We Have Arrived!

We have arrived! Overall, I would have to say the trip was trouble-free. There were only a couple of minor nuisances which I'll describe soon enough.

The kids were great! They survived the trip quite well and were very excited to see their apartment. Overall, they were troopers! They were not at all happy that the neighborhood restaurant is smoke-filled, but we can find other places to dine in the future.

I did not take many pictures during the trip over. I think Nic has some nicer ones, but the ones in this entry are cameraphone pics of questionable quality. Everyone else is asleep as I type this entry. The first night I always wake up early. As for the photos, I have included photos of Ellie and Isaac eating breakfast shortly before arriving in Amsterdam, of Isabel during the flight to Geneva, and of Geneva as we are landing.

If you have extremely good eyesight you can see the fountain in the Geneva pic. This fountain is at the Westernmost end of Lake Geneva.

In the picture of Isabel, you can see how exhausted she was by the time we landed in Geneva.

The pics of Ellie and Isaac are fun only because they were in their pajamas this whole flight. They changed clothes in their seats using their blankets for privacy. I wish I were small enough to do that.



Now for the nuisances. As I opened my backpack to remove my laptop for security in Minneapolis I realized that I left my work laptop in my office. BIG PROBLEM! Fortunately, we had arrived at the airport early, Nicole has nerves of steel, and I had the airport taxi number. Leaving Nic & the kids at the airport, I jumped in a cab to grab the laptop. Everything went smoothly from here, and I boarded the plane only 5 minutes after Nic & the kids.

Nuisance number 2 was traffic & a shabbily-maintained rental car. I didn't count the time, but the drive from Geneva to Lausanne was WAY TOO LONG! Traffic was bumper-to-bumper most of the way, and our rental car was flashing a warning signal most of the way. I pulled over to check the car and found some black tar-like substance in place of motor oil. When I phoned Avis to tell them about the situation, they were surprised at the poor maintenance but did not want to take any action unless the car was dead. Well, I think I will trade this car in soon.

Everyone should be waking up soon. I expect everyone will be hungry. We will have to find a place for breakfast and start our day. I doubt we will attack any tourist events today. Primarily, we will be unpacking, buying groceries, trading the car, and meeting a family for appetizers. I should think of something fun to do with the kids. I think there is a park nearby.

Goodbye for now! Wish us luck learning French. Last night at the local restaurant was our first experience in a francophone world, and we clearly need to learn more French (or the Swiss need to learn more English)!