We are a couple studying/working in Lausanne, Switzerland. I grew up in Ottawa, Canada and came to Switzerland for my Master's degree. Originally from Milano, Italy, I met Irene in Lausanne during her exchange year to Switzerland and we decided to stay in Lausanne together after that.

We love to travel at any chance we get, as long as there is time and money. We both much prefer to spend our time/money on experiences and unforgettable memories than material things. In the summer of 2014 we drove over 5000 km throughout Spain and Portugal during one month. In spring 2015 we spent two weeks travelling the East Coast of Canada! We love to see new things, experience the cultures of different places and above all eat the great the food of all the places we visit.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

It is our belief that the best and most genuine experiences come from meeting people from the places we travel. Not only seeing the landmarks but making connections with the people there and learning about how they live. We are very much against the detached hotel/resort type of tourism that is very popular in some parts of the world. Just as if people were to come visit us at home, we would much rather show them around ourselves and make sure they have the best time possible!

Interests

Travelling, of course, is our passion. We love to spend a lot of our time in nature, we're always trying to go hiking, snowboarding, sailing, surfing, horse riding etc. Nevertheless, we also enjoy spending times in historical cities, learning about the cultures, history and customs of that place. And let's not forget FOOD. Sometimes we joke that we are food tourists because sometimes it seems we walk from one food destination after another when visiting a city but it's something we do without shame! We simply love to eat.

• festivals
• dining
• cooking
• wine
• baking
• traveling
• socializing
• music
• hiking
• camping
• surfing
• sailing
• snowboarding
• history
• tourism
• beaches

Music, Movies, and Books

Depending on which one of us you ask we have a pretty varied set of interests. We both enjoy electro swing (Parov Stellar) and tango music (we even took a few months of tango classes). Italian music like Jovanotti are also a favourite, as well as acoustic (live) music and country (Irene).

As for movies, we usually "debate" over action movies and romance movies. But we can both agree on some great recent movies like The Imitation Game, The Hobbit and The Hunger Games.

We both like to read when we have time and love fantasy books such as Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and The Hunger Games.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

We both agree that the most amazing thing we have done together so far has been our last trip in Spain and Portugal in 2014. We started in Madrid, rented a car, packed some friends in with us and drove to Lisbon. There we went to a music festival before picking up other friends and driving through Porto, Lagos, Gibraltar, Granada, Cordoba, Leon, Santander, Bilbao, Pamplona, Barcelona and Tarragonna. In about 5 weeks we drove about 5600 km in a 2-door rental car, camping on the beach, sleeping in hostels or at friends' houses. It was a great time that we will never forget!

Teach, Learn, Share

Being foodies, we can share the secret traditions of cooking a great risotto, baking an outstanding lasagna or whipping up a delicious tiramisu.

What I Can Share with Hosts

To show our gratitude, we can always cook a great Italian dinner if our hosts are interested. Otherwise sharing a bottle of wine with great stories and experiences is something we always love to do.

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, England, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, Italy, Netherlands, Switzerland