A few weeks ago, just before Christmas, after returning home from a shopping trip, I noticed that the bike rack in our garage was looking a little sparse. “Our bikes! Where are our bikes?!” I asked Fernando, after having a crazy thought that he had hidden them somewhere. We stared at each other in disbelief. Our bikes had been stolen! They had been locked up on the bike rack on the inside of our useless security gate (useless because it was open all week due to a malfunction), which begs the question: what’s more inviting to intruders, a gate that’s open,  or no security gate at all? There might as well have been a sign saying: “His and Her Bikes: recently purchased 6 months ago, tuned up and ready to be placed under your Christmas tree”. Yep, Jack and Jill won’t even know that they aren’t new.

The year 2008 was the year of graduation, marriage, moving, and robbery. This being the second time this year Fernando and I were violated. However we’re a little more upset this time around than when our cars got broken into, back in Provo.

Thieves beware, if we see you riding on the street, we will hit you with our car.

Diane at the Olympic museum

Montreux

Chateau de Chillon

My lovely wife

Gotta have a pic in front of the Chateau

Thursday, we lingered around Geneva, played some checkers in the park and then hit up the European UN headquarters and International Red Cross Museum. I loved the UN and Diane preferred the museum. To top of the night, we made a Thanksgiving dinner at home: Geneva style! We ate ham, mashed potatoes, freshly cut tomatoes on fresh mozzarella; all with a little bubbly. Oh yeah, don’t forget the freshly baked bread!

Checkers in the Park

European UN Headquarters

Thanksgiving Dinner

Fortunately, we ended the night with a pleasant surprise: Luzern! After a day of seeing nobody, we were so thrilled to see lots of buildings, lights, and people! We spent the night at the Magic Hotel and got “upgraded” to an Egyptian resort.

On Tuesday, we created our own little walking tour where we visited the castle walls, saw the Glacier museum, and checked out the boutiques. We then headed over to Zurich and spent the afternoon checking out the high-end malls and shops–all out of our price range, of course.

Lastly, we thought it would be “fun” if we ran the last mile back to train station. OK, so it was totally not fun. We were hot, sweaty, and we totally missed the train by ONE MINUTE! Diane was quite upset at me (for good reason).

Hanging out at the train station

Lots of snow, but that’s about it…

Tram ride to Murren

Murren (Ski Town)

Luzern = Happiness!

Magic Hotel

Egyptian “upgrade”

Luzern by day

Lion statue at Glacier Museum

]]> http://www.dianeandfernando.com/2008/12/part-iii-the-good-and-the-bad/feed/ http://www.dianeandfernando.com/2008/12/thanksgiving-sky/ http://www.dianeandfernando.com/2008/12/thanksgiving-sky/#comments Wed, 03 Dec 2008 02:35:40 +0000 Fernando http://www.dianeandfernando.com/?p=360

In case you missed it, there was a beautiful event that took place on Monday night. The moon, Jupiter, and Venus were all visible to the naked eye. According to press reports, they won’t be this close together for another 44 years.

The problem with not speaking French is that sometimes you don’t get what you order. I ordered a bruschette with tomatoes while Diane and Gloria both ordered a different kind of bruschette. We also ordered two hot chocolates with caramel and one regular hot chocolate. Guess what he brought?! One bruschette, two hamburgers and fries, one hot chocolate with caramel, one regular hot chocolate and a Coke. Are you kidding me?! How did bruschette turn into hamburger? And when did hot chocolate become Coke? Enjoy the pictures.

We landed in Geneva and I was extremely impressed by the customs line. There was no line at all! It took us <5 minutes to pick up our bags and meet Gloria outside the customs area. They basically looked at our passports and said “Welcome to Switzerland.”

Since we were left with a few hours of daylight, we headed back to the apartment where we dropped our bags and proceeded to hit the town. We strolled through Old Town and visited lots of little shops. We had some fantastic hot chocolate (made with real Swiss chocolate and not the powder type) and headed back to the apartment around 6pm. While Gloria ran to the grocery store, Diane and I just crashed on the couch and bed. After a good 30-minute power nap, we were both ready to go. Since most things in Switzerland shut down around 5pm and lots of restaurants don’t open until after 6:30pm, we patiently waited until this Italian joint down the street opened up. We both ordered pizzas, devoured them, and then hung out at home until 10:30pm when we finally crashed.

By Lake Geneva

Flower Clock at the English Gardens

Overlooking Geneva

Gloria and Fernando at the local cathedral

Swiss chocolate!

We headed up north to catch the latest James Bond flick: Quantum of Solace (OK movie, but still worth watching if you like Bond). We arrived a little bit early and chilled in the lobby. It didn’t smell fantastic. I thought it was a little gross; Diane thought it smelled like yeast, which she happened to like for some reason. Eventually, we got in and were able to pick out seats. We opted for the typical movie-style seats rather than the leather office chairs. In front of us was a table and a menu.

The menu actually wasn’t bad. There was enough variety between the appetizers, salads, entrees, and desserts. Our problem was that we ordered too much food. An appetizer and an entree (per person) was way more food that we actually wanted to eat during the movie (even though this was our initial intention). One other problem is they brought all of our food at the same time. The third “problem” was that we were kinda absorbed into the action of the film that we found it difficult to eat. My eyes were glued to the screen and I didn’t want to look down to make sure the food wasn’t falling on my lap.

Lessons Learned

• Eat only an appetizer and dessert
• Order one item at a time; when you’re ready for more food, place your menu (upright position) on the table and the waiter will take your next order (course)
• Food was moderately priced (yay!) — $35-$40 (including tip) for an appetizer, two entrees and two desserts

Overall, we still enjoyed the experience and plan to go back some day when we find another movie worth watching.

I was at the gym this evening when it dawned on me that in just 10 days, Diane and I will be flying across the Atlantic to Geneva! Originally, we wanted to take a cruise with some friends out of Galveston, but we were met with a less than enthusiastic response. Rather than stay at home and miss out on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity as a young, childless couple, we decided to take the plunge and buy some tickets. We will be gone for 9 days and will be spending it with my sister, Gloria. We’re very excited to explore Switzerland and Southern France. :)

• Remember the Vets
• Happy 223rd Bday, Marine Corps

Just remember that there are many veterans out there who served our country well. Many of these veterans have come back with life-changing physical and pyschological effects. Many of these veterans are living off Social Security and little else. Please take some time to donate some money to  a charity serving our veterans. Valour IT is one such organiation.