Cake, Lake, and Lots of Driving

I realize that I'm way behind here, but I haven't had much internet time lately, and I don't want to barrage you with information and long, drawn-out stories...not all at the same time, at least ;)

{Actually written: Monday, August 25, 2008}

The only full Sunday I experienced while in France was fairly uneventful because everything closes, so I wasn’t expecting much for yesterday. I woke up around 11, hoping to at least be rid of my cold – no such luck. But the weather was gorgeous, and the family members who were already awake soon returned from church, suggesting that we take the younger kids to the lake. First, however, it was time to eat. Isabella made some delicious roast chicken, salad, and rice, and we had a meal with the entire family, which is rare because it’s usually much easier to feed the petits {Philippe, Marie, and Nicolas} and then the grands {Nathalie, Carole, the two boys, and I}.

Besides being the third or so meal with everyone present since I’ve arrived, this one was also special because we were celebrating Olivier and Isabella’s 24^th anniversary, and Gabriel’s 20^th birthday {which was on Tuesday – the same as yours, my darling Kaela}. As such, we had a delicious cake, which was rather unique, and rather Swiss; the outer layer looks like frosting, but is actually meringue, and all of the decorations {like the roses} are made of marzipan, I think {the literal translation for what they called it is “paw of almond”, so I really have no idea}. The filling itself was not cake at all, but raspberry {on top} and cantaloupe {on the bottom} sorbet. Delicious – and incredibly filling.

We left for Montreux – of the January jazz festival fame – shortly thereafter, with Carole and the three youngest children. Isabella, as always, functioned as a sort of tour guide, because she gets really excited about everything I get to see in Switzerland, and my personal well-being, so I generally get a lot of attention. It’s nice in some capacity, but I wish she wouldn’t worry so much about it. I suppose the two of us are just accommodating people; put us together, and we have to find some sort of equilibrium of keeping each other happy.

At any rate, she had very little to worry about, because the weather was calm, if a bit hot, at the lake {which is called Lake Geneva and rests among the mountains between Switzerland and France} was beautiful, with lots to see around it.

Montreux itself, along with the infrastructure, is right on the water,

and the mountains are big, green, majestic, and absolutely everywhere.







Further down the promenade next to the lake is another small castle, the Château de Chillon {"shee-on"}.



After dipping our toes in the nice, cool water at the small public beach, we looked at the castle briefly, but Philippe and the young’uns were very tired and wet, so we strolled back to the car, stopping for ice cream at a small snack shack. Carole and I got Cornettos, which I’ve only ever seen in “Shaun of the Dead” and “Hot Fuzz”…and now I see why Simon Pegg adores them so. If only we had them in the U.S…

Before heading home, Olivier decided that we should drive up to Caux {pronounced “co”}, “up” being the operative word. We scaled the mountain in the big blue van, which I was convinced would fall of the precariously perched road at any minute. I tried to take a picture of the edge, but we were going too quickly. Basically, there were occasional guardrails, a few forests, and a long way to fall. Caux itself consisted of a hotel management school,

a restaurant, and a gift shop, which was closed. The trek upward was worth it, though, just to see the view {sorry about the powerlines}.

High above Montreux…

At this point, we were all tired, so we zigzagged back down {the road literally goes straight across the mountain face for a couple of kilometers, then curves downward for a few feet and turns to take you in the opposite direction – much like a Chutes & Ladders board game, only 3-D}, then picked up Nicolas’ friend Albert and his sister Alexandra, who is friends with Nathalie. The radio was playing “Take a Load Off, Fanny” in Italian, which was both intriguing and irritating, mostly because I was really ready for a nap. Back at the chalet, we feasted on waffles and pizza. I’ve pinned down mealtimes here to…anytime at all. Since it’s hard to gather people, and everyone wakes up and goes to bed at different hours, breakfast {a.k.a. “find something and eat it”} takes places whenever you drag yourself out of bed and to the kitchen, lunch is between 12 and 4 PM, and dinner can be as early as 7 or as late as 9:45. Then there is, of course, the in-between meal, which occurs between 3 and 8 PM, but can really take place at any time – a more apt name for it would be “When Isabella asks ‘Tu as faim?’ {‘Are you hungry?’} and you actually say yes…meal”. It’s actually better, in a way, than having scheduled meals because you can eat whenever you’re hungry, and you don’t have to if you aren’t. I’m not sure if this is a "Robinson" thing or a Swiss thing {more likely the former}, but I’ve finally adapted to it, and I like it.