There is nothing cooler than snow-shoeing!

I went on my second snow-shoe hike last week and had a fantastic time!  I joined up with a group of Mom's from the International School of Lausanne and they hike usually three times a month.  We have had so much snow this winter (note the buried chalets) so the snow shoes are most definitely required.  So far I've been renting from the local sport store but hope to be the proud owner of my own pair soon.

Here is a map of a couple of the trails in Les Paccots.  It is a ski area very near Maisie's school and is where Maisie has her ski lessons.

We hiked about 4.5 miles roundtrip with spectacular views every step of the way.  At the half-way point is a rustic restaurant which serves the local fare (loads of cheese).  After all the hard work getting there it is easy to rationalize the indulgence.

Isn't it gorgeous?  I can't wait to go again!!

Boxing Day

We decided to take a quick trip to London to see what Boxing Day was like (and to be in a place where we could communicate without feeling misunderstood!)....

Our first stop was Harrod's to try and take advantage of the after-Christmas sales.  What a mistake!  I've never seen so many people in one place at the same time.  Maisie, true to form, found the toy section and the largest stuffed animal ever.

Our next stop was Carnaby Street to see the super cool Holiday decorations.  We had dinner at our old-school favorite Wagamama.  

Here Maisie was enjoying an "iced lolly" (popsicle) and was already fed up with my excessive photo taking.

Maisie's favorite attraction was the London Eye.  We had a great view of Big Ben and the Parliament Building

We walked from the Eye over to Westminster Abbey.  Here is Maisie in front of St. Margaret's.  She was definitely done site seeing at this point but we still had a long way to go.... 

 

This is my best shot of Westminster Abbey

And one of St. Paul's Cathedral

We didn't time it right to get into either Cathedral so there is my excuse for going back to London as soon as possible!

Christmas Day

Hooray!  Santa does come to Switzerland!  We had a rip-roaring morning and then got dressed up and headed to the Montreux Palace for brunch.

Montreux Palace, Montreux Switzerland

Maisie and Carrie - fancy style!

Maisie and Santa

Maisie and her turkey leg

A Joyeux Noel ice sculpture

Maisie and a full-bearded Michael

We hope you all had a wonderful Holiday!

Merry Christmas! Our Christmas Eve

Just a few quick photos for the Holidays....

Hope you all had (are having) a wonderful Christmas.  Last night we had Larry the Lobster for Christmas dinner.  He came all the way from Norway to join us; how nice!

And (as a Fleming Family tradition) lwe let Maisie open one gift from a family member (much to the chagrin of the Hinson Family tradition).  She chose the gift from her Mom and Dad  - a ski helmet and goggles which she will need when school starts again in January.

After opening her gift, we set out the goodies for Santa:  homemade linzer cookies, carrot cake and a carrot for Rudolph, yum!

Merry Christmas!!!

Our New (Gingerbread) House

Look what we made....

It was our first real attempt and although we cheated a little by using kits from Ikea, the decorating ideas were all ours...

With a little help from Maisie's friend Valerie.

Later in the week we decorated the rest of the house.  It was the first year in recent memory that I didn't swear at the Christmas tree.  Thank you Michael for loading it in the car for us and getting it to stand up straight!

Then we decorated Maisie!

Last Thursday we made a snow penguin.  Maisie is obsessed with penguins these days and spends lots of time on the computer playing Club Penguin (another brilliant marketing strategy by Disney to get my money).

Oh, and we also got some long over-due hair cuts since Susan refuses to visit us every six weeks.

 

Maisie's new do.... and I got bangs (don't ask me why).

Belated Thanksgiving and Geneva

In case there is anyone reading this who doesn't already know how I feel, I believe every day here is worthy of Thanksgiving.  I absolutely love Switzerland and truly feel each day here is a beautiful gift.

For those who asked, yes, we did celebrate Thanksgiving.  Michael had some friends visiting from Pennsylvania and on the Wednesday before (excellent planning skills, I know), I thought it would be a good idea to have everyone over to our place to celebrate.  I had to drive to the next town over for a grocery store that had a larger selection of products since the grocery store in my town is the size of a 7-11.  I found a giant turkey breast at the butcher counter and most of the traditional ingredients within the same store.  I did have to substitute a sweet potato pie for a much longed for pumpkin pie but other than that we pulled off a decent meal in under 4 hours.  We didn't take any photos that day unfortunately but the day after we all headed to Geneva for some touristy fun.  Here are a few photos from that trip...

Maisie on our hotel balcony overlooking the Jet d'eau in Lac Leman (Geneva).

Here is everyone milling about in front of St. Peter's and here is one shot of the inside.  I won't bore you with the architectural detail photos I took (unless you ask nicely).

This is a photo of Maisie and her new friend Spencer standing in front of a garden of shrubs cut and decorated to look like giant lamps (sponsored by GE).   Spencer is a year older than Maisie, is also a very picky eater and likes Club Penguin.  They got along famously.

We walked from our hotel along the lake, across the botanical gardens, and over to the United Nations.  We then visited the Red Cross Museum which was very interesting.  My favorite part was a room full of file cards with the names of every prisoner of war who was treated by the Red Cross during WWII.

Here we are (or is that my sister?) in front of the Lake.  I loved Geneva and hope to return soon.  Maisie wants to go back because they have an American store where we can buy things like Poptarts and marshmallows.  

Let it Snow!

We had our first major snow fall in November.  I'm a little slow with posting the photos and we just got covered with another beautiful blanket this weekend.  Maisie and I still get giddy every time it snows probably because we have no shoveling responsibilities (other than digging the car out when we need to go somewhere)!

The neighbors keep a ping pong table in the courtyard (which they share with us).  We had enough snow to make a couple of snow men and join in a snowball fight with the neighbor's sons (ages 13 and 15 who did not care to be photographed).

 

We pass this house on our path between the apartment and where we have to park the car.  I liked this photo because of the kooky tree and the fact that the motorcycle was covered with snow.  The amount of snow was quiet unexpected and rare so early in the year (so the locals say) but we love every flake of it.

 

This is the view from the guest room....wanna come stay?

We hope you all are enjoying your winter weather whatever it may be!