So, things I haven't written about yet...
Wednesday in the afternoon, Andréanne, Béatrice, and I went to Fribourg. Béatrice went to go visit her parents in the nursing home, Andréanne met up with a friend and went to get her ear pierced, and I met up with Sakshi. We walked around and I bought some things I needed, and then we went to get coffee and we talked for a really long time. Afterward I met up with Andréanne and we walked together towards the old part of the city where Béatrice came to pick us up. When we got home there was a ridiculous amount of eggs on the table, I think Bernard had stopped at a local farm and bought three dozen (many for easter eggs) and so for dinner I made omelettes. I don't remember if I have written this before but since maybe January all of the kids have to make dinner once a week, and my day is Wednesday.
On Thursday it was really nice out so I went for a bike ride. Other than that I did some homework and that's pretty much all. Oh yeah, it was also my host dad's birthday so I bought him some chocolates.. predictable but that's okay.
Friday (as well as Monday- tomorrow) is a bank holiday here so both of my host parents had the day off. Most people are Catholic here so they don't eat meat on Good Friday, but in my village they take it one step further. At the village restaurant, in the bingo hall part of it (the regular Sunday bingo is extremely popular here, in fact a while ago my host aunt won a WHOLE wheel of raclette cheese) they had a village soup lunch. We went together at noon and were served some awesome vegetable soup, bread, and apples by volunteers. The whole thing was free but there were donation boxes out... In the afternoon I went with my host parents to Vaud (the canton south of Fribourg, where most of the Swiss part of Lac Léman is.) Though it's only about 25 km away it feels very different being there.. the weather is balmier, the flowers are all already blooming, the grass is greener, and there are even palms. We parked the car and walked around this town that was way up on the hill that slopes down to the lake. After walking around there are bit we drove down to Vevey which is a large town right on the side of the lake. Actually we drove past the Nestlé headquarters which are located there. We parked and walked along the lake-front.. it was sunny and really warm and there were tons of people all over since they all had the day off. It felt like May or June does in Minnesota. We walked on a bridge over this river which was running into the lake, and it was really full of water since all the snow up in the mountains is melting. Then we went to get a coffee (a rivella for me) where we bumped into some random people my host parents know from our village. Around five we headed home.
Yesterday my host parents again wanted to go walking in the afternoon (they really like taking advantage of their weekends and nice weather) so they suggested that they drop my host sister and I off at the Château de Chillon which was on the way. We drove basically to where we had been the day before but passed Vevey and went farther eastward on the lake to a place called Montreux. They dropped us at the castle where there were a lot of tourists, but that was okay, because it was worth it. We walked around and looked at the crypt, the prison (apparently Lord Byron wrote a poem about a prisoner that was held there, fittingly called "The Prisoner of Chillon", but I'd never heard of it), the cellars, the ramparts, the chambers, the great hall, and all the rest of the castle too. It was built on this island separated by just a few feet from the land, for defensive purposes. First the Savoy family controlled the fortress, then in the 1500s the Bernese (Swiss) took it over, and then when the area became part of Switzerland it was controlled by the canton of Vaud. In one of the large rooms there was this weird exhibit that was the personal bear collection of one of the Swiss Federal Counsel members (there are seven of them who make up the executive power.. sort of like having seven presidents, each with one-seventh of the power.) It was like teddy bears, wooden bears, porcelain bears.. I wish our politicians were that cool. After we finished up at the castle and were waiting for Bernard and Béatrice to come pick us up we got ice cream from the little ice cream stand outside the castle and ate it by the lake. We drove home, and then before supper my host mom dyed some Easter eggs with natural dyes but we didn't actually do any decorating. Then after we ate they all went to the Easter mass at church and I stayed home and worked on my homework.
Oh yeah, here are a few pictures I took at the château. Go here for larger versions.
Also since I feel like showing you all a map of the Southwestern bit of the country, here you can see the lake and where I went on Friday and Saturday:
Today was (is) Easter, obviously. I had a nice day though it certainly was less of a big deal than it is at home.. Each of us kids got a nice chocolate bunny from my host parents. For lunch we went to eat at this restaurant that is owned by the father of one of the boys in my class at school (who is also a friend of Bernard's.) For a while I thought we were actually going to their house because one time they said we were going "chez lui" for Easter, which can mean "his restaurant" or "his house" depending on what you mean to say (actually "chez" can mean a lot of things.. for instance when the cat comes and curls up in my lap he's coming "chez moi", when something my host mom needs is in my host sister's room it's "chez elle".. and so you see how I was confused. But I figured it out after a bit.) We met up with Tata and José, and Béatrice's sister came along too. For the meal we had a first course of asparagus (best hollandaise sauce ever!), a second course choice of lamb or beef (I took the beef) with pepper sauce and a few potatoes, and ice cream with fresh strawberries and whipped cream for dessert. Around two we went home, and that was the end of the Easter festivities.
So far I have been having a lovely break.. I feel so fortunate that I've had the time to both relax and discover Switzerland a bit more. I am really excited for Geneva too (I go on Tuesday.) I'll write all about that next time...
Happy Easter again!
1 comment:
Hi Sweetie,
Loved your pictures, and the description of the castle and the countryside. We missed you at Easter, but you were definitely there in spirit - especially after dinner, when all of the kids (Sarah, Karen, Em and Luke) were plopped on the floor doing their Math homework (Luke was helping Em with hers). We may not have had a place set for you at the table, but there was definitely room for you and your Math book on the floor among your siblings and cousins! So glad you're enjoying your break - can't wait to hear about your adventures in Geneva! MISS YOU, Love, xoxxoxoxo Aunt Amy
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