A lot of people ask us why we chose Switzerland for an extended stay—especially those who’ve never been here. It’s surprising how many people back home have never travelled to Switzerland, instead favouring the more well-known European metropolises.
There’s even a dedicated group on Reddit committed to proving that Switzerland doesn’t exist, along with a whole pile of social media memes under the hashtag #SwitzerlandIsFake.
We can assure you—it’s very real. We’ve been living here for the past 46 days or so. And while I’ve grown to love it, the truth is, I probably never would’ve come here if it weren’t for meeting Sheila. And Sheila might not feel the deep connection she does with this place if it weren’t for the Barbiero family, who she worked for as an au pair (nanny) over 20 years ago.
We’ve stayed connected with Ina, Andrea, Angelo, and Gabriele ever since. Every time we’ve come to Europe, we’ve made a point of visiting them.
Today, we met Ina and Andrea in Montreux for a walk along the lake and lunch. It was their first time meeting Cedar, and we spent a good chunk of the walk down reminding him to be on his best behaviour—which, to his credit, he was.
Ina and Andrea own and run Don Ciccio’s, a well-loved Italian restaurant in Saas Fee. As luck would have it, our trip lined up with their brief break before the summer season starts—one of the few chances they get to travel and see family—so we were grateful to squeeze in a visit.
We spent the morning catching up, followed by a nice lunch at a pizza place Andrea picked (solid choice). Afterward, they introduced us to the Freddie Mercury Museum, a free archive tucked inside the Montreux Casino. We were already familiar with the famous statue by the lakefront—but I hadn’t realized just how strong the connection was between Queen and Montreux.
It was especially cool to stand inside the actual recording and mixing studio used by the band—and even mess around with a few tracks. (Cedar’s remix was heavy on the drums and bass… that’s my boy!)
We said our goodbyes with promises to try and catch up again before we leave. Once the restaurant is back open, life gets very busy for the Barbieros, so it was extra meaningful to host them here in our part of Switzerland.
Which, again—we assure you—absolutely exists.
