S N O W

OK, the photography is not great but you get the idea....  We got about six inches of new snow last Tuesday and then again on Sunday.  Maisie's school is at a higher elevation so they got even more.  Here is what the football pitch (sorry Americans, soccer field) looks like and below is a shot of the playground.  They still have recess every day which consists mostly of snow fort building and snowball fights unlike my playground days which consisted of hide and seek with the shade and sunburn blister peeling.  Enjoy your weather wherever you are!

Walk

I went for a walk on the outskirts of my town today.  All of the tourist sites close from November - March but I was just in it for the exercise and photos to share.  Here are a few of the sites...

 

This is part of the path to hike up and see the old battlements.

This is a good example of why most of the hiking paths are closed...

This is the Rhone river which runs along the northeast side of town and separates the Canton of Vaud from the Canton of Valais.

More of the river running toward Lake Geneva.  The photo below was taken at a monument and sculptor's studio.  I love the sculpture of the man's head turning into a tree.  Not sure what the psychedelic bus is about but I like it too.

Ok, that's all from me for now.  More later...

Chateau d'Oex

Last weekend we went to a Hot Air Balloon Festival in a town called Chateau d'Oex.  It lasted for 10 days and each day they filled and released as many balloons as weather would permit.  We lucked out and went on a beautiful, calm sunny day and saw about 30 balloons take flight.

Maisie has decided to revolt against my excessive photo taking and has vowed to stick her tongue out in every picture from now on.  Get used to it.

Most of the balloons were company owned and pretty much just advertisements

Like these....

Others were quite original such as the Scottish bagpiper, the baby chick and the American west.

...and the turtle wearing trainers.

Maisie is smiling in this one because I wasn't the photographer!

A bit of the USA in Switzerland

Maisie not only misses family and friends in the USA but also all of the food.  I took the 1 hour 40 minute trip (each way) to the American store in Geneva to get some of her favorites that aren't available in the Swiss supermarkets (OK, the pumkin and bounce are mine).  Unfortunately they didn't have Cheeze-its (or Pizzeria Cheeseburgers) but Susan has generously kept us supplied with those.  Thanks Nando!  

Anyway, enjoy the photo of the items I did buy....and all for the bargain price of $70

More snow and more snow shoeing

You can have your 75 degrees!  I went snow shoeing again this past Wednesday in Les Pleiades.  I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Hope

This Post Not Recommended for Republicans

We're watching the Presidential Inauguration on CNN International right now, along with the rest of the world.  I thought I'd post a photo of a rare and beautiful gift given to us to help us celebrate.  I've included a photo of the Certificate of Authenticity just in case any of you think we have some cheap knock-off (or one NOT seen on TV).

     

Thank you Susan for such a great gift.  Watch out all... I dare you to invite me to your white elephant party!

Maison de la Pierre (Our Apartment).

The number one request I've had for this blog is to post pictures of our new place.  I've hesitated because I don't feel like I've done it justice with my decorating but didn't want to wait any longer.  In my defense, this is an historic property with antique wood paneling throughout which I am not allowed to mar with nail holes so I can't hang anything, hence, the walls are extremely bare.  Also in my defense, I don't have a job at the moment (or a pay check) and so, furniture purchases are few and far between.  Anyway, having said all that the apartment is beautiful all on it's own.   The photo above is the view from the Laundry Room.  Needless to say, I enjoy ironing now (and doing the laundry... indoors).

The house was built in 1769.  It is on the official list of  tourist sights in our town and so is open to the public.  It is a well-known residence and when I meet people in town I can just tell them "Je habite a Maison de la Pierre" and they know what I'm talking about!   A single family (well-known in town, super nice, and English speaking) owns the entire "front" half of the building which faces Grand Rue and have two stories plus the ground floor which is all storage.  The other half is owned by the community and was recently renovated and split into two apartments.  The one above us is still vacant.

 

The photos above show our side entry into the courtyard.  We have the second floor on the "back" of the house as well as a huge storage cave below.  The building is perfectly symmetrical with a beautiful interior courtyard right in the center.  My dream is to host a party in it before we leave.

We have a very large foyer at the entrance with beautiful built in cupboards.  Maisie doesn't like to say the word foyer (or cupboard) so we call it the lobby. 

 

The foyer opens on the right to the kitchen, on the left to the guest room and directly into the very large living room. The Living room has a non-working marble fire place and a blue ceramic tiled (also non-working) antique heater in the opposite corner.  The windows look onto a very quiet back street (and some ugly pink apartments).  

A blurry shot of the kitchen which has been totally modernized.  It and the foyer are the only rooms without paneling.

Maisie's room.  We both wanted the room with the fireplace... but I lost.

This is the Guest Room, currently known as the Webkinz room since we don't have any furniture for it yet.  All the rooms are well proportioned and carefully detailed.  I've never lived anywhere so beautiful in my life!