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Baby You’re a Firework

Greetings from our flat in Geneva! Today has been the exact Sunday we both needed after an exhausting weekend. Until today we’d each had a non-stop few days and our bodies and minds were screaming for rest! We’ll back track a bit in tonight’s post to fill you in on the rest of our weekend!

Friday Night

Bo landed in Geneva around 8:45pm which meant he didn’t get to the flat until 9:30. While he was en route I was being entertained by our dear friends Renaud and Sarah who invited me over for dinner and an evening of playing with their adorable five month old, Ugo! IMG_0533

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Ugo is almost five months but is already pulling himself up to stand and eating whole foods! Clearly he’s going to be an athlete like his father!

The evening was filled with a mix of small tastes that Sarah and Renaud prepared Friday evening, delicious champagne cocktails, wine, and good conversation. It’s so nice to get to know both of them better now that I live in Geneva versus just seeing them during work trips.

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I still can’t believe that they “whipped” this together in a just a short hour before my arrival! I have already asked Sarah for a cooking session one evening so I can learn her tips and tricks!

Saturday Evening

Within 3 hours of returning to Geneva from our Chamonix hike, Bo and I were cleaned up and ready for a night out! Last night was the final night of Fetes de Geneve, a 3 week celebration in Geneva. Each night includes different musical guests along with fair games, food stands and other carnival like attractions along both sides of the lake. We spent an hour meandering through the festivities while sipping beers with Emily, Sara and her husband PJ.

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By 7:30 we found ourselves on a gorgeous rooftop overlooking Geneva. My friend and colleague, Nora, hosted a house party in celebration of the Fetes de Geneve fireworks. We spent the evening meeting lots of new people, drinking, eating, and enjoying the gorgeous weather and views! The guests were from all over the world which is such a different experience versus parties we would frequent in the states!

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The fireworks, which many people said were better than any they had ever seen, lived up to their reputation! The show which featured music on the local radio station, lasted over 45 minutes! The finale was especially breathtaking, filling the sky with more light and color than I’ve seen before even in New York or Disney World!

 

Sunday

By 1am I could barely keep my eyes open due to a 14 mile long run and long hike’s toll on my body. Needless to say, it was nothing that 10 hours of sleep couldn’t solve because when we woke up around noon today we were excited to head out to the Plainpalais Farmer’s Market. One of the only things open on Sunday in Geneva, this farmer’s market is smaller than the one near our flat but had a great selection of produce, cheese, meats, and even wines!

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The rest of our day has been filled with booking flights for upcoming weekends in London and Geneva, planning our trip to Burgundy for September, cleaning, and cooking. Now it’s time to curl up for the evening while watching Girl with the Dragon Tatoo!

How was your weekend?

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Summertime Hiking in Chamonix

This morning Emily, Bo and I met Renaud at 6:45 for a Saturday adventure in Chamonix. Renaud offered to take us hiking through some of his favorite paths on the way to Lac Blanc. He promised amazing views, wonderful weather, a gorgeous frigid lake, and some steep climbs. As you can tell from the pictures, the five hour hike lived up to they hype. My legs are more than a bit sore after yesterday’s 14 mile run and this morning’s hike but it was well worth it! We started our hike at an elevation of 1,800 meters and by the end of our hike we ascended 780 net meters and a distance of 5.9 miles. 

I still can’t believe that all of this is just 45 minutes from Geneva!

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One Month

When I close my eyes, I can’t believe that a month ago I spent the day in our closet laughing, crying, talking, and reminiscing with Laura and Theodora.

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One month ago Bo and I climbed the stairs to our new home in Geneva, Switzerland bearing 8 large suitcases filled with clothing, bedding, shoes, running gear, and a few other things that at the time I considered to be essential for living until my air and sea shipments arrived in Switzerland.

I don’t recommend listening to Lifehouse or Oasis on the Revolve Sunday Morning Spotify list when making a realization like this.

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It may just result in tears.

But then, a moment later, I realize that tears are natural but they are more from an emotional stand point. A lot has happened in a month. But, I have very little, if anything, to cry about. Sure, every moment isn’t puppies, peonies, and rose. People have asked how things “really” are outside of happy Instagram pictures. Seriously, they are going better than I could have imagined 90% of the time. 10% of the time I miss my family, friends, husband, and New York like crazy. I miss Sunday night dinners with Meg or random workout dates in the city with friends. I miss my work buddies. I hate that friends have to think whether texting and/or calling me will result in crazy phone bills. I miss peanut butter. But, that is seriously a maximum of 10% of the time.

Let’s focus on the other 90%.  If you told me I would meet two other American gals who are or have just gone through the exact same emotions I’m going through right now within weeks of moving here, I would have called you a crazy optimist.

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I found a running partner who is a morning person and lives less than a quarter mile away. My friends who are locals have been more helpful than I could have ever imagined. I mean seriously, have you ever taken a document to your office and asked someone to read it because you can’t translate four pages of a legal document that is in French?  Moving to a new city has been so humbling as I have no idea where to go for happy hour or much less a simple dinner with friends. Luckily, I have colleagues who have turned into friends and are willing to answer emails and text messages at all hours.  My air shipment arrived on the exact date the company predicted and even better, my very organized husband spent half a day unpacking it and creating a system while I was at work. So sure, there are ups and downs and moments that just make me laugh out loud but at the end of the day, I can’t really complain about the transition at the one month point.

Yesterday I saw this quote yesterday on a blog post and immediately shared it with Bo and Theodora because it really puts into words this crazy journey we’re experiencing.

Nora Ephron Quote

So there you go, life isn’t perfect right now but the Instagram, blog posts, Twitter, and Facebook posts are all pretty true, other than the cultural adjustments which are pretty normal and the few other things that have humbled me.

Thank you for being here and continuing to read! You all are one of my many support networks!

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