And Now the reason we came to Switzerland.....

The Wedding of Jess and Damien. And the most amazing wedding location Iv ever been too (i very much doubt it will ever be topped). It took place in Montreux, a stunning Swiss town built into the hills/mountain side overlooking the lake and more impressively big mountains.
Unfortunately after a superbly sunny week, it relentlessly poured down with rain on Saturday. However I still enjoyed the spectacular location and it didn't seem to dampen any ones spirits.
Jess looked amazing as did all the wedding party and I had such a giggle with my uni friends who I don't get to see as often, For some reason when ever Ruth and I get together we seem to revert back to our silly 18year old selves. I was sorry some of the others couldn't make it across! You where missed!
We started in a 15th century Church on the mountain side looking over the lake and mountains.


Then we moved on to The Victoria Hotel, also set in the hill side of Montreux, with beautiful gardens and views. At the hotel we enjoyed canopies and drinks as well as watching a a hundred doves fly off into the .....i want to say distance but i should really say fog.....they disappeared quite quick but i still enjoyed the novelty of it!
And then onto the CASTLE, or CHATEAU DE CHILLION! a famous Swiss castle on the lake at Montreux, dating back to the 1100's! That's right, older than ya gran for sure! This was AMAZING and by far the high light of the day for me. The guests had an hour to roam around this amazingly preserved piece of history. It had look out towers, dungeons, original tapestries, wall painting and coats of armour, and my personal favourite which appealed to the child in me, was the secret passage ways!

Trying out the toilet facilities
and below, Ruth's hunchback!

These stairs where quite dodgey, but can be forgiven since they're 800 yrs old!

And then to finish the evening off in the castles banquet hall with a delicious french style meal (in other words, lots of courses spread out over 4-5 HOURS), interspersed with music, speeches and some dancing.

I LOVED this wedding, it was every little girls dream -to feel like a princess, and I'm pretty sure Jess did!

Congratulations Jess and Damien! It was urr incredible' and magnifie'

The next morning we began the journey home, blowing all our remaining money on Cheese at the french border!
The drive through the mountains was beautiful, my camera was dead so couldn't capture the striking views and old train bridges coming out the side of the cliffs and back in again and across the mountains like some worm eating its way through an apple, and instead was refreshingly able to appreciate it with out my annoying 'must take a photo of EVERYTHING' anxiety disorder interrupting the view!

...phew...finally finished blogging about the trip...think I'l take a blogging brake now.

The land of Milka and honey!

Switzerland.

Everything you imagine it to be.
green rolling hills
snow tipped mountains
crops of apple orchards
rows of berry bushes
fields of sunflowers (unfortunately we clearly arrived a little late in the season to see full bloom....I was disappointed at the drooping almost dead heads! Like a sunflower zombie movie!)
patisseries..chocolate croissants
choclatiers
bread, beautifully baked
cheese glorious cheese
fruit as sweet as can be.
Swiss chateaus with turret towers
Hansel and Gretel-esque houses in all colours shapes and sizes, complete with window shutters.
Fresh water lake in front of impressive mountains, complete with novelty sailing boats and token swan gracefully swimming by.
I have to say we live in a beautiful world. And Switzerland is one of the lookers of the family!

Driving out of the mountains, down to Lake lemon. Rolle.


We arrived about 8pm, the camping areas for tents where chocker, there was no room at the inn. Needing somewhere to pitch the tent and put William to bed I walked along the camper van pitches on the lake, Convinced (obsessively honest) Anthony to be a bit cheeky and pitch up here.........

.....and enjoyed an undisturbed five star view all week!

One of Life's unexplained mysteries:
Why when we have bbq's or camp does the roles of cooking protocol suddenly reverse without question?
I'm not complaining, I loved it being the mans job all week!We enjoyed chilling by the lake, swimming by the lake, cooking by the lake, eating by the lake, sleeping and sunbathing by the lake, walking by the lake, playing tennis and boles by the lake, running along the lake side, swimming in the lake, watching the sailing boat races on the lake, getting the ferry across the lake, drinking hot chocolates at night by the lake and watching the sun set over the lake! An altogether great time....by the lake!

As i enjoyed wandering around the grounds of the Swiss chateau i come to find Anthony marveling over what he describes as ' a lovely bit of turf'(see below). This would be Anthony's ideal garden, where as mine would be a wilderness of wild flowers and Victorian style vegetable garden. It appears that no matter where we go, Anthony still only gets excited by anything that resembles anything football!



We got the boat across to the medieval village of YVOIRE.










I t was the most beautiful village i believe iv ever been to! The Medieval village was pedestrianised so no cars...and original little cobbled lanes to wonder around. It was a delight for the eyes, Little doorways, balcony's, shutters, greenery and flowers cascading down from every building.




I loved all the boutiques, i especially loved the antiques shop we found and sneakily took a photo of the children's section. This was a cave of treasures, I spent quite a bit of time in here but couldn't afford anything more than a few old french postcards!

One last photo before i sign off.........This sign has quite a different meaning since Madeline McCann!

Interpretation:Beware of pedo men who try to lead your children away in 'centre ville'!

Dijon

Dijon was a perfect place to stop off for the night, most of the journey was behind us and we spent the day leisurely walking around the cobbled streets of this medieval french town. The smell of crepes flooded the air, and with a patisserie here and there we took our first opportunity to indulge a little. But how can I come to France and not indulge in my most favourite treat of all, Crepes!

The french certainly do a good job at preserving their history, I thought I was on set of Beauty and the Beast and was waiting for the town people to fling open there shutters singing 'bonjour, bonjour, bonjour bonjour bonjour'..........




In fact the french do such a good job at preserving their history even the public toilets are done medieval style! I was welcomed by a hole in the floor when we stopped on the motorway!
Now these things are tricky, you have to seriously squat to ensure your feet are as far away from the hole as possible in order to avoid splash back!! Anyway I have a tip for you, should you ever find yourself faced with this compromising situation, use the disabled toilets. They always have a conventional toilet in those ones! And in all respect to the french, some of their public toilets where immaculate, the self cleaning type. It was just a lucky dip on what you got!



Around every corner there was something new to discover, from the gargoyles on the church of Notre Dame, to The Palace and its square which was typically french and very '3 musketeers!'


My only marker with that we where actually there is Anthony with the pram who randomly turns up on photos...its a bit like wheres wally!

Some superstition....
On the side of the Notre Dame, was a Little owl in the wall, Superstition tells that if you touch the owl with your left hand (the hand closest to your heart) and make a wish, it will come true.

I'm still waiting for my Condo in New York, Log cabin in French alps, Italian lake side Villa complete with Yacht, Beach house in California, London mansion on the River, Ability to speak French, Spanish and Italian fluently and intellectually, Be a published writer and theatre practitioner, with a PHD in something or other, be a size 8 with skin that doesn't break out every month, and be able to buy everything i like the look of in Westfield, do a triathlon whilst 17 weeks pregnant (like friend Laura), Be able to be pregnant with out any symptoms what so ever...actually id be happy to just not be sick (I'm not pregnant by the way but its become a big fear since the last time), be able to time travel to days when people wore ball gowns every day, and also back in time in my own life...to chill and laugh with School friends in my 6th form common room again, diving down to hide under seats from Mr 'say it don't spray it' Welsh, Do a hippie tree hugging kinda abstract theatre class in uni then sit in the park and laugh with uni friends about the randomness that was Rose Bruford....and all those other nostalgic times a past...to just click my fingers and have them at my disposal..........................What? Have I been a Little over ambitious with my wish??

Alas I am content with my little but big on love family, my humble but more than we need lifestyle, and an abundance of fun friends and family that keep me entertained through life. As for the languages and triathlon...well that's something i can work on myself!

'.....arrr yer we can have a fun road trip, we can share the driving and have good conversations, quality time....yer Anthony driving to Switzerland will be loads a fun, lets do it!' - A conversation with Anthony a few months ago when we decided to go to Switzerland for my friends wedding.

Fast forward to Sunday the 8th of August. The car is packed to the ceiling with camping and baby gear.....we're barely off the m25 (the motorway that circles London), I reach for the pillow behind, grab one of Williams spare blankets and snuggle up against the window............hmmmmmmmm.
Anthony: 'right lets have a meaningful conversation then'.
I just laughed, didn't even open my eyes!

To be fair, although Anthony did all the driving, I was willing but he kept saying he was doing OK, plus we have this mutual understanding - I do night duty, he drives, fair deal -Especially since night duty is just a bit of teething every now and then. Also I'm sure Anthony's driving was safer...I know id forget and go the wrong way on a french round-about!

So off we went. Start point= London. End point= Lake Lemon (Geneva/Lousanne), Switzerland.




First stop. Ferry from Dover to Calais.

This was the first point of excitement for me...like that feeling at an airport. Well for me it was driving into Dover, seeing that castle above those white cliffs and then the port with all the ferry's! The ferry was a perfect way to brake up the journey as well as give William some play time. As we sailed away from those white cliffs, I gave my best Vera Lynn impression...

'There'll be blue birds over
The white cliffs of Dover,
Tomorrow, just you wait and see.

There'll be love and laughter
And peace ever after
Tomorrow, when the world is free.....'

A bit of nerd info on Cliffs:

The 100-metre high White Cliffs of Dover require no introduction. These icons of England have been the sign of home for travellers over the centuries, immortalised during the Second World War in Vera Lynn’s song ‘There’ll be Blue Birds over the White Cliffs of Dover’. Both Shakespeare and Wordsworth wrote about the cliffs, their beauty and their role in the nation’s identity.

Next Post..Dijon!

Express your self

Anthony Just came along and read over my shoulder. He comments 'mate, I can see why girls like this, its expressive for them init?!'.
....and then, when he cops a photo of himself....'mate I look good don't I?!'

Date Nights

So my folks have been around a bit holidaying it up while the flat above is still waiting to be exchanged (I'm actually quite sad we have to make money, id love to have a flat available above us for when ever people come.....still have the top flat but that will rent), Anyway with them around its meant me and Anthony can get out a lot more in the evenings...and what do we default to - the cinema, followed by walking home along the river - the romantic part, where I imagine I'm in Dawson's creek.
Well we saw Toy Storey.....and I have to admit I absolutely bawled my eyes out at the end!
Now I know there are a few extra hormones floating around since having a baby but I surprised myself! With full on tears rolling down my face through the 3D geek glass' I lean back in the chair, looking sideways towards Anthony with the empty hope that it might be having the same effect on him........It wasn't of course. Then as always the movie ends and I have to disguise how much I was crying but he clocked on quite quick, and well that was it....I haven't heard the last of it! He keeps offering me tissues, and coming over to cuddle me, offering mock sympathy saying 'arrr are you OK? is this advert to sad for you? do you wanna talk about it?!
Wandering why it had such a strong pull on me I asked him 'didn't you ever have any toys that you loved?'.
His reply: 'I 'ad my football didn't I?!'. Question answered.

As it turns out I'm not the only one who cries in Toy storey, it turns out others do too, in fact one critic wrote of its emotional effect 'it makes Bambi look manipulative'. Apparently its because its something that each of us can relate to.

So on that note id like to pay tribute to my ever dear PUFFALUMP MOUSE, Amy.



She's lost somewhere in America.....Somewhere in a lost and found at an airport, maybe at the bottom of a pile sits Amy, my blue and white Puffalump. Do you remember Puffalumps? From the 80's? they where the nylon teddies that got banned because they caught fire so easy, I guess because in the 80's everyone had open or gas fires.
I had to have Puffalumps because of my asthma, and Id had her for a loooonnnnng time, then when I was 14 (I should have been more embarrassed at that age then to take a teddy on holiday with me), I took it to America and she never returned. I love you Amy Puffalump!

My sister Christine had this orange one....I think he's in our attic somewhere......

A couple of Christmas's ago, my sister Jo Ann got me a box of Puffalumps off eBay....

At first I thought 'She's found, She's found'...but it was not so....................................

Very thoughtful of her, but it never took away the sting of loss I have felt all those years!

Can you still see the hurt in my face?!

We also saw Inception another night, it didn't live up to its hype (like avatar and all the other over hyped movies!), It just didn't have enough substance for me, and there are a few issues I have with the questionable storey line...too many holes. Anyway, that may well be a controversial opinion but so be it.
What was funny though was coming home to my mum and dad, flat out asleep on the couch, my dad awakes from his stupor, wobbling his head around, eyes half open like that drunk Father Jack character from 'Father Ted' and says as he come to:
'Ive just spent the last two hours trying to get out of a room in occupied France, the Germans where in the corridor and there was a hole in the plaster of the ceiling, and i couldn't get out, they where coming for me ya know!'
(that's some serious stressful dreaming)
I replied: 'funny i just seen a film about that (meaning dreams of course)'
Dad: 'oh have you, Oooh I'll have to go and see that, I didn't know it was about the war!'