le 29 juin - Crans, Nyon, Yvoire

After a quick trip back to the airport, Austin and I rented the car uneventfully, which was a huge relief.  By the time we returned to the village of Crans, Patrick's fever had subsided.  Sophie slept later than ever, so we work her up finally at 10:30am.  We headed along Lac Léman (Lake Geneva) up to Nyon, Suisse.  (That's not the Nyons-with-the-olives in southern France)

Nyon is a lovely medieval town overlooking the lake.  Austin needed some decent leather sandals for strolling around quaint European villages, so we did some shopping.  We paused for a little picnic next the lake with some baguettes, some other yummy bread, brie, sliced ham (why is it so much better in Europe?), salami, and some fresh cherries.  The kids walked along the stone wall, tempting the swans, ducks, and little birds with the crumbs from their baguettes.  After, we crossed the street for our first espressos of the trip which were perfect, while Heather and her friend Susanne had "des renversés," which seem to be basically "café au lait", but here in Switzerland apparently they are more likely to be called "renversé."  Booming thunder in the distance pushed cold air into town, so our stroll around Nyon was quite comfortable in the upper 70s.  At the café after lunch, Patrick became really chilly and we realized his fever was back.

We took the boat across the lake to France, to a gorgeous little village called Yvoire.  It's not far from Evian, where, obviously, Evian water has its source.  The flowers in the window boxes are beautiful and lush, and the boutiques were charming.  The kids enjoyed dipping their hands under the flowing water at the public fountains, learning the difference between "eau potable" and "eau non-potable."  Austin and Patrick sat around on corners, since Patrick wasn't feeling too well, while the "girls" did some window shopping.  One gift was bought, for my mom.

The lightening across in Switzerland never reached us, but the rain did, just before boarding the boat to return.  This boat was a big, good-looking paddle boat, with a proper dining room and first class area.  Patrick nodded off while Austin and Sophie explored the ship.

Now Patrick is sleeping on the rug on the floor of the living room.  Sophie challenged her dad to a game of chess, Susanne is doing work on her computer and Heather is planning her vacation for southern France, not far from Carcassonne.

A simple dinner is planned, because we didn't really plan one.  Austin and I hope the Spain-Portugal game will keep us awake and alert so we can get over the jet-lag.