One Week In!

It's been a week since we've landed in our new home, and we are finding we like it quite well! Denali did amazing on the flight and we are now happily (temporarily) settled into the place we're staying until we find an apartment in the area. It's been quite the search, but we are hopeful to have a place by the 1st of July!

We could not have found a more beautiful & friendly place to spend our first few weeks here. We are at the base of a mountain, in a place with lots of sunny days and no mosquitoes and beautiful sunsets. The fields surrounding our little town are marvelous; I love watching the wind makes ripples in the wheat fields, like waves in the water.

Next door there is a pastry shop, which we have been frequenting almost every morning for fresh croissants. How could we not, when they are delicious and only 1 euro? It's like having a donut shop next door - only a thousand times more delicious!

This past weekend was a long one, in which we mostly ended up sleeping (still catching up on some residual jet-lag), emailing potential places to live, and going on little explorations of the area. We spent the better part of Saturday hiking up the Jura (the mountain beside us). I will say, Denali really was the winner as both Ben & I were out of shape going up from all our time in the flatlands! We stopped for lunch halfway and then headed back down. Sunday found us visiting a nearby church and then spending time getting to know folks in it over a long lunch. We didn't get back until after dinnertime, but it was a fun afternoon of visiting & meeting new people. Monday we didn't have much planned, so Ben went into work & I met him in the evening to catch the tram into Geneva. It is a beautiful city, bustling with people & dogs & boats & tours. We walked around for a long time, even getting to stop at Calvin's church before making our way back to the tram. We snagged some dinner at an outdoor restaurant, then headed home.

Perhaps my favorite moment since we've arrived was this morning, when a car slowed down next to me. I was a bit baffled, since I feel like I stick out like a sore thumb in this small French town. As he rolled down the window, he greeted me - and then began asking directions! I must have made some confused face, because he tried to ask again in a different way - before I explained to him that I didn't speak any French & couldn't help him. While I wasn't much help, I was happy to know that at least I looked like I knew where I was going! I hope that sometime in the not-so-distant future I can actually be of help to the next person who asks directions!

Follow me on FLICKR (jamiezcarlson) for more photo updates! Here's a taste of some of the places we've been thus far: https://flic.kr/s/aHsk8Zzpej