Switzerland for Carneval/Mardi Gras/Fasching ?

Three days off for Carneval at my school, February 20-22!  What a wonderful concept for a break between Christmas and Easter!  And, a wonderful opportunity to visit my first cousin, Christine, her  21/2 year old daughter, Remie, and Remie's father, Claudy.  I flew to Geneva, took a 2 hour train ride to Sion and was met there by Christine for a 10 minute drive to her village of Arbaz, all sites in the French part of Switzerland.  Their village is like arriving at the one near Heidi and her grandfather's hut...literally on the side of a mountain in the Alps.  The picture below is of the chalet they will all move into on May 1st.

Their Chalet

Village View

Remie is an inquisitive, sharp little girl with a well-developed sense of humor.  She loves to sing her songs and even knows to whom to speak French and to whom to speak English.  I even got to see her first ski standing on her Daddy's skis and chortling with delight!  For me, it was a special treat to see my 20 years younger cousin be such an outstanding mother and to be able to relate with her as an adult.  I thoroughly enjoyed visiting sites near their village, including a Carneval parade in Sion and a children's Carneval parade in their village.

Sion Parade - gugen band

Sion again

Sion again

Remie on the right

more parade watchers

At the end of the children's parade, we met at the school where we ate cakes and hot wine.  I met a Brazilian woman married to a Swiss man; a Slovakian woman married to a Frenchman whose only common language with her Finnish other-in-law was English; a Swiss woman married to an American and a Swiss woman married to an Englishman...just to name a few in this tiny but cosmopolitan village!

What I really treasured though was the time I spent with their family getting to know them better in their daily routines and actions.  I had several fun lunches with Christine, several delightful dinners with all three - including the Swiss specialty of Raclette - all accompanied by excellent Swiss wine provided by Claudy.  We took many 2 1/2 year old leg short walks accompanied by the 15 year old dog...on crunchy snow!  It was a perfect stay in a storybook village!

Family at Anzere - 5 minutes from Arbaz

Raclette Dinner