Swiss Friends are Even Better than Swiss Chocolate

When we set out three weeks ago, we promised we would surround ourselves with good times, good food, and good people. There is no doubt that this promise has been upheld, and a day in Lugano, Switzerland visiting friends from the States was a perfect way to remind us what the "Victory Lap" is all about.

Our first good laugh of the day started with the way we travel on these European trains. As post-college kids who are fortunate to have already signed on the dotted line, I'll admit that we treated ourselves to the first-class Eurail pass for our train travels. It would have been quite a picture as you walked down the aisle and saw our personal compartment. Comfy in our jammies, sprawled across three seats each, and rocked to sleep by the movement of the train, we showed all those business suits the real way to enjoy an early morning train ride! When we finally opened our eyes, the view was still dream-like. Amidst the Alps, the mountains are capped in snow, the roads are narrow and winding, and adorable mountains villages spot the mountains with colorful houses. It's absolutely stunning. Pictures can barely do this place justice.

We're really good at sleeping on these!

The views were simply an added bonus to the friends who live in Lugano. Emily and KC were coaches, teachers, and friends to me during high school. I babysat their oldest daughter who is nearly 6, and they have an almost-4 year old daughter as well. It struck me that the amount the oldest has changed in the last four and a half years is the first physical point of reference for my college years. This gave me some serious food-for-thought as I thought about how much I've grown in this time. It was also fun to share with Melissa a taste of boarding school life. High school life is a conversation that has come up many times between us as we talk about anything and everything that has shaped who we are today. Another friend I graduated from high school with is staying with Emily and KC, so she was able to join us as well. Sitting in a boarding school lunch room with entire families, students of all ages, and faculty was a great way for to experience what my life used to be!

While our friends were at work, it was time for us to truly wander. We happened to forget the map (gasp!), so we took it upon ourselves to have a real adventure. "Where's the river?" has become a beaten down joke as I always guess the water is the wrong way. If you look at maps of where we've been, the water surrounds most of these cities in a U-shape, so i just tell Melissa I'm always right :-). This time we actually knew we had to go downhill and towards the river to find the city's gems. These two context clues guided us towards more magnificent views. I can only let the pictures speak for themselves.

An adorable little church we stumbled upon in Lugano

The town is great; since it's right on the border of Switzerland and Italy, Italian is the primary language - the 6th language we've encountered! The gelato shop we were hoping to try was still closed for the holidays (side note: our luck with gelato shops just means we're going to have to come back to Europe soon to get our fill), so we happily settled for some Cream Danish and a chocolate-filled
croissant.

PheNOMS.

In the evening, we enjoyed great wine, cheese, and conversation. We had a girls' night at the local hangout. It was very interesting to hear Emily's take on being a Swiss resident from an American point of view. The Swiss are much more controlling on everything from garbage disposal to curfews to taxes. Get this - women are taxed at a higher rate than men, but if they have more than four children, taxes are waived. This launched Melissa and myself into a very interesting conversation the next day. If anything, it reminds us to step back and consider that there are often many ways to approach an issue. Being abroad lets you take a step out of the bubble and look at things through a different lens. There is a difference between how things are done and how things should be done (Melissa deserves credit for that line). Being a go-getter with an open mind is priceless.

After a much appreciated visit and sleep in a non-moving vehicle, we enjoyed seeing the little ones off to school in the morning before we headed to Zurich. Our mornings haven't felt like that in a long time!

Thanks to Emily and KC for a wonderful visit!

Love,
Alysa and Melissa