After a gruelling three-legged flight haul I have arrived safely, in Switzerland! And thanks to a very friendly and helpful Pommie gentleman I accosted at the Geneva train station, I was able to negotiate my way to my friend's nearby town of Aigle.
I soon realised that I had no chance of identifying the gluten-free products at the local supermarket as all the product abels are either in French or German or Italian. Something tells me I am going to have a few dietary issues while I am in Europe!
After the best sleep I have had in weeks last night, I woke up to a typical foggy morning in the Swiss Alps. We took Gemma the dog for a walk along some of the local tracks through woodlands / forest and along steep sloping grass-covered hillsides. The snow has mostly melted unfortunately, but there were a few little patches here and there. All along the sides of the tracks and all through the fields the first of the spring plants and herbs are beginning to blossom. Gorgeous little native violets, primrose, crocus and cowslip are popping up everywhere. Icy cold freshwater creeks of melted snow water are flowing down the valleys between the hills. You can hear the unmistakable sound of water flowing rapidly over rocks and stones as you turn the corners of the winding forest tracks.
The warm, moist, salty sea breeze is one of the things that I love most about living in my home town of Peregian Beach in Australia. However, the cold, crisp, clean mountain air that I breathed in this morning on our walk (along with a lungful of fog!) is one of the most heavenly pleasures I have experienced in a long time. I can't wait for tomorrow morning to come around so that I can enjoy the experience all over again!
Further up the road and up the mountain is the ski town of Villars. A brief drive through it yesterday has my curiosity piqued and I can't wait to make the 40 minute treck up the walking tracks to the village to explore it. It was instantly evident that it is a tourist town (in the same way that Noosa is), but the quaint and foreign architecture of the chalets, some of which are just massive, has got me totally intrigued. I need to get close-up and personal with some of the buildings so that I can have a real good gawk and take some photos. Some university students I sat near on the train yesterday told me that the local ski fields are shutting down this weekend so I am not sure I will get the chance to ride the telecabine up to the top of the mountain where the ski fields are. But there is a train that goes up to the top as well, so I may have to settle for that instead. Either way I am sure it will be a fun experience and one not to be missed!