There is a delightful slowness to Sunday’s here. Everything is quiet and the streets are empty. It was especially so today because it was also cool and rainy. While out on our daily explore it was like a ghost town, not another soul in sight. The cool damp weather has become my favourite. It allows me to wear something other than my swim-suit-disguised-as-clothing because I’m so hot. All. The. Time. It brings back the frizzy hair but I’m willing to live with it if it means I can wear clothing without being a sweaty mess. Acclimatization is real…how long will it take until I can wear pants just like the Swiss girls!?

Today’s explore was with the intent of buying Helena a bike. There is a site here like kijiji. It’s called Tuti. On Tuti, Manolo found a suitable bike right here in Winterthur and arranged for us to go around noon to see it. A 30 minute walk away we set out with our umbrellas into a part of town we hadn’t yet been to. 

So this is how Tuti works in Switzerland…once you’ve made contact and arranged a time to meet, the buying family will arrive at the home of the selling family. The selling family will speak impeccable English, while apologizing for how terrible it is, invite you into their large, gorgeous home, serve you home made cake, chocolates, cappuccinos & espressos and engage in delightful conversation for about 2 hours. (The cappuccino was especially exciting because we are way too poor to go to Starbucks. It was my first espresso drink since arriving!) Plus you’ll leave with an awesome bike and the excitement of the possibility of having made your first grown-up friends! 

We raced home to set up another Tuti purchase because today was awesome! Seriously, the most lovely family ever. Unbelievably friendly and generous. They have a 10 year old son as well so are keen to get together again. We were told that the Swiss may be a little difficult to warm up to but so far that hasn’t been the case. Simply delightful people.

And then on the way home we found a fruit tree ripe with yellow plums and not on private property -free for the taking!! Those of you who know me well know that this is the equivalent of winning the lottery! This is the moment when children capable of climbing trees really come into their own. 

Produce is ridiculously expensive here and so visiting this tree may become a daily outing. It may be our only hope in warding off scurvy. I’ve always known I was meant to live in a climate where fruit grows abundantly on trees.  And crab-apples don’t count. Now I just need to find a fig tree on public land.

And so the rest of the day has been spent indoors, playing cards (a gift from our new Swiss BFFs!) and getting Manolo’s resume customized for a few good entry-level jobs here. Fingers crossed…an O bag just might be in my future!

No photos of the new BFFs. We were trying to play it cool and not come across as too needy. Stay tuned…