#Little Switzerland

[kayleighnorthall]

Discover Matlock Bath: Conservation Area & Exciting Attractions for Day Trips and Events

Matlock bath is a quiet unassuming village with a seaside feel. Nestled in the Peak District and Derbyshire Dales it is just 1 hour drive from Sheffield. Originally a Victorian spa town it is now more famous for its annual illuminations, firework shows and canoe races. Matlock bath was originally built at the end of a dirt road running along the river Derwent. The steep hillside construction…

[gastronomasonoma]

The spirit of the road house is alive at Buck’s Place in Sonoma.

On the west side of town there is a new yet old restaurant and bar called ‘Buck’s Place.’

Its recent incarnation as Buck’s is relatively new. But as an old building on the corner of Grove Street and Riverside Drive, it can be traced back over 115 years.

As noted by the Sonoma Historical Society in the early days of the 20th Century many families made their way to the El Verano area upValley to a restaurant and dance hall called “Little Switzerland.”

Built in 1906 it was the place to go especially during summer, to enjoy good food, libations and lots of dancing, mostly variations of the polka.

Named in honor of the scores of Swiss immigrants who made Northern California home after the Gold Rush, “Little Switzerland” continued in operation with different owners “off & on” so to speak, until 2017 when it became The Reel Fish House & Grill.

Before automobiles were ubiquitous across America, a train would bring people from San Francisco and surrounding towns into the valley for the summer season.

Still, even as people began to travel more by car into the 1920s & ‘30s, the essential ‘roadhouse’ was a destination that attracted both local and out-of-town visitors.

Something akin to a “Public House” or “wayside inn” in Europe, roadside places were common throughout North America from the late 19th Century onwards.

As historian Doug Beckstead noted on his Roadhouse history website. “Roadhouses sprang-up along the Yukon River in the 1890s to accommodate travelers.”

“At least eleven roadhouses once existed, he said, along the trail between Eagle and Circle in what is now Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve.”

“Many roadhouses doubled as a homebase and supply point for fur trapping and mining operations,” said Beckstead. “Others roadhouses were also woodcutting locations and fuel stops for the wood-burning sternwheelers plying the river in summer months,” he added.

With many rural areas in Northern California, some semblance of a roadhouse persisted and this was especially so for an area like Sonoma County. Russian River, Bodega Bay and winding stretches of road leading to Mendocino were ideal for something like a roadhouse or a roadside cafe to emerge.

Enter into the scene, just after World War II, an unusually “flamboyant” personality like that of Texas-native, Juanita Hudspeth Musson.

She and her husband Richard opened a restaurant in Sausalito that garnered as much notoriety as it did acclaim.

Over the next 10 years or more, ‘Juanita’ as she was simply called by everyone, moved her “Galley Restaurant” establishment to several locations.

Financial difficulties and contract disputes, including investigations by the IRS followed her as Juanita was a poor manager.

She was known to be of “eccentric” temperament which often resulted in her becoming either kind and hospitable or rude and belligerent to customers as well as staff.

Regardless, her presence in the San Francisco Bay Area was legendary.

In 1964 upon leaving Sausalito, she reestablished her restaurant to the El Verano area, near Fetters Hot Springs resort. For the next 40 years into old age, Sonoma was her home.

Still, just like what happened in Sausalito, Juanita’s in Sonoma would also have praise for good food, yet there also would be chaos that accompanied it. In 1969 her restaurant was damaged in a fire.

Eventually bouncing back by reopening again, Kathleen Hill, the food & wine editor for the Sonoma Index-Tribune noted.

“Regulars would either be shocked or thrilled to see a monkey on her shoulder. If not a monkey then a parrot here or there, or – when Juanita was so moved – a hoisting of her muumuu to show off her enormous bosom.”

When Juanita died in 2011, a memorial gathering was held at “Little Switzerland.”

Ironically, as “Little Switzerland” became yet another new restaurant venue in 2019 as “Reel & Brand,” new owners and business-partner investors became entangled in litigation in 2022.

Hopefully the “ghost of Juanita” and the chaos that underlined her restaurant ventures in Sonoma will finally be put to rest as Buck’s Place takes over such a storied spot.

The ambiance is welcoming as the food is delicious. Basic Italian-American food, with a bit of artesian sensibility. The Italian meatball sandwich is very satisfying, especially with fresh basil and a sesame seed toasted roll.

With a glass of sparkling red wine out on the back patio listening to live music, what could be better on a summer afternoon or evening!

Yes! The spirit of the road house continues. Any visitor to Sonoma, may this be an invitation. If it so happens that the upscale experience of a winery tour, is tiring- that of the “tasting room experience,” then dear visitor, get-away from the plaza, to relax and be more easy-going of a different place and time, like the rural Sonoma of sentimental legend. Make a visit to Buck’s Place at 401 Grove Street on “the springs-side of town, El Verano. See Buck’s Place website for details.

[jonasiegenthaler]

© Jari Pestelacci

[nobeerreviews]

Oh heavens, how I long for a little ordinary human enthusiasm. Just enthusiasm - that's all.

-- John Osborne

(Zurich, Switzerland)

[mushyfart]

when your trying to live your life as a plagerist but a recently escaped psych ward patient wont let you

[ohmypuckingod]

13 May '24 // SUI vs. CZE

Nico: 😗💨. 😛.

[ask2ps]

i made interps of 2p liech and 2p swiss so many years ago but never posted em... not sure where the files are now. >__< but i finally am working on the new ones lol. i know that 2p swiss and 2p liech arent as popular, but theyre one of the few i have an Actual history planned out for.

tldr: the worlds ultimate paranoid germaphobe and his creepy little sister, who is armed with lysol wipes and also a Gun

[angeliswiss]

He had lots of fun today :)!!

I also bought him a strawberry to eat when hes hungry

[plantpages]

12 July

Switzerland never ceases to amaze me with its beauty. I’m glad to have friends there, though, since visiting would otherwise be quite out of my price range.

[ssaltlicker]

Vi at this point (everyone in her life has abandoned her)

[angelmush]

[jonasiegenthaler]

sui vs gbr | 15.05.24

[nobeerreviews]

may my heart always be open to little birds who are the secrets of living

-- e. e. cummings

(Baden, Switzerland)

[briwates]

so many people have said this but gaon helping yohan and elijah repair their bond through food is so good !!

can you imagine once they've moved to switzerland and yohan learns how to cook, him and elijah have most of their meals together. instinctively while cooking he'll leave the most tender parts of the meat or chicken for her, making sure the vegetables are just the way elijah likes them, is attentive to what brand of rice she particularly enjoys. replacing things she does not eat in a recipe with foods she might like a little more, with creative advice from gaon.

when elijah is not in physio perhaps they'd do the grocery shopping together. The first time, they leave the supermarket with a cart that is way too full for 2 people, but elijah is so excited to try everything that yohan lets her get whatever she wants. the second and third trip and the fourth it's some more experimenting and then slowly slowly yohan rediscovers what his niece enjoys most, what to get for her when she's out of therapy for the day, what seasonal fruit she particularly waits for (remember ep 4 when he's surprised that elijah chose the same dinner/has the same tastes as him!). It brings them a bit closer. when elijah has long days at the therapy facility he packs her a warm lunch. the feedback he gets is just a few words when she comes back home at first ("lunch was good" "did you put something special in the fried rice today ?"), then one day she sends him a picture of her box completely cleaned and three thumbs up emojis. it has yohan smiling to himself the whole day

[vaguely-concerned]

the scene where you talk to davrin in his room while he whittles tiny models of monsters (while assan watches with rapt attention <3 there is nothing about this whole setup, man or griffon, that isn't adorable) when your rook IS one of the dainty little academic mage types he so besmirches and you consistently pick the purple options through the conversation -- I am SCREECHING the covert jock/nerd war rages on between clenched teeth and forced jollity, they are doing this on purpose, bioware really have given me this gift all nicely wrapped and lovingly crafted! rook is so fucking bitchy and passive aggressive in these purple options (and once or twice davrin doesn't seem to realize it/takes what they say at face value); it's not very nice of them but it is hilarious. also I must say that hearing these two just relentlessly neg each other with palpable tension of. SOME kind thick in the air* for five minutes straight and then walking away and seeing the 'davrin approves' pop up at the end gets close to the otherwise unapproachable gaming high that is having a tense standoff with sten in origins and seeing +7 affection as you leave. davrin clearly is going 'good talk man nice to see you stand up for yourself more, I respect the roast game' while my rook walks away with a forced smile and clenched fists like 'okay so that wasn't very mature of me I'll admit it but god why is this guy such an asshole'

I cannot imagine how this conversation must play out with a character more on davrin's wavelength because for my setup here this was *chef's kiss* perfect. ideal. I'm so glad this dynamic exists it's one of the funniest and most characterization-enriching things that could have happened to me

*there's some insanity going on here where like... I don't think either of them like want to fuck, they're not actually attracted to each other, but they both would fuck each other in a 'go fuck yourself'/'fuck me yourself you coward'/'fine I will see if I don't!!!!'/'oh yeah??? do it then!!!!!' kind of way. the vibes are indescribable and unhinged on both of their parts.

[piratekane]

If you’re still doing those prompt fills for Avatrice with the numbers I’d like to request one. I’ve read and adored literally every one. Can I say dealers choice? I have to assume there is one you’ve been hoping someone would pick but hasn’t. Thanks for the beautiful works!!

four: i'll stay right here, okay?

Ava sinks back into the grass, pieces of hair slipping off her forehead to rest around her ears. She breathes in deeply and exhales, the sound shattering the silence between them.

Beatrice hides a smile, tucks it away under the shadow of her arm, and stretches her legs out for a moment, feeling a satisfactory stretch of muscle, before she says, "Yes?"

Ava breathes in again, then exhales nosily and childlike. Beatrice doesn't fight her smile this time. Ava lifts her head, grinning widely, with one eye open as she squints against the sun. When she sees Beatrice looking, she falls back against the soft earth.

"I used to dream of going somewhere like this." She holds an arm out, fingers curled in a complicated pattern that form shadows over her face. "Of, like, a blanket of blue sky. That stretches as far as I can look in either direction." She sits up, resting on her elbows now. "You're just a bonus, of course."

Beatrice feels her cheeks flush and sends up a prayer that the sun hides most of it from Ava's eyes. "Yes," she says carefully. "It is a magnificent sight. I've never seen anything like it before."

She's staring directly at Ava when she says it.

Ava doesn't know that. Ava is staring at the thin, bright white clouds above them as they drift slowly across the sky. "For a long time, after the accident, I was convinced the sky had just... fallen down. I could barely see it out the window in my room. Diego talked about it, sometimes, but I just couldn't imagine... this."

Beatrice tips her face up to the sun. "I'm sorry you didn't get to see it before now." Her hand dig into the grass she's sitting on, tight and curled fists as she stops herself from reaching over and brushing away the wrinkle of thought between Ava's eyes. "But you do now."

"But I do now," Ava agrees. She turns her head and meets Beatrice's eyes. "It was worth it. The wait. This... this is how you should experience this. In a quiet place with your favorite person in the world."

Beatrice hears a thin whistle as she inhales sharply. Ava, so casual with her words, stares back at her. Beatrice wets her lip. "Lilith will be disappointed to hear that."

Ava's face breaks into a smile. "We could take a picture for her. A selfie! Yeah, come on." She starts to wiggle through the grass, smile growing by the inch. "You love selfies. We can practice your peace signs."

Beatrice's stomach tightens. "No. No, I'm quite alright."

Ava's laugh seems to echo off the mountain peaks around them, bright and clean and sparkling in the air. "Camila will be so disappointed to hear it. She's very invested in your selfie game."

"Yes, well." Beatrice clears her throat. "The two of you could stand to send less of those to each other. I don't see the need to take pictures of each meal. Certainly not with your own face in the frame."

"Oh, Beatrice," Ava sings. It's a discussion they have once a day, usually when Beatrice is trying to do something productive like make their grocery list or bundle them out the door for their shift or turn off the light so they can rest before the sun comes back up in the sky. Ava is determined to make her understand the appeal of taking selfies, despite her disdain for them.

"Ava," she says, voice flat. "You have your things. I have mine."

Ava pouts. "You are my thing, though. And selfies. So why can't I combine my things into one really good thing? Hmm? Isn't that logical? Don't you like logic?"

"I... Do not like that logic."

"So you're picking and choosing the logic?" Ava shakes a finger at her. "Not very... genial?"

"Friendly or cheerful."

Ava thinks about it for a moment. "Nah, not the word I'm looking for. But it doesn't matter. The point is that you don't get to pick and choose the logic. I just think if you take more pictures, I have more options for my phone background. The one of you looking completely terrified of holding Lorin's baby is starting to not be as funny. I need new material, Bea. We need to make that happen."

"Ava," she sighs. It does nothing to deter Ava's smile. Beatrice shakes her head. "There are more important things than... taking pictures of me."

She curses herself for a moment. Sometimes she's like a rain cloud on Ava's sunny day. But it doesn't seem to bother Ava. Her smile only widens, her eyes sparkling.

"Yes," she agrees. "Like getting some fondue now that you've kicked my ass up one side of the mountain and down the other. So." She sits up and claps her hands together. "What do you say?"

She smiles like Beatrice can say no. Like Beatrice can say no to her. And she knows that, uses that particular talent when she wants to stay out a few minutes later than usual; when she wants pancakes from the bakery instead of the box in their cabinet; when she doesn't want to put her towel back on the hook and leaves it on the floor; when she begs Beatrice to bring her a pair of socks because she can't get out of bed with cold feet.

And Beatrice gives, topples like a card tower on a breeze-less day. Ava is grinning before Beatrice even says yes, already knowing what the answer is.

She sighs, for effect. Just to make herself feel like she gave this a fighting chance.

"Fine. But we're not going overboard this time. You had a stomachache for a day after the last time." She stands, stretches her arms above her head and listens to the satisfying crack of her shoulder. "I'll just-" She frowns. "My water bottle."

Ava, starting to stand, winces. "I think I left it." She pushes her bottom lip out in a pout. "I can go get it for you."

Beatrice is already shaking her head. "I don't want to spend all day searching for you because you can't be bothered to remember your north from your south." She takes the sting out of the words with a slight smile. "But I'll be right back."

Ava smiles, tilting her head a little bit. "I'll stay right here, okay?"

There's a weight in the moment that Beatrice won't feel until later, until her hands are empty and her heart feels poured out and there are no tears left to cry.

But she doesn't feel it now, not when Ava is smiling with the power of a hundred suns and the wind is tangling the ends of her hair and the sky is blue. No, she only feels peace right now.

"Okay." She takes a step back, grass tickling her ankles. "You promise."

Ava's smile blooms. "I swear it, Bea. I won't go anywhere without you." She holds out her pinky. "Want to pinky promise on it?"

Beatrice lingers for a moment, poised to turn and jog back down the path to where her water bottle is waiting in the dappled sunshine. For a moment, Ava is haloed in golden light, one hand outstretched. Beatrice has always hoped that one day she would witness the divine - she didn't know it would be now, with her knees caked in dirt and sweat soaking the collar of her shirt. She didn't know it would be now, with the smell of almond blooms in the air and the mountains casting shadows around them.

She suddenly doesn't think that she would be able to witness anything this divine anywhere else.

"No," she says softly after a moment. "No, I know you mean it."

Ava makes a clumsy attempt at a cross, grinning. "Cross my heart." She drops back down into the lush grass, legs folded underneath her and leans back on her hands, face tipped up towards the sun as she closes her eyes. Beatrice watches her for a moment, feeling like she's intruding on a private moment.

She quickly turns and darts back down the path towards the heart of the forest where she's sure her water bottle is. Maybe she'll let Ava take one picture, if she's allowed to give artistic direction on it and she deletes all of the 'outtakes' Ava is so fond of using as reactions to Camila's texts.

She hurries. She doesn't want to leave Ava waiting; doesn't want to be apart from her for too long. But she knows that Ava will wait for her. She promised. And Ava doesn't break promises to her.