A little of this, and little of that. Switz, France, Spain

Yesterday was a good day. It just so happened that it was in my favorite place thus far, Switzerland. I know, I just posted about Switzerland, but I will try to even it out and add in some more countries too. For now, the 7th of Nov...We pulled into Gryon the night before. It's a small town in the mountians, about 45 min from the eastern end of Lake Geniva. At first, I was apprehensive, as we pulled into a hostel, but it turned out to be great. A charming wood home with mountian views from our room, a huge kitchen, (complete with a spice rack we could use!) We set off in the morning for a hike around the mountains. I was dressed for the worse, and ended up needed my many layers. It was 1 degree C. The dirt was even frozen. We hiked in about an hour, when I asked Bran to escort me back to the car. The plan was I would drive him to another trail, but he admitted, "it must have gotton colder" and stayed in the warm car with me. Back to the hostel for an afternoon read by the fire. Lovely. We headed back into town about 4pm, being thwarted earlier since we forgot the whole country closes shop from 12 till 2pm!! We needed to get some food for dinner. It's sillly how much I enjoy it. It makes me feel normal, at home even. Just doing something so routine as buying groceries. The hostel had a fondue set we could borrow, so we decided that would be a fun dinner. We got fondue, and special fondue wine. We hit up the bakery for two loaves of fresh bread. Back to the hostel, to heat the cheese and wine on the stove, then transfer to the fondue set. Yum. We thoroughly enjoyed our traditional Swiss dinner. We were even able to share with our new friends at the hostel, four friends studying in Cambridge (originally from the States) and a Canadian couple. Again, it felt like home to sit around the dinner table chatting with friends. More sitting by the fire and reading, until it was time for wine tasting. Yes, slightly ghetto right there in the hostel, but they had quite a spread of seven different Swiss wines. Our hostel host, and wine man, Matt, an Aussie, was very knowledgeable and had a fun dry sense of humor. We learned lots about Swiss wines, cheese, and people that day.

The coast of France and Italy Nov 2, 3,4th. What do St. Tropez, Nice, Monoco all have in common? Not just the amazing coastline they share, but the floating houses that sit in their docks. They are stunning cities, way too rich for us, but oh so fun to look at all the commotion. I'm not sure what I enjoyed more: the green hills kissing the ocean, huge millionaire homes, sparkling yachts, or watching the 'Brandon walk'. Let me explain. We would walk around the towns, window shopping, people watching, all at a normal pace.Then, we come to the docks. Brandon gets this funny far away look in his eyes. He slows down, starting to stroll. The Brandon walk. He is almost moving backwards he's going so slow. Taking in every detail of these huge boats. Just when I think he can't possibly move any slower, we come to the sail boats. Easily 150 to 200ft. Wooden perfection. Sleek. Smooth. Able to take on the fiercest storms, and glide quietly through the water. I begin to slow, feeling mesmerized. I know Bran wants to jump onto the boat, to explore every inch, touch all the smooth banisters, look out every window, cause I want to do the same. A few minuets go by until I realize we are stopped. Mouths slightly open. We slowly turn to face each other, thinking the same thing. Maybe they will adopt us?

Spain.Oct 27 through Nov 1This was explored a bit too quickly I fear. I loved Spain. I had no expectations, and thus was so pleasantly surprised at every turn. From the moment we crossed the border from France. We came to lazy, quiet towns on the ocean. The Spanish decor change was obvious, tiled roofs, stucco homes with brick. The fun part? Being able to communicate fairly easy. After all those cursed Spanish classes, they actually came in use. We followed the coast for hours, Bran looking somber, his hopes for big waves crumbling quickly.My 2nd fav place thus far: San Sebastion. It brings a grin to my mouth. An old coastal city, with country just five min outside the city. After an hour of trying to find a hotel in the city, we gave up and drove away. We found ourselves on a tiny road, praying for a place to stay. God answered my desperate prayers, ( having just spent the night in the car, God knew I couldn't handle two in a row). The clouds parted, and there was Maddiolas. A haven overlooking the ocean. No one was home, our cell didn't work, so we couldn't call the number. We were about to give up hope and drive away when a car pulled up. God is good! She had a room. Clean, large, our own balcony. She even had a spa room downstairs with Jacuzzi, steam, sauna. Oh, and free Internet-which I ended up forgetting the password, so we only used it for a little bit! darn-We woke up the the smell of fresh baked bread. We opted no for the breakfast, it being another 9 Euro, and most always being a total rip off. Not this time. We found our host, smiled and said, "Teines Homre", she laughed and said it wasn't too late, we could do breakfast. It was all homemade. Bread, cake, yogurt, jam, OJ, and an awesome cappachino maker. She was booked for the next three nighs, it being a holiday weekend. I asked three times, just to be sure. We drove away, as I fought off tears.
What an introduction to Spain. We flew through the rest though. Segovia was wonderful, the mortar free aquaduct was sweet. Feeling as if we had seen it all, we left Segovia to drive all night to Barcelona. Stopping a few hours to sleep we arrived at 8 am, to a quiet, peaceful, sleeping city. It was perfect. It was a holiday, and the Spanish don't get going till 10 anyway. We were horrible tourists. I took pictures from the car! We didn't even get out. That was when a brilliant idea hit us: Open a shop with pictures of places all over the world. Ya know, home made style. Then, people can pick which place they want to tell everyone they went, and just cut and paste themselves into it! I know there are people out there who would love it. We did it in Barcelona. We got our three pictures, checked it off the list, and off we went to the coast!

Awkward moment.
Just yesterday, at the gas station, I go to use the restroom. I see a sign right before the entrance, 1 swiss franc. Of course money is in the car, and I don't think I should have to pay to pee anyway. So, I turn the corner. No one is around. It's just a machine, not a person. Perfect. I can clear it with my long legs, only I whack my knee on the side. No ones around to notice. I enter to find a man using a urinal 10 feet away. Am I in the mens? I can't back out now, to exit and re-hop the womens side and risk getting caught? Nope. I duck into the 1st stall. I see a sign for male and female. Maybe Switzerland is more progressive than I thought. I quickly pee. I wait when I hear two people enter, and wait to hear the doors close before I exit. It doesnt' matter. Now two men are in the urinals. One is washing his hands. I debate whether I should skip hand washing and run for it, but I can't, especially since I was in the mens! With eyes burning into me, I quickly wash and walk out. Whoo. That was traumatic, I think I have to pee again.

I promise to be better about posting. When it costs so much to use the internet, it makes it difficult. Oh, and Ill try to do it in a more time logical, chronological way like Brandon!