Lucky day in Basel

Yesterday Jutta, Alexandra and I headed to Basel for some shopping and to spend the day together. It was really rainy and the weather for driving wasn't that good. There was a lot of traffic, many people were heading skiing. Even Basel was really rainy. We walked around in and out of stores, the city felt quite empty. We stopped by to get some delicious pretzels and then we found this great shoe store. They had a very nice selection, especially Tod's loafers and everything 20 per cent off! Can you believe that? Of course I had to buy a pair and the ladies found some shoes too! ;)

Strolling out happy about our lucky findings we headed for the bridge and took a "ferry" from the other side of the river Rhine to the Münster church. Back in the center we found a nice little Italian restaurant where we sat down and relaxed a bit. It was time to get back on the road and we headed for the Dreiländerdeck. This is a point where you can literally be in three countries (Switzerland, Germany and France) at the same time, but not many people know about it since it's a bit hidden. 

On our way back to Oberkirch we talked and listened to a Finnish singer Laura Voutilainen. We got back and then it was time to make dinner. But more about that later! :)

Boat trip

Mother and daughter

Münster

A trip around Switzerland, Germany and France at Dreiländerdeck

My new shoes :)

Fondue night

I checked out from my hotel yesterday and waited in the lobby for my dear friend family to come and get me. I hadn't seen them in over 10 years (since I lived with them for one summer here in Switzerland) so naturally I was a bit nervous but once they arrived all those feelings went away. The kids have grown up so much. Yannick is already a 16 year old almost grown-up and Alexandra is a 14 year old young lady. The weather turned very snowy and cold but somehow being in Switzerland the first thing that comes to mind is snow and the alps so it fit the scene perfectly. We also went to visit a friend of theirs at her new apartment, I'll show you pics later it was so beautiful and she had done the decorating and renovating herself.

On our way to Sursee from Zurich we stopped by a store to buy some bread and get some white wine for our fondue and movie night. I really love it here. We drove by the apartment building where they used to live and arrived to their new house. Everyone was so tired and hungry so Timo just made some fondue and we all switched into comfy clothes and sat down on the couch to have some nice fondue and decide on a movie. As Jutta put it we were almost done with the fondue before we chose the movie! :D

We ended up deciding to watch Our Idiot Brother starring Paul Rudd. The (German) trailer didn't give me much out of the movie but watching the movie itself (in English) changed my mind. It was hilarious we just had so much fun with the fondue and some great white wine, not those way too sweet ones I've ended up buying in a rush in France. We decided to watch another movie also, Letters to Juliet. Oh it was so nice and now it makes me wanna visit the city of Verona even more. The classic story Romeo and Juliet is incorporated into the story of course. I warmly recommend it (especially to you ladies) the guys thought there was too much romance involved.

A little luxury in life

After a long day and a delayed flight I arrived in rainy Zurich and the Zurich Marriott hotel. The lady at the front desk was really friendly and I got to check in really quickly. My first thought when I arrived to the room was hot shower, soft bathrobe and big bed. Oh did it feel good. It was a little late but I decided to order room service anyway since I hadn't had any dinner. Even if I live alone enjoying your own company is very different at a hotel. You feel so pampered.

Now I'm gonna head down for some breakfast. A very relaxing Good Friday to everyone!

Traveling with style

Last night I really tried to finish all the packing. I also had my French final exam today so I was trying to divide my time between studying and packing. It's been a long day so far and now I just gotta head into a teacher meeting with Kristin and then it's off to the airport and La Suisse calling. I'm looking forward to just having a nice dinner and maybe some drinks at my hotel where I'm going to stay for just one night before meeting my friend and the family I lived with for one summer when I was 14, I'm going to stay with them for the rest of the week. I don't travel much alone but I'm actually looking forward to that now.


Hope you all have a nice holiday!

Moving out

Ok, almost three months behind and I notice I've got way too much stuff.  I have to move from my lovely holiday rental (to an even more lovely holiday rental) across the street cause this one's got other bookings, therefore I am packing now. How on earth did this happen? I didn't think I had that much stuff with me. Although I did bring more clothes and shoes with me when I stopped by at home last month and didn't take that much away from here. Also I think I'm drowning in bags and shoes, those take the most space. I suddenly have a déjà vu moment from my summer in LA. Back then there were no crazy limitations and unreasonable fees for overweight in your luggage. I remember you could actually bring two suitcases with you to The United States, and each was allowed to weigh a staggering 32kg. And now when you go it's the same limitations as for traveling within Europe for example. Is it just me who thinks it's crazy? Cause I think you should be allowed to bring more things with you if you travel further.

So I only have one possibility; buy a new suitcase! That's probably the easiest and cheapest way to get out of this mess. Exactly like in LA. I remember ending up buying way too many shoes and clothes and even a long evening gown, which was impossible to fit in the existing suitcases. Luckily my mum's coming with my siblings in May and I'm able to hand my suitcases to them so it'll be easier for me to leave on my own later. Did I tell you guys I already booked my ticket home? So it's official! The day is May 30. I feel like the countdown has started and I've still got so many things to do yet. I'm moving out on Monday already. Easier said than done! If anyone wants to help me Monday afternoon let me know! It would be nice. :)

Yeah don't even think about closing this one...

Only a portion of the shoes I have with me

Gonna fly now

After a nice and long weekend it felt good to get back to school. Today we had our marketing final presentation. You could see that people took it seriously, a lot of students had dressed in their best suits. Even our team made the effort. I felt we nailed the presentation and now we just have to wait for the results, if we'll make it to the second round. The idea of the winning team might actually be taken into use at the Credit Agricole bank.

The others had class and another presentation but I headed home. It was a dangerous drive, if I've learned something is that the bus drivers here are crazy. Try standing in 4 inch heels and not fall. You really need to hold on with both hands. I hope I don't even have to lay eyes on a bus when I get back home. 

Since I started my running project here I thought I'd continue. Back home my running usually ends when winter comes since I hate the cold and don't like running on a treadmill since it's really monotonous. Here it's easy. I feel like every time I'm on the promenade I ran into Canadians; last week it was Jason and Priya and I think Gordie passed me tonight? I've managed to run 6km straight, not bad, I haven't done much running in a while. When I felt like giving up and switching to walking this song kept me going. Though I still gotta work on my one-arm push-up. ;)

Blouse: Mango

Pants: Esprit

Bag: Chanel

Shoes: Jimmy Choo

Jacket: Armani Collezioni

My new favourite treat

Happy birthday Fanny!

Today is my dear friend Fanny's birthday! Congrats girl! After a long day at school we all gathered to Clara and Fanny's place to celebrate her birthday. The night was interesting and fun and we soon noticed that the whole party consisted of just Finns and Canadians. I wonder why ;) We got another Scandinavian reinforcement when Tim arrived. We even took a walk down memory lane listening to our old favourite songs together, everyone picked one on their turn. We had a great night and I didn't feel too bad that we didn't go out even if I would've felt like some dancing. Or well, some ended up going out but since it was very late I decided to walk home. Hope you guys had as fun as I did!

Thanks again to the girls and once more happy birthday Fanny, rain can only bring you good luck! :)

I hope that we still get to go to St Tropez together and listen to this song there! ;)

Dress: Briefing

Jacket: Sand

Shoes: Dolce & Gabbana

Clutch bag: Yves Saint Laurent

Jewelry: Clara Sandell

A long but even more fun day

Oh Friday! Usually it means the weekend for people but not for us this week. Almost everyone is having class Saturday morning also. The second day of Corporate Law classes. A lot of the guys have actually said that the teacher is kinda good-looking. She wears high heels, tight skirts and glasses and her hair is up, the only thing she needs is a pointer and it would be straight out of a movie! :D I didn't get the same feeling out of our lunch at the beach session today, it was a little chillier and there was some wind that made it less pleasant but we still had fun.

The ride home took forever in an extremely crowded bus, 45min I think so I literally had to run home to switch into my workout clothes and hit the gym for some BodyPump. I don't know if the trainer had a long day as well or if it was the upcoming weekend but he was a mess with the moves. He kept forgetting things and did some things wrong. Even I remembered the moves better cause he was mixing from older BodyPump releases, so for example the bicep track was from release 80, a cool remix of Eye of the Tiger which I love. It really makes you pump those biceps harder. I've also noticed how the group classes and the atmosphere at the gym is different than back home. I was trying to focus on my own workout while 3 Italians scream almost in my ear behind me during every track. It was like a zoo almost. 

Here's the song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h151etwPvd8

Today was also time for the infamous A Night You Can't Remember at Helen and Robin's. Oh my god was it crowded! As I arrived it felt fine but in a split-second more and more people started coming, and I didn't know most of them. Of course everyone I know was there too but also a lot of new faces. I love meeting new people but it would've been more fun if you could've been able to breath and move. But as the night went on I was sipping my wine and it didn't feel so bad anymore. It turned out to be a great night and I even made it to Saturday's morning class on time without problems. I always feel fine the day after no matter what and can manage with less sleep also. So it seems my age has not caught up with me yet! ;) Or then it's the proper hydration (water). So thanks to everyone especially Helen, Robin, Stéphane and Stijn for a great night at Colocs Magnifique!

Shirt: H&M

Jacket: Sand

Bag: Louis Vuitton

Necklace: Gucci 

Some of you might ask why I'm wearing a faux fur in Nice in March. It's still not summer even if the days have been hot occasionally to say the least but nights are still chilly. Besides it's so nice and chic. Don't you just love it? Cause I do! ;)

Lunch at the beach - c'est la vie!

The day was perfect! This week is elective week at school and I chose Corporate Law. I sat in class together with Benny, Cathrine and Iiris just waiting for the long lunch break we would have. We talked earlier that we'd hit down to the beach for lunch if it's nice weather since it's right next to school. I mean you can see the sea from our classrooms, I'm not kidding. ;) Sandwiches from the bakery and off to the beach. It was the most beautiful day and we all would've just rather stayed there instead of going back to school.  C'est la vie!