Wednesday, July 22

Woke up yesterday to birds chirping and the sunlight shining into our room. Could it be? A summer day in Switzerland? A summer day is a most precious commodity here and should be valued above all things. These are lazy days on the lake comprised of large amounts of gelato consumption. The evening is always promptly followed by shopping for fresh meats and a salad for grilling outside. Followed again by another trip to the gelato shop. ( Well Raphis brother's girlfriend's family owns a gelato shop nearby, convenient- yes very!) Yesterday was no exception. It was a gorgeous day of 27 degrees Celsius or 82 Fahrenheit. It was great to lounge around on an area that is frequented by young people who want to enjoy the lake. People come and layout their scarves or towels down on the grass and enjoy some fruit or ice cream from a nearby stand. Business people walk by and watch us with jealousy. Later on after dinner we went by to see Raphi's parents new apartment that they just recently purchased. It is still being built but it is absolutely stunning with a great view of the mountains. It's amazing how your money does not go as far here and if you want something nice you have to spend an insane amount of money. With the same amount you could buy a villa in highland park with everything included.

Well today is Thursday and we woke up today to low lying fog and drizzling rain. Ah, this is the Switzerland I so dearly remember:) After breakfast we headed down into the city again and had coffee with Raphi's older brother and mom. His older brother is an investment banker for a private bank here (so if you need your million stored safely in a swiss account, let us know) and his mom works for actually an american insurance company called Mercer. After that we ran some errands and paid visits to some people we knew. I stopped by a bilingual school where I knew the owner. Her daughter was once in my kindergarten class and I spoke with her about working there briefly for the summer ( a swiss salary is not something to turn away). We'll see....Raphi is headed off to a football match (soccer game) tonight and I plan on going to one on Saturday.
Pictures will follow soon....