Boys visit

Living in Switzerland has had its moments of difficulty but on the whole it has been great, the worst about Switzerland is that everything is very expensive, and that nearly every second or third person has a dog. Having a dog is fine but they have these leads that extend and often stop you walking the footpaths as a dog on a long lead races in front of you stopping you in your tracks. You have to wait until the owner reals him in or joins his dog. We have doggy doo bags everywhere, a tall post that dispenses yellow bags just the right size for doggy poos, but not many owners use them. I found that if you glare at the owners you can guilt them into doing the right thing, but you have to catch them.
Last week we had Trent and his girlfriend Fiona come from Australia to stay for six days, Kurt came from the UK to catch up with his Brother and I so it was great to have them all here under one roof. It seems it does not matter how old you are it is a brother’s duty to torment and have shots at each other. Trent and Kurt were constantly stirring each other in a friendly way the whole week. It must be a boy thing. Fiona and I were amazed at their commitment to stir and never let any opportunity go by to have a dig at the other. At times some of the remarks were very funny and I could not help but laugh which only encouraged them.
We took them all through the park filled with tulips, Trent and Fiona loved them but Kurt made the comment of “just what I wanted to see a park full of flowers” sarcastic little brat. We all drove to Gruyere a beautiful drive but it was raining, still the scenery was magical and Gruyere castle was well worth viewing, a must for any tourist and we had to go to the chocolate factory on the way home. I did well I could fit all I purchased in one bag, please don’t ask how big the bag was. Fiona and Trent were keen on trying many foods especially the cheeses where as Kurt was more interested in the beers but Trent was happy to join him in the tastings.
John drove us all to Italy to the land of vespers (bikes) we arrived right in peek hour trying to find our pre booked accommodation in Genova. All of us admired John and his skill in driving amongst the swarm of bikes; they darted about like flies……. I had my face buried in my hands thinking any minute I will hear one hit us. We found our hotel with no place to park so we had to be naughty and park in another hotels parking spot, after check in, our hotel had some dodgy looking fellow take our car to a parking area for 20 francs a night. I thought we won’t see our car again but we did.
Genova is a very old port and very pretty however it is smelly along the water front, a rotten fish smell. We all walked the busy paved streets and were grateful it was a Tuesday because the weekend would just be crazy. It seems the Italians like their dogs too. We sat at an outdoor café only to have dogs all around. The dog next to me took a liking to sniffing my shoes. Smoking is allowed as well, I did not realise how advanced Australia is. Still it was a relaxing feeling to be dining outdoors nibbling on snacks, the girls drinking cocktails and the boys trying the Italian beer which got the thumbs up. The boys and Fiona went out to discover if there was any night life and to find a pizza for dinner. John was exhausted from his harrowing drive and I always love an early night so we retired for the evening hearing the hustle bustle of the street below us. We drove back to Switzerland the following day a long trip via France. Some of us in the back (mainly me) were getting grumpy, with three adults in the back seat of an Audi A3, it is not a comfortable ride. The boys took turns in the front but Fiona and myself always in the backseat we could not see a lot. John would often point out a lovely castle or mountain that we were unable to see, pissing me off even more. We did have a lot of stops and saw some pretty little places where we would take the opportunity for a gelato or coffee and a good stretch.
For the rest of the week we concentrated on walking around Morges and I started to realise I won’t have my boys for much longer. It is so funny how you can be here away from family without being sad but as soon as they visit you get all mushy. Then they leave and I was a mess, cried for the whole of the afternoon after waving them off. Now we are settled again and planning our next trip on our own.