And on sunday, by law, we rest...

So apparently Switzerland has laws against doing any work on Sundays. I'm totally serious. You're not allowed to go to work, nor perform work at home (like gardening, laundry, etc). Certain people are allowed to work, like farmers, and shops in touristy areas stay open Sundays, but for everyone else you can get fined for working on a Sunday. I think it's hillarious... and very European. =P

Yesterday was a glorious day, sunny, not a cloud in the sky... and windy as hell. Ever since Friday it's been like this, you look out the window and it looks like an awesome day to spend outside, then you walk out the door and nearly get knocked over by the freezing wind. Our neighbors told us it's the "bise du salon," a cold wind that seems to come into town at the same time as the imfamous car show that happens in Geneva every year.

Even with the wind we couldn't quite resist taking a walk in the late afternoon, but as we set out the door Michelle, our next-door-neighbor (the one who invited Zach over for fondue several weeks ago) opened up her window and said hello, beckoning us to come inside for a minute. I got to meet her and her husband, Gerard, and she served us hot tea and chocolate chip cookies. She is seriously beyond adorable! They only speak French, but luckily she spoke simply enough that I could understand basically everything they said. Gerard had just gone out walking earlier and had spotted several deer, and even a wild pig, around the area. They also showed us some books about our town, with old pictures of what our house looked like when it was still a little farmhouse. It was all very cute. We only stayed about 20-30 minutes, as Zach had exhausted his French and we still wanted to take a short walk before meeting up with some friends in Geneva, so we excused ourselves (telling them, of course, that we'll have to have them over as soon as we get, like, furniture and stuff) and went on our way. It's gonna be really neat having them as neighbors, they seem so nice and helpful.

Anyway, so then we walked and made a quick dinner and then drove into town to meet up with Eva and Colin from Zach's work. We went to a few different bars, and being the old boring foggies we have turned into, complained about the loud music at each place. =P We went into one place (wittingly named "Alhambar") that actually seemed pretty cool, but it was packed and not exactly the kind of bar to chat with friends. We went across the street to another bar, which seemed a bit too ritzy and high-class, but it was the only other one we knew about and it was too cold outside to continue walking aimlessly, so we stayed and had our 20franc drinks and had a good time anyway. We wound up heading back towards our car around 11:30ish, noting happily that if our nights out follow this pattern (timewise) it should be fairly easy to just take the bus into town (the last one that takes us home leaves at 12:06am).

Unfortunately, we are having to get used to smoky bars all over again. =( Seems strange that a place like Geneva, with its focus on cleanliness and order, etc, would still allow smoking in bars... maybe they'll change that soon? Who knows. It sucks to come back home all smelly though. We got spoiled in California.

Anyway, so today we woke up lazily, took another walk (in the blustering wind), bought some bread at the neighboring bakery, and have been hanging out every since. In about an hour we're gonna head over to Bob and Aruna's for dinner, which I'm looking forward to-- their daughter, Jules, is friggin adorable. And I haven't seen their home yet, which Zach says is really cute. So, yeah, should be a fun evening. =)