Paris

A week after Melody's arrival in Lausanne, we took our first vacation over Easter weekend to Paris, a 4 hour train ride complete with reclining seats & restrooms on-board which is key for a 7 month pregnant lady. :o) We loved Paris, as most of you know it is one of the most romantic and enchanting cities you'll ever visit (it probably helped that Spring was in full bloom while we were there). We literally strolled for 2 full days visiting the perfectly color coordinated flower gardens amidst sidewalk cafes, yummy creperies, museums and monuments. We did not cover as much as we had hoped so we would recommend about 3-4 days to really see everything at a relaxed pace...Parisian style! Here's what we did:

• Musee du Louvre: Probably the top of most visitor's lists while in Paris, open 9am - 6pm Mon-Sat. The main entrance is at the Pyramide du Louvre however we learned later that you can avoid the horrendous lines by buying your tickets at the Denon wing (along south of Seine River), which is actually the most popular among the 4 wings (Richelieu, Sully & Hall Napoleon) since it showcases the Mona Lisa and most of the Italian Rennaissance art.


• Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel/Jardin des Tuileries: As you exit out of the Louvre, you are pretty much emptied through this arc and into the Jardin des Tuileries spotted with fountains, gelato stands & people just relaxing in the garden.
  
• Forum de Halles: Shopping center under construction until 2010 surrounded by gardens.
  
• Eglise St Eustache: Church north of the gardens in Forum des Halles.
  
• Hotel de Ville: Famous hotel decorated with 108 statues of famous Parisians.
  
• Notre Dame Cathedral: Another most visited site in Paris, and swamped on Easter Sunday as you can imagine. Gothic architecture and focus of Catholic Paris. Great view from the park behind the cathedral, where you can see the flying buttresses that support the roof.
  
• Pantheon: Monument in the Latin quarter that houses the remains of famous Parisians such as Voltaire and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
  
• Latin Quarter: Center of Parisian higher education, so called because conversation between professors and students until the Revolution was Latin. Bustling with cheap eateries and gelato stands, we had a fantastic goat cheese & blue cheese fondue dinner there one night.
  
• Jardin du Luxembourg: Yet another beautiful garden that houses the Palais du Luxembourg (built for Marie de Medicis, Henri IV's consort) and Musee du Luxumbourg.
  
• Montparnasse: Historically the center of artists but now houses the Gare Montparnasse complex (metro station) and filled with touristy restaurants and cafes.
  
• Eiffel Tower: Probably the most famous monument in Paris and visible from many areas throughout the city, has 3 levels open to the public.
  
• Champs Elysees: Famous boulevard leading to the Arc de Triomphe symbolising the "joie de vivre" of Paris, abundant with crowded sidewalk cafes and high end retailers.
  
• Arc de Triomphe: The world's largest roundabout, commissioned by Napoleon to commemorate his victories in 1806. There is a viewing platform at the top of the arch.
  
• Montmartre: Bohemian artistic area with shops & restaurants, beware of the big climb to reach the area, there is a tram that can take you to the top for a small fee.
  
• Basilique du Sacre Cceur: Perched at the top of Montmartre with amazing panoramic views of Paris.

We also took in a cabaret at the Moulin Rouge in the neon-lit Pigalle district while we were there as our hotel stated it was "The #1 show in Paris" but soon realized after arriving at the 10 mile line (literally) with continuous bus loads of tourists that it's one of those things that everyone sees in Paris except the Parisians themselves. Worth a good laugh but be prepared for a cheesy show....Vegas style.

That's it for now, travel on hold for the next couple of months, more to come with the arrival of baby Ensign!

Move to Lausanne, Switzerland

We have officially moved to Lausanne, Switzerland and are settling into our apt on Lake Geneva. We are constantly amazed with the postcard perfect views of the Swiss Alps right outside our living room window and are only 45 minutes from some of the best skiing in the world...Verbier, Port du Solei, and Zermatt. It is quite a change from the hustle bustle of Shanghai but we are looking forward to the opportunity to explore and experience Europe. The town of Lausanne is about 30 minutes from Geneva (GVA) airport and 20 minutes from Josh's Honeywell office in Rolle. They speak primarily French here but we have been able to figure our way around for the most part. French lessons start next week so that should help a lot!

From what we've seen so far, the Swiss (in general) are super regimented. They follow the rules to a T with no exceptions as we learned early on when trying to check out at the grocery store with 11 items in a 10 items or less line and when the alarm went off because we walked out from the entrance vs the exit door. Things come in small packages just like we found in China...from miniature furniture to tiny milk cartons & 1/2 US-sized washers and dryers so again we are doing laundry everyday! Also no preservatives used on fruits/vegetables so we pretty much have to go to the grocery store (again - tiny!) everyday. We have to cook a lot more as "take out" is not common here unless you want a $12 Big Mac and dining out is no less than a 3 hour smoky excursion as they have still have not banned smoking in restaurants. We are still adjusting to the astronomic prices of everything and have really come to appreciate the value and convenience of the super-stores that we took for granted in the US (Josh paid $17 for a can of Raid on Saturday). One blatantly opposite practice that we found here versus China is that pedestrians actually have right of way - no matter what....even if they are crossing a busy road with cars or buses going 40mph, all traffic has to stop.

For those of you who haven't heard - we have a baby boy on the way, due mid-June so lots to do before the little guy gets here. We are currently in the process of unpacking our household shipment from Shanghai and making our place feel more like home. We plan on delivering at Clinic Cecil, a hospital 5 minutes from our apt that we have heard great things about. It is Swiss practice to keep moms/babies under watch in their own private room for 5 days after the birth to monitor which puts us at ease, especially given our first go-around. Unfortunately the baby will not have dual citizenship as neither of us are Swiss citizins, another example of how "strict" they are here!

Below outlines our contact information:
Address: Avenue des Figuiers 20 Lausanne, Switzerland 1007
Skype ID: theensigns
ViOP Phone Number: (973) 928-7920 (Yes, it's a US based number)
House Number: +41 21 601 6976
Josh's Cell: +41 78 896 6730
Melody's Cell: +41 79 501 8213

We plan to make a trip back to the States in September to attend a few weddings. In the meantime, our doors are always open. Hope to see you in Switzerland sometime soon!