Poop & rain in the plain (in Switzerland)

When I go on holiday, I always have this annoying problem. You might think it's embarrassing, but it's not because Dr. Oz and Oprah have discussed it, so it's ok. I'm always terribly constipated. The last time I went to Germany for a week, I only pooped once, on the very last day, and it was a pain.

Now I thought this was odd, but hey shit happens (or doesn't, as the case may be) and you live with it. Then one day I was watching Oprah, and on comes this person who has exactly the same problem. I learned, from the delightful Dr. Oz, that this is called "safe toilet syndrome". I'm sure some academic got a full four-year grant and extra research money to think that one up.

Delightfully, he also had tips on what to do to remedy the problem. I've been having liters of water and lots of fiber (brown bread, peaches). I think it also helps that I've been in this house twice before, so the toilet is marginally "safer". The result? Two number twos in five days! I'm ecstatic.

I bet when you got up this morning you were wondering if I'd pooped yet.

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As for other holiday news, we had a mostly rainy, partly sunny day and spent it first in a park near Basel and then in Zürich. No commiserations necessary - we are part Scottish and like the rain. We live by Billy Connolly's saying "There's no such thing as bad weather, only the wrong clothes." We all travel with raincoats. (Mine is white, like Paris Hilton's.)

The park was very very flat and therefore much more suitable than yesterday's mountain for Marie.


It had a playground, a fountain, lots of ducks and herons, and a dinosaur.


We only went to Zürich for a couple of hours, but I liked it enormously. You know the feeling you sometimes get in a new city - the feeling of "I could live here"? That's the feeling I got. This feeling does not photograph well. All the photos came out looking like a nice town on the water (it's on a river and a lake). It just feels right. It's very lively, with cafes in the squares, and lots of great shopping streets. There is a beautiful little park on the side of the lake where people swim and sunbathe. I suppose it doesn't blog all that well either. Just take it from me. Good city.



Random extra:
I don't know what's going on here. I think the naked guy is asking the bird to dance. Within view of this statue were another one of a naked guy wrestling with a bull and one of a naked woman sitting on a horse. They seem to like their naked people with a side of animal in Zürich.