Momers

The photos below are my mom's. We had such a fun day in Lugano! I wish she were still here  : )

LUGANO FAVORITES

Below are my favorite photos from my day-trip with Mom to Lugano, Switzerland.    : )

Lugano

Lake Lugano    : )

Legs for days!

Reflections...

This photo was cute... but became even better when I realized that there is a perfectly placed fake dog tail for the dog! Ha!

Funicular Ride for Mountaintop Views! - Lugano

Mom and I took a funicular ride (two, actually!) up to the top of one of the mountains near Lugano. It was a fifteen or twenty minute walk from the town of Lugano, along a lovely tree-lined pathway. We really enjoyed our time on top with spectacular views. There is a cafe at the top too - sooo nice to have a coffee or soda while relaxing with an overlook of a beautiful lake and mountains. ...I live near here?!?! ...Still amazes me.

Lake Lugano and the Lugano Prealps   : )

Lugano's gardens - FAVORITES

Below are some of my favorite flower-view photos from my day in Lugano, Switzerland with Mom!

The day was beautiful, as were the flowers along the waterfront. It doesn't get much better than a lake, mountains, and flowers... on a day-trip with Mom  : )

Lugano's Park and Read

There was a beautiful, big park in Lugano with people strolling along the path and enjoying the gorgeous day. One spot had tables and chairs set out with a table of books... it was so cute! Someone set up a Park and Read spot here... I love it!

Lugano - buildings

Lugano is a pretty town -- especially the "Old Town" section. Mom and I enjoyed walking around, even though many places were closed since it was Sunday.

Intricate details were painted around the windows on this building:

Mom standing in front of an old, beautiful church:

Lugano - around town

There was some sort of festival going on while we were in Lugano. Bands played, food stalls were in the piazza, old cards lined the main street, and there was an early afternoon parade with many farm-themed items. Below are some of my favorite photos from around town on this Sunday:

LUGANO, SWITZERLAND!

Mom and I took a train ride for about an hour... and were in SWITZERLAND! That amazes me. That various (amazing) places that I am able to get to in a day from Milan are incredible.

Her birthday present to me was a day-trip to Lugano. Neither of us had ever been to Switzerland before... although it felt a lot like Lake Como, as there is a gorgeous lake with mountains jetting up from all around. The town even felt very Italian, as Italian is the main language in Lugano.

We had a great day with wonderful weather!

Thankfuls

Wow... it has been almost a month since I've posted. Life has been busy lately!

I have had my mom visit me in Milan (we went on a day-trip to Switzerland!), then we presented at a conference in Belgium together, and after that, I went on a week-long field trip with 11th graders to Berlin! Since returning from Berlin about 3 weeks ago, I have been playing catch-up and keeping busy at work. Things are going well... but now it's time to catch them up here! (Photos and notes about the travels coming soon...)

To begin for today, I will post my daily thankfuls, which a friend of mine nominated I do through Facebook. I posted 5 thankfuls for 5 days (a couple weeks ago). This proved to be a great focus and time of reflection.

Monday Thankfuls... 1. Morning coffee with the homemade pumpkin spice mix that my mom made when she was recently in town. 2. Catching up with good friends at school after not seeing them for over a week. 3. Seeing the students, whom I just bonded with for a week in Berlin, back at school and having something to forever share from here on out. 4. Starting a new novel this evening while sitting in the vintage reading chair from my grandma. 5. Crawling into bed before 9:00pm.

Tuesday Thankfuls... 1. Riding my bicycle to work. 2. Riding my bicycle to work through a cornfield. 3. Starting the work day with a group at the 'coffee nook'. 4. Riding home in the rain - channeling Mary Poppins... bicycle-with-umbrella style. 5. Seeing as how three of today's five thankfuls already include my bicycle... I'm very thankful for my bicycle.

Wednesday Thankfuls... 1. Being just cold enough outside to wear my slippers inside. 2. Piera's snacks before a meeting. 3. A student raving about how good the second Gregor book is. 4. Finding two chocolates in my purse. 5. Still having decaf coffee from Kathmandu.

Thursday Thankfuls… 1. “Coffeecoffeecoffeecoffeecoffee.” 2. Trying something new and feeling as if it worked. 3. Walter Frederick Morrison – for inventing the Frisbee. (And throwing around for a few minutes after school today.) 4. Last-minute pizza date with the lovely Jesye. 5. Laughing, singing, and catching up with a good friend.

Friday Thankfuls… 1.Cardigans. 2. An upcoming trip to IKEA. 3. Aperitivo. 4. The Friday eve of a 3-day weekend. 5. Weekends at home.


I'm also including a few lovely sunset photos, because I have been enjoying the clear weather and colorful evenings here lately!