Rome!

Chris and I both have birthdays in December, and following a busy period and anticipating a few weeks apart over Christmas, we decided a little weekend getaway was in order. We considered our destination options and found cheap tickets for Rome, so off we went! We were blessed with great weather – warm and sunny in comparison to grey and wet Lausanne, and although there was some rain during the weekend, we kept missing it.

After arriving at the airport on Friday, a helpful man pointed us in the right direction for the cheapest transport option that would take us directly to our hotel. We checked and decided to walk towards the Spanish steps. The streets were all decorated for Christmas and there was a lovely festive atmosphere. We saw the Ferrari store and had to make a stop there, and then went into the magnum store that lets you custom make your ice-cream – yummy. We decided to go and see the Coloseum by night and stopped along the way at some of the ruins. We took an easy ramble through the shopping streets before settling down for dinner. Everyone told us we would eat well in Rome, and we were not disappointed! I love Italian food and was only too happy to indulge! We walked back to our hotel and went to our rooftop terrace to have coffee that came with a selection of delicious biscuits.

We decided to make an early start on Saturday and head to the Coloseum for a tour. I am not normally the tour booking type, but in this case, it was well worth it. The tour included access to two areas not open to normal day visitors – the underground section and the third ring, which gave us spectacular views of Rome and the Coloseum. As a bonus, our tour guide was telling us all sorts of interesting information – did you know that there was a huge palace on the same land before the Coloseum?

We walked through the Roman Forum before stopping stopped for coffee in a square and people-watched  (as they say, when in Rome), before visiting the Pantheon, picking up some Pizza and heading to the Vatican. We only stood in the line for 45minutes, which I didn’t think was too bad. We decided we wanted to climb the stairs to the top, and although it was a dizzying and slightly claustrophobic experience, it was well worth it! We walked back to the Spanish steps and had a drink at a cozy little bar overlooking the steps before making a stop at our hotel to freshen up for dinner. We enjoyed yet another gourmet meal at a restaurant close to the hotel – a perfect end to a perfect day.

On Sunday we took it easy – we had seen most of what we wanted to see and where heading back to the airport soon after lunch so we enjoyed the hotel breakfast (this has to be one of the best things about holidays) before taking a walk to the circus maximus and along a river that runs through Rome. We stopped for another coffee in the sunny square and soaked up the atmosphere. After a delightful 48 hours, it was time to head back to the airport for our flight back.

Rome is a fascinating city, probably one of the most historically rich places I have ever visited. Practically around every corner there is something else to see. I am glad we went out of season – it was busy, but not overwhelmingly so, but I cant imagine what it would be like in Summer! A big thank you Chris for organizing and coordinating most of the weekend and for being chief map-reader and navigator, I would have been lost without you!

Precious family time

I am so grateful that I love my life in Switzerland and that it really does feel like home after three years, but nothing beats going home to South Africa to be with the family. My parents came to meet me at the airport with Josh (one of my nephews) and he ran up to me at the airport and gave me a big hug, which started off my two special weeks at home. The night I arrived home, the family came for dinner to welcome me and to celebrate my birthday. It was so special to be reunited again! I also got to meet Olivia, my 3 month old niece who is a little treasure. My parents also took me to a restaurant that does a taster menu complete with wine pairings - it was amazing. I don't think I have ever had such artistically presented, creative, delicious and unusual food!

As always, there was admin to see to (some things are just easier, cheaper or necessary to do in SA) but mostly I wanted to be home with the family and see some friends. It is always a challenge to not be too busy when I am home, as I needed to rest too, but this  trip was a nice mix! I saw friends, ate at all my favourite restaurants (definitely something I miss in Switzerland!), had sweet moments with my sisters, caught up with my brothers, spent lots of time with my parents, and handed out a lot of aunty Claire love. My two nieces and one nephew who are in SA are just the sweetest little children and as always, it was a real treat to be with them. There was lots of time by the pool, afternoon naps, cups of tea, magazine reading and sleeping late and mom’s cooking! The time together is never long enough and the goodbyes are always sad, but I also look forward to returning to my life in Swiss land!

Love Lausanne

The church I go to here, C3 Lausanne, really has a heart for the city and to put this into practice they decided to make a financial donation to an association doing good work in the city. They chose an organization that houses the parents of children who have been hospitalized in the big hospital here in Lausanne. At a church service in December,  they invited the directors of this association to join us at church so that they could give them the donation, and then we organized an apéro (the equivalent of drinks and snacks) for the whole church after the service.

In my role as Event’s Team leader, this apéro was my responsibility. I have a good amount of practice with catering, hospitality and events…although this was the first time I organized something for so many people – approximately 500! I was responsible for the food, drinks, décor and coordinating my team. We ordered some platters of dried meats and cheese, bread from a bakery, and we had some cheese pastry straws, nuts and crackers. Then we had some vegetable sticks and dip (3 kg of carrots and 23 peppers), plus more than 1000 small triangle sandwhiches (27 loaves of bread) and about 75 litres of drinks, plus some wine.

My team were incredible, they worked tirelessly to get all the food out on tables, serve drinks, and do all the clean up, always with smiles on their faces. There is absolutely no way that I could do this without them, and I am so grateful for the contribution they each make.

Being responsible for this team teaches me so much, and I count a privilege and honour to be able to serve in this way.

Turning 28!

I was not expecting anything special on the actual day of my birthday – Chris and I had been in Rome together the weekend before for a joint birthday celebration, so as we had already celebrated, I didn’t have any expectations for the actual day.

However,  the whole day was full of one wonderful thing after the next! I took some brownies to work to celebrate with my colleagues, and then I had lunch with a sweet friend. After we had finished eating she told me we were going to have a “birthday moment”, and she asked me to close my eyes while she put out a piece of homemade apple tart, complete with a candle, and then proceeded to sing me happy birthday in the cafeteria. On returning to my office my 3 office mates also broke out in song and gave me a gift – chocolate and a very cute travel pillow- clearly they know me well! And of course throughout the day I received many phone calls, facebook messages and text  messages – I definitely felt the birthday love!

Chris had told me that we were going to have dinner on Wednesday night, and that I should be ready at 7:45pm. Little did I know! He came to fetch me and then blindfolded me (sneaky!) and took me to a good friend’s house where a group of my closest friends were waiting for me as a surprise. I had not suspected a thing, and I was so touched to see them all there. Chris had organized some champagne and made me a cake (yes, that is right – a handmade birthday cake!!) complete with a “happy birthday Claire” in icing – it was delicious. Just when I thought the evening could not get any better, he told me that there was one more surprise.

A few months ago, Chris started getting in contact with my family and friends to ask them to record a birthday message for me. He then compiled them all together (with some creative help from my sister Nicola) in a 10 minute video that really touched my heart. I am very relational in nature, and I invest a lot in my relationships, and I was so blessed by Chris’ thoughtfulness in putting the video together and by all the kind words. This is something I will treasure.

Needless to say I went to bed with a heart bubbling over with gratitude for the wonderful people I share my life. I count myself so blessed to have such outstanding people in my circle!

Como!

While Roy, Caroline, Evan & Genevieve were in Europe, we decided to take a trip to Como, Italy.

 We took the train from Lausanne to Milan (3 hours) and then another a train from Milan to Como (about 40min) – and all in all we had a  pretty smooth journey. I was initially concerned that we would not be able to take our original travel route because our train was cancelled until midday of our scheduled departure due to a landslide. But thankfully they fixed the problem and we were able to travel as planned. The children were really well behaved on the train and we had a smooth journey except for the last train that was really full. We took a taxi to our great Air BnB apartment that Caroline found. After our Italian host met us and showed us all around in Italian (that was fun), we picked up some food from the store right below us (how convenient) and settled in for a quiet night at home.

On Friday we decided to take a furnicular up a little mountain to have a walk around, some food and enjoy some views of Como. This proved to be a really fun outing – we had a great meal of pasta with a very friendly waitress before deciding that a walk was in order. Genevieve was enjoying her new found walking freedom, so she was quite determined to walk and at one point decided her outfit was not complete without my sunglasses – what a stylish little one. We walked to a panoramic view spot and enjoyed some great views before deciding it was time to go back to the apartment and meet Chris who was arriving from Switzerland. On the dinner menu was some very tasty pizza - when in Italy!

Saturday proved to be a very rainy and wet day, so we stayed at home – we ate lots of good food, lounged around, built lego, read lots of books with the children, and drank lots of tea. Chris and I took Evan for a walk to the grocery store to pick up some pasta for dinner which we all enjoyed at home. It was actually really wonderful to have a lazy day together as a family.

On Sunday we woke up to sunshine so decided that it was definitely worth heading out for a boat trip on lake Como. We walked down to the lake only to discover that because of all the rain some of the roads surrounding the lake had been flooded. We took a detour and found our way to the ferry ticket office and decided that a 1 hour boat trip on the lake sounded like a good idea. We enjoyed the sunshine and the fresh (and slightly chilly) air and the gorgeous scenery. A walk through the old town led us to discovering what looked like a good lunch option, so we stopped for another delicious meal before heading out for some more exploring. The kids played in a play area and went on a few rides before we decided to visit the Como Cathedral – a majestic place more than 600 years old. We enjoyed another evening at home - I loved being part of the family dinner, bath and bed-time routine with Evan and Genevieve.

Monday morning meant it was time to head back to Lausanne, and considering it was another rainy day I don’t think any of us minded being on the train again. The children were little stars – Evan watched movies and played games on the ipad and Genevieve slept for a good bit. It was such fun to discover Italy together, and I was impressed with Roy & Caroline and their flexibility in traveling with little ones!

The rest of our time together in Switzerland was so special - I was so grateful to have time with this very precious family and for them to get to see my life in Lausanne!