When my partner and I planned our month-long trip to Europe, Switzerland was going to be one of our stops because I had never been. Two weeks before we left (from Los Angeles, CA) with our entire itinerary already planned, I happened to see a random Instagram Story on Cloud 9’s account while scrolling through Sadie’s Instagram. It was about a Cavalier retreat in Zermatt.

I was curious, so I reached out—and, completely coincidentally, the retreat was happening the exact weekend we were already going to be in Switzerland.

Sarah responded almost immediately, but I have to admit, I was still very skeptical that this was actually real. I initially planned on joining for just one day. Then came the job of convincing my partner that we should wake up ridiculously early and take a train from Paris just to spend the day at a Cavalier retreat.

But as he learned more about the event, he actually said it would be a waste not to really savor and maximize our time in Zermatt. So, somehow, we went from “maybe we’ll join for one day” to deciding to spend the entire weekend there.

Even then, I wasn’t 100% convinced. I actually contacted Hotel Zermama to make sure there really was a Cavalier retreat happening! I mean, this all seemed almost too good to be true. I had discovered it through a DOG’S Instagram account—so how did the organizer even know I was a real person? And she wasn’t even asking me for money!

Sadie’s Instagram follows tons of other dogs, so honestly, I had never taken the interactions too seriously. I had been following Lily’s Lompie & Gracie account, and Sarah’s Cloud 9 account through Sadie’s Instagram simply because I love following other cute dogs. For all I knew, there could have been a bunch of creepy people behind these accounts!

I am so incredibly glad I followed through and actually diverted our trip to attend.

Sarah and Lily did such a wonderful job organizing and coordinating the entire weekend. Everything felt so thoughtfully planned, while still being relaxed and fun. And somehow, there was never an empty wine glass the entire weekend! That alone deserves an award. Lily’s beautiful merch was also such a lovely touch and made the weekend feel even more special.

The weekend turned out to be so much more than I could have imagined. I feel incredibly grateful that I got to meet Sarah, Lily, everyone who attended, and, of course, all of their beautiful Cavaliers. Everyone came from different places and had different stories, backgrounds, and experiences, but we all shared one very important thing in common: we absolutely love our dogs.

A little context about Sadie: she is a task-trained service animal, and because she dedicates her whole life to us, we wanted to intentionally carve out a little part of our vacation to dedicate entirely to her. This retreat ended up being such a special way to do that.

There was something so special about spending an entire weekend surrounded by people who understand the unique joy of having a Cavalier. I honestly feel like I’ve known everyone for much longer than just one weekend. It was incredibly easy to connect, laugh, share stories, and simply enjoy watching our dogs enjoy themselves.

And honestly, the Cavalier retreat was 100% my favorite part of our entire month in Europe. We saw some incredible places, experienced so many amazing things, and made countless memories throughout our trip, but this weekend is the one I know I’ll look back on and remember most fondly.

I hope this isn’t the last time I see everyone, because I would absolutely love to keep in touch and attend another retreat in the future. If you are even thinking about going to one, I highly recommend coming. Take the chance, make the trip, and bring your Cavalier—you won’t regret it.

And a special thank you to Malin for capturing such beautiful photographs of all of us and our dogs. I already know I can’t wait to use some of those gorgeous pictures for our Christmas card this year!

What started as a random Instagram Story that I was convinced was probably too good to be true ended up becoming the highlight of our entire European adventure. I’m so grateful I took the chance.