One year on...

This week is a year since my permanent arrival to Switzerland, I can barely believe it's been a year already... they say, time flies when you are having fun... well it hasn't always been fun but it's definitely been a year to remember!

The first half of the year was difficult... it was cold, very cold and grey, i also had the stress of organising our wedding and adjusting to living in a new country whose native language is not English and where foreigners aren't exactly welcomed with open arms (i was even attacked by a little old lady in the supermarket... probably my lowest point)! But summer arrived and things just got better from there... I had made some awesome friends i met through afternoon drinks and the sun was shining, how could things not get better! :)

Now, things are pretty good even though winter is back and so is the cold, very cold and grey! The main reason for the change is the fact that i have a job now... thanks to my fabulous friend Paula who hooked me up with the job, i am now a teacher at a preschool for English speaking kiddies, McTots and i'm loving it! :) It's a great feeling to be able to earn my own money and contribute to the household finances, it also gives me something to do during the day, not sure i'm cut out to be a stay at home housewife... all is good in the world again :)

So here is to another good year of cheese, chocolate, skiing and wine in Switzerland... I've already had my residency permit extended for another year, so there is nothing stopping me now :)

As the first snow falls

It seems summer is slowly but surely coming to an end, to great sadness... i'm not sure i'm ready for cold, dark and grey! The first snowfall of the season has already fallen on the Alps and yes, it is beautiful but it signals the end of the long summer days, the end of winding down the day sitting along the river with a beer and the end of wearing slops :(

Although not a particularly hot summer except for about 3 weeks where the temps were getting into the 30s... i think it's the long days of blue sky and sunshine that i love more than the heat.

From paddling and swimming in the lake, jumping off the bridge into the river fully clothed, picking raspberries, riding bikes along the lake, hiking in the Swiss country side or up to the highest point in Zürich (Ueitliberg) to joining in the festivities of Zürifest and Streetparade, summer has been eventful and i look forward to next summer! :)

Please come back quick :P

Beautiful, stunning, gorgeous Croatia

After my first taste of Europe in the summer (Bonjour France) i wanted more! Stu and i try to stick to a rule of going to countries we haven't been to but this is proving to be a little tricky here in Europe because he has been almost everywhere i want to go! In my search for a place in Europe with sunshine, water, sunshine, where Stu hasn't been, sunshine, visa friendly to me and sunshine, I stumbled upon Croatia. I was immediately won over by the photos of beautiful coastlines, over 300 days of sunshine a year and the fact that Croatia has relaxed it's visa requirements for the summer, allowing people with Schengen resident permits in without needing a visa which i would ordinarily need having a SA passport.

After some research we decided on the island of Hvar and i managed to find a gorgeous, reasonably priced apartment with the most amazing view of Hvar Town (the website does not do the apartment justice). So with flights booked and research done on exactly how to get from Split airport to the port of Hvar we were off!

For those interested, the quickest and easiest way to get to Hvar from Split is:

• As soon as you walk out of the airport there is a Croatian Airlines bus which takes you to the port of Split for Kn 30 each
• The bus drops you off directly outside the ticket booth where you buy your ticket to Hvar on the Catamaran at Kn 47 each (the tickets can't be prebooked or bought online, so get there early, they do sell out)
• During the summer there are only 2 catamarans a day... 11:30 and 15:00, so try plan your flights to get you there a few hours before those times or you'll have to spend a night in Split.
• While you are waiting on your catamaran take a walk through the old town of Split... it's amazing

Some of the old town of Split

As soon as we disembarked from the catamaran we were hit by the beauty of Hvar... a port jam packed with Superyachts, a riviera lined with bars and cafes and gorgeous, sunkissed people everywhere. Even more stunning was the view from our apartment... we both just sat and stared out over the beautiful, little port town.

The view by day from our apartment

The view by night... i just can't get enough of it

Our 3 full days were filled with a Sea kayaking trip to the Paklinski Islands, where we did some snorkelling amongst the superyachts and had lunch at a quaint restaurant on the water in a small cove. It was tough on the arms and legs but a great experience. Laying in the sun with a book and beer on a secluded pebble beach about a mile outside of Hvar Town... stunning. Sailing from Hvar to the island of Vis, where we snorkelled in the Green cave and had a wonderful homecooked meal on board the yacht. It was a fantastic day spent at sea with the wind in our hair :)

Our mode of transport for the day mored outside the Green cave

Both Stu and i were very reluctant to board the catamaran back to Split, Hvar is a beautiful island with stunning weather, friendly people (mostly) and the sight of all those Superyachts is just amazing. Some of them can be chartered for as much as €500 000 per week... maybe in my next life ;)

Hmmm... which one to chose ;)

More photos :)

Bonjour France

Now for my first venture into France :) We were invited by Glen and his family (friends of Stu's) to join them for a long weekend in a small village in Normandy. We decided to leave a day earlier to spend some time in Paris, for my benefit of course :) SO with train tickets in hand and a very kind offer from Liz for us to stay at her place in Paris... off we went.

Paris was an eyeopener for me... lots of hustle and bustle, people everywhere, a big different from Zurich, which is a tiny city compared with Paris! We had less than 24 hours in Paris and I was determined to make the most of it! We walked through the streets of the "dodgy" part of Paris, up to Montmarte, stared at the view of Paris from the steps in front of the magnificent Basilique du Sacré Coeur, stood in the middle of the Arc de Triomphe with the crazy traffic whizzing around us and finally made it to the Eiffel tower... what a whirlwind, it really bought the tourist out of me ;)

Doing amazing tricks with the backdrop of Paris

The middle of the Arc

Ain't she a beauty...

Next stop Normandy and the quaint little village of Crocy. We stayed in a very cute old blacksmith's cottage, surrounded by farm animals and countryside! It was a lovely and relaxing weekend spent with Stu's friends... we drank lots of French wine, ate lots of French cheese and bread and just enjoyed the relaxing atmosphere :)

Our Crocy cottage... gotta love country living

Thank you to Glen and your family for inviting us and being such great hosts :)

More photos :)

Is that the sun i see?

After what seemed like a neverending stream of cold and grey days, the big, burny thing in the sky is starting to make a regular appearance and the trees and plants are responding by turning a lighter shade of green :) Winter was hard, more because of the lack of sunshine than the cold... the benefit of cold is fresh and fluffy snow... well before it turns to black sludge that is!

Flowers are popping up everywhere

I'm really looking forward to summer in Europe... the atmosphere changes dramatically, everyone is out and about, spending long nights sitting in beers gardens along the river, swimming in the lake, hiking the beautiful hills of Switzerland and soaking up the vitamin D :) hopefully we'll be making use of my Schengen resident card by doing some travelling around Europe... stay tuned!

Even our balcony got a makeover in time to welcome summer

Looking back on THE wedding

It's been over a month now since the BIG day and i thought it was about time i did a little recap on the day itself and the organising that went into the day. Weddings are a very important milestone in any relationship and some people signify that by spending an astranomical about of money and time on their big day. Our wedding was very important to us but i couldn't justify the cost of hiring a fancy wedding planner and leaving everything to them... so bring in myself! One great thing about organising a wedding yourself is that you get exactly what you want and you appreciate it a whole lot more.

My 3 biggest challenges were finding the perfect venue, deciding on food and bringing my ideas for decor together.

Venue: We wanted the wedding to be on a beach in Durban... not just overlooking a beach or next to one but on the actual sand. I did large abouts of research and the "normal" venues would only allow the ceremony on the beach and they cost an arm and a leg. Eventually i stumbled upon Beachbums, a small restaurant and backpackers right on the beach 40 mins north of Durban. After much to-ing and fro-ing and some stress things came together perfectly :)

Food: We wanted to create a very relaxed atmosphere at our wedding (having a wedding on the sand is a good start) and I wanted to introduce the American visitors to true Saffer culture. What better way to do that than with a braai, complete with pap and chakalaka! :)

So now we have a venue on the sand just metres from the breaking waves and a braai, the next thing to bring together was the decor.

Decor: While deciding on a venue, both Stu and i had one request each... he wanted tiki torches and i wanted paper lanterns. Both worked perfectly with the decor i had in mind... chilled out chic :) my vision was to have a collection of different clear bottles on each table with a flower in each, surrounded by tealights to form the centre piece, white table clothes and hessian table runners, paper lanterns hanging from the roof of the tent and sand underfoot... the result was even better than i could have imagined :)

And what would a wedding on the beach be like without a jumping castle ;) i decided to add a jumping castle just to add to the relaxed atmosphere and it was a huge hit, not just with the little kids but with the big kids as well :)

Unfortunetly the one thing we could not control was the weather and when having an outdoor wedding you are at the mercy of the weather gods... thankfully we had no rain, but man did the wind blow. Stu's only disappointment of the evening was the fact that it was to windy to light his beloved tiki torches!!

It was a fantastic day, enjoyed by everyone, especially Stu and i... that's the main thing :) A huge thank you to everyone who celebrated the day with us, especially Stu's friends and family that made the long trip from the states... it was amazing meeting you all :)

Intriguing stenciling in Zürich

I mentioned in a previous post about the abundance of graffiti in Zürich. The graffiti is fascinating and ever changing... the colours and the messages are definitely eye catching but i've discovered a smaller form of graffiti that i find intriguing and in some way... beautiful, stenciling of small figures and messages that pop up in the most random places.

Below are some photos of stenciling i've found, but i'm always on the lookout for more :)

2009... the year that was

Another year has come to an end... this decade has flown by, 10 years since i finished school and by golly it has been an interesting, exciting and adventurous decade! From working and travelling around the UK and the states to getting married and moving to Switzerland, as well as doing a self drive trip from South Africa to Northern Kenya and back... many tales to tell :)

2009 was a good year, with many important events or milestones (which ever is more applicable) taking place... fell in love, got married, completed my degree, survived long distance and moved to Switzerland... all and all, not complaints from my side :)

Looking ahead to 2010, it's going to be a busy year... at the moment i'm knee deep in wedding planning (which has it's fair share of ups and downs), we also have a few other trips we want to squeeze in this year including the all important honeymoon ;) i also have ambitions to learn German and maybe even find myself a job here in Zurich... right now i'm just focusing on getting the hang of this cold and DIY :)

A very happy 2010 to all my friends and family around the world... keep it real :)