Launching Amanda and Lola's B&B and Competition

As Lola and myself love entertaining, we have decided to open our flat up to the public as a bed and breakfast.  But we need your help!  We have no idea what to name it, so we are having a competition.  Please post suggestions (or email for those who cannot figure it out).  The winning entry will get an all expense paid weekend at our lovely B&B (flights excluded, sorry).  So to help you I will give you the brief of our B&B, which eventually will be on our website :)

(Name of place) is ideally located in the heart of Basel, Switzerland, only minutes away from the beautiful Black Forrest in Germany and the beautiful wine country of the Alsace in France.  Basel itself has loads to offer, the art capital of Switzerland, the beautiful Rhine running through (that in the summer months, the hostess will take you swimming in), a vibrant restaurant and bar culture and great skiing all around.  So there is loads to do, but do not worry you will be given your own tailored for you schedule upon arrival, so you miss nothing!  You can also expect a dinner or two in your honour, as I have been known to entertain.

ACCOMMODATION

The flat has two very large bedrooms and a lovely open plan living in space.  There is one shower room and a bathroom (which is probably very clean as I hate baths and never use it).  The flat also comes with a maid service and cook (okay, now this sounds good but a: I am not known for my cleaning and b: even less known for my cooking).

LOCATION

The flat is ideally located only 10 minutes from Basel airport and 1 minute from the main train station giving you access to cities all around Europe.  

There is a beautiful park at the end of the road (although, i cannot say this for certain as Lola and myself are banned from it).

OTHER SPECIAL NOTES

I have my own bomb shelter in case there is some sort of war on your trip (will post picture).  And my building is full of machine guns in case someone attempts to break in (lots of Swiss men in there).  Oh and If you want to fit in , bring lots of red shoes. 

PRICES

BAJANS       - bottle of rum, Bajan seasoning and a bottler of pepper sauce

BRITS          - summer fruits no sugar added Robinson's squash and paxo stuffing

CANADIANS - PC White cheddar macaroni and cheese, Hamburger relish

OTHER        - negotiable

GUEST COMMENTS FROM GUEST BOOK

"Very relaxing, great time, just what we needed!  Thanks for the walks Lola"

"Great to meet your friends, thank you for a fabulous Sunday Roast, will be back!"

Can even just walk you across borders!

PHOTO GALLERY

Breakfast room, Amanda's special  highly recommended

Hostess's on a walk (obviously not in a park)

To comment

So had some people say they did not know how to comment. If you hit comment and then comment, above the comment box, it says 'comment as' just check anonymous and then you can comment. Would love to hear from people!

Yippee!

The world is slowly being coloured in! Thank you :)

My Competitive Nature...

Okay, I have been known to be slightly competitive, some may even suggest a bit more than slightly (although there is nothing wrong with some harmless competition ;) ).  Anyways, creating this blog has been great  and the blog spot team are great at giving me loads of facts about people who have a look (not who anyone is, but numbers and from which countries).  So one page they show me offers a world map with countries coloured in where people have looked... The uncoloured countries are driving me NUTS! I am actually thinking about how I can drive around Europe, logging in, just to light places up.  So, the point, if anyone of you travel anywhere please log me in!!! You will be saving me loads of money, as Europe is not cheap and then I would have to go to Asia, and then South America and so on...  This blog could end up costing me a fortune!

Thank you, lots of love, your very pathetic friend Amanda x

ISB's Maths Department Dinner

Last night the Maths department came over for dinner.  We had a really lovely time, and I even managed to get everyone to play my game!  We found out some interesting facts about one another, I am working with a very interesting bunch... :)

A Story - Who do you think???

On our first week of school, at one of our inset sessions the staff were presented with this story and asked to rank which characters in the story acted the most immoral to the least immoral. We were then asked to go into groups and discuss our answers. This was extremely interesting and since then we have presented the story to others. I thought I would put it out there and then maybe later in the week say what people came up with (trying to encourage some comments!)
A baron and baroness lived in a home with water surrounding them. One day the baron told his wife he was going out and if she left the home he would punish her severely. The baron left and soon after the baroness went to see her lover. She had a very enjoyable day with him and then tried to return home. When she got to the waters edge there was a mad man there who said he would kill her if she tried to cross. She ran to a friend asking her to help. The friend refused saying she only had herself to blame. She then went back to the lover who also refused, claiming their relationship was only about one thing and he would not get involved. She went back to the water and found a boatman. She explained her plight but he refused to take her across the river as she had no money on her. So she thought she would go beg the mad man to let her across and he promptly killed her.
So all my dear friends, whose behaviour do you think was most immoral?

Beautiful Bern

On Sunday I went to Bern, so lovely! It is so so beautiful and for those who do not know also the capital of Switzerland.  It was a beautiful day and we had a lovely wander around.  I think there are so many lovely places in Switzerland, sadly Basel is not so high on that list...

Lola and Lupine

Lola was looking at our blog and was fairly upset that I have not really mentioned her and her new best friend at all (do not worry Tagde and Basel, she still loves you).  So Lupine is Fernanda's and Brian's lovely German Shephard, and they have become fast friends (although Lola wants me to mention that she is still of course boss).  Lupine has even got Lola swimming which is very nice.  So I have attached some pictures of Saturday where we had a a nice long walk together.

Lupine playing in the water

Lola trying to prove me wrong after i mentioned how
much better she is getting with cameras...

Cleaning!!

Ok, I know most will find this hard to believe, but honestly I have just spent two hours cleaning my flat! In fact, I have cleaned this flat more hours than I have cleaned over my entire life (most will believe that, not known for my house skills ;)). Guess this is what happens when you have a flat that you love.
Who knows what's next, maybe I will bake a cake from scratch, rather than my usual method of buying from shop and putting in a baking tin. Or maybe I will clean my car that has only been cleaned once in three years. But probably I will accept that Rome was not built in a day and go for a drink!

Getting better at this!!!!

I have now learnt how to steal pictures from other blogs! This is me and Lola going up a Gondola the other weekend (we probably could have walked!).  My little girl is getting so brave, swimming, cameras and even going up a gondola!

Bit of a Rant

So I use to work at this restaurant in Canada that attempted to do fine dining upstairs of the restaurant but have a thriving boozy bar downstairs.  Now this cannot and did not work.  You cannot be both things, the posh diners got annoyed about spending a fortune and going to the washroom to bump into very drunk loud people.  The restaurant had to decide which customer it wanted to serve (being a small town, guess which one they decided on...).
Anyways, similarly I decided that this blog was not going to be about issues (except some little Swiss things), and more of what Lola and I are getting up too.  However, occasionally I find it hard to keep my mouth shut (for instance if you really want to hear me go on ask me about my feelings of Burkas or if woman's treatment in certain countries is a 'cultural' issues), so today I am going to have a mini rant.
This morning I went on the BBC website and felt ill to unsurprisingly see that Troy Davis had been executed, not a big shock but I am so fundamentally against the death penalty it always upsets me and particularly this case with so much doubt.  But what upset me even more were all the ignorant comments posted to this story and the lead up ones.  About how come this became about race and would the same amount of press have occurred had he been white, blah blah bloody blah.  Well of course it would not of because the sad fact is he most certainly not have been on death row had he been white, witnesses would not have been coerced and pressured etc.  Not to go on (because I could start listing loads of facts about US prisons and death row prisoners), but really are people really this blinkered??

Okay, will go back to me original brief now, sorry!

Marvelous Maths!

So sweet, a grade 6 (year 7) boy brought in a cake for his birthday, to his favourite class ;) !  (or he just said that and really he just wanted to waste 10 minutes of my class! or he knew I am grading their test tonight).  
Either way I was having such a rubbish morning, and this made my day :)

Not so Perfect Afterall!

So the book I read, Swiss Watching (referred to in earlier post),  it contained loads of little facts about Switzerland, some I have heard about, some that were new to me.  Many I thought could not be entirely true and almost all have been proven to be right (do not even get me started on the different tax rates for men and women, as women of course only work for pleasure).  Anyways, one that is definitely true is how clean the place is.  Every morning my street is either water downed, swept or someone comes and picks up litter.  A night after any sort of event in a park or city center you would never have an idea that anything happened.  And it is funny how quickly you get accustomed to this, when back in Britain in August I was horrified at the mess at the balloon festival and I had only been here 10 days.  But it seems not everywhere is so pristine clean.  I was almost gloating to myself when we came across this little bit of stream on our walk on Saturday.  In a bizarre way this discovery felt like a minor victory for the rest of the world, seems not all of Switzerland is so bloody clean!

Sunday Roast

Yesterday I had some of the newbies over for a Sunday Roast to meet my sister.  It went really well and although I do not eat chicken apparently they were very yummy (although to be fair they could have been dry and over cooked as I do not eat it so have no idea).  But I must say I made the best Yorkshire puddings I have ever made (well the 2nd batch, the first batch I used whole wheat cornmeal rather than flour, I need to learn German...), I only wish I took a photo of them :(

Ridiculous

Okay, so not sure if i have mentioned on here but the Swiss have some very strange (and frustrating) rules when it comes to dogs.  Lola is allowed so many more places than the UK,  all restaurants, bars, shops, trams, buses, trains, airports pretty much everywhere except parks!  It is so annoying as I have a lovely big one at the end of my road, with wooded trails and beautiful green space that would be perfect for throwing a stick for a dog.  But nope no Lola allowed :(

The entrance to the park at the end of my road :(

Lola shopping with me in IKEA

Biel with Nicola

So my lovely sister came to spend the weekend with me and we had a wonderful time.  Saturday we went to Biel with the dogs and Brian.  After a bit of a delay getting there, traffic and the fact that we could not find the huge lake (not very well sign posted) we had a lovely picnic and the dogs had a great time swimming.  As we were leaving the sky became bright blue and we found some lovely villages around the lake.  That night we went to Jen and Hayes for a Korean BBQ, a good night had by all.

New to this

So clearly i am new to this blogging... and I was not going to make a big deal about it, but now I am hooked on it!  Anyways, just figured out that I had accidentally blocked comments, so if anyone was trying to (not that anyone probably was) I have fixed it so now you can!  Oh also, I am not the best at grammar or spelling (but trying) so hope this is not causing too much stress for those concerned about those things :)

Poker Night

A great night hosted by Patrick and Ellie.  Now most people who know me well know that I do not have a competitive bone in my body ;) and that I would have been happy if i had been knocked out first (yeah right).  But of course this was not the case and I battled to the bitter end, coming second in an 'all in' ending.  Not first, I know, but I am not totally devastated and relieving every hand with my second place finish!
The night was made extra special by the fact that Tim Hopkins and his lovely girlfriend Lynne came to stay with me for the night (hopefully two) on the way to Italy!

The bitter end!

Lola's Apology

Lola wanted me to apologise on her behalf (she said she felt too guilty to even type).  In her remarks about coming to Basel, she forgot to mention what a great mover Ben was and wall of support for her.  She also wanted me to mention what a fabulous time she had with him while I was in the UK (even though she had to sit cross legged on the sofa for hours waiting for him to wake up!).  She loves him very much, and hopes he will visit again and is sorry she left him out :(

Black Forrest Mountain Climb

On Sunday, Patrick, Ellie, me and Lola climbed a the 3rd highest mountain in the black Forrest.  It was a lovely walk, followed by a lovely lunch. But by far the highlight of the day was Lola beating Patrick in a swimming race!  Check out video below and watch her triumph!

Jen and Hayes BBQ

Saturday night went to a BBQ hosted by Jen and Hayes, they put on quite the spread,  all very yummy.   Of course after eating, people started to feel a bit tired as probably ate a bit too much, so Hayes had a way of waking us all up...  Ridiculously strong cocktails of course!

Machine guns

Before I came here I read a book called Swiss watching that was written by a British man who has lived here for many years. It is brilliant and was really helpful in learning about Swiss culture. Of course it makes some fairly sweeping generalisations but over all it is fairly accurate. On Sunday's everything is closed and the streets are empty, it is extremely clean, people do wear red shoes, using water past a certain time is a no no, and recycling on Sunday is a no go, amongst many other things. And then there were some things that I could not quite really believe could still be true. One of those things is that every man at 18 is given a gun and by law has to keep it in his house. On Friday night Maria kindly had me for dinner along with her Swiss neighbours, who not only confirmed this but shocked me even more, it is actually a machine gun. So now for sure I will not be breaking any of the rules, as my maths suggests there are three in my building...

Champange Sunday brunch

Miss. Maria hosted a wonderful Champagne Sunday brunch last weekend, that has any of scared to follow, as she put on quite the spread!  I have been missing my boozy pub Sundays, but I think i can cope with champagne brunches just as well ;)

Basel Ladies Wine Club

So I was feeling all sorry for myself and a bit bored, looking around for a club to join, when my wonderful sister emailed to say 'you don't join clubs, you start them!'.  With that kick up the bum, I orgnaised the first Basel Ladies Wine club last night, just a bit of an opener a games night.  I think everyone had a good time, and have volunteers to host the next two months, so am really happy!
Have not pushed the nudey calendar just yet, but watch this space ;)

Lola's Basel

So just over a month and I love it here! Must admit I was reluctant and grumpy at first. Where were all my fields to run in and how come I am not allowed in parks, rubbish! But mum soon found some nice places to walk and all is good in the world. Mum is at work a long time during the day but i have this wonderful lady, Fernanda, who walks me everyday. She is so fun, she calls me Lolita as she realises I have a bit too much attitude to be called Lola. Mum then comes home and takes me for along walk and then we spend every night together. I must admit I do miss my mini Cheddars but so glad not to be in the pub all the time! And I got my mum all to myself so what could be better. Even on the weekends, mum organises some day trips with my new good friend Lupien (German Shepard), and then we go home and chill out together. I would love all my friends to visit from Bruton, I will show you all the great smells in the neighbourhood!

Trams

So I was just taking the tram home, thinking how wonderful they are and how clever the Swiss are. First of all, they are fabulous for people who suffer with claustrophobia, not having to go underground, how wonderful. But they are not just brilliant for those phobia suffers, everyone is a winner with the tram, think if the tunnel in the underground collapses you are in trouble. If the tube breaks down you are stuck underground, with a tram you can just get off and grab a bus. Also, and, a big benefit is you can find your way around using the trams, if you have a tram map you can just follow them to find where you are going. Brilliant these trams are, was definitely my decision as my ride was coming to an end.
So as i got off at my stop having decided that the tram was the way forward and I would start a campaign for them world wide, another tram came flying around the corner, screeching to a halt before running me over. So I have subsequently decided to put my campaign on hold further more investigation...