Hanging Out With The Fam in Switzerland

When I tell people that I have family in Switzerland, I almost inevitably get the "oh, so you're Swiss.  I can totally see that" comment.  It's funny, because to my knowledge, I don't have a drop of Swiss ancestry in me.  I do, however, have an aunt, an uncle, and three cousins in Switzerland.  It's always a great time visiting our Swiss family, because they don't make it to the U.S. very often, and we don't make it to Switzerland very often.

JB and I were lucky to spend a week with them in Basel and the Alps recently, just hanging out and seeing the local sights.  We only saw my cousin Jonas for a day before he left for an Italian vacation with his friends, but we got to see lots of my cousins, Mirjam and David, and of course my Uncle Richard and Aunt Beatrice.  We saw an amazing Van Gogh exhibit in Basel, took a day trip through the Black Forest region of Germany just across the border, did a little hiking in the Alps, and took a day trip to see both the Swiss and Italian Alps and the famous, ritzy ski resort St. Moritz.  Apart from doing some touristy things, we had some good quality time playing intense games of Monopoly, Yatzee, and ping pong and going out with David and Mirjam.

Switzerland is a beautiful place, and even after going to so many different countries, it still remains one of my favorite places to go, if not my absolute favorite.  It's got spectacular scenery; it's an outdoor adventurer's paradise; it's clean; it's safe; people are friendly; they make some of the best cheese in the world and have ready access to the best wines; there are flowers and gardens everywhere; public transportation is easy and abundant...I could go on.  The only two big downsides--it gets COLD in the winter, and something as "cheap" as a Big Mac costs nearly seven dollars in Switzerland!  Thank goodness we have such a great family there to take care of us!

Cruise of a lifetime - Mediterranean

After spending 12 days on the ship, Brillance of the Seas, Lindsay and I pinched ourselves as we realized we had just gone on a cruise in the historcial Mediterranean Sea. It was an amazing trip! We saw ancient Greek ruins in Athens and many reminders of the great Roman Empire in Rome, Pisa, Ephesus, and more. We toured the Vatican and got to stand in the same place Paul stood during his time in Ephesus - simply incredible. Seeing history from 300 BC (and some before) was breathtaking. (Not to mentioned the hot weather at times was breathtaking too!) And I used to think Williamsburg, Virginia was really old!!
We were joined on this cruise by both sets of our parents, all three sets of my aunts and uncles, and several wonderful friends - 17 of us in total. Our American group took the Mediterrnaean by storm!
We are now visiting Lindsay's aunt, uncle and cousins in Basel Switzerland and having a fantastic time.