It was a long hike..

I thought that perhaps today is a good time to update. It's Sunday, the end of the week and it usually provides a quiet opportunity to withdraw and write a few lines to summarise the week's events.

Monday kicked off in a dreary fashion. Motivation was at a low and the skies were pissing on me, telling me things were not going to improve for a while. So I trudged on in the wet for another two days. Then came Thursday, or Thanksgiving as it happened to be in America. That night, a bunch of American girls were feeling nostalgic and had cooked a whole buffet of delicious food! Save for myself and an Austrian girl, all the others were accustomed to the tradition that for some is an even bigger day than Christmas (I found this very hard to fathom...). We had a culture clash. The Austrian girl and myself argued that butter came with the bread. It was natural. Be it peanutbutter or cheese, the bread would always be spread with butter. The Americans thought otherwise, and neither of us would budge. Ah, the problems we face... It turned into a very cosy dinner and it was great to meet some others!

Friday passed quickly and to be honest I can't remember what I did... I really can't.

Saturday, or yesterday, was hike day with Colette and Jessica. The girls arrived in the afternoon to my place and we set out on a walk that later found us trailing the main road in the pitch black. We walked to a tiny village and climbed atop a hill where the roaring sounds of the cars below were hardly audible. Not so far from us were the surrounding mountains with the remains of last week's snow. It was very peaceful and we gulped up our fruit and bread to quench our hunger. Realising that it was starting to get dark we decided to walk to the nearlying town Divonne to catch a bus back. Within fifteen minutes it really was pitch black and the three of us walked in a line next to the busy main road in order to reach the town in time for the bus. All in all, quite the walk and now my legs are in pain...

But Saturday doesn't end there. Arriving back in my room, all limbs completely chilled from the cool air, I take a hot shower. Dinner with the family and their relatives. The older half brother is staying over together with his aunt and her daughters. We decide to go to the local bar for a drink. It's great. Our talk revolves around a multitude of subjects, but usually with the theme of human nature, life... When we've finished our juice we take a walk and find a bench up on the hill and chat for a while.

Hopefully today will find me in Divonne again (although this time I probably won't venture the long walk...) for the Sunday market, which is supposedly something very special in itself. I may even allow myself the luxury of trying the Turkish baths, but only if my friend Colette comes along...