The first six weeks here were rough to say the least. Nearly every day included tears! And I am not a wimpy woman...I think I'm pretty tough and resilient! I was so homesick, my children were so unhappy, Bob was gone a lot, we lived in three different places out of suitcases, I couldn't understand anyone or anything, the list goes on an on! I was so lonely for my family and my friends...someone to talk to. I wanted to go next door and talk to my neighbor. I wanted to go to a movie with friends (a ticket to a movie cost 23 CHF...that's about $26.00 for one ticket!), or go out to lunch with friends, watch American TV, go out to dinner with Bob (dinner for two is about $100), have Sunday dinner with my family...I know it seems glamorous to live in Europe, but let me just say, it's not!
Contrary to popular opinion, you do not pack your bags every day or every weekend for that matter and travel to some exotic location. At least we don't...we have school, work, church (I'm in the YW presidency), etc. I have the same things to do here as I do in the States...cook, drive, laundry, errands, clean, make lunches, do homework, grocery shop, help in classrooms at school, wash the car, and again, the list goes on and on! But imagine all this in a foreign place where none is the same as at home. You can go from Utah to New York and it will all be relatively similar...not here. Everything is different.
So when Bob had to go home for a week in the middle of September for work, he saw my mom and told her she needed to come sooner rather than later. My mom and Jana came at the end of September and in a way, rescued me. It was so good to have them see what I was talking about and understand how I was living.
So, I planned a few things for us to do while they were here...it was a chance to do a little traveling...our first stop was Lake Como, Italy. It's just a two hour drive from my house (I know, now that sounds glamorous and I agree...pretty cool). And after we came home from Lake Como, we drove to Colmar, France for the day (another two hour drive...I'm not making my point about a non-glamorous life very well, am I?)
We left on Thursday for Lake Como and Cannero/Cannobio, Italy. We brought Maddie along. She missed a couple of days of school, but it was worth it. Our hotel was in Moltrasio. Bob and I had previously planned on staying there at the recommendation of Bianca Lisonbee last summer but because of his work we had to cancel. So I knew exactly where to stay and thanks Bianca...it was perfect!
The drive out of Switzerland was nothing short of incredible. It was breathtaking. We arrived in Moltrasio, unloaded and took the ferry over to Como (trying to buy our tickets was painful. There is absolutely NO ENGLISH spoken in Moltrasio). We spent the evening in Como eating and shopping and walking around. So much fun!
On the second day, we spent the day in Bellagio. It was about a 1 1/2 hour ferry ride from Moltrasio...saw George Clooney's villa, Star Wars villa and some absolutely amazing villas and hotels. Again, spent the day eating and shopping. I purchased a beautiful hand carved wooden nativity that I will treasure forever. Bellagio was wonderful. Can't wait to go back with Bob.
Auf Wiedersehen, |
On our way - my driveway and backyard      I need to write an entire post on food in Europe, specifically Switzerland. It was good to get some delicious and cheap food! More images from Lake Como...  After leaving Lake Como, we headed North to this hotel in Cannero, Italy for one night. The hotel was from a recommendation from a friend here in Switzerland. It did not disappoint. One of the most charming hotels ever. Bob and I will be going back there. We were headed for the market in Cannobio (one of the largest in Europe) the following morning in search of an awesome leather bag. We found it and some other treasures as well.  A trip I will not soon forget! |
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