Nestle Chocolate Factory

We visited the Nestle/Cailler chocolate factory this weekend and it was pretty amazing. We liked pretending that we were visiting Willy Wonka's factory. The wallpaper was a collage of chocolate with pieces of fruit here and there. We were tempted to taste it but opted for sniffs instead. It didn't smell. Here's Henry shouting that he found the golden ticket.

They invite you to watch a movie that was made pre 1965 for sure. Then you get to walk through the factory and see the progression of chocolate making machines. Interestingly the Swiss have just honed their craft of making chocolate because of their passion for chocolate. The raw ingredients for making chocolate are far from Switzerland.

Then you enter a room full of chocolate and sample as much as you like. I guess they figure you can only eat so much chocolate. I could only handle about 6 pieces. Kind of a bummer it has to end. In fact I couldn't even eat chocolate the next day.

We had a great time this weekend with the Davis family. We already miss them. Henry is especially sad that they are gone. He really does miss being home in the States with friends and family.

The Weekend

Our shipment arrived on Thursday! Woo hoo. It has been so nice to have real forks and knives. The kids have been so excited to have all of their "gear."

On Saturday we visited Ste. Croix. The reason: When Greg and I came out to check out Geneva they took us up to the mountains. For lunch I got this sandwich called crote de formage. It is a gigantic super deluxe grilled cheese sandwich. They put a gigantic piece of bread an inch thick and enough to cover the whole plate, then they put a slice of ham on top of that and melt about a pound of Gruyere cheese on top. Six months later Greg and I were both craving it. We tried to find the same restaurant, but got too hungary before we did. It was good, but I'm guessing it will be another six months before we want it again!

First Guests

The Davis family arrived on the 9th of August. It was fun having them with us for a few days before they ventured off to Germany and other parts of Switzerland. They'll be back this Saturday for a few more days. Henry and Elsa have loved playing with their cousins. Jacob is great for wrestling with Henry and Matty keeps both of them busy most of the time. She even reads Elsa stories at night until she falls asleep-which is no easy task. Ansel took a special liking to Lisa. I'm stunned. He usually won't go to any woman, especially if I'm around. It was sweet to see him climb right on Lisa's lap and let her hold him. We can't wait until they come back.

We visited the Castle Chillon which is about an hour away in Montreux. It was one of the best castles I've been to. It was very kid friendly and also furnished. Henry loved it. He was running from room to room wanting to know all about the people who lived there or were imprisoned there. The whole way home he talked non-stop about what it would be like to be a knight. I'm sure glad he got that knight set for Christmas.


Lisa, Laura, Matty, Elsa and Ansel waiting for the bus outside of our apartment. We spent the day downtown Geneva. We should have taken pictures when we got home. Waiting for the bus was the only time it wasn't raining. After more than three hours we were drenched.


Matty, Elsa, Henry, Jacob, April and Ron


So the kids were treated to a ride on a carousel during our downtown jaunt. I tried to get Ansel to sit on a horse, but he would have none of it. He saw this race car on the way to the horse and it was all over.

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

So I haven't updated in a while. Our camera died and it just didn't seem as fun to post without pictures. Nothing I have to say seemed worthy enough. My sister and her family arrived a week ago and brought us a camera from Grandma and Grandpa. They got a new one and didn't need two! Thanks so much. We're back.