Since Jeff left on Monday, I'm counting down even more than usual. Here are a few things I'm really looking forward to about being back in the States:
- Almost never having to breathe cigarette smoke (especially in outdoor restaurant seating)
- Cooking for more than one person, and having someone else to help clean as we go
- Having enough time after work to actually decompress and take care of things around the house
- Having Jeff around all the time. (this one counts way more than the others)
- Having my whole wardrobe at my disposal (sounds shallow, but if you haven't worn the same 7 outfits over and over for 6 months, you probably don't know how tiresome it gets)
- Free laundry!
- Cheap food!
- Cheap restaurants!
- Not having to deal with other people on my commute to work
Of course, there are also a ton of things that I'll miss about being here in Geneva, but I'll get to those in a later post.
Jeff's visit was so nice! If you've seen either of our Facebook albums, you'll know how lovely it was already. His first night in Geneva, we went to the Old Town for dinner, to the same fondue place I went with friends several months ago. We got fondue and white wine and a tomato and mozzarella salad with flan for dessert. On Saturday we went to the market in my neighborhood, took a nice walk by the lake, and went to a "generic European party," as Jeff dubbed it (affectionately); eating bread and cheese and drinking wine by the river.
We went to the mountains and to Montreux, which is a lovely town.
We cooked and worked and walked and cuddled. We went to Prague and met up with our family friend, Michael, who has spent a lot of time there and knew all the great places to show us. We were reminded how much we enjoy spending hours on end together, rather than just 15-30 minutes per day on a video call. His last night here, we went to a restaurant called Wine and Beef, which is just what it sounds like, and had fantastic steak and even better conversation, and then had a romantic walk back by the lake, which was reflecting lights from the city...so lovely.
We cooked and worked and walked and cuddled. We went to Prague and met up with our family friend, Michael, who has spent a lot of time there and knew all the great places to show us. We were reminded how much we enjoy spending hours on end together, rather than just 15-30 minutes per day on a video call. His last night here, we went to a restaurant called Wine and Beef, which is just what it sounds like, and had fantastic steak and even better conversation, and then had a romantic walk back by the lake, which was reflecting lights from the city...so lovely.
And then he left, and I went back to work, and I'm still generally happy, but I'm REALLY looking forward to going to California to see Jeff and my parents and my kitty. I have to remind myself that the days are long, but the weeks are short...
Things that are making me happy:
- Coffee breaks with friends after lunch
- Chatting with my department director, who is back from vacation
- Learning through my work
- Cooking successful recipes (this week was a farro salad with prosciutto and cauliflower)
- Reading (21 books down now!)
So looking forward to having you in CA for a bit when you get back. I know you miss things here and that you'll probably miss things there after you get home (reliable public transit, living by a beautiful lake, all your new friends to name a few)... Somehow I think you'll be back there again 😊
ReplyDeleteSo glad everything is going well. You're so positive! Have a great time on this end to this fantastic journey! Looking forward to you coming home to the USA soon :-)
ReplyDelete