Holiday in Corsica

We have just returned from a fabulous vacation in Calvi, Corsica.  Before May, we did not know much about Corisca.  It was never on our list of places we wanted travel, but our friends, Ashley and Lucasz were planning a trip there, so we decided to tag along.  Corsica is an absolutely beautiful island in the Mediterranean Sea, 100 miles South of France and 50 miles West of Italy.  It is a part of France and shares the French culture.  It was a perfect travel destination for us because it offered kid-friendly beaches, an abundance of hiking trails in the mountains, and amazing weather.

We were there for six days and spent most of our time at the beach, hiking, and in the pool at the house we stayed in.  The family we traveled with have two young boys and the kids got along so well.  They absolutely loved the beach.  They loved playing in the sand and riding the waves.  The beaches we visited in Calvi were very shallow- about 100 feet out it was still only four feet deep.  A perfect depth for the kids to play in and feel safe.

Calvi Beach Coastline

They had a kid area out in the sea- Adalyn and Jonah loved it!  

Playing in the sand-

Some mornings we spent time at the beach, other mornings we went for hikes.  The first hike we went on was to visit the Chapelle de Notre Dame de la Serra.  The Chapel was rebuilt in the 19th century on the ruins of an earlier sanctuary destroyed during the Siege of Calvi in 1740. 

A statue of the Virgin Mary standing on a rock protects the city.

View from the Chapel overlooking Calvi

Hiking buddies- 

Our second hike we did was to Village d'Occi.  This is a small abandoned village high up in the mountains overlooking Calvi.   It was deserted by its inhabitants in the nineteenth century.  People are  unsure why it was abandoned, but theories are that they either ran out of water or ants drove them out of the village.  There were a lot of ants, but I am guessing it was lack of water.  There is a church in the village that was restored and during festivals and holidays people still go there to celebrate. 

Rocky hiking path- 

Enjoying a snack above the sea!

Village d'Occi

Between the beach and hikes, we spent a lot of time in the pool.  We were able to find an amazing villa with a pool - which was perfect for relaxing afternoons.

Adalyn and Jonah swimming-  

One night, we were able to get a babysitter, and just the adults were able to go out to dinner.  We ate at a restaurant in the middle of nature amongst the most beautiful scenery, U Nichjaretu.  It was an intense thirty minute drive through the mountains to get there, winding through the mountains with one side a cliff leading to the sea, but once we got there it was definitely worth the scary ride. 

The restaurant-

The view from the restaurant- 

Memorable night out with Ashley and Lucasz

We had such an enjoyable week in Corsica.  I would highly recommend this destination to anyone that enjoys the sea and mountains. 

      

One Year!

“On some level we all fear the unknown, and we all fear being blown away, having our skirts blown skyward, having a blow to our pride, and somehow we know in our bones that however narrow and colorless that strip of comfort zone ledge might be that we’re teetering on, leaving it, flinging ourselves off into a major geographic and cultural relocation, will expose us. It will expose our limitations, insecurities, and weaknesses."

"But another part of us wants to take that step, to fall in love with a new place, a new people, a new way of living in the world. Sometimes that move just begins in a cursory, sideways glance of curiosity about the place. We study the map. We watch the people, their way of moving and talking and gesturing in conversation and we take note of how they sing to their babies in the city park and how they greet old friends in the marketplace and how they drive their cars or their rickshaws or their camels and by now we’re fascinated by observing how they hold their canteen or wine goblet or beer stein or how they hold their liquor at all. Before we know it, we’re mirroring how they fold their origami or their crêpe Suzette or their slice of pizza con funghi, and next we’re eating at their pace, slurping miso soup, spitting seeds over our shoulder, ripping the tip off the hot baguette, peeling our raw shrimp, and all of this with our eyes blindfolded and both hands tied behind our back.”

Excerpt From: Melissa Dalton-Bradford. “Global Mom.” Familius, 2013-08-13. iBooks. 

We have officially made it ONE YEAR being an expat family!!!  It is hard to believe that it has been a year since we moved to Geneva, a place that was completely unknown, yet now is called home.  When I read the above excerpt from the book, "Global Mom," I was amazed at how well it summed up what I was feeling a year ago.  When first arriving, I was totally exposed.  I would go out with the kids, and had a definite feeling of insecurity as we tried to get through each day.  Is this road a one way?  Where can I park?  What is the cashier asking me?  Do we totally stick out as being completely clueless Americans?  Will we ever have friends?  The list was endless. The major underlining question was, "Have we made the right decision?"  Everyone wants happiness for their kids, family, friends, and themselves, and can you continue that happiness when you take that huge step in life?  After living here for a year, I can honestly say, yes.  

Is it tough?  Of course.  Our life is not all adventures.  We have days when we feel alone, anonymous,  and unsure of what's to come.  We miss out on family celebrations back in Minnesota.  We miss family and friends.  That's the hardest part.  Fortunately, this past year we have hosted 18 visitors, much more than anticipated and we are looking forward to hosting that many this upcoming year or more.  During the past year I have also learned the importance of friendships.  When you are all alone away from your friends you have known forever, and your family, you rely a lot on the new friendships you create.  Thankfully we have met some great friends who have helped immensely during the transition.          

People have asked, "How has this move changed you?"  If you were to ask me two years ago if I would ever live abroad, I would quickly answer, no.  I enjoyed living in the known.  I had spent my entire life in Minnesota.  My family and friends are all in Minnesota, Target was a mile away, why would I leave that comfort?  I was hesitant, but now with one year in the books, I can say that taking that jump was the best decision for me, and our entire family.  Before I spent our days taking the kids to familiar places with familiar people.  Now, our days are spent going to many different activities where we don't know anyone and are forced to leave our comfort zone.  We have all gained more confidence through this experience.  We have immersed ourselves in their way of life and learned so much along the way.  

Is it worth being away from the known?  Absolutely.  We know that it is temporary and that this wonderful experience will one day come to an end and we will have these memories to look back on. I can only hope that year two goes just as well and we continue to discover more of the unknown.


A few pics from the past week....

Happy Swiss Day!  August 1st is their national holiday- they have a huge festival down by the lake for a week to celebrate- Adalyn insisted on wearing her Heidi dress to celebrate!

Eliza riding the ride!  (Adalyn was too scared!)

Dancing with friends at the festival- 

Amy and Jeremy Visit!

We are back in Geneva after a wonderful holiday in Minnesota for three weeks. It was a very fun-filled three weeks and we were able to spend so much time with family and friends.  After the three weeks, we were ready to get back to Geneva to relax!

Our visitor calendar is filling up for this upcoming year, and we are so excited!  We even had our first visitors this past weekend.  Our good friends, Amy and Jeremy, visited us from Utah.  It was so great to see them and show them around our favorite places.  

On Friday, the girls and I took them to Gruyeres.  We really like it there because it depicts Switzerland in so many ways; the village is super quaint, rolling hills all around, and the sound of cowbells in the distance.  After exploring the village, we went to the Gruyeres cheese factory for lunch.  This restaurant never disappoints any cheese lover!  After leaving Gruyeres, we headed to the Lavaux wine region.  Most of our visitors are surprised when they learn that Switzerland does make very good wine!  So, we did a little wine tasting and drove through the vineyards.  Friday night, we had a kid-free dinner down by the lake.

Adalyn LOVES having visitors!

  

Night out on Lake Geneva

On Saturday, we headed to Chamonix, France.  Amy and Jeremy live in Utah, so they obviously love the mountains.  We thought it would be perfect to take them to the highest mountain in Europe.  They really enjoyed the village and the stunning scenery.  

Unfortunately, they were in town for just a few days and headed to Paris on Sunday.  We really enjoyed their visit and look forward to our next visitors in September.

This week, Adalyn is in soccer camp, and is very excited.  We are also going to go to French lessons that they are offering in a park nearby for two weeks.  My goal for this year is for all of us to learn French- wish us luck!!  Geneva has a huge week long celebration that starts this weekend, so we are excited to partake in some of the activities.  

Enjoy the week!

Here are some pictures of what we have been up to the last two weeks-

So excited for soccer camp!

Bowling-

Sunday stroll on Mt. Saleve

We found this amazing lake in the middle of the mountains- Lake Passy-

With temps in the 90's for the last two weeks- the girls have done a TON of swimming!

School's out for the summer!

Adalyn has completed her first year of school!  We are so proud of how well she adjusted to the new environment and was able to have a fun and successful year.  Last week they had "Sports Day" similar to track and field day in MN.  This week her class performed the story, "Jack and the Beanstalk."  Adalyn was the golden harp and was so excited for the performance.  She has been reciting the songs at home over and over again, and we realized they don't edit song lyrics here like they do in Minnesota.  She was singing the song, "Fe-Fi-Fo-Fum," which I don't think I was ever taught the real lyrics!  She has been walking around the house for weeks singing, "Fe-Fi-Fo-Fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman, be him alive, or be he dead, I will grind his bones to make my bread."  (Along with hand gestures of cutting the head off and crushing bones!!)

Eliza joined right in during Spots Day- she always wants to be right by Adalyn's side- 

The Golden Harp

The past two weeks we have also been doing a lot of outdoor exploring, mainly in France.  Two weekends ago, we went to Grotte et Cascade de Seythenex, which is located in France about an hour and a half away. We have been wanting to visit a cave with the girls, and with 90 degree weather, we thought this would be a great time to do it.  We had a fantastic time touring the cave and hiking around the waterfall area.

Waterfall

Picnic Time!

Exploring the cave-

On our drive home from the cave... only in Europe- driving with his foot and hand out the window- seriously???  

The following day, it was warm once again, so we went to a beach along Lake Geneva and the girls swam in the lake for the first time.  They loved it!  

This past weekend, we explored Morzine, which is a commune in the French Alps.  Typically a major ski location, but also very beautiful in the summer time.  We were able to take the cable car up to the top and do some hiking.

Cable Car Ride

View from the top- 

After-hike treat... Eliza obviously has no time to look up when food is in front of her!  

Now we are packing up and so excited to spend the next three weeks with family and friends!

Signing off until mid July-

Spring Adventures

It has been much quieter around our house the last two weeks, since our stretch of visitors has ended.  During the last two weeks we have continued to discover new places around Switzerland and France.

One place we visited was Swiss Vapeur Parc, which is located about two hours from our house.  The parc is basically a miniature wonderland for kids to experience while riding miniature trains.  The girls had a blast riding the trains and seeing all of the Swiss sites at their level.

Standing in front of the trains with their friend, Jonah.  

Kid-size castle!

Last weekend, we took a day trip to Dijon and Beaune, both of which are located in France about 3 hours away.  Dijon is the capital of the Burgundy wine region, and also famous for Dijon mustard and Creme de Cassis, which is a red berry liquor that you add to white wine or champagne.  I had read that Dijon was a fun place to go with kids, since the town has created a city tour called, "The Owl's Trail."  The trail consists of 22 different historical stops, and to get to each one you follow the small owls that have been embedded into the sidewalks.  The girls loved finding the owls and leading us on our tour.  It is definitely a great idea to get the kids engaged, I wish more cities had a similar tour.  After completing the Owl's trail, shopping the large street market, sampling mustard, and drinking Cassis, we headed to Beaune.

The small owls that you follow- 

La Chouette, is a little owl carved on one of the pillars of the Notre Dame church, which is said to bring good luck.  Legend says that you stroke the owl, and you will have good luck- so we all took a turn- hope it works!!

Enjoying a Kir, white wine with cassis.  

To drive from Dijon to Beaune, we took the Route de Grands Crus, which translates to "road of the great wines".  On the route, we traveled through many different vineyards, all part of the Burgundy wine region.

Beaune is one of the key wine centers in France, known as the 'Capital of Burgundy wines".  The town is surrounded by many famous wine villages.  We spent some time strolling through the town, window shopping, and wine tasting.

This week, the girls and I also attended the "Livre Festival" (book festival), which was in Geneva.  We had very little expectations going into the festival, and it ended up being so enjoyable.  They had about ten different people reading children's books in the park, a tent where you went in and sang songs, another tent where you made bookmarks, and a small tea party set up where there was a waiter who served books instead of food.  Even though all of the stories, songs, and plays were all in French, the girls had so much fun.  It was an afternoon of learning for all of us- Eliza actually knew some of the books since she must read them at garderie.

Adalyn listening to a story- 

Eliza making a bookmark- 

This past Saturday, we attended Adalyn's school carnival.  This carnival was unlike any school carnival I have ever been to, or even heard of.  They had about thirty different food booths, all from around the World.  Each different country had a stand selling their local food. The best part of the festival... they served booze!!  You want Sangria from Spain, a Caipirinha from Brazil, or a Pimms from London, it was all there!  It was a very fun day spent with friends.

This sign was posted on the booths- you must be 16 to drink wine, beer, or cider and 18 to drink spirits.  For us, it was hard to get over the idea of serving all types of alcohol at a school carnival, and that the students older than 16 could be drinking at their school carnival!  

It is hard to believe that it is already June- three weeks and we will be home!  This week, the weather will be in the high 80's, which sounds fabulous, but unfortunately the Swiss, and many other parts of Europe, don't rely on air conditioning like we do in the states.  Most homes, businesses, restaurants, and stores do not have air conditioning.  They do sell small air conditioners, mainly for expats, to put in a window- which I may be in the market for this week!!  

Have a wonderful week!