the passing seasons

Can you believe it's fall already? I keep asking myself that question, too. My answer is no, I can't. I really can't. But here we are.

So, I guess I'll happily embrace that unmistakable chill in the mornings and relish the warm afternoons that disappear a little too quickly behind the setting sun.

How about you? Are you welcoming fall with open arms or a stiff upper lip?

sightseeing for beginners

Along with the pretty views of the lake, part of the fun of going for a stroll in Geneva is hearing so many different languages being spoken. I love how international it is. There are people from all over.

Last weekend, we spent time in the shade of the tall trees near the botanical gardens. We kicked a tiny soccer ball around the grounds. We took turns sharing snacks.  

But what I really want to tell you about our walk along the shores of Lac Léman, my favorite part, is that Clover pretends to sightsee. He climbs up to look through the binoculars. He cups his hands around the coin slot, peers in and with a happy grin relates all the wonders that he sees. 

The cuteness and innocence of that makes my smile big and goofy.  

let's head for the hills

Last weekend, we decided to have breakfast at a higher altitude.  After picking up croissants from our favorite boulangerie, we high-tailed it into the hills. We opted for a short hike and decided to walk a small portion of the trek around the Mont Blanc.

Lots of hikers come through on their way around the Mont Blanc.  The trek usually takes about 7-10 days.  Although, some daredevils do it in under 24 hours but those are men and women running the UTMB, the Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc and they are very much exceptional human beings. This year's race was this past weekend. It's so exciting and energizing to watch.    Anyway back to our small, small endeavor, we opted for a very short portion of the same trail.

Nature brought out the bear in Clover.  Literally.  Out of the blue, he growled at some fellow hikers that walked past us as we were taking a break and sent himself into a fit of giggles.  Well, it made the passers-by chuckle, too. Not to fear though,  should you cross this little cub in the wild, I  have on good authority that he isn't very dangerous and can be swayed into just about any activity by offering a small square of cheese or chocolate.

We were rewarded for our early morning motivation.  The sun was just peaking over the tops of the mountains when we arrived at our destination, Le Sollié, a high altitude restaurant just off the trail.  It's usually a stopping point for a refreshing perrier on the way back down from a long hike, or a sweet crêpe to give a boost for that last bit of trail.  We ordered coffee and orange juice to enjoy with our croissants and soaked up all the sunshine we could.

Outside the small chalet that houses the restaurant, there are gurgling fountains. They have rabbits that happily nibble away on grasses and a big sand box filled with toys, in other words an endless amount of things to keep a little boy occupied. They did so very successfully.  But, lunchtime and naptime were growing closer and before those things could happen, there would need to be a hike down.

A tired out Clover got a fair amount of rides on our shoulders and a well-coiffed Félix got an even better hairstyle from his new, little hairdresser.   This breakfast in the hills was a great start to our day and a wonderful start to the weekend.

How was your weekend? I hope there was sunshine involved! Maybe some croissants, too?

you might want to stand up for this

I can't believe that we are staring down the final days of August.  Where did the summer go? I told Félix, rather urgently, that I thought I needed to up my ice cream consumption for the last of the hot weather. And I totally meant what I said.  We've really made the most of this summer though.  I think that is why it feels like it has gone by so quickly.

This past weekend, we headed to the Lac d'Annecy to do something that's been on my summer bucket list for ages. We tried our hand at Stand Up Paddling.  If you aren't familiar with it, the sport originated in Hawaii.  Waikiki surfers used paddles to get out past the reef break to surf bigger and better waves. Stand up paddling has picked up a lot of momentum all around the world and can be found in both salt and fresh water, now. It is easy to understand the popularity. It is so much fun.

It felt amazing to be out on the water.  The sun was shining. The lake was calm.  It was gorgeous.  We only paddled for an hour, but the time flew by. It was so peaceful.  Although I did get honked at by a lake ferry. I was in my blissful, paddling mindset when I half-wittedly thought the captain could steer his big old boat around me.  The horn blasts easily made it clear who would be yielding to whom. Félix and I braced for the waves while the passengers grinned and took photos. We grinned back.

We are officially hooked on this sport. Once we returned our boards, we strolled over to the old town for sushi in the sunshine. It was a completely dreamy day.  Have you tried stand up paddling? Or, maybe just standing up independent of paddling is more your thing?

In any case, I hope you are enjoying these final days of August!