Photo of the Week - Spooky Time

Happy Halloween to everyone all over the world! This chap was made at the Kindergarten where I work. Myself and two other staff helped to make him!

I went to a Halloween party on Saturday and kind of dressed up as a witch, it was lots of fun.

It seems like a good post for the end of October!

A Day Out in Berwick upon Tweed

During my recent trip back to Scotland my sister and I took a day trip just over the border to Berwick upon Tweed in Northumberland. Normally we try to go away for a few days like last year we went to Belfast, but this year it was not possible to do that.

We walked around the defensive town walls which gave us lovely views of the sea and of the different bridges over the river Tweed including Stephenson`s viaduct bridge. There is not too much left of the fortress except the walls and some canons. Berwick has been in the hands of the English and Scottish over the centuries, many battles have been fought but now it is in England. Although the football team plays in the Scottish football league.

We enjoyed a lovely lunch and looked at the shops, did our walk and hit the pub for a wee drink in the late afternoon. We saw Berwick Parish Church which is now a gift shop and cafe in it, we did not go there for a coffee.

I particularly like the name The Old Whaling House, I think it belong to the house with the red door and if so it looked like a really nice house to live in.

Next year we will see where my sister and I will go, hopefully it will be for a few days but it will be in the UK as there is lots to explore.

September Films and Books

During the September I saw only two films one of those being To Rome with Love. I enjoyed it very much and in general like Woody Allen films. It was nice to see bits of Rome, all the actors were good and it was quite funny.

The second film I saw was Magic Mike, I also liked this film (what was not to like).

I managed to read five books in September, The House at Sea`s End by Elly Griffith. This is like the fifth or fourth in a series of books about a Dr Ruth Galloway, who is a forensic archaeologist living in Norfolk. She helps the police, DI Nelson when needed with her special area of knowledge. I really like these books and managed to get two more, so I could find out what happened before to Ruth.

Then I read The Expats by Chris Pavone, I also enjoyed this, a spy thriller set mainly in Luxembourg, but also all over Europe.

Next came The Understudy by David Nichols, this was ok about a guy who is the understudy in a play and he falls for the wife of the lead actor.

Then another crime novel by Alex Gray called Never Somewhere Else, set in Glasgow it follows the team headed by DCI Lorimer and a psychologist called Solomon Brightman. Three women has been murdered and they have to find the killer.

Finally I read Body Surfing by Anita Shreve, lately I have read a few novels by her, I really enjoyed this book and finished it quite fast. It tells the story of Sydney who comes to New England to work for a family to tutor their daughter Julie. The sister has two older brothers and Sydney get involved with them and to figure out her own life.

Photo of the Week - Hettie the Highland Cow

This lovely creature that I have named Hettie was in the grounds of Scone Palace very near to Perth, that we visited while I was Scotland with Alessio. Right at the end of our visit we saw the Highland cows and went over to see them, she was quite curious about us. They are such lovely creatures and their hair lies right over their eyes. The whole day was cold and damp, in fact it started to rain while we were walking around the gardens. It was time to go home and get nice and cozy!

The weather is changing here too and we are looking at a rather cold weekend, with maybe even snow! What is everyone up to this weekend?

Lake Zurich Trail - Section 10

This is the last post of my walk around Lake Zurich, in fact Alessio and I did this hike last autumn. The last section is from Küsnacht to Zurich - Burgwies which takes 7.8km and takes just under 2 hours.

As you can see from the photos we had a wonderful day for it, starting in the Küsnachter ravine we came across lots of ponds with reeds and bushes. We stopped for a while at one of the ponds, it was a busy place with people picnicing, kids running around or like us just sitting and enjoying the view.

Alessio spotted a playground where we always have to stop for a bit, then we carried on through more forest and lovely scenery until finally we reach the outskirts of Zurich.

Once in Zurich we caught a tram into the centre, so now I will have to look for a new hiking route to follow. Especially one that I can bring Alessio with me, so not too difficult, if anyone knows of some ideas they are welcome to let me know.

Mont Blanc

At the beginning of September when my parents were visiting we took a four day trip to Chamonix in France. One of the things we did was to take the cable car which is the highest in Europe, up to Aiguille du Midi which takes you to a whopping height of 3777m above sea level. Then you can hop in a lift which takes you up to the height of 3842m.

Once up we saw that a lot of people were walking up and going down with all the correct gear needed to do such a climb. You cannot actually go up to Mont Blanc unless you are prepared for a long and tiring hike.

Just to prove that we all went up to this height, then we headed off for a coffee and a sit down as we all felt somewhat light headed for a little while.

We were blessed with a glorious day for a trip so high in the sky. The views are of the French, Swiss and Italian Alps were just wonderful to look at, we could not get enough. There is cable car that takes you over the glacier du Géant to the Pointe Helbronner in  Italy and back again, this we did not do.

The zig-zag lines you see in the photos are people walking with up or down, it took us a while to realize this. It is really amazing to see this!

It is definitely worth going on this trip and if you get a wonderful weather you will have fantastic memories of your day.

Photo of the Week - Zurich Film Festival

The film festival has been finished for a while now, but with being busy and away on holiday only now I manage to put up a small post on the subject.

This was taken at the Frauenbadi which means swimming area only for women, there was the location for two different aperos. My friend and I were lucky that a friend of hers was invited to this apero and had two spare tickets. So off we went to the place which was decorated very nicely to get lots of free drinks and lovely food, unbeknown to me we were also going to the premiere of the new Til Schweiger ( a famous German actor) film called Schutengel. He was supposed to be there but sadly he was unable to make it so his producer came and spoke to the audience.

Still we had a great time and we could have continued with the partying with more free drinks but we both had to work early the next day.

A Walk on a beach

Alessio and I have arrived back to Zurich from our 10 days in Scotland, we had a great time visiting lots of places, taking hikes and of course seeing our family.

The first Saturday we walked down to the beach at Broughty Ferry where my parents live, also with us was my sister Elena and her two boys Liam and Jamie. The sun was shining, even though it was quite cold and the boys enjoyed running along the beach, collecting stones and in Jamie`s case spotting a crab!

Along this area is the lifeboat which we saw in action the following saturday along with the helicopter, but I think it was a practice run!

Also long here is Broughty Ferry Castle which we have visited on numerous actions, here is a photo of it and next to the castle is an excellent playground. It was full of kids and the boys had a great time, eventually we got them away and into in the town for a coffee.

A great start to our holiday in Scotland!