This weekend I took a trip to Zurich for four days to meet a family who were potentially to be a host family for August... I am pleased to say I had a wonderful weekend and it is confirmed! As of August I will be working as a nanny and living in Gockhausen, a small village 10 minutes from the centre of Zurich for these two little sweeties....
I left Paris bright and early on Saturday morning and took the 5 hour express train to Zurch. Excited and a little anxious... I had absolutely nothing to worry about.. The family were such sweethearts and I had the nicest time! So a little more about them, the mum is Italian and the dad is French but they live in Switzerland.... And as a result there are four languages flying about the house! This means that I will be taking both French and German classes when I arrive, as well as learning a little Italian to get by when we visit the family in Italy. Am I taking on a little too much? I think so...!!
The family are currently living in an apartment, a lovely apartment at that, but when I arrive they will have moved into a new house, this one....
So the weekend, they kept me very entertained and I was thrown completely in at the deepend!
They picked me up from the station, dropped my case off my house and off we went to a birthday party where I was to meet the entire friendship group! It. Was. Daunting. Thankfully, although the group was completely international.... French, Irish, England, Russian, Italian, German, Swiss.... everyone spoke fantastic English and so I got by!
In Zurich they have a parade where to mark the end of Winter they have a huge parade by the lake and then they burn a snowman and the speed at which the snowman burns predicts how good the summer will be, and so on the Sunday I was taken to the lake and the parade.....
After the parade it was off to the park for a BBQ with the friends in the sunshine, at the second meeting I felt a lot more at ease and it was a really lovely evening. And the lake and snow topped mountains views weren't to be moaned at....
Monday, the sun was shining and the sky was blue, so the mum and I took the girls to the zoo! It was a great afternoon, and the biggest highlight? Just up from my new home is the FIFA headquarters and they have a huge training ground. Were there half naked, delicious, sweaty footballersin full view? Damn right there were. That was it. Sold. I am moving to Zurich, no question. Every view here is a good view.
I like to be organised. Overally organised. And so I got to Zurich train station half an hour early so I could be ready, I looked on the board, Paris Gare de l'Est - Platform 14. Perfect. So off I went to platform 14 and got on the train. With half an hour to spare I got my book out and got comfortable and watched the train next to me pull away and start moving.... And the trees starting moving.... And then I realised my train was moving half an hour early....
Yes I went to the right platform but I didn't look on the board to see of any other trains were going from 14 and here I was on a train...... to Geneva.
Thankfully after a panic a lovely SNCF lady informed me that luckily this train and my Paris train had a stop in common and so I was able to change at Basel.... I got to Basel to find the walkway had been closed due to 'Security reasons'. Bollocks. Panic number 2. How the hell do I get to platform? Thankfully it reopened just in time and I jumped on the right train this time and took my seat..... next to the drunk German lady.
The journey from hell. Never again will I be early.
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