Mags & Nick's Visit, Part I - Zurich & Colmar

Both Mom & Dad arrived to Zurich without any trouble last week. Mom requested a bike ride, so on Thursday, before Dad arrived, we took the train out to Zug, picked up some free bikes & set out to ride around Lake Zug (40-44km, 26-27m). We stopped in a cute town for a coffee & butt break (the free bikes seats are not very comfy, if you can believe that). Then, took off from there, following around the lake. Soon we came into a more wooded, foresty area. In the beginning, the path was okay, so we continued on. Then, we had to get off & walk the bikes as there were huge tree roots, braches, tree trunks down in the path. It got steeper. We pushed the bikes on. Finally I called my friend Erin who we were supposed to be meeting for lunch. I think we're a bit lost I said. We won't be back in time for lunch. One hour and a half later, we were back at square one, where we'd had our coffee break, only plus muddy shoes & sore upper backs from dragging the bikes through a freaking forest. We had quite a few laughs & serious questioning about why we'd decided to continue on once the path got out of control. Finally, after a few threats that I had to get the train back because I was too tired, we arrived to the self-service flower garden. Basically, there's an open field with flowers, each type is labeled by name & price. Grab a knife & cut away. Then, drop your money in a giant barrel & you're all set. We got enough for two different vases for only 10chf! Quite the Swiss bargain. Finally, we pulled into Zug, almost 5 hours later, met Erin for a very late lunch & were back in Zurich just before the first of many bouts of rain.

Dad arrived the next morning & I went to pick him up at the airport while Mom accompanied Joe to his PT appointment. We spent a low-key day around Zurich, stopped in some shops & churches, had a hot chocolate. It rained basically all day & we were getting quite concerned about our outdoor movie night. As we were leaving for the movie, it was still raining a bit, but we headed out anyways. We reserved our seats & then found a partially covered spot to eat dinner pre-movie. It was a chilly night, but the sun shined on us for a few minutes & we were just thankful that the rain stopped as the movie goes on no matter what. However, there were far, far fewer people in attendance than there were on Monday night.

Saturday morning, we all woke up a bit early & headed out to Colmar, France. It's just a cute town to stroll around in & Joe did really well getting about. I think it was a good trial to see what he can handle before we head to Italy on Wednesday. It was chilly again, but rain free in France, whereas when we'd left Zurich, it was raining. We had a nice lunch, picked up some very cheap French groceries, walked, went in a few shops, churches, etc. Saturday evening we had a fabulous dinner at home complete with some serious Nickerbocker margaritas (minus margarita mix) -- I think you can all imagine how this night ended up. Needless to say, no one was too quick out of bed Sunday morning. Mom & Dad went to church, then we all met at the cafe for brunch. Mom & I visited the Botanical Garden. Dad & Joe went to the beer garden on the lake which we joined them at later. Then we headed back home for another great dinner at home. Mom & Dad took off for Zermatt this morning. They are en-route to the mountains which are predicted to be temperatures of low50s - high30s, summer what? However, seems like it might be a bit clearer & less rain down there than we've been having/are predicted to have here in Zurich. We're having a fabulous time so far & can't wait to get down to Italy (although it's predicted to be a lot of rain there as well, boo)! At least I've jotted down quite a few good looking cafes, wine bars, etc., I'm sure no one will complain too much if it's simply eat our way through Italy, 2010.