riving to Italy (again) meant driving through Switzerland (again), and seeing that it stunned me with its landscape the first time, I was excited to enjoy it again so soon. Our drive through boring Zurich had me worried that perhaps I had seen the best of Switzerland on our last trip, but arriving at our stop for the night - Lake Lucerne - restored my belief that this in fact might be the most spectacular country I've ever seen.
We arrived at our hotel very late at night and left rather early in the morning, but even the view from our modest, short stay was pretty amazing (see first photo below). After a quick breakfast at the hotel, we spend a little time down by the lake taking in the picturesque landscape. Everything from the brilliant sky to the surrounding mountains to the swans that had taken up residence on the sparkling lake seemed like it had been hand-picked to make the most beautiful scenery ever. No mangy birds or homeless people or graffitied walls marred the vistas. Switzerland would not accept anything less than this perfection.
After getting on the road, I was thinking in my next life I would like to come back as a Swiss swan and live in this magically perfect location - until we started to see the cows again. I don't care what all those propaganda-filled commercials from back in the states say about 'California cows are happy cows'. No sir, I want to spend my next life - or hell, all my next lives - as a cow in the Swiss Alps. With their softly-clanking bells, amazing vistas and seriously the greenest grass I've ever seen to eat, these cows have it made. Spending my days lounging around these hillsides, taking in the dramatic, rocky mountains and countless waterfalls sounds about like heaven.
On our drive to Italy, we got a taste of the lovely cow life with hours of stunning landscapes and waterfalls bathed in the most gorgeous mid-morning light. Swiss cows, I seriously envy you.
Daily Drop Cap by Jessica Hische
witzerland was one of those places that I'd never really dreamed about. Sure, I thought it would be great to go, but I wasn't exactly clamoring to get there (I think this is how most people who have never been to Germany feel about it as well). It wasn't until we made our way though this beautiful country on our way to Italy that I suddenly understood what all the bank accounts, incredibly high cost of living and that ride at Disneyland are all about. It was as if around every bend in the road, an even better and more impossibly gorgeous scene came into view. Quite literally, the grass really was greener. 
ere I am, nearly a month after my last post, wondering again where the time has gone. I mean, I know where the time has gone - my mother's visit, countless dying and crafty projects, our road trip to Italy, cooking some of my favorite dishes for my mom, throwing a baby shower for a friend, visiting our first local fest of the season - but it seems as if it has all flown by so fast. Wasn't it just the other day I was still counting the days - heck, even the weeks! - till my mom's arrival..? I suppose the good side of all this is that the time until our next visit, which is sadly as-of-yet unscheduled, should pass in an equally rapid blur.
