Bonjour! Comment ca va?

A few days after I returned from my visit to Illinois, one of my very good friends surprised me with a last minute visit from Switzerland! Isabelle and I worked together when I lived in Switzerland and I hadn't seen her since I left Europe....nearly 6 years ago! I can't believe it has been that long. So, Meg also decided to join us as we did a little travelling and relaxing. They both stayed here at the house (Jasen was thrilled to be outnumbered by strong willed women). Isabelle has lived in Switzerland for much of her life, and was born in Africa. However, she speaks English very well, and with a British accent! It was also a great opportunity for me to practice my French, and I can't believe how much I still remembered :)

Meghan and I were both entertained by Isabelle's impressions and opinions of the California-American culture, and of her funny names for things, like "boot" instead of "trunk." I have never been told that "the groceries are in the boot." Haha :)

She was truly shocked by the amount of restaurants and by the frequency that people ate out. She very much liked our discount stores, however, and I introduced her to Ross and TJ Maxx where I think she spent more than her travel budget! We, however, did not eat out much because I am trying to really get away from that since I think it isn't very healthy and not too easy on the wallet either. So, every night we cooked fabulous meals, opened a bottle of wine, and enjoyed lots of conversation! It was really great!

Although Isabelle lives on the French boarder, where they make wine unlike any place in the world, I still thought it would be nice to take her to Napa. She agreed! I wasn't sure how it would stack up against France, but Isabelle found it to be very nice and she enjoyed it quite a bit.....maybe a bit too much. She is definitely a light weight! My wonderful friend Katie, who is a Napa VIP, took us on the royal tour. Meg went too and we packed a picnic which was delicious with a bottle of wine! It is close to harvest time, so we were able to see the grapes on the vines- Beautiful!

It was a great week of being with friends and I was so sad to see both Isabelle and Meg have to go :( I am now inspired to go back to Switzerland for a visit, as there are several other friends there I would love to see! (PS- Isabelle still has my cat (who I had named Voltaire but mostly called Stinky) who she renamed "Kitty" and she is doing very well! I would love to see Kitty as well some day!