Happy New Year! As we begin 2026, and with quite a few adventures still to be shared, I’ve decided to try something new here on the blog. Instead of waiting until I can write a full recap of an entire house sit or trip, I’ll be sharing more mini snapshots along the way: a day here, a moment there, and hopefully a few longer stories sprinkled in between.
So here’s the first one.
We’re currently at our final house sit (of three) in Switzerland, just outside of Lausanne, where we’re taking care of two very sweet cats, Ben and Tom.
As it turns out, we’re also staying within easy reach of some of Switzerland’s most respected chocolatiers – which felt like a sign we should do some very important research.
So we picked up the Lausanne Chocolate Pass and set off on a self-guided walking tour of the city, collecting tastings from five different chocolate shops along the way.
Our stops included:
- Manuel – known for beautifully balanced, less-sweet chocolates
- Blondel – a long-standing family chocolatier in Lausanne since 1850
- Favarger – celebrating nearly 200 years of chocolate-making (with their official bicentennial in 2026)
- Durig – a smaller artisan chocolatier with bold darker flavours
- Noz – where we not only picked up some delicious chocolate but also spotted a long line of locals stopping in for the seasonal Dreikönigskuchen
The Dreikönigskuchen (King’s Cake) is traditionally enjoyed for Epiphany on January 6th. Baked inside is a small figurine or bean, and whoever finds it is crowned king or queen for the day – complete with a paper crown.
All up, we walked nearly 9 kilometers while exploring Lausanne and collecting our sweet samples, so a win for both our health and our tastebuds.
Ben and Tom approved of our return home, although they were initially less impressed that we’d interrupted a long day of napping in the winter sun. All was quickly forgiven after a play session and some well-earned attention.
Have you ever done a chocolate tasting in Switzerland, or is it still on your travel wish list?
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