Day 1 - Arrivée

Waking up, still drunk, at 7am this morning probably wasn't the best start to the day. I'm still trying to work out what else I've forgotten other than my camera, a diary and adaptors: the travel essentials… Luckily the plane was quiet, so I managed to spread out and get some sleep (Until I got woken up to be told to put my seatbelt on due to turbulence, which resulted in a horrific dream involving a terrible pilot; a plane crash; and being stranded in Scotland…)
After painlessly getting the train to Lausanne, I waited an hour and a half, with an overpriced jam doughnut for company, for the train to take me on the last leg of my journey.
Mum (Valerie), Dad (David) and Zoe met me off the train in Villette - a tiny village without a single shop, overlooking Lake Geneva. As soon as I stepped off the train, the view was breathtaking.
The family walked me to their home - and what a stunning house it is. Zoe gave me a tour. The open plan downstairs is mum and dad’s - living room, shower, bath, bedroom and sauna. On the ground floor, the living room and kitchen has windows for walls, which looks over the swimming pool and garden, leading directly onto the one of the largest lakes in Western Europe.

It's a rubbish picture, but this is the view of France from the living room

My temporary room is on the second floor, where the balcony is the perfect place to see the whole lake and the French Alps across it.
The reason my room is temporary is that upstairs, in the attic room, lives Isabel, the current au-pair. We've conversed little, but she seems lovely! She’s been here since September and will be leaving on Wednesday to do a PHD elsewhere in Switzerland.
Zoe taught me how to play Uno (I lost…twice) before sitting down to a delicious curry. I got asked a lot of questions at dinner; about home, work, family, friends etc. I found out about the Mann family too; Valerie works for a holiday rental company and David works for the compensation department at Ebay. He travels a lot with his job and is heading to California tomorrow for a week. As it’s bank holiday, I have the day off to get my bearings. I'm looking forward to exploring!