Visit to Bern

This weekend was Sydney's turn for a haircut
JP working on his scooter
At the Christmas Market in Zurich
Bern
Bern
Bern

Visit to Luzerne

JP just had a haircut

Malaga, Marbella, and Gibraltar

Lunch at the pub
With the Apes at Gibraltar
JP feeding the ape
The rock looked from the south
The rock looked from the north east
JP doing "sand angels"
At the Alameda in Marbella
Syd at the beach

Malaga Cathedral






Malaga



We successfully completed our first expedition to Europe (outside Switzerland). They were five days full of activities and here is a short version of what we did.
1st day: we arrived in Malaga, the city was flooded due to the rain. We managed to get to the hotel and explore Benalmadena, where the hotel was located; finished the day with a dip in the pool.
2nd day: we explored Picasso’s (and Antonio Banderas’) birthplace, Malaga. We started at “Plaza de la Marina”, visited the Picasso museum, the cathedral and its museum, and had some “tapas” at a café next to the Roman Theater, among other things. We then went to the beach and swam at the pool.
3rd day: we explored Marbella, located some 70 km from Malaga; there we visited the “Plaza de los Naranjos” (Spanish for “Orange trees square”) where of course all the trees had beautiful oranges, the walls of the “Castillo Arabe”, walked around the “Paseo de la Alameda” where they have many interesting Dali’s sculptures, and finished the visit at the beach were the sand was beautifully fine.
4th day: we took a tour to Gibraltar. We visited the Rock of Gibraltar, located on a peninsula attached to Spain but governed by the UK. We went to the top of the rock were you can see Africa, feed the Apes (JP did) and visited the St. Michael’s caves, among other things. We also had lunch at a Pub and did some shopping.
5th day: we came back home.

The Uetliberg

Sydney taking a nap......

JP refusing to take one.

This week was somewhat busy. We managed to attend two English speaking playgroups, one indoor playground, two visits to the gym and our first play date with our new friend Carmen from Peru and her little son Maurizio. The weekend was quiet. We took a 20 minute train ride to Uetliberg Mountain; it is 871 meters above sea level and has a beautiful view of Lake Zurich and the Alps (when the sky is clear). While the train took us pretty high, we still had to push Sydney and sometimes JP on their double stroller (not an all-terrain stroller) on different hiking paths; it was tough but worth it. We stopped a couple of times to catch our breath and have snacks.

We also took some time to prepare for our first expedition to Europe (outside Switzerland) coming up this week (more details to come), and we also had a chance to see Paula, Jay, Chelsey and Dexter… through the internet, of course! It was great and we can hardly wait to see grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends using the same technology to keep in touch (and it’s free!). We love and miss you all!

Pumpkin farm

During the week, we went to a playgroup where JP and Sydney got some Halloween candy (no Reeses), JP got his first piece and simply sat down and devoured it, then he got the second piece and did the same, and so on; you guessed, too much sugar and no nap in the afternoon. The weather took a turn for the worse and turned cold and rainy, so on Saturday we went shopping for household items and groceries.



On Sunday, we had a half-day trip from Zurich to the pumpkin farm Jucker located about a half hour drive from Zurich heading southeast. They have traditional farm buildings, flowers everywhere, view over a lovely lake (see photo), lots of pumpkins, gourds, apples, Bratwursts (with sunflower seds inside, very tasty) and ice cream stands. Since it was raining, we couldn't play at the playground but it was still a lot of fun.

At home

Zurich, Rapperswil, and Lenzburg

Jim and JP at the Lenzburg castle

JP, Sydney and Sandy on the train at the Rapperswil zoo

JP and Sandy at Lindenhof, Zurich

Walking has become our primary mode of transportation. During our first two free weekends after getting settled in, we visited the childrens zoo in Rapperswil (located at the southern tip of lake Zurich), the Lenzburg Castle with its own moving dragon (located 30 mins west of Zurich city), and did several walking tours of Zurich city.

The weather has been very agreeable with little rain and temperatures in the upper 60's. The kids and I have been using the opportunity to explore the playgrounds in the area. We have also been exploring Zurich's various forms of public transportation (train, bus, tram) and took our first boat trip this weekend from Zurich city to our appartment in Oberrieden (we have a boat dock practically in our back yard); the kids are loving it!

Successful move (Back yard view)

After six days of buying furniture, light fixtures, toys and basics, puting everything together and unpacking eight suitcases, we are ready to move to our appartment tomorrow. The kids are doing great and Jim is ready to start his firts project on Monday. He is scheduled to take a trip to Munich in the following days to get his visa; we still don't know if we will all go. By the way, our phone number is 043 540 41 61

Moving to Switzerland

We just wanted to update you on our new address effective 10/1/2006. Jim has been given the opportunity to work on a two year assignment in Switzerland and we are going for it. Everybody is welcome to visit us in Zurich, just drop us a line at guendusa@yahoo.com to let us know when.
Our new address is Eglistrasse 6, 8642 Oberrieden. Switzerland