Getting Sentimental

With only a few days left here in Switzerland I am trying to not only organize and get us ready for the move, but also trying to enjoy the little time left and visit some of my favorite places.

Rain or shine, snow or muggy heat, the lake is the place to be!

This is Chris' and my favorite evening walks. 

Wow...

Au Revoir, Paris

16-19 May 2012
Chris had one last conference in Paris before we move back and I was not going to miss an opportunity to go to one of my favorite cities!
I mainly shopped, walked around, and ate any pastry that happened to come my way. 

View from Trocadero

 

 

An evening filled with crepes and walks along the Seine.

View of Opera Garnier and city from the Gallery Lafayette rooftop patio. 

One last city walk before our train the next morning. 

Au revoir, Paris!

Florence and Siena

4-7 May 2012
Chris had one last trip to Brescia so I took the train to Milan.  He picked me up and drove us to Florence, Italy for the weekend. (I am really going to miss saying things like that!)

Standing on Ponte Vecchio with Ponte a Santa Trinita in the background.


Chris arranged a lovely guide to show us around the city.  When you don't know much (or want a new perspective on a well traveled place) a private guide is the only way to go. 


Chris in front of the Palazzo Vecchio which is the city's town hall.

Piazza della Signoria where we found over priced gelati which we felt obligated to eat at 10 am.

Our tour started here Piazza della Republica which marks the middle of the medival town.

We headed to the old market where rubbing the nose on the Fontana del Porcellino means that you will one day come back to Firenza. 

Next we went to the Uffizi Gallery.  We had a fabulous tour and lecture on Florentine painters, the Medici collection and also a history of Florence/Tuscany. 

Picture overlooking Ponte Vecchio and the hallway built above it so the governors of the city could travel from the Pitti Palace to Palazzo Vecchio in private.

The Fountain of Neptune by Baralomeo Ammannati in the Piazza della Signoria.

It was a short and beautiful walk to the Cathedral.  It took nearly 140 years to "complete". 

The part just underneath the red brick dome was never covered with marble.  It was never finished!

What a gorgeous and colorful front. 

One of the doors on the baptistery of St. John. 

We ended our tour at the Galleria dell'Accademia to see Michelangelo's original David. 

In front of Logia dei Lanzi on the Palazzo Vecchio which is a fantastic sort of open air museum. 

Replica of David in front of Palazzo Vecchio.

Great weather and great food!

We wanted to go to Zermatt, but the weather was just too poor to drive all that way and not be able to see the Matterhorn so on a whim we decided to stay an extra night in Florence and spend the next day in Siena. 

Torre del Mangia and Palazzo Publicco in the Piazza del Campo.

I guess we were up before all the rest of Italy because no one was around when we got there!

Chris in front of the Fonte Gaia

Siena is famous for the horse race (Palio di Siena) around the Piazza del Campo in which horses from ten out of the seventeen wards of the city compete.

Sometimes the best places are off the beaten path!  Favorite experience in new cities is always getting lost!

I think my favorite church/cathedral I have ever been to has got to be in Siena.  The Duomo di Siena  is like nothing else! 

I love the strips!

It is pretty massive!

I usually don't add pictures of the inside, but it was so unique I had to.  The strips continue on all the pillars inside and the floors are all carved marble mosaics. 

After our day in Siena we took the country road back to Florence.  Tuscany is pretty even in cloudy weather!

Back at our great hotel for one more night then back to Zurich through the tunnel one last time.

Friends are Flowers...

30 April -  3 May 2012

Chris was kind enough to pick us up at the train station and listen to our silly stories of our awesome adventures.  It was late (11 pm), but trying to maximize our time in Switzerland we enjoyed a nice walk and some eats before we all headed off to dream land.

The next morning we set off for Interlaken and surrounding area.  We were all hoping for no rain, but alas we had a few drizzly moments, but no downpour.  This is on a road winding our way to Lauterbrunnen. 

Grindewald train station. 

There are some rather large mountains behind us, but because of the clouds we didn't head up any further.

Instead we went to the valley of 1000 waterfalls.  And since it had been and was slightly rainy they were in full force all over the valley!

Trummelbach falls

Nothing like it in the world!

After we got our fill of waterfalls and eating bread and cheese in the car we drove to Lucerne.

In front of Kapellbrucke.


A day in Lucerne isn't complete without a trip to Stadthaus for the Folklore show!

There was Alphorn blowing, yodeling, and lots and lots of dancing.  Such a great night!

The next day we took Shelby to the airport and Emily, Katherine and I hung around the city.  We ended up at the lake and had a nice relaxing evening before I took them to the airport via train the next morning.  And everyone made it home safe and sound!

This man's bag, which we saw in Lucerne, put it so nicely: "Friends are flowers that never fade"  So glad that my friends made such a big sacrifice and effort to come and see me. We had such a fun time!

I see London, I see France...

27-30 April 2012
  We arrived in Paris late Friday night and took a taxi straight to our hotel which was near the Opera Garnier.

Our first morning in Paris we went to Ile de la Cite to visit Ste Chapelle and to gawk at the stained glass windows.

I think we could roast some mallows in this fireplace.

Then we went to the Conciergerie.

After a crepe or two we headed to Notre Dame.

Emily's first look at the Eiffel Tower outside of the Pantheon.

Hall of Mirrors

On a whim we decided to take a train to the Palace of Versaille. 

No photo bombing!

After an impromptu organ concert at the Madeleine we bought patisseries from Laduree and ate them on the steps of the church.

Later that evening we went to top of Arc de Triomphe which overlooks the city. 

I love this city!

There may have been some elbows thrown to get this picture...

The next morning we headed to Musee du Louvre.

After spending nearly an hour trying to get out of the maze which is the Louvre we made it! 

 

Jardin de Tuileries.  What a great place to people watch.

We walked to Place de la Concorde then walked along the river to Musee d'Orsay. 
After d'Orsay we continued to Hotel des Invalides to see Napoleon's tomb.

Hotel des Invalides

After Invalides we walked around the gardens at Musee Rodin and then it was a short metro ride to Tour Eiffel.  It was super windy and the top was closed.  The lines were so long for the other elevators we decided to use the stairs. 

What we looked like most of the time on our adventure

Katherine and I made it to the first level, but Shelby and Emily hiked up to the second deck.  I will say that coming down the stairs freaked me out a bit!

We had dinner around Trocadero and had a wonderful view of the Eiffel Tour from the platform.

There was one more stop before we could go back to the hotel...

Our last day in Paris we went to Montmartre

Good music on the steps of Sacre Ceour.

I wished I lived on this street!

A river cruise on La Seine to finish off our visit to gay Paris.

Of course we had to have snacks to share on the train ride to Zurich. 

On to Swissland!