Hidden in the Clouds

Hidden in the Clouds
Originally uploaded by thnkfst.

This is one of my favorite views in Zermatt. I took this in September 2002. Ironically, this was my only visit to Zermatt and the Matterhorn. I took a 2.5 hour train ride from Montreux to get here, which was such a scenic and exciting ride.

I tried all morning to try and get a shot of the Matterhorn from my balcony but it just wasn't happening. The clouds would move over too fast for my tiny camera to snap a shot. If you look very close, you can see the emerald green water flowing. I think it's simply candy for the eyes.

Zermatt is a wonderful place to visit in the summer months with so much hiking and so much to do outdoors.

Ironically the title suits me well today, as my head feels like it's going to explode. But don't feel sorry for me, I'll get over it.. Hopefully tomorrow I'll come back with a few neat photos. I'm venturing away tonight to a beautiful place.

We've Got a Surprise

Most of you don't really know what I do day to day. My job is pretty hard to explain but as easiest I can explain is that I'm a tutor and jack of all trades. I've got some free time to do other things like blogging and taking photos and trying to enjoy the outdoors. I guess it's not that bad of a gig but I won't be doing it forever because it just wears on me.

Over the weekend a little surprise came, in the form of a new bundle (not mine). Yesterday morning I was afforded the surprise of a new kitten to look after. So my little buddy Twist (he's the cute cocker) has a new friend to learn to get along with.

Unfortunately for Twist, he's getting a lot less attention right now while everyone oos and awes over this spunky little new kitten. So far it's a great kitten and he really loves to play.

Of course, everyone wants to play with him and have it's turn with him. The little addition is nice but of course for me, I have to change up my schedule that much more. And well, I like my free time off. Oh well, this is where learning to be patient and flexible works my nerves. But I'm good at faking things. :)

Here's another pic of him on top of a toy elephant. Unfortunately I didn't bring my bigger camera so the quality of the pics is really lacking. I'm sure I'll find some time this week to get a few good shots in. He's got blue eye's even which don't totally show in these photos.

Cute Surprise!

Weekend update

DSCF0075.JPG
Originally uploaded by thnkfst.

So it's Monday and well P and I are both back to work. I really didn't do too much more than sit at the computer all weekend, with an occasional break to go outdoors. It was cloudy and rainyish all weekend. Time flew way too fast though. I guess that always happens when you play on the computer too much.

I'm excited to keep trying a few more shots this week but I'm probably not going to have time to do that today. I'll leave you with the morning Sunrise from Montreux. In summer, the sun doesn't come up until after 9am or so from the mountains. It's beautiful though even with my tiny camera. I especially love the view of the dent du midi in the background.

Photo Hunt

Grab the Scavenger Hunt code. Photo Theme. Join the blogroll. Visit participants.

Red White and Blue

Photo from Nyon, Switzerland. We were in line waiting to board the boat to Yvoire. This is Nyon's red, white and blue communal flag. Regardless, it's quite unique and nothing you see every day.

Photo Scavenger Hunt Blogroll

The Road to Montreux

Driving off into paradise Vaud, Switzerland.
Submitted for Photo Friday Challenge, The Road.
August 2005

On Top of The World

DSCF0702_1.jpg
Originally uploaded by thnkfst.

It's hard to believe what a journey I made to take this photo near Grouse Mountain. I had gone about 15km's or so by that point on the Lynn Canyon trail via Grouse Mountain. The killer was that I climbed up the mountain to get there. You know the sheer face with lots of rock like shist and shale (I forget what types of rocks my fellow climbers said they were but they were close to that).

If you look close enough in the photo, you can sort of see what I was up against. Navigation was 100% harder than we thought since all the markers were gone and we didn't have a clue where the trail was at times. But by this point, we were on a well marked trail. We stopped not too long before sunset to rest and enjoy the view before needing to hurry up and get back before a search crew started looking for us.

This was by far my hardest day hike I had ever done. It was about 18 km in all, maybe a bit more by the end. Next time I do hope to be at the top first and just go for a short hike and enjoy such views as this. Of course, in Vancouver a view like this doesn't exactly happen every day.

I Took The Plunge

Ok - I finally did it. I think I must have had my flickr account over a year and finally took the plunge and upgraded to pro today. The reason why I really hadn't upgraded before was because I have so many places to store my photos. Now I don't have to worry about my storage limits and will be uploading a lot more photos onto the site. I don't share my photos enough!

In other news, I've been reading and replying to emails and when I don't have too much time to do work like today I really seem not to accomplish much. At any rate, I read a really good article on how the experts think people are trying to travel to more exotic destinations instead of just the ordinary trip to Europe or Mexico type theme. Of course the hot spots lead me to way too much surfing on the net. Now if I'd only take the plunge a bit more...

That's all for today. World Cup is on my mind....

World Cup Fever Heightens

Three of the most popular world cup teams are currently training Switzerland. Crowds have come out to watch many of them train in full fashion dawning their favorite teams colors. It's safe to say that World Cup fever is definitely starting.

Brazil's world cup team is currently training in Weggis, which is just outside of Lucern on the lake. They currently have the biggest crowds of followers trying to catch a glimpse. Many fans even watched them arrive from Zurich's Klotten airport.

Other teams to note are the German team which is training somewhere near Nyon. Michael Schumacher even came out to give them a bit of a cheer and welcomed them to canton Vaud. As well, the Dutch are training in Lausanne, making for some super hot fans who want to catch a glimpse before World Cup begins. I know I'd be catching their training if I were anywhere close to these cities.

One thing we can guarantee is that there will be a lot of hot soccer schwag being shown off. With only 16 more or so days left until the World Cup, I'm sure the fever will be picking up, along with people's spending of World Cup merchandise. Germany is one place I wish I could be, but I'll manage to just watch from the sidelines.

Here are a few more World Cup Snippets to note.

Where's Willy or George?

Ever wonder where that bills been that you just touched? Often many of the bills we touch travel thousands of miles. I wasn't aware of a Canadian tracking program but apparently there's a tracking program to see where all those bills travel to. Believe it or not, some of the top travelers have ended up in other continents.

Personally, I don't know enough about the Canadian bills to start with. Did you know the first bill in Canada is a $5 bill with Sir Wilfred Laurier a former Prime Minister of Canada. The $20 has the queen on one side and the $10 bill, which is predominately purple is of Sir John A. Macdonald. I guess if you have nothing better to do than pull out your bills which are sitting in your wallet, then this can be pretty fun. But if you're like most of us who don't usually have any cash on us, then I guess this tracking won't actually help to see if we can actually predict the spread of diseases.

Sea To Sky Trip

Yesterday we took an adventure starting close to the ocean and ending up in nature in the area of Squamish. This was my first trek this far north from Vancouver. Yes I've been here a while but it's hard to get anywhere when you really don't have a mode of transportation to take you outside of the city. It's not like Europe where you can just jump on the next train and get to your destination.

The landscape reminded me of a cross between Interlaken overlooking the two lakes and the mountain side and the Lake of Lucern overlooking the high mountain peeks still filled with snow capped mountains.


Our first stop was at Lake Alice where we could consider returning to go camping. Actually that's a lie, we stopped at my first fast food treat of the year at A&W. I didn't have anything resembling a burger and fries though! The weather up in Squamish was cloudy but at least it wasn't raining. Our first worry was how the break lights in the car weren't working. But luckily we fixed that problem. We walked around the small lake in about 20 minutes and took a few pics of the area. See yesterday's pit stop too.


After that, I tried to take a few photos while in the passenger seat. A few actually did turn out. Of course, I think everyone knows how hard it can be getting a good photo while driving.

Next we stopped off at the Shannon Falls. The size of the attraction was a bit like Trummelbach Falls in Interlaken, but not nearly as in your face and colorful. The falls were impressive, quite large and free except for parking. You can size up my pics off the website.


Our last stop was at Porteau Cove which is another possible camping spot. We really want to get in some camping in the near future but have been hesitant mostly because all of my gear is in California. It's a lot harder to camp via osmosis, unless you've really got some hidden talents (I certainly don't).


I think the best part of our trip was making it home minutes before it started to pour down rain. They definitely saved the rainy weather for us once we were dry and indoors.

One Handed Husband

A good bit of humor from our weekend travels.

I never knew my husband had such talents inside him. Just look what he can do!

Look Maman No Hands!

How'd he do that and still make it into the hole!!!

Do you have any talents your significant other doesn't know about?

What is Victoria Day

If you live in Canada, chances are you've got monday off from work to celebrate Victoria Day. Most people travel on this long 3 day weekend, while many parents actually pull their kids out of school a day early to take advantage of the time. In some ways I feel like the weekend is much like the US holiday of Memorial Day because everyone travels somewhere, but that isn't the case.

Since I'm becoming an Canadian Immigrant, I feel I do need to know what each holiday actually represents. When I first arrived some people mentioned it had something to do with only being a BC holiday which was celebrated because of the city of Victoria. This story is completely false of course. But some celebrate the holiday with a low key fireworks and plenty of bbq's. Right now, I just want something to photograph besides the rain!

Here's a quick summary of the holiday: Victoria Day occurs every year on Monday, prior to May 25th. It is the official celebration in Canada of the birthdays of Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II. Victoria Day was established as a holiday in Canada West (Now Ontario) in 1845, and became a national holiday in 1901. Before Victoria Day became a national Holiday, people had celebrated Empire Day , beginning in the 1890s as Victoria approached her Diamond jubilee in 1897.

Some people strike it big and have the honor of seeing the Queen visit a Canadian city. If you'd like to read more about it, see the full Victoria Day story.

Thank Goodness It's Friday

I don't hear that saying much often anymore. Perhaps it's because I don't work an average job. We approaching a long holiday weekend. I'm happy for that but I wish we were traveling somewhere. We will of course just be sticking around but I'm sure we will get out to enjoy the outdoors even if the weather isn't the best it could be. I think you get my drift on the forecast.

Not much else to say here. But I'll leave you with a fun Friday's Feast.

Appetizer
What is the last thing you had to have repaired?
4 pairs of P's jeans.

Soup
If someone gave you $2,000 with the stipulation that you had to spend half of it on yourself and give the rest to charity, where would you spend the $1,000 and which charity would receive your remaining $1,000?

The $1000 would go a few places and I'm not even sure if any of it would be used for clothes. For the charity, definitely for kids in Africa.

Salad
What is one of your favorite songs from the 1980s?
I love a lot of 80's songs. Just can't pin down one, and naming it would be a chore too!
Something with 80's dance I'd say...

Main Course
You enter a pet store. Which section do you go to first?
Dog groomer room. It's the only reason why I go into a pet store.

Dessert
On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being highest, how athletic are you?

Probably a 9. I love sports and outdoors. I can usually play any sport right off the bat. Now I just have to keep practicing since it's been a while for a few of the sports. Us big kids don't play as much as we need to!

Loving The Moment

Last Night We had the most incredible sunset. I was able to get out my camera in time to take these incredible photos. Pink sky and then? We were definitely loving the moment.

(mouse over photo)

Thanks to Ginnie for helping me figure this photo trick out. First shot was of pink sky, second shot is what happens when the flash goes off as the pink sky fades away. I've done nothing to modify the images, seen as they were at about 9:20pm from my Nikon D70.

Time to Check Out The Swiss Riviera

It's that time of year in Montreux where everyone starts to get out and enjoy the many walks along the waterfront and the warm water days along Lac Leman. Every day I would walk this path, a bit different ways each day down to this waterfront view. At times now, I wish I had a better camera to capture the beauty but I think my tiny camera did quite well for it's capability.

We would walk down to the waterfront, try to stay in the shade a bit, play on a few playgrounds and then make our way past that tall tower of a hotel towards the city center and the Freddy Mercury statue. I used to love watching the water flow from the cement while watching the kids splash and play among each little fountain. People watching is definitely a prime spot to this area.

Of course all that comes to an all time high when the Montreux Jazz Fest starts setting up during the month of June and hits an all time high in July. Let me tell you the line up this year is incredible. Let me mention a few singers set to play:

Tracy Chapman, Bryan Adams, Santana and company, Santana encore, Sting, Morrissey, Santana solo, Sean Paul, Deep Purple, Gladys Knight and Deftones..

If you have the chance, I wouldn't miss their 40th anniversary. It looks huge! OF course I never missed in my 2 years but it was a bit easier since we could hear most of the music from the house.

Parting shot from Olympic museum in Lausanne.

An Inconvenient Truth

I'm not a big movie watcher or a movie buff, but from time to time my ears perk up and I get interested in a certain flick. P mentioned something to me a few days ago and it sort of caught my eye. Trust me that is pretty hard to do since I'd rather be outdoors taking photos or just doing something outside.

You see, there's a movie coming out this summer that seems interesting enough to promote to everyone because potentially much of this movie could be true. The topic is on global warming and the movie which comes out in North America by June 2nd is called An inconvenient Truth.

They tout the movie with a wonderful trailer and claim it to be "the most terrifying movie of the summer. You owe it to the planet to see the truth. Pledge to see An Inconvenient Truth opening weekend." Since we really haven't seen a movie since before we were married, I'm guessing it's time to get out and enjoy the air conditioning on a hot day. If it were viewing in IMAX all the better since Vancouver is a hot spot for that. All in all, the trailer catches my eye enough to want to see a decent movie.

Photo Of The Day

Cafe Du Cygne

A restaurant review: The Cafe, which is located at the edge of Lausanne's old town, is surrounded by a beautiful park and buildings with ample character. We chose the cafe/brasserie because it was out of the main tourist areas and the menu looked rather appealing. We even chose a spot just outside at a window under the green awning. I remember this spot because I had the most incredible tasting pork ever (tranche de porc panee), with a great bottle of wine too.

We were both a bit shy about taking photos but I mentioned to P after that I wanted to at least photograph the sign which was appealing to me. Now I look back and am so glad I did because I love the surrounding buildings too. Be sure to click on the Cafe link because you can see the look of the restaurant by an artists drawing.

Overall, I'd give it a good thumbs up not because it was a classy restaurant but because the service was wonderful, good food, quick service and a very good price for a sit down restaurant in Lausanne. It was probably my second favorite restaurant of the trip to Switzerland last August.

A Downer Of A Monday

My monday didn't exactly start off so well. I woke up with major stomach pains which promoted me to stay awake way too early. I thought it would pass soon afterwards but my body had different things in mind.

Most of my life I couldn't make up any excuse to being sick because when swim practice came the response from my coach always was "well get into the water and swim for 20 minutes if you can make it here" and then we will go from there.

I managed to talk myself into being okay and I think some of that "stick it out and be tough" hangs on to my notion of how I can make it through each day. "Make sure you can fake" it is usually how I survive. I wasn't that bad though because blogged a bit, but then rested on the couch before making the walk up to work. I was able to sneak in a nap which was much needed and seemed to be out cold most of the day. Good thing I am basically my own boss!

Sure I was dopped up on Tylenol all day but I managed to eat a meal by dinner time but I was in and out of feeling incredibly terrible. After finishing work, I was home just after 7pm and straight into bed. I was still feeling aweful and was glad to fall asleep.

But the good news is when I woke up this morning, I was a different person. I'm not 100% but I'm thinking I got a moderate case of food poisoning ** or the Stomach flu (thanks la page francais). Whatever I ate on Sunday, my body couldn't handle, neither could my muscles. One thing is still the same, doctor isn't in my vocabulary. I've had a few cases of food poisoning while I was in Switzerland and it just wasn't fun. It felt quite the same so I'm guessing that since all of my muscles ached and my stomach was in knots all day long, it's at least the best excuse I can find.

I'm happy I'm fast recovering and that's a good thing since the weather here is lovely, maybe a good 26C today with blue skies. One things for sure, Tuesday is looking a lot better.

Unique Travels

While I was living in Europe, I always wanted to find something that was a bit off the beaten path that I might be able to explore. I wanted to see as much of the European countries as possible which were all in my reach of a simple train or plane ride.

Maybe you know you aren't so into crowds that will clobber Germany this summer for the World Cup or maybe you just aren't a fan of football altogether. If heading to a Slovenian town or an Unspunnen Festival in Switzerland suits your fancy, maybe a Road less traveled might be more enticing while you travel this summer. In any case, some of the places mentioned in this article are simply great ideas to experience something a bit off the beaten path. I figure if I can't go see, at least I can write about them for now.

And don't forget to check out my guest blogger along with the weekend wrap up.

Noticing the small things in life.

*** I've decided to enact a special guest blogger. So if there are a few extra posts every now and then, I think you'll know who it will be. So Welcome P!


Enter P... (Yay, I'm a guest blogger!)

Lately, I've been feeling like I should stop worrying about the "big picture" and focus more on the small things in life that, at a glance, don't seem so important but, in reality, can bring so much mystery and joy to life. So I decided to explore the "macro" feature on my camera this weekend and try to find scenes in nature that might bring back the sense of wonder that I used to get as a child when I stared at a plant or object for too long. I miss that feeling sometimes.

Queen Elizabeth park in Vancouver was the destination for Expat and I on saturday. At first, I wasn't in much of a photo mood but after a while, I started finding little treasures that needed their pictures taken.


I took the one above because of the new growth sprouting from a branch but afterwards I noticed the sap pearls coming out of the bark and thought it made the image look even nicer.

The image below is again with the macro setting but this time, I just placed the camera on a branch and clicked. Surprisingly, it turned out nicely with the textures in the bark looking almost like geological pictures from a NASA probe.


Just goes to show that sometimes the most beautiful things in life are staring you right in the face and you don't even know it :)

Hope you all liked my first post on Expat's blog. With my camera handy, I'll write you all every once in a while, stay tuned...

P.

Weekend Wrap Up

Spring Flowers
Originally uploaded by thnkfst.

Our weekend was full of sun and immense beauty, pure heaven. Really I know I am lucky to live where I live, but at times it is hard for me to accept the beauty I left behind in Switzerland. I know at times I am very selfish for that and should be living in the moment more. I certainly did live in the moment this weekend, and here is just a minor glimpse at all of the beauty I am able to share. The spring flowers are one of my favorite shots from the trip.

So the weekend started off with a nice visit to Queen Elizabeth Park. This is the place where P and I were married in December, so I guess it does have a place in my heart. It's beauty certainly shines during the spring bloom and fall colors. Below are pink and blue flowers at the clock tower, just a short distance from Bloedel Conservatory.

It just wouldn't be right without showing off the view. Over the bushes is the North Shore, where we live in North Vancouver, maybe 40 minutes away, maybe less.

This is part of the Chinese Garden theme which connects to all of the floral beauty.

Now for the floral macros.

I'm not a fan of posting too many pics all at once, so if you'd like to see a few more from the wekeend go to flickr.

Do Swiss Really Inherit More

According to a resent study, the Swiss in fact inherit more than their European neighbors. The Swiss inherit an average legacy around half a million francs. Yes that is a lot of money but before you go about wondering why you aren't like any of these lucky "over 50" folk, you might just look closer at the facts.

• In Switzerland, inheritance and gift taxes are only levied by cantons and/or municipalities.
• Almost all cantons do not tax transfers between husband and wife and about half do not tax transfers between parents and children.
• Where children are taxed, the rates are usually very low (1%-6%).
• Transfers between non-related persons are taxed at up to 60% in certain cantons.

But before you think many older people are enjoying their inheritance, the majority of workers in Switzerland are found to retire later. Much of Switzerland's prosperity is actually due to the high value of property and the fact that individual fortunes survived relatively unscathed after the Second World War.

What Flower Are You?

I think this quiz totally explains why I'm a traveler at heart and why I'm a dreamer of all things Switzerland, all things Europe and my life as an Expat Traveler.

You Are An Iris

You are a unique woman who needs a lot of novelty in her life. An inspiration seeker, you often have to change scenery to recharge. You don't deal well with structure or rules. You need to do it your own way. Your ideal relationships are free and flowing. No one can tie you down.

What Flower Are You?

**Stay tuned, I've got some new photos coming!

The Tribal Sauvignon Blanc

Another Wine Review

Last night, we were at the liquor store when my eyes caught an under $13 white wine calling out "Buy Me". It had this nifty free pin attached to the neck of the wine bottle so I figured it was meant for me to buy. The bottle was of African Terroir, 2005, Tribal Sauvignon Blanc / Colombard and let me tell you it was impressive. I might venture to say it's probably the best white wine I've tried. But that doesn't say all too much seeing that I'm not a wine connoisseur or a white wine fanactic.

The wine reads: This wine represents a philosophical approach of the wine-making process in conjunction with favourable climates and selected soils. The harmonious care of the grapes in the vineyards has been prolonged by a gentle handling in the cellar. The result is a wine which reflects the natural beauty and terroir of South Africa.

It must have been good because I had two full glasses in the first sitting, and that just never happens. My final synopsis : A Must Buy! If you are interested in a bit more information on this wine, check out the African Terroir. Location: Sonop Wine Farm, Windmeul, South Africa

How Hot Are You?

Ok - I admit I just had to take this quiz, but I think it's really meant for those single people out there and not ones who are in committed relationships. Having said that, it's still all about my personality... Really I don't care...

You Are More Mild Than Wild

You're confident, and you really aren't concerned with how "hot" you are. Other people's ideas of what's sexy don't concern you. And this is exactly what makes you attractive.

Are You Hot?

Things That Make You Smile

I went outside yesterday morning and smiled. I thought to myself that a picture says a thousand words. Just as it's always the simple things that make me smile. Just with my luck I had my tiny camera with me, so I snapped away.

Our little Mischief makes me laugh and smile. He loves stuff animals and gets hoards of them in his toy tin. He also tends to acquire more every month. I'm really not sure why or how he does it. He certainly made me smile this morning. The things they do to you....

He's a smart little guy and puts a smile on my face daily, howls at the top of his lungs when he hears his father on the answering machine and runs into the house searching to see if he's home and ready to play. I figured I'd tell him he left out his toy again that morning, but after I took the photo. He's a bit forgetful and distracted like that, especially if he knows mom or dad's home.

And for Friday Smiles. Here's a favorite photo of the week.

What things made you smile this week?

Here's something else that made me smile this week. Isn't it a great pic?

Appetizer
What's your favorite flavor of ice cream?
Real French Vanilla

Soup
What are 3 things you would like to put in a time capsule?
my favorite photo. Something from the year I was born. A flower.

Salad
Name something you are 100% sure of.
I love my husband

Main Course
What is something you do to calm yourself when you're stressed or upset?
Blogging, surfing the internet.

Dessert
If you could receive an invitation to any important event, what would you like it to be?
Probably a friends Wedding. But really any excuse to travel will do.

Travel Plans Go To The Trash

So what would happen if your travel plans just happen to be found in the trash. I'm sure it isn't the first time something like this has happened. When it comes to travel itineraries, I personally wouldn't want the average person knowing what my plans were for the day. Sure I do share what my plans are with people who are closest to me, but certainly I still like to ensure my private life stay out of the hands of others.

On Tuesday, Sanitation worker Randy Hopkins found some odd travel plans while he was looking through the trash in Washington D.C. Reams of paper with White House stationary caught Hopkins eye early that morning during his routine garbage route. The stationary turned out to be detailed itinerary of President Bush's plans to Florida, complete with passenger lists and order of vehicles and places of visit. Hopkins called a local TV station to let them know of his find. Even though the documents weren't classified, I'm sure they are going to look into making a few changes one where the trash gets taken out. Now that's just one set of travel plans I wouldn't want to have go into the trash.

Waiting is the Hardest Part

Here's a bit of a rant about my week and well I'm not so sure I knew where I was going but this cat certainly gets my point across...

All week I keep waking up trying to pry my eyes open, just wishing for a minute longer of sleep. I know, I'm sure I'm not the only one lacking sleep. But since I've been really striving to make myself get up early, it's been that much harder. Yes an alarm clock would help too!

This week I've found myself going non-stop all day long. I've been following up on my to-do lists daily and trying to make sure I accomplish what I should be doing. I think I even made three incredible dinner dishes. Monday I made something with pork. I remember Tuesday was Shepards Pie made from scratch with yummy white potatoes, lean ground beef mixed into a delicious sauce, which too long to make. Yesterday was some perfectly cooked salmon which just peeled off the foil and onto your fork. I was proud of myself but with everything else I did, that little amount of extra effort just killed me as it so seems.

And just to let you know, I'm not that much of a cook. In my teens and early twenties, I was swimming so I never really made dinner. That's a lot of practicing I missed out on. And when I grew up my parents never added taste into our foods. But my only real goal is for the food to actually taste good. Well good enough so that people finish it.

With all this extra effort I've been putting into my daily tasks, I find by the time I get home and actually try to relax, all of my effort goes into dreaming. The good side of things, is that I've found a few new internet sites, some of the dreaming rubs off on P, and well I've been learning a lot.

But I think all of this tiredness is caused from waiting. I never thought waiting for my immigration papers would wear me out so much. I'm still on the waiting list for my application to be assigned to an actual person. So I find myself dreaming and thinking of what my goals are in the future. It's true it puts a certain drain on a person that really isn't seen all too clearly, especially since I feel like I'm putting much of my life on hold just waiting. And at times that waiting is the hardest part.

In Pink

in pink
Originally uploaded by thnkfst.

I tried snapping off a few photos today. It was a bit tricky without sufficient lighting, although it was sunny outside. Here are a few of my favs. The first I just love because the bouquet is just beautiful. I uploaded a few more onto Flickr.

Second on is in purple. I think they were died but they look incredible with the white background.

Lastly I must say the rerun of Rick Mercer was a load of laughs. He was asking American's from prestigious universities such questions as being for or against seal hunts in Alberta or having a Navy as long as Canada could borrow their waters to have a fleet. I'm just so amazed how serious people take the stuff.



As posed tonight on my favorite travel show, remember that while in Venice buses don't get flats. And I thought I knew everything about traveling.

The Lonsdale Quay

Since most of last week was sunny, I planned with P to take a walk down to our waterfront and enjoy the views while taking a few photographs as well. North Vancouver's Lonsdale Quay is quite an experience full of tourists throughout most of the summer months. For me walking down to this touristy spot, known to locals as "the key", the views are always amazing even if the weather isn't 100% as I would like it. Well I know growing up in California with near perfect temperatures 90% of the time just does that to me. I want good weather always!

So we took a few pics and my little camera started to malfunction. I was getting worried because I love this little camera and well I don't understand why this is happening. I love being able to tote it around in a tiny purse and just catch an instant shot when I can.

So I'm hoping you guys might be able to tell me what the problem is. At times I can just turn the camera back on and it looks like the top photo. But throughout most of our walk, the camera was malfunctioning and the photos looked like the following...
This is the Lonsdale Quay waterfront. It's under construction as you can see by the boards. To me the photo looks like a fuzzy camera. Do you see it? By the way, usually most camera's have a preview area. The photos look exactly the same on the preview (or to the eye) and while I am scanning to take a pic.

Has anyone else experienced a malfunction like this on their camera?

At any rate, I've been looking at a few inspirational photos today. I have some great flower subject which I hope to find the time to photograph tomorrow. We shall see. High hopes!

Update: The camera is a Fuji Finepix 4800 Zoom. See Website link for lots more information.

Swiss Interactive Maps

I just found a really cool map. I'm sure some of you have the topographical maps of switzerland. I know they always came in handy when I went hiking. So I've found it via the web too!

Playing Catch Up

The majority of the weekend I spent sick/out cold and without any energy at all. I'm not really sure what happened but my guess was it was either something I ate or just a sudden bug which completely drained all of my energy out of me. It could have been also the way I slept the night before but when I woke up, I didn't have enough energy to move or eat.

Luckily it was raining outside so the day wasn't so wasted trying to enjoy the sunshine. But the bummer of it all was that I was really itching to get out and exercise and well I did try. P was being so nice but laughing a bit because I was a slow walking granny at that. I even had to hold onto P for support and kept on telling him to slow down. One good side of things is that I didn't have an appetite and well I actually ate slower. The eating slower is something I miss about being in Switzerland because I actually did it there. I think it's so unhealthy to eat so fast yet I still do it? Why....

So I have yet to even upload pics I took from Friday which turned out to be more of a dreary type of day than full sun and blue skies. But we did manage to walk down to the Key for the first time since moving. There is a large renovation going on so there wasn't as much to enjoy as we had hoped. Oh well, there's always next time.... I'll see if there are any pics worth posting today.

This is an older pic of the Lonsdale Quay on a sunnier summer day.

A Part of Paradise

One of my fondest memories of Switzerland are all of the hikes and thermal baths I got to visit. Looking at the clear blue sky overlooking paradise might say it all, but I think the reason why this is so clear to me is because hiking is a very laid out and easy thing to do in any city in Switzerland. Thermal baths can be found probably in every canton of Switzerland including the Valais and are usually within a short hiking distance in sight. Sure it does help knowing locals who can give you some tips worth a thousand memories.

One of the most scenic areas carries on from Interlaken into the Valais and is certainly one of the most under visited areas around. What's so incredible about the Valais area is the feeling you get while driving on the autobahn through the mountains. Vineyards line the low levels of the valley along with luscious fruits throughout the summer months. Higher up you will find vast mountains leading to some of the highest peaks in the Alps making one feel like an ant upon the valley floor. The only way to describe it is as fascinating.

My most favorite thermal bath in canton Valais has to be Ovronnaz hidden among those chalets. Ovronnaz sits high up in the Valais and located exactly between Sion and Martigny. You start by traversing up a steep one lane road overlooking the famous Valais Vineyards. Ovronnaz enjoys a sweet and tonic climate at an height of 1'350 m. The views mystically pulling you are breath taking and spread in a wonderful mountain circus, offering sunshine and sight over the alps from Valais. It's definitely a part of paradise that I want to go back to.

In case your interested, here are a few more thermal baths I've visited. Some of my favorites include Zurzach near Baden, Ovronnaz nearest to Sion and Montreux, Morschach near Brunnen and Bad Ragaz near Litchenstein.

Happy Cinco de Mayo

Well I'm late on posting today because I slept in this morning (must have needed the extra sleep) and then went out to enjoy the sun and exercise. I'm just on call today for work which makes it much more enjoyable for a sunny day. Oh and we do have plans which I'll post later. So onto the post.

Here in North America we really celebrate Cinco De Mayo a lot more simply because it's more commercialized. The main gain is to make sure sales of food and cervezas. People mostly make it a reason to party but really forget why Mexican's (their orgins being from Mexico or Hispanic) celebrate the day.

Well actually I wouldn't say it's just Hispanic's because I can remember going to a few parties with my parents in my younger years. Everyone always made great food, dressed up in wonderful traditional dresses, had a pinata with candy spewing out of it, and made the most incredible ethnic food along with a few cervezas. Certainly where I grew up we had a wide variety of Hispanics, even at my school, to show us just everything about enjoying this day, especially what a good pinata looked like. I think pinata's had enough influence that many of my friends growing up just had to have one for their birthday at least once.

Here's a bit of history to go along with the day.

The history and significance of Cinco De Mayo commemorates the defeat of the French army by the Mexicans at The Battle Of Puebla in 1862 (see photo above). So, why Cinco de Mayo? And why should Americans savor this day as well? Because 4,000 Mexican soldiers smashed the French and traitor Mexican army of 8,000 at Puebla, Mexico, 100 miles east of Mexico City on the morning of May 5, 1862.

Of course when celebrating this holiday, nothing can be more complete that talking about Beer. Be sure to take a look at the origins and how it was an Ancient Aphrodisiac. And make sure you check out more about Mexican Beer origins. And I little birdy told me that there are a few of you out there that will be enjoying this weekend and partaking in festivities.