Honey Turns 36

After two years of Kathleen treating me to great adventures, I was finally able to take her on a nice little surprise adventure for her birthday. Starting with a pic nic on a train to an unknown destination. (Of course we had our skies so she knew we were heading somewhere into the Alps.) And the destination was Verbier, the only big Swiss Ski Resort we hadn't skied. Actually we stayed in Le Chamble, the town at the bottom of the mountain.

After checking into a great little B&B, I served her delicious birthday treat, complete with candles. The next morning after eating one of the best meals we ever had, it was time to hit the pistes for two full days.

Happy Birthday Honey!

For more on our weekend adventure check out the links that inspired me during my planning.

http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/03/25/travel/25frugal.html

http://www.bedandbreakfastverbier.com/

Todd updates the sport of kings

Long thought to be only an outdoor sport, Todd is seen here pioneering indoor falconry.

Saas Fee - A stunning mountain, more meat in a vending machine, a sumo wrestler and are machines getting closer to taking us over?

Kathleen took a day off so we could take a long weekend in Saas Fee. It's the mountain behind Zermatt and it's beautiful and very steep. Like Zermatt, Saas Fee is car free. This makes walking around the town very pleasant. Less noise. Less pollution. etc. etc. etc. Plus, you feel much more remote and removed from the world.

One of the most remarkable things about Saas Fee is that almost half of the mountain is covered by glaciers. It's so cool. You grab a T-bar near the top and you are riding on and right next to glaciers. You can study the formations as you are pulled to the top.

And we lucked out with the weather, too. Three sun-drenched days of great skiing with 360 degree views of the Alps. Just another slice of heaven in Switzerland. We also had Valery join us for a couple of days. We had a great time sharing gondolas and laughs. Especially during one aprés-ski stop at a super cool bar. She told us how she wanted a dog and we asked her if she had a name picked out. She hadn't, but she had some ideas of what would make a good name. I can't say here, but what happened next belongs on SNL.

Another interesting thing about Saas Fee was the Brat-o-matic Bratwurst vending machine in the middle of town. We always knew the Swiss loved their meat, but this is ridiculous. First the horse meat in Einsiedeln, now this. It begs a few questions. Are the machines trying to win us over? Did they hear that the best way to a man's heart is through his stomach? Kurt Vonneguts "Player Piano" anyone?

It's 4p.m. on a Tuesday how about a beer?

Rolf and I celebrate our status as stay-at-home-husbands by hoisting a giant Ueli beer with it's great handle at a beer hall in Zürichs Hauptbahnhof.

Find out more about this great beer here.

Todd's old career ages nicely

What started out as a one off design project has turned into a full blown rebranding adventure.

I initially starting working with Peter Eckert, Zurich Financial Services now former global C.O.O. , just over one year ago. Kathleen put me in touch with Peter when she discovered that he owned a small winery in Portugal and was interested in some marketing help. After splitting a bottle of Quinta das Marias, 2004 Tinto and showing Peter my portfolio, I began work on designing the label of his forthcoming release of 2003 Reserva. I quickly realized that we had a huge opportunity to rebrand his entire winery and really put his baby on the map. So during our next meeting I brought up the idea and Peter got excited about the possibilities. That was it, and we were off!

We started with a new logo. Spun that into the new label and box for the Reserva, which we are using as a base to recreate new labels for his other reds and whites. And then it was time to put a new face on the Internet. This was a new area for me, so I bought a book on how to make a website and went to work. The result: www.quintadasmarias.com . Currently we are printing a new brochure and in the initial stage of concepting ads.

Reaction to our efforts have been very positive and things are really moving forward.

As I mentioned, Peter recently retired as the global C.O.O. for Zurich. But if I have my way, Peter is far from being "retired." He was a giant in the insurance business and now he's got the time to grow his wine business into something big, too.

It has been a real pleasure to work with Peter. He has taught me many valuable lessons about business, wine and life. My many thanks to Peter.

Peter's wine is truly exceptional and I hope everyone gets the chance to taste it for themselves.

For more information about Quinta das Marias visit: www.quintadasmarias.com

Zermatt - Revisited. Revived. Rewarded.

It had been one of the worst winters for skiing in Switzerland in decades, but that was about to change. Even with little to no snowfall elsewhere, you can always count on some snow in Zermatt. The top is a Glacier and it offers year around skiing. So, in hopes of getting a few turns in the Alps this ski season we booked a 4 day get-a-way to our beloved Zermatt. As we've said, Zermatt is the ultimate ski town—bar none!

Our first bit of luck came on the train ride there. After making a switch in Brig, we were able to catch a ride in a brand new Glacier Express Panorama car for a ten fanc upgrade charge! It's one of the best sections of that ride, so we were really happy.

The first days the matterhorn and the sun hid themselves behind snow clouds. What does that mean. Not the best weather for shooting photos for the new tourist brochure but a continuous sheet of fresh powder to ski on all day long. The downside, high winds in the upper elevations which shut down the top of the mountain and the whole Italian side. Our favorite part. And then on the eve of day 3, Moses must have walked into town, because the clouds parted and left faster than a wounded Egyptian solider fearing the wrath of both God and Pharaoh, as the great Pyramid of the Alps came into full view. With the clouds in rapid retreat, the moon smiled down upon the valley with a face as full as the Gerber babies. What a site. With all the fresh snow covering the mountain sides, the entire valley from the tip of the Matterhorn to the tip of your shoes lite up like a healthy bone in x-ray.

With a sky full of stars and a moon as round as a saucer, Kathleen and I went for a walk from the middle of town to the fields at the foot of the Matterhorn. That walk will forever be etched upon my mind. If I were a coyote I would have howled with pure joy.

We could hardly sleep that night with visions of Virgin Italian slopes wrapped in six days of uninterrupted snow. As morning broke we ate our breakfast and made our way to the top. After a warm up run we headed for Italy. No border control up there. You just ski on over and smile, because miles and miles of pistes await as do lunch dishes that will satisfy your hunger and soul. What a day. No clouds. No lines. No going home. If your looking for Nirvana, the state of being not the band, this is a very good place to search. It's up there if you know where and how to look.

Now let's talk about lunch. We made it back to our favorite little spot. A chalet nestled half way down the Italian side for some fresh homemade pasta and a bottle of Chianti. They really know how to do it here and if I may say so, so do we.

We skied until our legs could barely hold us upright any longer. We've never been so tired, yet felt so peaceful and blissed out. It was a ski day that all skiers dream about. And we seized it.