Dad and I went into the city to walk around and do a little shop-browsing. First on the schedule was Fussball Corner, up on Schaffhauserplatz. There, I got a most-excellent Swiss soccer shirt and an FC Basel flag (they totally pummeled Middleborough in the UEFA the other night).
Then we wandered the Zuercher Brokernhaus, a big pink building filled with people's old stuff (some really nice, some not so nice). There are loads of fondue plate sets, which is kind of funny, as that's what you'd expect of an American second-hand shop.
I did all of my requisite chocolate shopping, and we retired to the Widder Bar for a cocktail. The Widder Hotel is one of the oldest structures in Zuerich. When the excavated the foundations some years ago, they found the ruins of a Celtic settlement that predated the Romans. Nowadays, they serve up hundreds of kinds of whisk(e)y, and many swank mixed drinks, all decanted and prepared with a very Swiss precision.
Dad and Bridget ordered martinis with olives (yuck), and I started with an Elderflower Martini (vodka, elderflower cordial, and apple juice), which was a little sweet, but had a pleasant, flowery finish. Then, I moved on to a Pimm's No. 1, which I quite liked. It's a mixture of Pimm's and ginger ale, and was very prettily garnished with lemon, orange, cucumber, and mint. Oh, and a cherry. It was a little bit like I had a salad along with my drink:
Anyway, I could easily make Pimm's a frequent summer drink, though I might need to take up petanque or cricket and wear tennis whites all the time or something... that's what British people do, right? I'm attracted to the whole "secret recipe" thing.
We concluded the outing with dinner at a lovely Venetian restaurant and a stroll down Bahnhofstrasse after sunset. Then we returned home to a very wiggly and excited Chihuahua.
Tomorrow, we'll attempt a foray into the mountains for some hiking. Here's hoping there's isn't too much snow and that the weird downpours hold off.
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