is spelled (more original French).
Twirly, twirly, twirly.

Here is Anna Claire's favorite twirling dress. We picked it up in Provence -- hence, the bright patterns and colors. She has decided she won't wear any dresses except those that "twirl".

KaRynn dancing with the girls. They love dancing with her! Those little skirts wouldn't fit me -- except maybe around my thigh.

Biking the Marmotte!

The day after we returned from Paris, we drove to Alpe d'Huez so that my biking fanatic husband could ride in the Marmotte. This is a grueling 174km cyclo sportive that starts in Bourg d’Oisans and covers four epic "Tour de France" climbs: the Col du Glandon, Col du Telegraphe, Col du Galibier and, finally, the 21 hairpin bend climb to the ski station of L’Alpe d’Huez.

Here is a close-up of Rob's expression as he crossed the finish line after 8 horrific hours. He's thinking "Why on earth did I do that?" Rob has biked the 200 mile LOTOJA race 5 times now, but he claims this one was the most painful. (Nonetheless, he wants to do it again next year. Crazy!!!)

Here is Rob with his proud family. I don't think Rob was very conscious at this point. He just needed some food and rest. (I picked up some take-out pizza and as I carried it back to our hotel, every cyclist nearby sniffed at it longingly.)
While Rob was suffering up steep climbs all day, the girls, KaRynn and I had a great time hanging out in Alpe d'Huez. I actually biked up Alpe d'Huez that morning. (I took my time as I'm THREE MONTHS PREGNANT -- fortunately all the expert cyclists that normally crowd the climb were gone doing the Marmotte.) And the Alpe d'Huez finish line was loaded with fun activities for the kids -- including this huge beach volleyball sandpit.

Here Mommy, do you want to try some sand? It's delicious.

The girls also found a bouncy castle. As a veteran LOTOJA supporter, I must say that this is the way they SHOULD do LOTOJA. No need to drive from station to station to feed your cyclist -- the food was all provided. And no need to find things to entertain your kids while you wait at the finish line -- free entertainment everywhere!

The view from our hotel at the top of Alpe d'Huez. Beautiful, isn't it?!

Bonjour Paris!

For our fifth anniversary (I can't believe it's been five years), Rob surprised me with a romantic trip to Paris. (Thanks to KaRynn, we left the kids home.) For weeks, he had been teasing me with email clues -- little poems telling me what to bring and hinting at what we would do. It was a fabulous trip. Rob turned the whole thing into a sort of scavenger hunt. He took old emails that he had saved from when we were dating and combined them with new little poems containing clues as to where we were going. I had to guess correctly before we moved on to the next place. I must say that I had actually never been to many of the places. And he even took me to the Opera. What a guy! What a husband!!!
Here he is, my fab husband, looking not so excited at getting his photo taken in a charming Paris alley.

The Arc de Triomphe. We couldn't get any closer than this because it was closed for some national holiday celebration.

Our attempt to take a photo of ourselves at Sacre-Coeur. This was my first time actually visiting this giant monument. It's the crazy crowds and mediocre gospel singers surrounding the place that gives it charm.

A view of Paris from the top of Sacre-Coeur.

We also browsed through the Rodin Museum. We both loved it! Maybe it was the ability to see the evolution of Rodin's work, or maybe it was the romanticism of "The Kiss", or maybe it was just that we could see the entire museum without chasing after kids.

Do you like my pensive pose by "The Thinker"? I have a great affinity for this sculpture because another version stands outside the Stanford library where I studied away four years of my life.

I love this photo -- it's of a giant clock in the Musee d'Orsay, which peaks out over the river and the rooftops of Paris.

Hi Mom and Dad! My parents were in Europe and decided to stop through Paris to meet us. What fun!!! It was a treat to get their great insight in the Musee d'Orsay and my dad treated us to a delicious lunch! Here they are in front of Notredame.

Anna Claire's Preschool Program

While Rob and I were in Paris, Anna Claire performed in a play with her pre-school. KaRynn went and took pictures for us. Anna has been attending a jardin des enfants since last November. She loves it and has learned a lot of French from it. I love to hear her count in French and sing little French songs.
Here is Anna Claire with her best friend (and birthday buddy) Nicole.

Anna Claire with Nicole and buddy Rowan.

Johnny and Ashley are here!

We were experiencing withdrawal from family after leaving Grandma Judie and Grandpa Steve in Italy. Fortunately, my brother Johnny and his wife Ashley soon came to cheer us up. Aside from my parents and CK, I haven't had much family visit so I was thrilled. Plus, my kids absolutely adore both of them -- especially Ashley.
We took a little day trip to enjoy some Swiss chocolate and Swiss cheese. First, we hit the Cailler Chocolate Factory. The best part of the tour was the room at the end stocked full of chocolate -- all you can eat! As you can see, our girls weren't afraid to take advantage of this. They stuffed their faces until we dragged them out. (But then again, so did I!)
Next, we hit the picturesque town of Gruyere -- home of the famous Gruyere cheese. We skipped the factory tour and headed right for the town. Doesn't this look like a postcard?

We all enjoyed seeing the cheese producers -- the cows -- on the hike up to the town.
Skippety, skippety. Look at those mountains!

Of course, we had to eat lunch at a place that served cheese fondue!

Uncle Johnny and Mariah really hit it off. (By the way, I must mention that a few days later, Johnny hired a boat and skis so that he could waterski on Lake Geneva. Even I haven't done that yet! The boat driver was a little skeptical that he could even slalom. He doesn't know my brother!)
Mariah loved wearing Uncle Johnny's hat.

Anna did too!

Daddy decided to bike back from Gruyere. The girls wanted to join him. (By the way, check out the lady trying to get out of the picture. . .)

Bye bye Gruyere!