All Settled In...

Bonjour!  Another week complete and we are feeling more settled.  We have visited places for a second or third time and we don't rely on "Helen" as much to get around. We are still struggling with the language barrier- using google translate a lot- It is still such an odd feeling to be out at a park, and typically while pushing the girls on the swing I would have small talk with other parents who may be pushing their kids.  Now, it is silent... if they do try to talk to me, I just nod and politely say "Je ne parle francais" (I don't speak French).  I really want to be able to communicate, so we are still continuing to practice a lot throughout the day.

On Monday, we were invited to the Baker's pool, so Adalyn was able to have fun with Genevieve and actually be able to communicate! I also appreciate the adult interaction and getting all the great advice and tips from Annissa.

On Tuesday, we went back to the park/zoo, seems to be a favorite for the kids.  This time, Adalyn fed a deer, which she thought was super cool and a tad scary!

Wednesday was furniture shopping and park day- nothing exciting!

On Thursday, the girls and I set out to make a much needed purchase for the home... A lawn mower.   Yes, not very exciting, but you should see our lawn.  The difference between here and Lakeville is that here most homes have a large 8ft hedge surrounding the whole yard.  So, no worries with keeping up with your neighbors lawn, because you can't see their yard.  Which is why mowing our lawn quickly became a very low priority- when you have so many places to explore- who wants to mow the lawn?  So, we bought one, and are happy to report the lawn is mowed!

On Friday, we went back to the Fountains to play in the water- it was a colder day, so not many people were there.  Adalyn and Eliza have been enjoying watching the "ALS Ice Bucket Challenge" on Facebook- and you could tell based on Eliza at the pool!  She kept filling her bucket and then pouring it over her head!  The water was fairly cool, so I was surprised that she enjoyed it so much!

Then of course, Adalyn wanted to join in the fun!  

On Saturday, we headed to Montreux, Switzerland which is also located on Lake Geneva and about 1 hour 20 minutes from our house.  The town is situated right along the lake, so we spent the morning walking along the lake and peeking in the little shops.  Another great place to take visitors!

Daddy's little girls taking in another lake view.

After lunch, we took a boat ride to the Chillon Castle.  It was about a 15 minute boat ride with amazing views of the alps- unfortunately it was a pretty cloudy day.

The boat we took to the castle.

We arrived at the Chateau de Chillon and Adalyn was so excited that she was going to be able to go inside a real castle.  The 12th-century castle was used as a fortress, arsenal, and prison.  They began restoring the castle at the end of the 19th-century and opened the doors for people to visit.  We spent about an hour walking through the castle and reading about all of the different rooms-I think Adalyn was surprised at what a real castle looked like inside versus a Disney castle!!  Disney has really set the castle expectations high for little girls!  She kept asking where all the furniture and fancy things were!

Chateau de Chillon 

 Adalyn said this was her waiting for "Coronation Day!"

I found my favorite place in the castle!

On Sunday, we didn't have much planned since the weather report was not looking very well.  Fortunately, once again the forecast was wrong and it was a beautiful day.  During nap time, Adalyn and Chris went on an adventure together- they took a cable car to the top of Mount Saleve.  I have been battling an ear infection so I decided Eliza and I would opt out of this adventure for now- we will definitely be going again.  It is about 5 minutes from our house and the ride up takes about 5 minutes to get to the top of the mountain- they had a blast.  She was so excited to wear her hiking boots!  They hiked around a bit and also watched the para gliders take off from the mountain.

Then, since it was such a nice day out we decided to go to a popular park that we had not visited yet, Parc La Grange, which has been noted as the most beautiful green area in Geneva.  It is an enormous lake side park, you could easily spend a whole day there exploring all the different areas.  It has a large beautiful rose garden, two summer theaters for entertainment during the summer months, a playground, and a wading pool.  It was filled with so many people just enjoying the day- relaxing on the lawn, playing on the playground, etc.  It was also great people watching!  We joked that this was our people watching outing since we are missing out on the great people watching at the MN State Fair this year!  They also had a mini wooden Ferris wheel that was powered by men.  The girls and Chris took a ride, which I wonder what the men were thinking as Chris approached for a ride, since they had to basically make the wheel turn!!  We will definitely be back to this park-

Adalyn will start school next Wednesday, so we have one week left of playing during the day!  She meets her teacher and sees her classroom this Thursday-she is very excited!

Some people have asked what our house looks like so I thought I would post some pictures.  It's only been three weeks, so we definitely have a lot more to do inside the house, but the girls rooms are done.  As the house gets furnished and decorated, I will post more!

Back View 

Side View

Adalyn's Room

Eliza's Room

Another view of Eliza's room to show the built in closets that we have throughout the house- 

some have rods to hang clothes, others have shelves- 

Other pictures from the week....

 Eliza has a new love for motorcycles/scooters- we see them everywhere!
She points out every "moto"

 Must love chocolate in Switzerland!  

 Adalyn decided this week she wanted to climb the tree in our yard- it is weird to actually have trees that are big enough to climb compared to our little trees back in Lakeville!  

 Super smiley Eliza

My super exciting grocery store find this week!  I love the grocery stores in France!!

Hope everyone has a great week!  A bientot! (Talk to you soon)

Where are we headed today?

All the boxes are emptied and our house is feeling more like our home.  It's a great feeling when you can empty boxes!  The Swiss definitely know how to make use of room- they build closets into many of the walls in bedrooms and hallways, which makes for great storage- I think I actually have more storage/closet space here than back in Lakeville.  We are continuing to explore and find places to take people when they visit- we are so excited to have any of you visit!!

So, the second week... we found some new very cool places!  On Monday, it was rainy and we went to the store in the morning and in the afternoon we ventured out to find a library that was supposed to have kid activities.  Unfortunately, "Helen" (our car and GPS), was already in the shop- electrical error, so we were driving a rental without a "Helen."  So, it was up to my phone, and let's just say that really means no help... we ended in a sketchy part of town with a lot of one way streets- it's a pretty frustrating situation when you want to get somewhere, but can't.  Growing up and living in MN my whole life, I typically knew where I was going all the time... so, this is something I am getting used to.  We finally found the library- took another 20 minutes to try to find parking, after going down a one way the wrong way and of course the only car coming towards me was a cop- hmmm...not a good situation!  I rolled down my window to chat with them, and they just shook their head and drove away- I guess that's better than a ticket!  Finally found a parking spot, walked to the library and the doors were closed :(  So, Adalyn had a great spirit and said that she would just make a library at home and Eliza and I could be the guests- so that's what we did!!  I am sure we will have many more days ahead like that -

On Tuesday, we went to Geneve Plage.  It is a water park on the eastern bank of Lake Geneva.  It has an olympic size pool, water slide, kiddie pool area, and a playground/sand play area.  It is right on the lake, so the views are amazing- the girls had a great time.  They played in the kiddie pool area and also spent a lot of time on the playground.  Eliza loved playing in the sand- and of course sampling the sand, she will eat anything- literally!!!

Random toys Eliza found in the sand to play with...

On Wednesday, we visited the "Stuffed Animal Museum."  I was told about this museum last week, and was a little confused on what to expect- I envisioned stuffed animals and was wondering how they could create a museum around stuffed animals.  Well, it was actual animals stuffed!  In a way, I felt as though I was back home- since growing up we had stuffed turkeys, deer heads, bears, etc.!  The Natural History Museum had four floors filled with animals from all over the World.  The girls loved it- it was like a zoo- but the animals were super close up!  They looked so real- Adalyn actually was a little scared of the tigers!!!  It is a free museum and a great thing to do on a rainy day- we will probably be regulars there. It was so fun watching Eliza point to things and get excited-

We felt like we were at the safari!   

 Loving the animals- Adalyn looking a bit scared!

The scary tigers!!  

On Thursday and Friday it was a bit colder and rainy, so we did more shopping exploring!  Adalyn had wanted a fish before we moved, we told her she could get one in Geneva.  So, Friday we went to the mall- which actually has a fish store- to pick one out.  She wanted "Nemo", unfortunately "Nemo" and all of other fish at the store require salt water and tanks to keep them alive.  We were hoping for a single fish that could just swim in a glass bowl with tap water and be happy, I don't think those exist anymore!  The lady explained all the fish there would die in a glass bowl... so, Plan B, we headed to a store that sold toys and Adalyn got to pick out a different pet, which requires way less maintenance- so mommy and daddy were happy!!  This is "Nutter Butter", the new addition to our family...

Unfortunately, the horse was supposed to be for Adalyn and Eliza but Eliza is TERRIFIED of Nutter Butter!!  She walks when you press a buttom and when Eliza seess her walking she immediately runs the other way- most of the time crying and finding a corner to hide in.  So, Nutter Butter is in her "stable" a lot!  

We have been very fortunate and the weather on the weekends has been amazing to go out exploring as a family.  On Saturday, we headed to Annecy, France.  Adalyn got to see her first real castle- Palais de l'Isle, which is a castle situated in the center of the Thiou canal built in 1132.  The Lord of Annecy lived there during the 12th century and later became a courthouse, and then finally a jail cell!  

 Princess Adalyn found her first castle!

Annecy is a 45 minute drive from our house and will for sure be a place we take visitors.  It is known as being the "Alpine Venetia" since it has canals everywhere, it reminded us a lot of Venice.  You could get lost just walking along the cobblestone alleys filled with shops and restaurants. We walked around for about two hours taking in all the beautiful architecture and uniqueness of the town.  

Such a beautiful place- 

It was such a wonderful morning in Annecy- it is a very popular place to visit, so we were happy we got there early in the morning because as we were leaving traffic was crazy getting into the town.  As we were driving home, Adalyn asked if it was a painting outside her window since the scenery was so beautiful.

On Saturday night, we actually had plans!!  I know... hard to believe!  The only other family we know here, Chris' co-worker's family, who are also from Lakeville, invited us over for a barbecue.  It felt so great to get out of the house and have adult conversations with others in English!  They have three kids, two boys and a girl, and the girl is almost the same age as Adalyn, so they played together non-stop all night.  They made hamburgers, corn on the cob, a yummy salad, and angel food cake... a true Minnesotan meal!  It was such a fun night out.  

On Sunday, we headed to Old Town Geneva to check that out- they have an English speaking church there, so we decided to try it out.  We went to the Old Town earlier in the morning so we could grab a light breakfast and enjoy the sunshine.  

Eliza eating the lemon whole... such a crazy girl!   

Adalyn loving her hot chocolate-

After breakfast, we walked around the cobblestone paths for about an hour- we went up to a look out spot and girls enjoyed running around there.  We had an amazing morning wandering around Old Town.  

Eliza LOVES her big sister- she is ALWAYS two steps behind her trying to do everything she does! 

One thing I had heard when considering to move to Geneva was they had many play grounds and things for kids to do- that's not a lie.  We have found so many awesome playgrounds and the girls could literally spend hours playing at each one- here are just a few park pics from this week.

Eliza also insists on holding Adalyn's hand wherever we go!  It is really cute... this is even how they ride in the car!

Adalyn is such a great big sister and is enjoying that Eliza is now becoming a person, who can talk and play with her!  It is so great to know that they have each other during this transition time and new chapter in their lives- 

Here is a picture of Eliza eating a cucumber- unfortunately, she can open or fridge here, so when she feels hungry, which is quite often, she will go into the fridge and take something out at her height. This time, she found a cucumber and just started walking around the house eating it and kept offering it to me and Adalyn- she is also sporting the European topless look!  (I eventually took the cucumber away from her before she ate it all!)

It was another successful week for the Pothen's!  We look forward to the adventures that await us- until then... Au Revoir!  

Time to explore!

Wow- what a week it has been!  The girls and I did so much exploring around Geneva this past week.          We visited a lot of fun parks and places for the girls!  We have also explored all the different grocery stores- you wouldn't think there is much to explore, but there is!!!  Each grocery store we have been to has something new and different, and unfortunately we have "favorites" at each place, so we will be visiting three grocery stores weekly!  Which leads me to the first topic I will discuss, since many who know me well know that adapting to different food could be a huge challenge during this adventure.

So, the food... it's been good!  Adalyn likes to compare everything we eat to how it tastes in Lakeville!  It is actually quite comical, and usually she likes it just as much or even better, which is great or she would be out of luck!  The food does go bad quickly, typcially you buy cheese, yogurt, milk, bread, anything really and you need to check the dates- because most likely it is only good for a few days.  That has been a struggle getting used to since I was already crazy about dates on food and now I have to be even crazier!!  I check daily just to see what we should eat up that day- some days we have yogurt at all meals.  Hopefully soon I will get used to buying smaller quanities and just going more often- I just have the "American" way of shopping where I want to buy in bulk! Another frustration is the lack of help at some stores- for example... today we went to Coop since they are the only store with freshly cut deli meat, and the only deli meat I have liked so far, so we went there for the whole purpose to get the meat for sandwiches.  There were two ladies behind the deli counter, I asked them if they could cut some "jambon"(ham) since there was none out on the shelf, and they looked at me like I was crazy.  The only one they did have cut was turkey, which expires tomorrow already!!  I was so frustrated- they were doing nothing and could have easily cut me up some meat...GRRRR!  So, those are things that I guess I will have to start getting used to-

We did find this gem at the grocery store on Friday in France- we were pretty excited!

What have we been up to?  Last week the girls and I went to a couple parks.  We also explored Carouge, which is a super cute little town about 5 minutes from where we live.  We walked around for awhile just looking at the little shops and then Adalyn and Eliza enjoyed their first gelato.  They obviously loved it!!

On Friday, the girls and I went grocery shopping in France and then hung out at an AWESOME water area for kids!  It's called the "Frontenette."  It's three big fountains, and the kids play in the water around it.  The water is about 2 feet and the kids can even use little floaties to go around- it reminded me of a lazy river for kids!  Both girls loved it!  Adalyn made a friend, which was funny because her friend only spoke French, so the two played together for over an hour, basically using sign language! They even have all different crazy bikes to bike around the fountain area which Adalyn and her new friend enjoyed!

On Saturday, we headed to IKEA!  We bought a few things and spent nap time putting all the stuff together- not very fun!  So, of course, after nap we wanted to do something fun, so we headed to the top of Mont-Seleve, which is the mountain that you can see from our backyard.  It was only 20 minutes from our house, so it will definitely be a place to take visitors.  It was so beautiful.  Adalyn kept saying, "Can we go to the top of the top of the top!"  We made it to the top-  On one side, you see France and the other side, Geneva.  We always see para-gliders from our house gliding around the mountain, so it was very cool for us to see where they take off!  Adalyn wanted to go para-gliding so bad, guessing if she would have gotten hooked up, that might have changed!  Plus, not sure of the age requirement or if mommy and daddy want to participate in para-gliding!  So, any visitors that want to go, you have a partner to go with!  We were able to stop and hike a bit and take in the amazing views- we plan on going multiple times since there are many places to stop and hike.

On Sunday, we headed to a small resort village in the mountains in France, Megeve.  It was the first built resort town in the Alps. It was about an hour drive from our house, which didn't seem that long since the entire way you have mountains surrounding you.  It was hard for Chris to focus on the road and not look at the scenery- thankfully he did since we were going about 80 miles per hour.  It was such a cute little town- Adalyn said she thought Belle from Beauty and the Beast must have lived there, since the town looked like the one in the movie.  It was filled with so many cute shops and restaurants.  They also had a playgound that the kids played at for awhile.  It was pretty busy, but we were told it is even busier from January to March during ski season.  So many people were walking dogs, so Eliza was very happy poitning to every "doggie".  There are three main ski areas near the village, so many people stay there and ski.  Maybe that is where Adalyn will learn to ski-and perhaps I will try again- I heard there is a great beginner area!  We ate dinner at an outdoor restaurant there and of course Adalyn wanted chocolate milk- unfortunately they didn't have it, but instead they made her a "Nutella Milk", which was milk mixed with Nutella covered in whipped cream... it was delicious!!!  I highly recommend you try it at home! 

Eliza is adapting very well to the European relaxed life-style! 

  Adalyn loving her drink-

Views out our car window

All in all, we had a great first week!  The girls are adapting so well- they are such great explorers!  We have been able to unpack more boxes and slowly are making the house our home.  Once all of the boxes are empty, I will post pictures of our house.  Adalyn starts school in three weeks and then our days will become a lot more routine- she will go to school everyday from 8:30 - 3:00.  We are looking forward to another fun week of checking out new places around town- there is a kid festival this week we will go to and a stuffed animal museum we heard was worth checking out!  We will also be practicing our French more since it has turned out that you really do need to know it and be able to use it- I rarely find workers at stores that speak English, so I end up playing charades in hopes that they will understand me. We are using google translate a lot and speaking in French as much as we possible can with our limited vocabulary!  I think Eliza is picking it up the quickest- she repeats everything we say so she can already say, "Bonjour" (hello) "Merci" (thank you) and she is really good at "Au revoir" (good-bye).  She kept saying "Au revior" very loudly yesterday as we were leaving church...I wasn't sure if I should be embarassed or laugh!  Here's to another great week-