Gruyère, Lavaux Vineyard Terraces, Nice, and Creux du Van

The past four weekends have been filled with several small trips (and one bigger one) that have been absolutely wonderful – all different and all beautiful!

Gruyère

Gruyère is a small Swiss town where gruyère cheese is made. It’s about 1.5 hours driving from where we live, so we made a day trip out of it with some of my coworkers and friends. The drive is all along Lac Leman, so very scenic and enjoyable.

Gruyère is a lovely, charming little town, but there are basically only two things to do there: tour the cheese factory and eat fondue. So we did both. It was great! 

Down the road about 15 minutes in another small town called Broc is the Cailler chocolate factory – so we toured that too. Needless to say, we were pretty sick to our stomachs by the end of the day. 

If you’re ever in Western Switzerland, these two small towns are a great way to spend a day. Here are the links to each factory:

http://www.lamaisondugruyere.ch/landing-page-en/

https://cailler.ch/en/maison-cailler/visit-us/tarifs/

Lavaux Wine Terraces

Andy and I both agreed that our day in the Lavaux wine region was our favorite day trip so far. The Terraces are about a 15 minute drive east of Lausanne, or about a 1.5 hour train ride from Geneva. From the tourism website of Switzerland, “Lavaux is the largest contiguous vineyard region in Switzerland, and its daringly constructed hillside terraces have been protected by UNESCO since 2007.” 

The square fields in the picture are surrounded and held up by rock walls - these are the "terraces."

And a little history lesson: “Although there is some evidence that vines were grown in the area in Roman times, the actual vine terraces can be traced back to the 11th century, when Benedictine and Cistercian monasteries controlled the area. It benefits from a temperate climate, but the southern aspect of the terraces with the reflection of the sun in the lake and the stone walls gives a Mediterranean character to the region. The main wine grape variety grown here is the Chasselas.”

There are two ways to see the terraces: (i) hiking, or (ii) the “Lavaux Express,” which is essentially like a children’s ride through the vineyards. http://www.lavauxexpress.ch/en/

 

We did the “Terrasses de Lavaux” hiking trail, which winds around throughout all of the vineyards and through several small towns between Saint-Saphorin and Lutry:

The whole thing is 11.7 km, or a little over 7 miles.

If you do the hike during the summer, there are several wine cellars and traditional pubs in the small towns that are open for drinks/snacks/wine tastings. So you can hike for a bit, have a snack…hike for a bit, have a glass of wine…sounds perfect, right? 

Unfortunately, we went during the fall, so the cellars are largely closed for the season. But, it was still absolutely GORGEOUS, and very much worth it. 

In the town of Rivaz toward the end of the hike (or beginning, depending on which way you start) is the Lavaux Vinorama, a tasting room for all the wines in the region. It’s open year-round with the exception of January, so it was the perfect way for us to end our hike. 

http://www.lavaux-vinorama.ch/presentation_en.php

The website says reservations are required only for groups, but I would suggest making one no matter how many people you’re with, just to make sure that you have a table. 

I HIGHLY recommend this day trip to anyone visiting near Geneva/Lausanne.

Nice

For the weekend before my birthday, Andy surprised me with a weekend getaway to the French Riviera. 

Small tangent: The fact that we’re able to go for a “weekend getaway” to the French Riviera is a blessing we do not take for granted. This season of our life has its challenges for sure, but we are so very thankful for the incredible opportunities we have while living here. Last year for my birthday, we went to dinner in Denver. And it was great! This year, we drank champagne on the coast of France, went shopping in Monaco, ate dinner on the port of Nice with a view of the yachts…there were plenty of “is this real life?” moments. My 29^th birthday will be a lifelong memory, and I’m very thankful. 

So yeah, Nice was fabulous. We moseyed around cobblestone streets and ate gelato, looked at beautiful churches, ogled the ridiculous number of Roll Royces and Bentleys outside of the Monte Carlo casino, ate delicious meals with great views…Nice was so very nice. 

For logistics, we stayed in the best Airbnb we’ve had thus far – if you’re ever planning a trip to Nice and want to try Airbnb, let me know and I will be happy to send you the link. It was clean, convenient, charming, and reasonably priced – truly the perfect arrangement. Within Nice, we just walked everywhere (it’s not a very big place). We took the bus to Monaco, which I would also recommend; it costs EUR 1.50 per person, takes about 30 minutes from Nice to Monaco, and it has a fantastic view of the ocean the whole time. We used Uber to and from the airport. 

Creux du Van

Yesterday we spent the day hiking near Neuchatel in the Creux du Van. 

Supposedly this thing was created by natural water erosion from a glacier, but it looks like a meteor hit to me. 

The hike starts and ends in a small town called Noiraigue, which is accessible by train from Neuchatel. We didn’t make the full loop this time – it’s getting dark here around 5:30 pm these days, and we weren’t sure we could make it back in time – but we did about 10 miles total. The hike up to the view is kind of intense; steady uphill pretty much the whole way. The view at the top is completely worth it though! Also, one of the great things about hikes in Switzerland is that there is usually a restaurant at the top of wherever you’re going; this one had a cute fondue place that was perfect for a rest and a snack. 

 

Next up on our travel list – Madrid!

'Merica.

We just returned to Switzerland from a really great 10-day trip back home. It was the perfect combination of fun and relaxing – we got to spend a lot of time with both of our families, visit a few friends…and my dad earned his Aggie Ring! We had a celebratory party the following weekend, and it was so special to be there. We were thankful it worked out too – my busy season is coming up at work, so I was happy we were able to squeeze it in.

I’ll be honest: coming back to Geneva this Saturday was really, really hard. We don’t know when we’re going to visit the US again, so these goodbyes to friends and family were a lot tougher. Not only that, but we SO enjoyed the 10 days of ease and convenience that is being American in America. I could come up with countless examples of what I mean, but below are a few that really stuck out to me (and in a few cases, moved me to tears):

Garbage.

SO EASY. You just throw it away. In America, we buy garbage sacks by the box – you want 200? Buy 200! Only want 50? No problem! And anything you want to put in that sack, you’re free to do so. Recycling is good and encouraged, but if you choose to throw away some paper or crumpled-up foil, it’s not a big deal (at least in Texas).

Not the case in Switzerland. Sometime in the recent past, the powers that be decided that this country needed to recycle more, and they took drastic measures to make it happen. For any garbage that we do not recycle, we are required to use specific, sanctioned garbage sacks that we purchase from the municipality. The local grocery stores keep these behind the counter, and you ask for them when you check out. A 15-liter sack (about 4 gallons…what most of us might use for the trash can at our desk) in Gland, the small town where we live, costs about 3 francs (3 dollars). Yes, that’s ONE tiny garbage bag. And yes, we still pay a garbage collection fee. If you are caught using a non-sanctioned garbage sack, you’ll be fined…and there are people who make a living digging through your “illegal” garbage sack, trying to figure out who it belongs to.

The purpose of this is obviously to encourage people to recycle as much of their garbage as possible; which is great, yay recycling! It’s just an adjustment. All recyclable material has to be separated out for their separate receptacles, which you drop off yourself, because there’s no recycling pick-up. And if you get caught recycling ANYTHING on Sunday, you’ll be fined. All of these rules mean that we have multiple stacks/bags of recyclable material around our apartment alllll the time.

So yeah, keeping up with our garbage is hard. The next time you walk the 20 steps to your garage to take out your trash in your giant kitchen garbage sack, full of anything and everything you could possibly want to throw away – think of me. Better yet, think of Andy, he takes out our trash. 

Grocery shopping.

Those of you reading this who live in Texas- I want you to pause right now, bow your head, and thank God for the blessing in your life that is HEB. While we were in Beaumont visiting the Giblins, we stopped by their HEB Plus…it’s essentially heaven. We didn’t need much, but we walked through the whole store, just in awe. The selection! The variety! I stopped in front of the coconut water section and teared up. There’s a WHOLE SECTION dedicated to coconut water. There were at least 20 different kinds to choose from. That’s insane!

As a reference point – we can’t find spinach in our local grocery store. I found this stuff, which is close:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valerianella_locusta but not the same. Peanut butter is really expensive (most people don’t buy it), milk and and eggs are not refrigerated (apparently they’re ultra-pasteurized, but it still weirds me out), and there isn’t nearly as many options to choose from for any given product. Don’t get me wrong, we’re definitely eating well here – but the grocery store is a struggle.

Online banking.

I’m going to assume that pretty much all of you that are close to my age, and a lot of you who are older, pay most (if not all) of your bills online. It’s so easy, so convenient – type in your username, type in your password, type in your credit card number, click click click, done.

You probably check your bank balance on your bank’s website – username, password, you’re in. You can send other people money, set up transfers, all kinds of stuff. You might even have an app on your phone where you can do it too!

It’s not a thing here. We bank with UBS in Switzerland, and they have a system they refer to as “e-banking”, which is an incredibly generous name for it. An “e-banking kit” consists of (i) an e-banking card and (ii) an e-banking card reader. The card reader plugs into the computer, and you insert the card into the card reader, which generates a code. Type that code into the website, it generates another code to type into the card reader. Enter that code into the card reader – and it generates ANOTHER code to type into the computer. Then you’re in. So if you don’t have your card reader with you, there’s no e-banking.

When I got my first cell phone bill here, I went to the provider’s website and tried to pay it – again, not a thing. My paper bill that I had received in the mail had to be taken – wait for it – to the post office. Yep, you walk into the post office with your bill and enough cash and give it to a postal worker. He takes your cash and pays the bill.

I know what you’re thinking. “But Steph, how do you know that he’s going to pay your bill? How do you know he isn’t going to just pocket your cash?” EXCELLENT QUESTION. As far as we can tell, you don’t know. It’s a risk you take, and everyone is fine with it.

Drinking glasses.

And beverage size in general. This is serious – the Swiss drink every kind of beverage out of a shot glass. I’m not kidding.

 

The cup on the left is my water cup that I brought with me from the US. The middle cup is for coffee, and the clear cup on the right is for water. Our executive assistant walked into my office the other day and we had the following conversation:

 

EA: “Where did you get that giant cup?!”

Me: “Oh, I brought it with me from the US.”

EA: “Why so big?!”

Me: “Um, well…I guess we Americans just get thirsty…”

 

A water glass at a restaurant is the same. If you order water (“de l’eau”) at a restaurant, they’re going to bring you Evian. For free water, you have to specify that you want tap water (“carafe d’eau”). So then they’ll bring you a “carafe” of water and two glasses – but their carafe is roughly the size of a medium drink at a drive-through, and the glasses are shot glasses. Realistically, I think we could each drink about 3 carafes during a meal, but the waitresses don’t walk around with refills. I don’t understand how everyone here stays hydrated.

 

So there’s my 5 minutes of whining of the little things I miss from the US. We’re going to Gruyere this weekend to tour a cheese factory and a chocolate factory, so I guess I’ll just have to persevere and suffer through. J

Giblins' Guide to Paris

We had an AWESOME 3-day weekend in Paris! The weather was near perfect and we got to see SO much. Here’s everything about our trip along with a few tips and tricks if you’re planning to go yourself.

Logistics

We took the train from Geneva to Paris. The train was the best transportation option for us for a couple different reasons: (i) it’s pretty cheap, and (ii) apparently Charles de Gaulle airport is pretty far outside of the city center, while the train station is in the middle of it. By the time you go through airport security and get a taxi or something to the middle of the city, we’ve heard that the train is actually faster than flying (the train ride is a little over 3 hours). 

What we did not previously know about the train – people are loud and obnoxious. You know how on an airplane there’s a general understanding that you should be quiet? I’m not sure what makes a train different than an airplane, but this is not the case on a train (at least not this train). The ride to Paris was a long one. BUT, we learned our lesson for the way back and had a movie to watch with our headphones, and it was much better. PRO-TIP: Not all trains have WIFI (ours didn’t). Make sure you download anything you might want to watch before you get on the train. 

We stayed at the Hotel Ares Eiffel: http://ares-paris-hotel.com/en/index.html It was beautiful, very comfortable, and super close to the Eiffel Tower. We didn’t spend much time at the hotel and didn’t eat any meals there, so I don’t really have much else to say about it, but we were happy with our choice. 

We traveled by metro pretty much the whole weekend, and I highly recommend it. It’s incredibly cheap (EUR 1.80 per trip per person), and we found it pretty easy to navigate. We also took an Uber one night to dinner, which was EUR 20 for about a 25 minute ride. We had heard from friends that cabs were too expensive, so we didn’t even try it. 

Day 1 

We started the day with a city bike tour with Fat Tire http://paris.fattirebiketours.com/tours/paris-day-bike-tour . This ended up being our favorite activity of the entire weekend. It’s a great way to see the city and get a feel for all of the major landmarks, and our tour guide was very knowledgeable. Highly, highly recommend it! 

Last stop on the bike tour

After the bike tour, we wandered over to Notre Dame and got the absolute best ice cream I’ve ever put in my mouth. http://www.berthillon.fr/ I’m not exaggerating. Do it. 

 

For dinner, we went to a very nice French steakhouse http://sacreefleur.e-monsite.com/ We had reservations, but it looked like they turned away pretty much everyone who tried to walk in without one. The restaurant is very close to the Sacre-Coeur, a Roman Catholic church and basilica. It’s stunningly beautiful, and it’s situated at the highest point in the city, so you get a great view as well. 

Day 2 

After wandering around a bit in the morning, we took a lunch cruise down the Seine with this company: http://www.calife.com/english/Croisiere/Diner_croisiere.html . It was very relaxing and the food was great. It was about 2.5 hours long though, so just make sure that you want to spend a good part of your day on the boat. 

After lunch, we walked up and down Champs-Elysses and window-shopped. We tried the macarons at Laduree, and on the recommendation of one of my coworkers, also tried the macarons at Pierre Herme http://www.pierreherme.com/ . Both delicious, but I think we actually liked the Pierre Herme macarons more. 

We went to part of the evening mass at Notre Dame, which was interesting but a little strange to us- aside from the service being in French (obviously), they don’t close the cathedral to tourists during the service. So while the priest is talking, choir singing, etc., there are tourists milling around the chapels on the sides and snapping photos. 

Day 3

We got to the Eiffel Tower around 9:30 am and waited about 20 minutes in line for tickets. PRO-TIP: If you’re physically able, take the stairs rather than the elevator. There are separate lines for elevator and stairs tickets, and the elevator line was CRAZY long. It’s 669 steps up to the second floor – you’ll feel the burn, but it’s completely doable. PRO-TIP: There are young gypsy women walking all around the Eiffel Tower, holding papers and asking if you speak English. Ignore them. They’ll ask you to sign their “petition” and then charge you EUR 20 for doing so. We had previously been warned of this so didn’t make the mistake ourselves, but we were approached several times.

View from the first floor

An accurate pictoral representation of my marriage - orange/carrot/ginger juice for Andy, a Pimm's cup for me

After lunch, we went to Eglise du Dome and the Musee de l’Armee. This is where Napoleon is buried, and the museum is all about the entire military history of France. I was done after about 1.5 hours, but Andy probably could have stayed in there all day. 

Napoleon's tomb - apparently he's inside 7 different caskets in there

General tips

• Don’t plan all your meals. We really enjoyed having a couple reservations but also had the opportunity to wander around and find a café that looked good to us.
• Eat all of the pastries. All of them. Croissants just taste different in Paris…and by different I mean heavenly.
• Wear comfortable shoes. Even when you’re taking the metro, there’s quite a bit of walking involved.

This was such a wonderful weekend for us –not only is Paris an incredible city, so beautiful and full of history – but we also loved our first “big” European trip. We can’t wait to do it again…next on the list for October is Nice, France!