Girls just wanna have fun!!!! My friend Joan and I flew to Dubai for the weekend for a bit of shopping!! Arriving late Thursday evening and rising early Friday morning we left our hotel room and arrived at The Dubai Mall at 8:30am. The shops didn’t open until 10:00am, but that was ok because that…
Canadian Rocker Bryan Adams in Concert, Doha, Qatar
Doha This Canadian was SO excited to hear that Bryan Adams was playing in Doha! The venue was at the Grand Hyatt Hotel – the concert was literally in someone’s back yard! The quality of the pictures I took with my iPhone are not great because of our distance from the stage. The videos are…
The Private, Luxury Car Collection of the Alfardan Family, Qatar
Afforded a class trip to visit the private Alfarden car collection, this was a once and a lifetime opportunity to view luxury vehicles of the elite. The Alfarden family name is associated with luxury cars, real estate and priceless jewels. Viewing their priceless car collection left me speechless……. There were Ferraris, Maseratis, Rolls Royces (one owned…
Flying Over Mont Blanc Mountain
Leaving Switzerland, on our way home to Doha, Qatar the pilot announced we were flying over the famous Mont Blanc mountain. I thought of sharing this because the “White Mountain”, is the highest mountain in the Alps… and very cool! Love, Stephanie ps….lets hope I zoomed in and took pictures of the correct mountain!!! LoL!!…
Contamine-Sarzin, France
This one night stopover in France, on our way back to Geneva, was a wonderful family visit for my husband to spend time with his niece Cheryl and meet her new family! Contamine-Sarzin is the hometown of her husband where his family has lived for many generations. This visit was all about the food!!!! Cheryl took…
The Flüela Pass, Graubünden, Switzerland
Driving through this high mountain pass in the Swiss Alps, on our way to France, was yet another memory! Not so much for the beauty – and it was beautiful -but for the sheer fear and excitement of the experience! Our little rented car, while equipped for driving in Switzerland, depended on the navigation and…
Guarda, Switzerland -A True Fairytale Village of History and Inspiration
Recommended as a must-see before leaving the area, Guarda was our next stop after leaving Lavin. After a few switchbacks that wound the way up a grassy slope, we arrived at a village, literally out of a storybook. This tiny village inspired the design of the main character’s home in his first childrens book, published…
Lavin, Switzerland – Visiting the Guitar Maker, Luke Brunner
We arrived in Lavin around 7:00pm, at the home of Luke Brunner. Our host warmly welcomed us, then showed us to the small apartment in his home we rented for the night. We spoke briefly as we settled in, then my musician husband happily left with Luke to receive a tour of his workshop: Brunner Guitars. I opted out of…
Driving from Campione d’Italia, an Italian Exclave to Lavin, Switzerland
This was a beautiful drive of transforming culture and architecture as well as changing landscape as we left Campione d’Italia and drove through the Mediterranean inspired Swiss town of Lugano and Italian commune Porlezza back into the European inspired areas of Switzerland surrounded by the Alps such as St. Moritz , Zernez and Susch that lead us to Lavin. By the time…
Visiting the National Museum of Science and Technology, Leonardo da Vinci – Milan Italy
This drive to Milan to visit the Museo Nazionale Scienza E Tecnologia Leonardo Da Vinci was for my science-minded husband, Michael! As we entered into the complex maze of highways and streets leading us deeper into the city, we quickly became lost looking for the parking garage we located on Google maps to take us near the…
Twelve-Step Meetings and the Twelve-Step Program -An Emotional and Spiritual Education in Becoming Fully Human
I find myself thinking about the rooms of AA. Many years ago I spent some time there, enough to earn my five year sobriety medallion. What always amazed me was the social contrast of those sitting there with me and the similarity of our pain. I was a naive young woman from a religious, upper-middle…
Piazza del Duomo, Milan, Italy
We drove from Campione d’Italia to Milan to spend an afternoon at the Piazza del Duomo. We parked our car at one of the may parking garages and took the metro to Duomo. It was an exciting entrance into the piazza as we walked up the steps from the metro directly into the centre of the square….
Campione d’Italia, Italy – An Italian Exclave in Switzerland
We stumbled upon this jewel of a location trying to find a hotel with parking in Lugano. We didn’t realize we were in a Italian exclave until we arrived. And what an AMAZING surprise! I fell in love with Campione d’Italia. The entire town crawls up from the shores of Lake Lugano along the base of Sighignola Mountain. Here,…
A Magical, Traditional Swiss-German Christmas Eve in Kandersteg, Switzerland
This was a true highlight of our Christmas Holidays in Switzerland! This was a Christmas Eve I will never forget! The evening began at Nico’s Restaurant, Hotel Alfa Soleil with a four course set menu prepared for the special evening. Guests waited in the charming lobby of the hotel as final preparations for the Christmas Eve Dinner…
Zermatt, Gornergrat Bahn, The Matterhorn, Switzerland
This was an unplanned and unexpected highlight of our Christmas vacation in Switzerland. We woke up and wondered what to do on the Eve of Christmas Eve? A trip to see the Matterhorn seemed perfect!!! We started our journey to Zermatt taking the BLS Car Transport from Kandersteg on our way to Täsch. In the town of…
Hiking – Kandersteg, Switzerland
While my husband was off snowboarding, I took the day to enjoy the fresh air of the mountains on foot. I walked one of the many trails of the area and found myself going off the beaten track. Love, Stephanie xoxo
Kandersteg, Switzerland
Kandersteg. This was a magical village of gingerbread houses and fairytales decorated for Christmas, nestled in Alpine landscape. We spent four days here, including Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, while relaxing in the comforts of Toni’s Alpine Loft. This was a dream itself!!! Nothing like a state of the art apartment with a hot tub surrounded…
Interlaken, Switzerland
We did not spend a whole lot of time exploring this lovely village. This was the town we drove through that took us to Beatenburg. We spent an afternoon walking around the town, mainly to rent snowboards and buy groceries. Then that evening we went to Ice Magic enjoying hot chocolate and mulled wine as we walked around…
Snowboarding – Grinderwald, Switzerland
This was one of my favorite days – but I have very few pictures to show for it because I didn’t want to bring my camera knowing this was my first time snowboarding and A) it is with great certainty that I would be falling A LOT for the entire time I was on the…
Hiking – Beatenburg, Switzerland
My husband and I decided to trek up one of the many hiking trails in the area, some leading up to the apex of the Niederhorn Mountain. Ignoring the many rigorous fitness stations located along the trail, we pushed onwards, steeply upwards…taking many breaks along the way to catch our breath!! We made it as far…
