New Blog Address

I have decided to continue my blogging on a new site! This will be my last post on this page. Please continue following our adventures at this link: http://vswissmiss.weebly.com/home.html

Restaurants in Lausanne

For some reason, whenever I am asked for a restaurant recommendation, I have a hard time coming up with one! Does this ever happen to you? No matter how many places I have been to, inevitably, my mind goes blank when I have to try and actually pick one! Mark and I don't eat out that often, but we have enjoyed some good meals in Lausanne. I thought it would be fun to start a restaurant list that I can add to in the future. This will be my go-to list when we are racking our brains to try and think of a place to eat! Why don't you try it as well?!

• Baz'art - Tapas
  
• Tom-Yam - Thai
  
• Pur - mix of everything
  
• Myo - Sushi
• Mauro - Italian (take-away)
• La Stella - Italian (Pully)
• Karma - Euro/Asian Fusion
• Cafe de Grancy - Brunch
  
• Cafe St. Pierre - Brunch
  
• Etoile Blanche - mix of everything
• Holy Cow! - Burgers
• Chateau d'Ouchy - mix of everything
• The Great Escape - Pub
  

Places to Try:

• La Suite
• Le Tramway
• Au Chat Noir
• Les Allies
• Le Cafe du Grutli
• La Pomme de Pin
  

Ski and Spa Weekend!

Last weekend, Mark and I went with a group of friends up to Val d'Illiez in the mountains for a ski/spa weekend! We drove up Friday night and then took the "petit" mountain train up to Champery the next morning for a ski lesson.

On the cable car from Champery up to the pistes!

It was my very first time on skis! It was a tough two-hour lesson, as the area in Champery did not have a bunny hill to practice on. I was on the "blue" piste, which is at the lower-end of the spectrum for ski runs, but still difficult for newbies! Mark picked it up quickly and did well. I, on the other hand, held onto our instructor the whole way down the mountain!

The view from our room

Mark and I stayed in an apartment at the Thermes Park Bains de Val d'Illiez. It is a hotel and residence that also has thermal baths. The baths were very relaxing, and also interesting, as our experience included quickly swimming through one cold outdoor pool in order to reach a warmer one!

Cable-car between Champery and the ski runs

View of the surrounding mountains while skiing

Our friends were staying at a chalet up the hill from our hotel. Their proprietors cooked us a delicious, home-made fondue for dinner on Saturday night.

Love this view!

Thermal Baths - One big indoor indoor pool and three outdoor pools

We spent Sunday hanging out at the baths again. My friend Kate and I took advantage of the spa and each had a massage. Then we met up with Mark in the baths for a few hours before it was time to head home.

A bit of home in Barcelona!

Castello Montjuiic

Enjoying the view over Barcelona's port

Barcelona's center with Sagrada Familia

Some delicious jamon at Barcelona's market "la boqueria"

Meet-up with Steph on my side of the pond!

Enjoying some Spanish wine-Rioja

Yummy pintxos!

Walkin' around town!

Barcelona's Arc de Triomphe!

The view from our hotel terrace

This past weekend, Mark and I ran into Steph in Barcelona, who was there to chaperone her university's winter term study-abroad program.

We had a great time wandering the city and catching up over delicious tapas and wine! It was so fun to have a friend from home on the continent!

Sister's Graduation

Sister putting on her lei..and getting ready to graduate!

Where's Meesh?! I found her...can you?

Celebrating with friends!

...and family!

Getting ready for the party!

Yay for the diploma!

Our favorite: Taco Surf!

My twin graduated from SDSU on May 22, 2011! I went home for a very quick trip to watch her graduate and celebrate! Although I was only home for 3 days, I wouldn't have missed it for the world! Congrats sister!

A weekend with friends in Stresa!

Enjoying our dinner after making a run for it through the rain and hail!

In mid-May, Mark and I joined a group of friends in the lake-side town of Stresa, Italy. Thanks to our friends, Kate and Kyle for the invitation to join them there, we had a great group of 9 hanging out together in Italy!

We arrived around 9:30 in the evening on Friday night, taking the train from Lausanne to Stresa after work. On the direct train, it is only a 2 hour 2o minute ride. Most of us were on the night train, but Kate, Maud and Kyle's sister Erin (who was visiting from the States), drove out early on Friday and made us a reservation for dinner Ristorante Il Vicoletto at 10:00 pm. We lucked out that the restaurant agreed to stay open for us, as they usually close at 10! Having the whole restaurant to ourselves was fantastic and our table of 9 felt VIP as we took over the place! It was a fantastic dinner and the whole group was very sweet to sing me a belated "Happy Birthday" as I had just celebrated my birthday the day before our arrival. After a fantastic meal and some good wine, Mark and I headed back to the hotel, looking forward to some sight-seeing the next day.

On the ferry to Isola Bella

View of the island from the ferry

A very Kodak moment!

The Borromeo Palace Gardens

Gorgeous flowers

White Chinese peacock

Check out those feathers!

On Saturday, we woke up and ate breakfast at the hotel before heading over to the ferry-landing to purchase tickets for the ferry. Stresa has three islands located out on the lake close to the town and ferries run between all of them. Mark and I headed over to Isola Bella, the closest one to town, to check out the palace and gardens of the Borromeo family. After a first walk around to check out the small island, our friends met up with us and we all sat down for lunch together. After our meal, they headed on to Isola Madre and Mark and I started our walk through the palace. The gardens were absolutely gorgeous, accented with White Chinese peacocks strutting around with their feathers open for us to know we were on their turf!

Streets in Stresa

Pre-dinner drinks!

The gang! (from left to right): V, Maud, KiYonna, Kate, Kyle, Erin, Jenn, John, Mark

After our island tour was finished, we headed back to Stresa on the ferry just in time to avoid the down-pour that came that afternoon! Mark and I enjoyed a quick dip in the hotel jacuzzi and a nap before dinner time. We got ready and then headed out for a walk around Stresa before settling at a wine bar for a drink before dinner. We had another fun group dinner in Stresa and then headed back to the apartment where half of our group was staying to play some poker!

The view from our hotel room

Our Stresa hotel right on the lake-front

Sunday we enjoyed breakfast at the hotel one more time and a short lake-side walk before our train-ride back to Lausanne. We had a great time hanging out with our friends in Stresa!