Vertical Forest in Milan!

I really love this amazing looking building in Milan dubbed the vertical forest due to the amount of trees everywhere. They are a pair of residential towers, designed by Boeri Studio, with input from horticulturalists and botanists. Lucky for me they were near to our hotel so I could gaze at them whenever we took the metro into the city. I would have loved to have gone much nearer and seen the grounds and not to mention see what each flat looked like inside!

Snowy Garden

Now that it is the weekend, it is actually hard to believe that on Tuesday morning the outside of my flat looked like this. I mean it looked really beautiful, don`t get me wrong! It is nice to see snow covered on nature, as it had not really snowed that much this winter.

I guess this was maybe the last show of winter before spring officially starts, there is always a chance of some late snow even in April. (let`s hope not).

Wishing everyone a lovely weekend!



 Some links to check out:

With Easter in a few weeks, here are some ideas where to go!
A blog I really like, there are always fab photos of flowers and gardens!
If you have a stopover in Iceland this is a new way to spend it!

Cherry Blossom in Japan

At the Imperial Palace garden area

Arlene trying to catch the cherry blossom!

In Kyoto at the castle

Again at the castle

One of the many many reasons to visit Japan is to see the amazing cherry blossom season. Sadly we missed the actual season as we arrived mid April, but we were still lucky to see the odd tree here and there. The first 4 photos are in Tokyo around the Imperial Palace area, when you see a cherry tree especially since the season is finished you get excited. The wind was blowing, so all the blossoms were flying around, hence Arlene trying to catch them.

The last 4 photos are in Kyoto outside the castle in its garden, there are whole cherry blossom areas but only these few were still in blossom. It makes you think just how truly amazing it would have been to see loads and loads of cherry blossom trees in bloom. I could have easily taken much more photos of these trees, they were so beautiful to see.

So the whole trip was pretty amazing and as you can imagine there will be lots of posts about Tokyo and Kyoto! I hope you do not get bored!!

Photo of the Week - Shining Bright!

November was a lovely month here in Zurich if I have remembered correctly! There were lots of days with the sun shining and blue skies! This was taken in November on a Sunday, Alessio and I were out and about in Zurich.

Now in December it has been grey, dull, rainy and cold! To be expected I suppose!

Bubikon to Lützel Lake Hike

In September my parents always come to visit for just over 2 weeks, one of the main reasons is that Alessio has his birthday at the beginning of the month.

While they are here I try to plan outings and in the last couple of years we have had long weekends away. This year we had no long weekend away instead we did some day trips, we also like to try and do a hikes.

I drove to Bubikon where the hike begins, it is circular hike which takes you to the Lützel lake and then back to Bubikon. It started off well and we were walking and enjoying the lovely Swiss scenery and saw lots of animals. We liked seeing the cows wearing some massive bells and the sounds it made! Then suddenly my father realized that we had taken a wrong turning a bit back. We were heading in the right direction of the lake but not the way we were supposed to go, anyway we continued and finally made it to the lake. It was rather warm by this time and we were extremely glad to have some refreshments in the badi! The lake is very small and the badi was busy not everyone was there to swim. Some were like us just there to enjoy the scenery and warm day.

Afterwards we carried on our journey back to Bubikon, by this time we were all exhausted and happy to get back to the car. Just before we reached the outskirts of the town we saw many horses, and I mean possibly around 50 or maybe more. They all looked beautiful, we tried to count them but it was impossible.

Bubikon itself looked like a nice small town and as per usual on a Sunday in Switzerland everything was closed even cafes and bars. So we headed back to Kilchberg for a bit of relaxing!

Photo of the Week - Zurich Christmas Tree

Yes it is that time of the year again Christmas! I do have to say that I love Christmas and it is nothing to do with the fact that it is also my birthday! I have been slowly putting up Christmasy things in the flat and in the middle of December I will buy a real tree. Alessio and I will decorate it together, we already bought the baubles! There are many Christmas trees in Zurich and this one is where the Carlton Restaurant is situated, at the back.

Apple Juice Making

Here it comes!

Into the funnel and glass jar!

Freshly made apple juice

Shop to buy fruit and other stuff too!

One of the trips we did with the kids from work was to visit a fruit farm and see how apple juice is made, also to make some for ourselves. In Wädenswil we took the bus up and got some lovely views of the lake, once at our stop it was a short walk to the farm.

The farmer showed the kids which fruits they grow such as apples, grapes, plums and kiwi to name a few. Then it was time to get ready for the first part of the apple juice making. In field the kids had to pick up lots of apples from the ground and to make sure they were not bruised or just did not look nice! Then they put the apples in a crate, once the farmer said they had collected enough if was over the road and back the farm area again.

Then the kids took turns putting the apples into the machine and turning the wheel so the apples got squashed. Once all the apples had been used they were then pressed with a heavy block of stone and we could see the apple juice coming out.

It was amazing to see how much apple juice the kids made, then they each got a turn to fill up small bottles to take home. And of course to taste the apple juice after all their hard work! And yes it did taste very nice and they all loved it.

I have been on many trips with the kids and they usually always love to go somewhere and have fun. This was an especially good one as they got to see how apple juice is made and the many different processes it has to go through before they get the end product at home.

Flowers

From one day to another the weather has changed from warm, sunny and blue skies to rain, overcast grey skies! So some photos to remind us of warmer days!

As it is a long weekend most people make the most and go away, for some reason I have usually always stayed in Zurich during Easter. It can be nice to stay as the city is much quieter, but alas the little one woke up not feeling so good.

Anyway Happy Easter!