Thursday 17 November 2011
Charles and Dian's day:
Charles appreciated being able to stay up past 1 AM in the warm and wi-fi-ed library the night before and not wake up from a forced early bedtime at 4 or 5 AM and have to toss and turn till 8. He's a NightHawk by nature. After breakfast of coffee, yoghurt, bananas, bread and cheese, apple, milk and cereal (don't always have milk, or have it cold, and a box of cereal in Switzerland costs 5 to 8 bucks - this trip has made us appreciate so many little things we take for granted back home), it was into the too-warm rec room at Franklin College, to work on catching up the blog. Almost got there.
Then it was time to hike into town, with a quick stop to leave a Va Va LaVoom CD for Dean Guggiari, whose empathy for our "stuck" situation made our lives sooo much easier during the week. We took some slightly different routes to see more of the town, did some browsing and window shopping, and had our picnic lunch right next to the lake. Dian bought some wire spirals to be used with the glass she found at L'Antica Vetreria to make pendants.
She then decided it was time to drop into UBS, headquartered in Lugano. They're a huge international financial corporation, and we're hardly one of their high-profile clients, but nonetheless we wanted to say hello to the folks who invest our nest egg, and thought it would be fun to send an email from there to our local manager, longtime family friend Bill Creedun. Charles was reluctant to support this latest brainstorm of Dian's, but as usual went along for the ride at the last moment, and as usual was glad he did. They treated us well and sent us up to nattily-dressed Fernando on the fourth floor - ALL the UBS-ers looked Armani-clad - who not only let Dian use his computer to send the email, but brought us two cups of delicious coffee and Swiss chocolates on a silver tray.
Then it was off to Coopertiva supermarket to buy coffee we ground on the spot, a gift for family, and some exotic beers. We had decided to treat ourselves to fondue (after all, we're in Switzerland) at a restaurant for dinner, but after checking some menus on the way we couldn't bear the thought of spending 35 bucks per person - how much cheese can one eat? So we found a package at the market, and with our fresh bread cut into cubes and two long forks, we feasted like Swiss but kept our shiny francs in our pockets. (Did we mention the very independent Swiss are not part of the EU, and your euros are not good here?)
Dian swore she got a buzz off of a "cannabis" iced tea (from Switzerland?!) she found in the market ("cannabis" flavor, aroma; extract - .016/liter), but Charles definitely got a little light from an 8.8 (percent alcohol) beer he picked up there. In Switzerland!? Ya just never know what's next.
Nicole's day:
The day was slow after a long slumber, much needed after staying up so late, and was filled with a hearty breakfast of waffles, eggs, bacon and cereal, and awesome fun happy happy joy laundry time! This was no matter, though, because I had Indian food to look forward to in the dining hall, a Thursday staple for the students of Franklin College. The food did not disappoint, and after stuffing ourselves with curry (and one of their Homer Simpsonesque donuts), we retired to our quarters...But not before keeping Ian company (and on track) whilst he attempted to begin and complete a 10 page paper due the next day.
Charles and Dian's day:
Charles appreciated being able to stay up past 1 AM in the warm and wi-fi-ed library the night before and not wake up from a forced early bedtime at 4 or 5 AM and have to toss and turn till 8. He's a NightHawk by nature. After breakfast of coffee, yoghurt, bananas, bread and cheese, apple, milk and cereal (don't always have milk, or have it cold, and a box of cereal in Switzerland costs 5 to 8 bucks - this trip has made us appreciate so many little things we take for granted back home), it was into the too-warm rec room at Franklin College, to work on catching up the blog. Almost got there.
Then it was time to hike into town, with a quick stop to leave a Va Va LaVoom CD for Dean Guggiari, whose empathy for our "stuck" situation made our lives sooo much easier during the week. We took some slightly different routes to see more of the town, did some browsing and window shopping, and had our picnic lunch right next to the lake. Dian bought some wire spirals to be used with the glass she found at L'Antica Vetreria to make pendants.
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| A documentation of how the inside of Clifford looked |
Then it was off to Coopertiva supermarket to buy coffee we ground on the spot, a gift for family, and some exotic beers. We had decided to treat ourselves to fondue (after all, we're in Switzerland) at a restaurant for dinner, but after checking some menus on the way we couldn't bear the thought of spending 35 bucks per person - how much cheese can one eat? So we found a package at the market, and with our fresh bread cut into cubes and two long forks, we feasted like Swiss but kept our shiny francs in our pockets. (Did we mention the very independent Swiss are not part of the EU, and your euros are not good here?)
Dian swore she got a buzz off of a "cannabis" iced tea (from Switzerland?!) she found in the market ("cannabis" flavor, aroma; extract - .016/liter), but Charles definitely got a little light from an 8.8 (percent alcohol) beer he picked up there. In Switzerland!? Ya just never know what's next.
Nicole's day:
The day was slow after a long slumber, much needed after staying up so late, and was filled with a hearty breakfast of waffles, eggs, bacon and cereal, and awesome fun happy happy joy laundry time! This was no matter, though, because I had Indian food to look forward to in the dining hall, a Thursday staple for the students of Franklin College. The food did not disappoint, and after stuffing ourselves with curry (and one of their Homer Simpsonesque donuts), we retired to our quarters...But not before keeping Ian company (and on track) whilst he attempted to begin and complete a 10 page paper due the next day.
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