A Birthday Party

Remember that cake Maddie and I made on Friday? It was for Nereyda's 20th Birthday which was later that night.

(Above) Nereyda & Maddie with the cake -- the "N" is for Nereyda!

(Above) There was music...

(Above) And there was food. Good times.

That time we made a cake!

This post probably isn't as "Switzerland" as the previous ones...actually, I'm sure it's not. But my friend Maddie (an American, we found each other!) and I made a cake on Friday. Maddie found the recipe for this Marmalade Cake from the food blog, Orangette.blogspot.com and I really enjoyed baking after a month of more creative (limited) cooking.

(Above) Boiling an Orange and a Lemon - you'll have to go to the website if you actually want the directions. This is just us goofing around.

(Above) Maddie uses the magic of the food processor to turn the almonds into a fine grain

(Above) And then she foamed the eggs - insanely fast, I might add.

(Above) And then we added other ingrediants...

(Above) This was fun - coring the lemon and slicing the orange, which were all mushy and smelled delicious and citrus-y.

(Above) Blender!

(Above) See! I was here!

(Above) Success!

Rainy Thursday at the Sauvabelin Tower

Since neither of us have class on Thursday, Maddie and I went to Sauvabelin Tower. It appropriately and ominously began to rain as we approached.

Above is the said Sauvabelin Tower from the ground. It was built rather recently, in 2003 and stands 35 meters high. My guide book also pointed out that it "is constructed from wood sourced from the city's forests."

The tower is consisted of two spiral staircases that intertwine but do not join together - consequently, there is an up-way and a down-way. This concept was designed by Leonardo DaVinci for Chateau de Chambord, in the Loire Valley.

(Above) Good God, and we finally made it to the top!

(Above) The view out - I live down there!

(Above) And here's the view down...


(Above) Afterwards, Maddie and I had hot drinks and croissants at Le Pre Fleuri Cafe.

Yellow

Another photo-blog that I enjoy is called Little Brown Pen which features various series of posts all with a similar theme. One of my favorites is the color-series. So here's my version, starting with yellow.

Sunday Scenes

I've gotten into the habit of taking walks on Sunday.

(Above) White Crocuses, a sure sign of Spring.

(Above) It was a very clear day...

(Above) and the docks at Ouchy were filled with people. This picture kinda looks empty, but it was rather crowded.

Weekend of Culture

A friend gave me a ticket to a pre-opening night rehearsal performance on Friday. I continued the Culture-trend on Saturday with a visit to a couple of the Lausanne museums. Overall, a pretty good weekend.

(Above) Otello, based on Shakespeare's Othello, was performed at the Metropole. This is not the actual Opera House as that is being renovated, but another cultural venue in the city. The inside has an understated Art Deco feel to it.

The entrance to the Fondation de l'Hermitage is above. It's a villa built in the mid 1800's which now houses a fine arts collection. My understanding is that it changes a couple times a year and does not have a permanently displayed collection. I saw the "100 Masterpieces from the Stadel Museum" exhibit.

(Above) I really enjoyed the Musee de L'Elysee - a photography museum right next to the Olympic Museum near Ouchy. It was the last day of the exhibit "Impressions en continu: Steidl, l'Art du Livre" which was on photography-book editor, Gerhard Steidl.

Here is the rather stunning view from the back of the Musee de l'Elysee, featuring some well-manicured gardens, Lake Leman, and the French Alps.

First signs of Spring!

Hooray! Today has been a beautiful day - sunny, warm, and only slightly rainy. Reminds me of springtime back home! Except I didn't have to go through February slush and March's Lion beginning! Hope it's here to stay. (Above) Earlier I could see the Parks & Rec folks trimming up

(Above) So I took a walk in along the docks...

(Above) And there were a bunch of little kids running around.

(Above) Best Part: I can see the French Alps again! It's been a couple of days. And let me assure you - the view is much better in real life than what you can see from this grainy photo.

Dégustation

Wednesday night, my cours de vacance class did a "Degustation" or a wine-tasting. Afterwards, we went to a restaurant (Cafe Romand) in the downtown area of Lausanne.

(Above) We met up around dusk - L to R - Elisabeth, Mathew, Gabriel, me, Lucas

(Above, L to Right) Mathew, Gabriel, Elisabeth, Maddie, Courtney

(Above, L to R) Lucas, Karl, Julianne, Soiella, Mikaela

We went to Lutry, an extremely picturesque medival town outside Lausanne. The above bottle was from our first glass.

The cafe/bar was really charming - great ambiance.

(Above) So many bottles...2 whites, 2 roses, 2 reds...

(Above) No worries - it wasn't all on an empty stomach

Then we had what I think was a "wine-glace" - a super sweet wine - to finish.

And here's our cours de vacance professor accepting our thank-you gift. Cheers!

(Above) Hungry and slightly tipsy, we headed to Cafe Romand.

(Above) This was intense. I think it was called a "Couton" - toast, covered in raclette cheese, topped with an egg.
* * *
In case you were wondering, the drinking age in Switzerland is 16 years for wine & beer, and 18 for hard liquor.

Mistranslation

Even in a multi-lingual city like Lausanne, one can find translation errors. These were both found on the bus.

(Above) Possibly translated from "Je m'enracine encore" which might make more sense as "My ideas have taken root again". Or you know, maybe I made it up.

(Above) I'm guessing they were going for "ALIVE!"

Another outlet of sorts

Thank you to everyone who's been following along with my photo-blog. I have not done anything too exciting since the trip from Bern except see a helicopter land briefly on campus (see above).

But - I have been continuing to blog for SHEIMagazine.com though the editing stuff is currently done by a talented team-member in the States. If you're interested in reading them, the links are below.

In which I talk about flying...

In which I try to dispell Swiss stereotypes (difficult because they're kinda true)...

And a little somethin' somethin' about the Olympics...