Greetings, all. I hope this post finds you well on the other side of the world. Today is kind of an anniversary, I suppose- I have officially been in Europe for one month! So, that happened. 

I found this craft beer in Switzerland to celebrate-

Yes, I am in Switzerland now. We got in this afternoon but I will get to that later. I can't fill you in out of sequence, that would be illogical and totally something that I am inclined to do. I'm trying to turn a new leaf here though. Organized thoughts. There's a huge learning curve though so hang in there. We're in this together. 

Alright, so at last chats we had just gotten into Nice, correct? We maneuvered the butcher shop, found the beach, I had a photo op with a baguette and then found love in the form of a la poubelle. Good deal. Since then a lot has happened and life has been lived. 

We cooked dinner that evening and it went something like this:

Okay, I actaully had relatively no hand in the cooking, we just had the chicken from the butcher shop and then cooked the ravioli we bought, but still- that ravioli had to be dumped into the colander and strained before consumption and you better believe I was there for all straining needs that evening. Food prep game strong. 

My real strength throughout our stay in Nice was laundry. Laundry took over my life and our apartment. 

Not a single day went by that I didn't do at least two loads of laundry. This trip is really bringing out my domestic side and I am still battling with how I feel about this. I think I might miss hanging the laundry out for drying. It almost became like a game to see how creative I could get with places to hang our clothes. At one point I even employed the ironing board as a shelf. 

Rest assured that we have clean clothes, people. Rest assured. 

We tried to get bikes at one point, but it was the most complicated system I've seen in a while. You had to call a number and give your bank information and then it hangs up on you. So you try to use the machine now that you've registered your information and it tells you to call another number and then when you call the second number it tells you to put in a PIN number, close your left eye, twirl around three times, pop the pinky toe on your right foot and name your first born child Rodeo. It made no sense. After we figured it out, turns out you can only get one bike per phone number and Gentry's phone isn't working over here so we just returned the first one and walked away in defeat. 

We visited the beach though, of course. You can't go to the French Riviera and not lay out on the gorgeous beaches. We picked the right day to go too because it stormed early that morning, so the temperature dropped a good bit and the wind was less of a blow-your-face-off speed than the few days prior. We hit the catch-some-rays weather jackpot. 

Although the beach is rocks and not sand, that wasn't about to hold us back from having some architectural fun. Oh, no no. Instead of sand castles, we opted for the more medieval inspired rock towers. 

Yesterday we took the train into Cannes for the day after only a slight struggle with the regional ticket machine. Turns out my knowledge of the French language is good enough to buy us vouchers from the machine for discounted tickets as unemployed individuals, but not actual train tickets. Don't ask how that happened, because I can't tell you. We secured tickets shortly after from a very nice woman in the ticket office who only judged us a little when we presented our not so correct tickets purchased from the machine. 

I must say, Cannes might be holding the top spot as far as cities we have visited goes. It has a great vibe and it feels like an actual modernized culture although it obviously has its history. And it's set in the most beautiful shoreline with mountains looming in the distance. Absolutely gorgeous. 

And then mountains on the other side 

Even the little green walking men here seem extra jolly to be helping you find your way. Look at the pep in that step, there's no denying it. 

We just missed the Film Festival by about three weeks, so remnants of that party were still lingering and they were beginning to set up for another event that appears to be taking over the entire city as well. Cannes is quite the happening place. 

I do have some slightly upsetting news to share with you all. It seems that one of the banana socks has gone missing. I had thought this was the case for some time, but didn't want to accept the reality until I got to Nice and was able to make it through all of my laundry. It's been a tough realization and I may have intermittent bursts of sadness, but overall I'm coping well. 

And then there was one.. 

 

Let's move on to some happy news- we made it to Switzerland! After a long day of traveling and many emotionally ups and downs, we made it to Geneva in the afternoon. 

So we rented a car in Nice. That was the easy part. Making our way to the car, not so much. 

Walk out the door, take a right and take the elevator in the parking deck to the 6th floor, the car rental lady said. It's easy to find, the car rental lady said. 

If only.

Yes, we found the parking deck and then proceeded to get trapped in this labyrinth of a structure for an hour. We find the elevators which have buttons that look like buttons but are in reality just stickers. Riddle me that, world. So pressing the call button puts us in contact with a gentleman who tells us to use the stairs to the left WHICH END AFTER ONE FLIGHT. So we go through another door- at this point two couples are following us because apparently we look like we know what we're doing. How they got that impression, I have no idea. Through those doors brings two more elevators- with actual button buttons his time- but oh, they're stuck in the open position on the bottom floor? Of course! 

By this point we have both knocked out at least one of the four people following us because turn radius with your pack on is not very good. WHY YOU GOTTA GET ALL UP ON ME LIKE THAT, STRANGERS? I appreciate your trust in me to get you to the top of the parking deck, but damn. Respect the pack, yo. So, non-functioning elevators with real buttons. Okay. The only other thing was to go through another set of doors and through this windy hallway that I can only liken to the locker rooms in a gym or YMCA that was built in the 70s and has the white, glossy, ceramic subway tile walls and is approximately four feet wide. Yes. Precisely. At the end of the hallway we find.. stairs! Twisty, lighthouse stairs at that. All the way to the top of the deck. But we made it. Finally. 

So the adventure began here-

And Gentry drove for a bit

Then I drove for a bit 

And then Wallace drove for a bit 

And then after an absolutely magnificent 6 hour drive along the coast and through the Alps, we made it to Geneva. At one point we were so high up in the mountains that I swear we were inside of a cloud. Like, if I had gotten the selfie stick out and stuck it out the window it would have gotten cloud life all over it. We went through so many tunnels that I now firmly believe that tunnel vision is a real life issue and should not be taken lightly. 

Once we got into the mountains, we passed many, many tiny towns like this one. 

While they are absolutely gorgeous and quaint, the one thing I kept thinking about as we were passing them is- what does global perspective look like for the people who live there? This concept of global perspective is one that has been a hot topic for the past few months and I've had many conversations with several people concerning it. For some of the people in these towns, if my assumptions are in fact accurate, they probably grow up here, spend their lives here and then die here. So what does global perspective look like for them? What does the world outside of their mountain homes and lives really mean to them?

The hot topic has been how we should be incorporating global perspective as another dimension of education for our students and even our own children. We shouldn't be just showing them that there are other countries in the world or other languages or food apart from what they know. We should be enriching their lives by exposing them to the unknown of other cultures and giving them first-hand experience at what it's like to be a globally connected society. I don't know exactly what this looks like in practice, but I do know that we are doing a disservice to our children and students by not fostering this global perspective within them. The world is so much bigger than our communities and our everyday lives and we need to be bringing up a new generation that not only recognizes that, but embraces it and uses it to enhance their own life. 

Just a little something to chew on. Taste like chicken, doesn't it. Why do people always say that? I'm eating chocolate, how could it possibly taste like chicken? Mind blown. Whatevs. 

So we made it into Geneva and strolled along the river and I found this gem. 

 A tiny little lighthouse. Day. Made. I love lighthouses like you would not imagine. Some of you already know this though. 

We had an amazing dinner out at this little cafe-type deal that we found tucked in a neighborhood and of course the craft beer. It really was a wonderful evening. Geneva, I could see myself here. I really could. You're something special and I can't wait to see more of what you've got offer. 

So that brings us all to the very moment I am living in. I started this post last night after dinner, but got too sleepy to finish so I'm doing so this morning, obviously. Today we are headed out to Zermatt to do some skiing until Friday at which point we head to Paris. 

Take a moment and think about your own global perspective. It's an interesting idea to look at. I'M JUST SAYING. 

Stay cultured, my friends. I'll stay neutral. I mean, it is Switzerland.. 

All the loves.