A Beautiful Week!

Well, it was an absolutely beautiful week here in Neuchatel! It was nice and warm (although not too hot), and I was able to do a lot of fun things. On Wednesday, I went on a couple of wonderful bike rides. In the morning, I went with the family, and then I went with one of the girls from my French class to ride later on in the afternoon. We took a boat from downtown Neuchatel to another town just about an hour away by boat. It was a beautiful clear morning, and the view of the town is great from out on the lake. So, we got off the boat and biked back to Neuchatel. We stopped at a couple of great little parks on the way back. I am amazed at how many parks there are here, and how nice they are! It was weird, because we rode along the edge of the canton of Neuchatel, so we were just feet away from the German part of Switzerland. People in the Neuchatel part speak French, and their neighbors right across the water speak German. But it was a very nice ride. It was beautiful, and not too challenging! In the afternoon, I rode downtown along the lake. This ride was also very easy, and we rode right along the water, so it was lovely. We stopped for ice cream in the middle of the ride, so of course that was fantastic. I went with the family that evening for a picnic in one of the parks by the lake, and enjoyed lots and lots of yummy bread and cheeses.

I was a little worn out on Thursday from all of my biking, but it was still a very nice day. After a couple of little French tests in the morning, I had a picnic with some girls from Ecuador along the lake. We did a lot of talking in French, so that was good. They tend to lapse into Spanish without realizing it, so I got a little confused at times, but it was very fun to spend time with them and hear all about Ecuador. Now I want to go and swim in the Galapygos Islands and hang out in Quito! Maybe next year...

So, Friday held another French scavenger hunt (yeah!) in the mall here. It was pretty tough, but still a lot of fun. We had to talk to A LOT of people, and got some weird looks because the questions were rather bizarre. Oh, and we had to find this tomato paste stuff (I forgot the name...) in the grocery store and taste it. Apparently, it's a traditional Swiss condiment. So, I tasted just the tiniest bit, and it was AWFUL. It is probably the worst food I have tasted in my entire life. And I was stuck with the taste for several hours. Oh, it was terrible. But, of course, I cleared the taste with a wonderful dinner of pasta and salad!

Saturday was a very productive day! The family left in mid-morning to head to Zermatt. They will vacation there for a week, and I will meet up with them next weekend. In the afternoon, I did a lot of organizing in my room, and lots of cleaning. I got some letters written and some mail sent off, and got to do a bit of talking on Skype, which is always fun. It was a productive yet very relaxing day.

Well, today is Sunday, and I certainly did have a day of rest! I went to church this morning, and came home and took a 5 hour nap! I didn't think I was tired, but I had no problem sleeping! It was very refreshing. After that, I pretty much hung out and did a lot of reading and downloaded several podcasts. Not a real exciting day, but a very restful one.