Notes on Blogging and a Bike Ride through Vevey

To begin with:  I know. I haven’t been blogging very often, and that’s not something that I’m happy about.  I may be a scientist/engineer, but I actually really enjoy writing, every single day if I can. I like being able to inform my friends and family of what’s going on in my life; I like knowing that someday, I’ll be able to look back at what I wrote and remember my adventures. Most of all, though, I like how writing every day makes you live just a little bit more intentionally. Through blogging, I’ve found myself trying new recipes, running to new places, and not only remembering to bring my camera everywhere, but to take pictures, too! I know. I’ve been a bad blogger lately, (although, to be fair, I have done heaps of science and have some pretty great results, too!) but I’m going to be better. At least, I’m going to try.

But anyway! Thoughts on blogging aside, I never did finish sharing all of our bike trip! After biking through the incredible Lavaux wine region, we finally reached Vevey. Like Lausanne, Vevey is a charming town in the canton (a canton is the Swiss version of a state or province) Vaud, perched right upon Lac Leman.  Unlike Lausanne, however, Vevey is much smaller, less touristy, and has a beautiful and friendly small-town charm .

charming vevey.

three (very hungry, very friendly) swans. 

beautiful lac leman.

When we arrived in Vevey, we immediately enjoyed a snack provided by the Xchange student organization- hot fresh bread, gruyere cheese, and wine from—where else?—the Lavaux region!

a very swiss snack: wine, bread, cheese. I think Ben ate
about (I'm not joking) 50 cubes of cheese. And he
was still hungry. 

Still hungry, and needing to stretch our sore legs, we meandered about for a bit, stopping to admire the interesting statues, lake side carousel, and snow-capped mountains in the distance. Ben, Vidya, Amy, and I stopped at a street-side stand, where we enjoyed hot Belgian waffles (which I promptly fell in love with) and fire-roasted chestnuts (which I decided I will probably never eat again.)

carousel! it seems that every lake-side town has a
beautiful, working carousel! there's one at ouchy, near lausanne,
as well. 

Although we probably could have biked back to Lausanne, it was getting dark, and we were getting sore, so we all opted to take a ferry back instead. Although it was cool and breezy, boating across Lac Leman was absolutely stunning, and it was neat to see the very roads we biked along from a different perspective.

view from the back of the ferry! unfortunately, i didn't think to
actually take a picture of the ferry until we were already
on it....

streams of lake and light. 

le lavaux, as seen from lac leman. 

Fortunately, our experience with Swiss wine culture isn’t over yet! Next weekend, the Xchange student association is taking a trip to La Bourru, a famous wine festival in the vineyards stretching between Lausanne and Geneva!