Not too much news to report, but I thought I'd give a quick little update on life here this past week... So I started my new French class last Wednesday, and I am quite excited about it. I changed classes 3 times, so I am glad to be able to now settle in and get to know the other people in the class and my new teacher. It is a preparation course for a proficiency test that I will take next summer, so it is fairly difficult and I have plenty of homework (just as I was getting used to not having any!). But it is great. There are only 5 other girls/women in the class, so we already know each other pretty well. I also went to a new basketball "practice" on Monday that was great. I say "practice" because there is no coach and it is just a group of people who get together to play once a week. But it was great. It was a little easier on my body than the more intense practices I went to before with the other team. I will try yet another practice next week and then figure out which team I will be playing with for the remainder of the year. It is rather convenient that most of the basketball words (like "shoot", "defense", "lay up", etc...) are the same in French! That makes it a whole lot easier.

So the weather has finally turned cold! I have to say that I was glad to wake up on Saturday morning and find that it was pouring. Kind of odd, I know.... But I enjoy being able to wear jackets and scarves and not have to worry about getting hot and sweaty all the time. It is really windy and cold in the mornings, and warms up just a bit in the afternoon. Perfect! It is especially good for biking and going to the park with the boys. And I just finished knitting my first beret the other day, so I will be sporting that quite often to keep my head nice and warm. It was a wee bit difficult and is rather large for my head, but I am happy to be done with it just the same.

This afternoon, I went with my friend Halley to a magnificent little chocolate factory nearby. I took the train and met up with her, and then we drove through the Swiss countryside and saw lots and lots of cows wearing bells and eating grass. What a typical Swiss experience... She surprised me with the destination (and I just LOVE surprises) and then we wound up in this cute little village that is the home to one of the most amazing chocolate producers ever! It is called Camille Bloch, and is just superb. They sell chocolate at the factory for significantly reduced prices, so that was an added bonus. So needless to say, I am well equipped with chocolate... for the time being.

This weekend marks the beginning of some serious travel. I purchased a Eurail pass for the next couple months, so I am kicking things off with a trip up to Bremen, Germany to visit my friend and fellow au pair. I am real excited about that! I will take a night train up on Friday and then come home Sunday afternoon. I have several other weekend excursions planned with some other au pair girls here, and then a week of vacation in October. So much to see!

Well, I must be getting some rest. I have a full day of work tomorrow and a big weekend of travel ahead of me!