Week 14: December 3-9
- Katie & Webster
- Dec 10, 2018
- 5 min read
This week has been filled with adventures! We are counting down the days that we have left in London and making the most of our time here.
On Monday, Webster played what he thought was his last soccer game. I have been asking to come and watch since we got here, but since no one else brings spectators he was embarrassed to have me there. He thought it was his last game so he let me come and take photos! Even though he didn’t score, it was fun to see what he does every Monday evening. This week he is in the semi-finals!
On Tuesday I went to a Ketchum PR conference in Central London. It was based on launching a brand with purpose. It was really interesting to hear from people in the marketing industry about their experiences.
Webster spent the night exploring the British Library which houses 14 million books! At the library they had original notebooks from Shakespeare and Leonardo Da Vinci. They also had papers from the 4th century. He had a wonderful time and definitely recommends it to anyone who loves to read!
On Wednesday, I had my work Christmas party so I arrived home later than usual. We spent the evening doing some laundry and packing for our weekend away. We also found a place to live when we are in Australia. We are splitting our time staying at two different places. First, we are staying with a family in a beautiful home in Central Sydney. Then, we are staying in a flat with another young couple who work in accounting. The building has a pool and sauna. It’s such a relief to have all the parts of our next adventure finally coming together.
On Thursday, Webster worked from home and finished packing up for our weekend away. He met me after work at Victoria Station and we took the Gatwick Express to the airport. We left London and headed to Geneva, Switzerland. This was our weekend away that I was most looking forward to, so I was very excited. We took off at 8:15pm and arrived in Geneva by 10:30pm, even with a one hour time change! Of course I slept for part of the flight, so thankfully Webster had some episodes of Friends downloaded on his phone. We spent the night (in France) at an AirBnB very close to the airport. We stayed with a local French family and had a great experience.
On Friday morning we woke up very early and headed into the city centre of Geneva. Our first stop was at a French boulangerie in the little village we were staying in. We had delicious croissants! Then we caught a bus to the UN Headquarters in Geneva. We were lucky enough to attend a tour through the main building. We saw the General Assembly room, the old League of Nations room, and a few conference rooms. We even saw a meeting taking place, where a representative from Canada was present. After our official tour we walked around the grounds to the front of the buildings and saw all the UN country flags.
Afterwards, we saw the famous “Broken Chair” an art piece that has one broken leg!
Then we continued onto the Jet L’eau (Water Jet). We were so lucky to have such great weather, we even saw a rainbow! Behind it on the walking trail there was a flower clock - it was beautiful even in the cold temperatures!
After our quick morning exploring Geneva, we hopped on a train into the Swiss Alps! There was no wifi on the train but the scenery was so beautiful it didn’t even matter. We drove along the lake past mountain peaks and beautiful landscapes.
When we arrived, we checked into our hotel, Fairmont Le Montreux Palace. We splurged and decided to stay in this beautiful hotel which was once a palace and is more than 100 years old. It was spectacular. With a world class spa, beautifully designed rooms and views over the mountains it was well worth it!
We spent the afternoon and evening exploring Montreux. They have a huge Christmas market, one of the biggest in Europe, which spans about a kilometre along the water. We walked, took some photos and wandered through the market. We even saw Santa fly overhead - it was so cool! We both left our mark on the wishing tree, a popular tradition during the holiday's.
Then we stopped in at a grocery store to get some food for our room (Switzerland is very expensive so I was thankful we decided to eat in for a few meals). Later on, we headed to the spa to enjoy the pools, hot tub, and sauna. Webster was brave and even went in the plunge pool!
On Saturday we woke up and enjoyed breakfast on our balcony. Look at the view!
Then we went for a walk along the lake. The mountains were spectacular! We both got some lunch at the market and then headed back to the hotel for my spa afternoon! Webster treated me to a massage and facial for my birthday a few months ago and I was so looking forward to being pampered! I have never had such an amazing facial, it was well worth the wait! Webster spent the afternoon in the spa, enjoying some relaxation. Then he headed out to explore Montreux a little more. He climbed 101 flights of stairs zig-zagging up and down the sides of the mountains. Needless to say he was tired Saturday night. We headed back out to the market for dinner and finished the night with some time in the hot tub!
On Sunday morning we took our time getting up. We headed to the spa once more for some time in the sauna. It was wonderful to relax a bit more before heading back to work. Then, we checked out of our room and went for a long walk to the Chillon Castle. The castle was about 3km from our hotel and we walked along the lake the entire time. It was a beautiful afternoon, with a little rain here and there, but beautiful landscapes along the way. When we arrived at the castle we took some time walking through the gardens and taking some photos. Then we headed back towards the city centre stopping for a hot drink along the way.
We left Montreux at about 4pm to head to Geneva Airport. We had to take a train to the airport, a plane to London and then a train back into the city. It was a long journey but we arrived back home at 11:30pm London time. Thankfully I had this morning off work and Webster worked from home so we slept in a little bit. This week we are doing everything left on our to do list! It seems like we just got here, but our time is running out! Stay tuned for our last few weeks in London!
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