Sunny Sunday

Today was a very pretty, warm Sunday in Zürich. In the morning, ZMG and I cleaned house; she really got the spare room cleaned up and proved to us that there is actually a floor in there. LGG and I planted the yellow and orange marigolds and blue, yellow, and white pansies that we bought yesterday, so one of our terrace pots has color. LGG really likes these pots - they are just the right height for her to plant in easily.

After lunch, we decided to ride down to the Zürichsee to enjoy the great weather. Shortly before we left, we got a call from our friend C, and we arranged to meet her and her daughter C the Younger (CtY) down at the waterfront. LGG and I met C and CtY a few weeks ago at the Zoo, where CtY and LGG really hit it off (it was the first time LGG asked another kid to play with her, and they did). Since then, we've met them twice to play. C is originally from South Africa, but moved to Switzerland at a young age, and has traveled a lot since then, so she has lots of interesting stories to tell.

We rode up our hill (in theory, LGG pedals her Trail-A-Bike, but in practice, I've got 50 extra pounds of bike and daughter to drag up the hill) and down to the Limmat for a casual hour's ride to downtown. Lots of people were out enjoying the weather, and the path is very narrow in places, so it was slow going. LGG was happy with her new bike accessory: a purple cow horn that she squeezed to alert folks we were coming, that we were going, that the sky was blue, that she had a cow horn...you get the picture.

Note to my cousins in California who got married last September: thanks for the bike bell favors! It turns out bike bells are required equipment here, and today I attached ours to our bikes before we set out. The little "ding" comes in handy at times...

Once C and CtY arrived, we sat together at the Zürich Arboretum, right along the lakeshore and filled with folks sunbathing; playing frisbee, fussball, American-style football, badminton, etc.; grilling; or simply relaxing with friends. We all had some ice cream, and LGG and CtY climbed trees, played tag with each other, and picked daisies for us from the lawn. C, ZMG, and I swapped stories and relaxed, and enjoyed each other's company. It's nice to be making more Swiss friends unrelated to work.

There's a small carnival in the Bürkliplatz, so the girls decided they had to go ride the big, bumpy slide, which they did twice, the second time alone (a first for LGG). Next stop: the bumper cars, which LGG wasn't all that happy with, and last the ferris wheel, from which we had a great view over the city, the lake, and out to the Alps. Finally, it was time to say our goodbyes and head home before sunset.

All in all, we had a nice relaxing Sunday with friends, following a great dinner the previous night. We're rested up for the coming week. Watch this space for driving insanity, as I'll be making trips to both sides of the Zurichsee for second-hand furniture and to Ikea for new furniture - all on the same day. Woo-hoo!