travel

Japan: an essay in many parts

I have so many things I want to say about Japan that I hardly know where to start or how to organize them. We had a phenomenal trip. It was so much fun to be so lost, confused, and out of touch with the world around me. It’s maddening to look at writing and not … Read more

Did you miss me?

We’re back from Japan! Check out the results of our Japanese makeovers: OK, we actually came back looking about the same as we did when we left (except for approximately an extra 5 pounds each). Japan was a blast, although completely exhausting. Can too many temple visits and too much sushi cause a hangover? Anyway, … Read more

Japan Japan Japan Japan Japan!

OK so we’re still in Switzerland, but all I can think about is our upcoming trip to Japan. I’m so exciting my head is about to explode. I’ve never been to Japan before, but I suspect it will be something like this (turn your speakers on – you’ll want to sing along). I don’t want … Read more

Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

From yesterday’s Heute (one of the free newspapers in Zurich): “Welcome to London. As soon as the other passengers have left the aircraft, we will start coming around to pry the remaining Americans out of their seats.”

Mystery Park schlieβt!

If you’ve ever been to Interlaken, you have probably noticed the bizarre-looking complex of buildings that you pass on the train on your way out of the city that houses Mystery Park. Founded by an eccentric Swiss millionaire, the park consists of seven pavilions which explore great mysteries of the world such as Stonehenge and … Read more

The running of the cows

This past weekend we enjoyed that quintessential Swiss experience, the cow festival. These are celebrated in small farming towns all over Switzerland at the end of summer, when the cows are brought down from their summer grazing spots in the mountains. This particular fête désalpe (which as far as I can tell is French for … Read more

Day trip: Schaffhausen and the Rhine Falls

Last weekend we took advantage of the beautiful weather and headed north to the Rhine Falls (Rheinfall in German). It’s one of those places that has been on our we-should-get-around-to-going-there-someday list for quite a while, so the trip gave us a nice sense of accomplishment, too. We took the train to Schaffhausen and wandered around … Read more

A day in Lyon

We spent a day in Lyon on our way back to Zurich from southern France. Our guidebook (The Rough Guide to Europe ) promised good things, so we decided to check it out. We started the day by taking a funicular up a hill to see some Roman ruins and an archeological museum (which, truth … Read more

baskets of foraged mushrooms

Eating and drinking our way through southern France

Wednesday evening we hopped on an overnight train to go visit our friends who live on the southern coast of France. Being on a French train and all, we had a couple of unscheduled delays, but in the end we were content to arrive at our destination a mere two hours late (yay, no strikes). We spent these extra two hours talking about how much we love Swiss trains, and vowing to never leave our country again.

Things only improved from there. Our friends picked us up at the train station and whisked us back to their home by the sea in St. Pierre la Mer, a tiny village of 500 inhabitants which swells to 100,000 during the tourist invasion of the summer vacation months. We spent the morning wandering the outdoor market by the beach, marveling at treats such as fresh almonds (which had furry green coats) and baby artichokes.

The afternoon was spent hopping from winery to winery, sampling everything the region had to offer.

Read moreEating and drinking our way through southern France

A little Tuesday afternoon entertainment

Now that I’ve finally figured out how to post videos, I feel obliged to keep my promise and share a clip of the greatest entertainer of all time (or at least the greatest entertainer in all of Zermatt on a particular Saturday night in May). Marco sings Crocodile Rock, or something like it on Vimeo … Read more