London days 2 and 3

20th May
Caught tube to Knightsbridge and visited Harrods :-). Then had egg and cress sandwich from Pret a Manger - its what I always used buy 12 years ago -and it tastes just the same!

Got back on the open top bus and saw some more sights - past Charring Cross Rd, Russell Square through to the London Eye. As we had tickets for this we got off and joined the flexi- pass queue. Took quite a lot of time even though we already had tickets . Finally we were on - you have to hop on while the big glass 'pods' move slowly past you - although it doesn't feel like it's moving slowly when you are about to step on it! With a group of us - about 20 or so - being encouraged by the attendants to 'go go go go go GO GO GO' - we entered the large glass pod. It was quite hot as the sun had finally come out. What a brilliant view of London!! So great to see it from the 'air'! The trip was advertised as 35 mins long but was more like 20 mins.







We then hopped into a cab to head to the theatre (I LOVE the London cabs - mostly friendly cabbies, clean, and so big - feels like a limo!).

Can't believe I went to a West End show tonight!!!!!! The buzz! The orchestra warming up. The historic theatres - there's probably not many West End theatres that I (together with Danielle!!) haven't been to. I'd previously seen Starlight Express in the theatre we were now sitting in (Apollo - near Victoria Station). We were here this time to see Wicked - the story of how the wicked witch in the Wizard of Oz became the wicked witch. What brilliant performances - wow - what an amazing show!!!


21st May
Today Mum and I headed to High Barnet which is the very end of the Northern Line. An ancestor of ours, Edward Webb, had painted the main street including the church and pub, in 1879. Mum had a print of the painting so we wanted to see if we could find where it had been painted, and whether anymore family history leads would present themselves!

We did find what we thought was the general area in the painting but the church looked quite different so we figured that Edward had used creative license to change it! After a conversation with a local in one of the pubs in the painting we learnt there was a history museum down the road that probably has a book about the area that Mum could buy. Well the museum was closed but upon walking back through the church grounds we saw a sign stating that the church had been added on to about 10 years after Edward painted his painting - which explained why it looked so different! We went in to the church and chatted to various people - and shown the original entrance prior to the added on areas. It's just amazing how old these buildings are! 3rd century!!




Off we then went - back to London. Mum went to hotel and I went off to reminise and take photos of the first place I lived at in London - just off of Edgware Road in Marylebone! It hasn't changed a whole lot apart from the addition of a big Sainsburys on Edgware Rd (which is sure nicer than the pokey old Tesco that is still there in Church St). There are also a lot of coffee shops around - including Starbucks - and I'm pretty sure there weren't ANY when we were living there as the cafe / coffee culture was just starting to take hold in London - and Danielle and I really missed that in the early days!! Oh Danielle - the rehearsal room at the back of the piano shop is still there!!! I took a photo :-).

That night we went to another show -this time 'The Lion King' !! Wowwwwwww. What a spectacle! We were in the 3rd row which was absolutely brilliant!

London is so full of life!!! People everywhere at all hours!!


Next - our last day!!!! :-(

London

Wow. I'm back in London! I wondered how I'd feel coming back (for those that don't know, I lived here for two years from 1996 to 1998.) Would everything have changed so much that it would all feel new again? Would I feel uncertain about how to figure out the Tube - tickets, routes etc.

I keep having to remind myself that it's LONDON and it's only for a few days - because it feels so 'normal' to be here! I'm amazed - it truly feels like a second home, and I really didn't think it would! I love this city. I could happily stay here much longer - could happily live here again in fact. If only I could transport everyone I know, as well as my job here! :-)

Mums enjoying being back too - it's such a familiar place to her also!

Things I noticed -
there are a few new buildings and loads of work going on - probably some cleaning up before the Olympics I guess!

London smells exactly the same !!

The Tube - the rush of air that cones before the train arrives, looking around at everyone and their 'Tube face' and knowing that if I wasn't so deliriously happy about being back, that I'd have my serious yet blank look happening too :-) - and when I blew my nose that night - black soot :-).

Yep none of the major things have changed!!

We arrived at St Pancras Station from Paris at about 12.45pm and caught Tube straight to our B&B in Kew Gardens (Richmond). What a lovely B&B it turned out to be! It looked nice on the website but was so much nicer in real life! And only 40 pounds a night each!

After settling in we then took the Tube into London - I was unbelievably excited! We got off at Westminster so the first proper glimpse of London was Big Ben :-). We hopped on the open top bus tour and enjoyed the London sights for the next few hours! I was absolutely loving every second! It seemed everything I looked at brought back a memory - of a person, an experience, a job etc. Brilliant and actually almost overwhelming!

We got off the bus at Piccadilly Circus and melded in with the crowd. Got a sandwich from Boots as we hadn't had lunch and it was about 4.30pm!

Wandered around, loving it and feeling like I'd never left! Hoping that volcano will close Heathrow for at least a week!! That would be fair wouldn't it?!? :-)

Had Cod and chips for dinner at a cute pub - as we promised Craig we would - happy birthday Craig!!!

Glad to see Pret a Manger (brilliant sandwich place) are not only still around but seem to be on every street corner!!

Lovely to hear all the different English accents again.

Loving this!

Danielle and Kerry - you guys are really here with me at the moment!!! There were so many amazing times we had here together. Thanks for the memories as it's brilliant reliving them!!

Mum and I finished the first night in London by walking around Leicester Square and Trafalgar Square - then catching the Tube home. Brilliant day!!

Cheers!!!








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More Paris!

17th
Mum popped down to the boulangerie again to buy our croissants for breakfast and a baguette to share for lunch. Now we really felt like locals :-).

Walked to the Louvre and spent a few hours wandering through the French and Italian paintings. Mixed feelings about the ones we saw!! Some utterly outstounding and beautiful work, next to gruesome work (you know, the usual man slaying an animal, battle scenes, heads on platters!). Discovered an artist called Pannini - I seemed to love most of his work on display. The Louvre allows you to take photos so here is one of the paintings that I LOVED!!







We will see the impressionists (ie Monet) tomorrow as all in Musee D'Orsey.

Oh - also saw this funny little painting! :-)







After the Louvre we had our picnic lunch (including thermos of coffee!!) in Tuilerres gardens, right next to the Louvre. Had great view of the Loucre in front, and Eiffel Tower behind us - it's not every day you get to sit and eat Camembert with views like that!! And we really appreciated that!!

Then we hopped up onto the top deck of the open top bus tour - and had a ball being driven around for next couple of hours. Got off at Eiffel Tower and went up for sunset! Got to see Paris in afternoon sun, sunset and then stayed for night lights. We were standing outside on the deck when they turned the sparkly flashing lights on - brilliant!!!







18th - Today we went our separate ways for the morning (after again, having local croissants for brekky - and the girl recognizing Mum and saying bonjour - croissants and baguette?? :-) ).

I took the Metro to Le Grand Arche - its in a newer area of Paris and about 20 mins Metro ride. Loved it - was just as big and impressive as i thought it would be!





Mum went to Saint Chapelle church which unfortunately was closed - but still got to visit the flower markets near there.

We then met up at musee D'orsey and saw paintings by Monet, Renoir, Van Gogh etc. Fun!! We also had lunch at the beautiful restaurant / tea rooms. The musuem used to be a railway station and although we weren't allowed to take photos in the musuem we could in the restaurant.







Then we hopped back on the open top bus to try to get to the Paris Opera House (where Phantom of the Opera was set :-)) but unfortunately got there too late. I've actually seen it before - (with Danielle!) so I knew how beautiful it was - so I felt disappointed for Mum that we'd missed out - but I guess it leaves something to do on another visit :-) lol.

We had last dinner in Paris at a cute 19th century restaurant opposite Gare du Nord (the Eurostar station), had a look around the station then headed home to pack for London !!!!!

Paris is beautiful - elegant, sophisticated, full of history, life, and a feast for the scenses. We had a brilliant tine and are sad to say aurevoir. Although I'm VERY excited knowing that I'll actually be IN London tomorrow!!!

Au revoir!!!

Xxxx


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Paris!

15th May
Caught TGV to Paris and arrived at Gare d'Est (station). Called apartment manager to finalise pickup of keys to our apartment and then caught cab to our apartment on Rue Montmarte (opposite end of town to the Montmarte area though - actually only 10 mins walk from the Louvre! )

Our apartment was cosy and felt authentically Parisian!


We settled in then explored the area. We were located by a well known 'foodie' street called Rue Monterguiel. It was wonderful. We shopped from individual stores for supplies - coffee for plunger (Illy!), milk, Camembert, ham, tomatoes, apples, bananas, orangina, tagliatelle pasta, creme brûlée :-). We then went back to the apartment and cooked dinner - the tagliatelle pasta with the totally delicious jar of pesto I had bought in the Cinque Terre and some cherry tomatoes that had looked so perfect in the shop that we wondered if they were real! I'm hoping I can get that pesto sauce in Adelaide at maybe a continental store somewhere! Or the market! I had bought in the Cinque Terre.

After dinner we walked down to the Louvre for our first glimpse of the amazing buildings and gardens of Paris. Yes we've both been here before, but, wow. How breathtaking is the Louvre building!!! I had actually forgotten just how beautiful and intricate it is. The pyramid is great too but the building is just amazing!

16th May - Mum's birthday!
We (Mum!) went downstairs to our local boulangerie (bakery) and bought some croissants for breakfast, then we hopped on to the metro and headed to Gare Saint Lazare station to go to Giverny - the village where Monet's garden and house is located. Spent a few hours getting there as it took four trains and a bus! Wandered around for hours really enjoying the weather and the beauty of the gardens. Was absolutely brilliant to see, and walk on, the bridge Monet so famously painted - and everywhere you looked there seemed to be a scene from a Monet painting!















Had lunch at about 3.30 at Hotel Baudy - where Monet and his artist friends would gather to chat, drink, eat, and sell paintings! Was fun knowing we had sat right where Monet would have (near the fireplace) - and was a brilliant lunch - and had beautiful gardens out the back. Was a perfect day for Mums birthday!

Lucerne to Colmar in France on the TGV!

Wed 12th May

Travelled to Colmar on the beatifully comfortable and extremely fast TGV train (which was on it's way to Paris and the same train we'll be continuing to Paris with in 3 days time!)

Colmar was beautifully sunny when we arrived so we went to work taking photos straight away! Noticed a cute little green tourist train so jumped aboard and got a 45 minute tour of Colmar for 6 euro!







What a gorgeous place this is!!! Lovely to be in France again - I've only really ever been to Paris and places like Versailles and Eurodisney so was wonderful to finally be in a French village! Having said that, Colmar isn't a small place but it's certainly not a city.

We wandered around, really enjoying the atmosphere and stumbled across an open air farmers market. We looked up the words for 100 and gram (cent gramme!!) and bought some Camembert cheese, a baguette to share and some apples. Mum also bought some terrine -and the whole lot came to about 6.5 euros. Feeling like locals :-) and very pleased with our purchases we found a seat near a fountain to eat our lunch. How perfect!! I went into nearby shop to get some water and found that they had Orangina!!!! Yum!!! More perfect than previous perfect!! :-)







Spent rest of day wandering around and enjoying the sunshine. Had dinner (some Swiss cup a soup! and a baguette) on a rooftop terrace that Mum shared with another room - although we didn't see anyone else on it so it felt like ours!


Thu 13th May
Next day we had a really slow start - and as it was raining outside, and a public holiday, there wasn't much else to do but have coffee, lunch, another coffee etc! I think we were actually both relieved it was raining as we had pretty much seen the sights the day before so it really gave us license to relax! Colmar always ws going to be our 'rest stop' anyway. Occaisionally the sun came out for a few moments and so we'd head around to the Petite Venice (Little Venice) section to take more photos - then head back to our favourite coffee shop to wait out the rain.







Coffee - we haven't had many good ones since leaving Italy!!! We found two coffee shops in Colmar that actually had proper coffee machines (and not the 'press a button and hot milk and coffee will come out' automatic ones - they are all over Switzerland - we only saw a real coffee machine once! Same seemed to apply in Colmar!

Tonight at about 10.30pm there was a bit of a ruckus in the room next to mine. Mum was in a room on the next level down and the noise was so loud she thought it was next to her! It was a couple screaming at each other and throwing things and it sounded like she was being hit by what I could understand - I was sitting in my room, light off, suitcase against the door, trying to figure out what to do. I was too scared to go down to reception as the arguement was spilling into the corridor and there were only 3 rooms and the lift in our wing so I didn't want to get caught getting in the lift. My phone wouldn't work - so I was really relieved to hear the police arrive! It went on and on for at least another half hour. Sobbing in the hallway, lots of men yelling. I don't know if it was better or worse not being able to understand what they were saying. They could have been arguing about the fact that he ate her dessert while she wasn't looking! I don't think so though! I asked about it the next night and the night manager assured me in faultering english that everyone was ok and 'she' was 'normal' again! Okkkkkk.

Friday 14th May

Left to get our freshly baked croissant for breakfast - and walked to find a take away coffee place (a rarity!) we'd seen the day before - they sold proper coffee machines and equipment so we figured they'd make decent coffee. Alas!!!! Oh well - we sat near a park wit fountain and ate our yummy croissant and drank our coffee, despite the taste :-).

Spent the whole day wandering and loving being in France - and with no particular pressure to see sights etc - just enjoy the village atmosphere. We felt like locals when we were recognized and warmly welcomed in our favourite cafe (with fantastic coffee!).

Had yummy vegetable soup at a local brasserie - abd got to say 'tre bon' (very good) :-).

At some point in the day we had a nutella crepe - yummmmmmmmmm

We had dinner (packet soup, Camembert and baguette!) on Mums terrace / balcony again, waiting until dark to go see the lights of Colmar - we're glad we did as it looked beautiful at night! We LOVED being in Colmar!!!





Ha just remembered - in Europe you don't usually have a kettle / tea, coffee in your room. We had a water boiler element thingy that we brought with us - but we'd thought we'd ask fir a kettle to boil water for our soup as it's much quicker. You would thing it would be easy trying to ask for a kettle without knowing the French word for it - we made kettle sounds, pretended to pour water, drink coffee etetc. What we got was two teapots on a tray with hot water in them. This would have been fine had we been ready fir our soup but it was only about 4.30 :-). We had both brought a small thermous with us from home so it all worked out in the end - I really enjoy the challenge of communication - when it's a lighthearted moment of course. Our local boulangerie in Colmar always practises her English 'good byyyuh' with a smile. We really have found that when they see you are making an effort they are very friendly and even help you with pronounciation if you ask for it - and we like it just as much when they shyly try out their English with us!

Saturday 15th May

We were catching a 10.45am train to Paris this morning and went for one last walk around Colmar in the morning. We could see a cute little girl standing near the road (this road was a semi pedestrian mall). As we got closer she stepped in front of us and said something about her Mama. She didn't know where she was!!!! We had about an hour and a half before our train and now a little well dressed girl we had immediately become responsible for!!! She was about 4 years old I think. Anyway - as much as she was cute, I couldn't help the alarm bells ringing - especially when she pointed down a little alleyway as if to say cone with me, I think my mama might be down here! When we started walking with her to begin with I caught a little smirk on her face and thought that she didn't really seem tooooo distressed. Anyway - we were right outside a great coffee place (the only other one we had found!) that we had been to the day before - and explained that we weren't sure what the little girl was saying but tgat she seemed to have lost her mother. Utter relief - they knew her!!!! So took her down the alleyway she was trying to lead us down. We think that she had probably snuck out but couldn't get back in as you had to be buzzed in. Hence the smirk - probably a 'i know I'm naughty but I'm probably ok now' look.

Anywayyyyy - had another great coffee and croissant at that cafe, then caught our train to Paris!!!

Next - Paris and our apartment!!



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Lauterbrunnen to Lucerne

10th May - Lauterbrunnen

Originally we were planning to catch a train to Grindlewald - a cute looking village (in the brochures!), but it was a lovely morning so we decided to walk to Trummelbach Falls (a series of 10 glacier waterfalls inside a mountain. The walk there was nothing short of idylic!!! Sunny skies, fields of green grass and yellow flowers, brown and white cows, waterfalls, farms - and huge mountains everywhere. A Swiss picture postcard!







After about an hour and a half of leisurely walking and picture taking, we arrived at the falls. We sat outside at the cafe and had some delicious vegetable soup with fresh herbs then tackled the hundreds of steps (you take a freaky lift ride inside the mountain to the top then walk down). The Trummelbach Falls alone drain the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau glaciers - which is fairly impressive!!! I think a lot of the water action was hidden within the mountain and we were unable to see a few of the waterfalls due to some work going on - but what we did see was great. The best bit was not so much the visual of the waterfalls but the THUNDERING sound they made as they crashed through the mountain. You could actually feel the mountain shuddering!!!!


We caught a bus back to Lauterbrunnen, grabbed some food from the supermarket for tea and sat out on our balcony with an unbelievable view for one last time!

We LOVED Lauterbrunnen and the surrounding area. Our hotel, although only a two star, was brilliant. Thanks Don for telling us about Lauterbrunnen and for recommending the Staubbach Hotel!!!!

Tomorrow - Lucerne - our last stop in Switzerland!

11th May - Lucerne

We arrived in Lucerne around lunchtime. Bought more memory cards for our cameras and then checked in to the hotel. After quite a long walk from the station with luggage we were hot as it was cold that morning in Lauterbrunnen but 21 degrees and sunny in Lucerne!

We walked straight to the river area and found the famous bridge - so started taking photos etc. There was all sorts of river, bridge and roadwork going on so it was hard to take decent pictures. Inwardly we were both a little disappointed with the bridge as it didn't seem as long or as pretty as the pictures we had seen in brochures!

Continuing our exploration of Lucerne we wandered through various alleyways and streets and back to the river again. Oh! We seem to have come across another bridge!!! Yes - this was the Chapel Bridge - the most photographed part of Lucerne!!! Feeling both a little foolish and relieved at the same time we took a few photos from the waterfront. We then had a choice to make - have a coffee now before walking up to the bridge / exploring the rest of Lucerne, or have a coffee later ....... I convinced Mum that we should have a coffee now... I chose poorly!

As we were drinking our coffee we noticed that clouds were coming. All of a sudden we realised we only had a few minutes of sun left as the clouds were moving quickly. We hurried to the bridge as fast as we could and snapped away but by then the clouds had well and truly blocked out the sun! We agreed that I'd keep taking photos of the old part of Lucerne while there was still some light and Mum would go to the bank - we'd meet up in about 30 mins.

It started to spit with rain but I was determined to at least get a few good photos as we were only here for today! The rain got heavier but I ignored it!!! Need .....to ........ take ....... photos!!! As I was crossing a bridge something hit me in the leg. Then the head (I had a hooded raincoat on). It was hail!! All of a sudden a sky full of ice was hitting me on the head so I hurried to find some shelter, still trying to take photos from under my hood!!! :-)

I found some shelter with a few others under some fantastic arches - which ironically I forgot to take a photo of!!! The hail got heavier and heavier and the thunder and lightening was unbelievable. It was a pretty ferocious storm but actually kind of fun to be in it! I was glad that our photo taking wasn't interuppted by a pathetic little downpour!! Walking carefully on the pavement that was now white with ice, I caught up with Mum after about an hour instead of half hour due to having to wait for the hail to stop!!

I forgot to take photos of the bridge with my iphone - but here is a photo of some of the hail anyway!!




Anyway that was pretty much it for Lucerne!!! It was now freezing cold so we found a restaurant close to the hotel to eat dinner at then retired to our rooms ready for the extremely early morning the next day! (up at 5.30 am!!).

Tomorrow - Colmar, France

Aufwiedersehen !!!!

Hello from Christine

Hi everyone, We are in Colmar right now and it is the first chance  for me to sit down at the computer for as much time as this is going to take me and the letters are in different places on the computer than ours which complicates things.  I have just re read all of Trudys wonderful postings and all your gratifully received comments. This has been so greqt whoops great to recieve them and to share our trip which has been perfectly amazing and I dont believe all the things we have done.  Elizabeth and Brian we loved Portovenere and wished we could spend more time we went to Vernazza first for three hours and ferry to Portovenere and then to Monterosso as the ferry wasnt leaving from Levanto while we were there due to work being done:  We loved the Berna Hotel as much as Helen and I did last trip and especially the ongoing coffee and croissants in the lounge after our journey starting at 7 am train from Levanto. Helen, Palace Hotel is the same wonderful place to stay as it was on our trip. Treated us like old friends and kissed us on both cheeks when we left. We were VERY SAD to leave as it is a very special place as you all and Denise and Geoff know there is something very special about it that grabs at your heart. If only there werent so many steps EVERYWHERE .  Esme and George I hope you are well and I do hope that Verna had a wonderful birthday and everything went exceptionally well for her celebrations.  Would you tell her that I climbed up to the Church and took some beautiful photos looking over Portofino harbour like the painting she has on her wall that she so loves.  If possible could you please show her the blog and she can see the photo which was taken by Trudy with her magic phone to put on the computer:  She has worked well into the night sometimes to do this and I am truly amazed and extremely greatful for this.  Gail and John I do hope you enjoy your time up at the farm and have a relaxing time.  Ele and Craig and Caitlin,Nana  is truly having a fantastic time but I am missing you all and wish I could blink my eyes and have you all here with both of us.   This has been a wonderful experience to date and although we have been blown away by some of the sights we have seen we have loved sharing every single minute of our trip together. Denise and Geoff  sorry I cant make contact by sms at present.  Thank you all for all your comments they have been great to read and look forward to more.  It is 7.30 pm in Colmar at present was 9 degrees about midday and has been raining off and on. Not good for photos and videoing so we went to our favourite coffee place for lunch and found another favourite coffee place for afternoon tea.  Then came back to hotel to do this. This was after we went shopping for our tea in french and came back with some brie and a baguette and an almond tart and a florentine which we could have on my balcony but owing to the weather we will have in one of our rooms.  Well am going now and Gail could you give Mum a great big hug and kiss from both of us.  We both love you all lots and lots. XXXXXX  Christine did this !!!

Lauterbrunnen - Schiltorn

9th May - Lauterbrunnen - Schilthorn

As it was slightly sunny when were having breakfast we decided to go up to Piz-Gloria, Schilthorn, another peak about 10,000ft high. It was also the location for 'Her Majesty's Secret Service' James Bond movie.

Although the Jungfraujoch was higher, the journey to the Schilthorn was more interesting. Starts with a very steep cable car ride (5mins) then a train ride to Murren. A 15 min walk through Murren (a town perched on the edge of a mountain!) - then the next cable car - extremely high above the ground. We all got off that cable car and walked into the complex which had a restaurant - but disappointed to find it all closed! We had planned to have lunch there as it was Mother's Day so I was treating Mum to lunch! As the group on the cable car were all discussing how disappointing it was that the restaurant was closed, somebody said 'hey there's another cable car ride - we aren't there yet!!!'. We all bustled our way to the next cable car, feeling relieved!!!

The next cable car ride was absolutely magnificent!!!! I'm not sure how high we were by then - probably around 7000 or 8000 feet! Over mountains and through clouds! The final approach to Schilthorn was so steep I wondered how the cable car was going to do it!

Finally we had arrived - was reasonably cloudy but we could still see peaks in France and Italy - and apparently Germany but Im not sure those peaks were visible for us due to the cloud. We stood outside and took a bunch of photos, and although we were cold, we were relieved to find that we weren't affected by altitude at all this time! I guess an extra few thousand feet make a huge difference!!





We eventually went inside to have lunch - veal escalope with mushroom sauce and buttered noodles, vegetables - and peach, pineapple and strawberry pieces with whipped cream - all on the same plate! Bit bizzare but it all seemed to work!

While inside, a snow storm closed in and caused a complete white-out!! We literally couldn't see anything outside but white. I went outside so I could stand in it - I love snow - each individual flake is so beautiful - and it doesn't make any noise! I know if I lived with snow everyday I'd feel differently.

We stayed for another hour or so, drinking coffee (with schnapps!!!) and watching the movie all about Schilthorn including the building of the complex for the James Bond movie - including clips from the movie. The snow storm kept going so deciding we'd had enough of the white, we left. Was really eerie when we were waiting for the cable car, it suddenly appeared right in front of us out of the snow!! The ride down until we were under the snow storm and clouds was eerie too!!!

Had dinner at a cosy place called the Hotel Oberland. Too cold and wet today to sit out on our balcony!!





Aufwiedersehen!!! xxxx


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Lauterbrunnen and the Jungfraujoch

8th May Lauterbrunnen

Firstly - just noticed an important mistake in last post. I wrote that Gornergrat (Matterhorn lookout) was 3100 ft high - er well, that should have been metres!!!! 3100 metres!! (around 10000 or so feet!).

Secondly - we are BOTH having trouble with our phones and neither of us can send or receive sms's at the moment! Feel free to communicate via this blog -or if it is a private message, then through my hotmail email address which is trudystoddard@hotmail.com

Thanks for your ongoing comments - I know I've said it before but we really do appreciate them!! Im trying to reply to all comments - i will eventually. Mum will too in next day or so hopefully!!

Ok back to the trip!!

Arrived in beautiful Lauterbrunnen via Interlaken at about 11.30am. None of our photos - and actually none of the postcards we saw - could possibly do Lauterbrunnen justice. I'm not even sure what words to use! Stunning. Spectacular. Peaceful. Beautiful. Swiss!!!!




(our hotel is on the left - our rooms were on the other side and looked out to the Staubbach Falls on the right and the mountains in the distance. We were on the top floor and had two large and long balconies which we sat out on and had lovely Swiss cheese and wine (until the sun went down and the bats came out!!!).


When we arrived, we were a bit early for our rooms so as we could see some blue sky we promptly dropped off our lugggage and jumped on the train to the Jungfraujoch - the highest railway station in Europe at almost 12,000 ft high. It took several trains (one through the Eiger!!) and several stops to allow for altitude adjustment - about 2 hours in total.

Wow how magnificent are these mountains! Cloud was shrouding the Eiger - and it was snowing on the way up - but even though visibility wasn't 100 percent, we did still get a great view of the Jungfraujoch glacier and surrounding mountains. We were quite affected by the altitude though! Such a weird feeling - a quick movement of the head caused whooooooaaah moments!!




Check out the icicles on this building!! It was -4.7 degrees.

Aufwiedersehen !!
xxxx

The Matterhorn and Montreux

Thursday 6th May

At breakfast this morning (in Brig) we noticed it had stopped raining and there was a hint of blue sky - so decided to try to see the Matterhorn today insted of tomorrow. A hotel staff member told us that they have had 5 days of continuous rain but that it was more normal for them to have 3 months of sun and no rain at all! A bit depressing given the awful weather yesterday but oh well! Can't be helped!

Our journey from Brig to Zermatt (where Matterhorn is) was great. Finally got to see the sun on some snow covered mountains. Wow - such a bright white!!!

Well - as we rounded the last corner to Zermatt, we saw it. A huge, completely white and CLOUD FREE mountain - the Matterhorn!!! I was a bit emotional actually! I didn't actually cry but was a bit choked up!! A dream come true and a moment I'll never forget! We were MUCH closer to it than the photos show - a limitation of my iPhone camera - my 'real' pictures look fantastic!!




We got off train and walked straight over to the Gornergrat railway - which takes you up to about 3100 ft high and right past the Matterhorn. A train was due to leave in a few minutes and we nervously waited in line to get a ticket - next train was in one hour - the weather and visibility changes so quickly in the Alps it was quite possible that it all could be shrouded in cloud by the time we saw it again. We got on the train with about 1 minute to spare!!

We grinned our heads off all the way to Gornergrat!! Not only was the sun shining but Zermatt's buildings and trees were covered with snow - a winter wonderland. The whole ride up (about 40 or 50 mins I think) was breathtaking.




There is a restaurant and look out (complete with blankets!!!) overlooking the Matterhorn and also Gornergrat Glacier. It was -2 degrees but surprisingly bearable! Actually the sun was quite hot and I got a bit sunburnt!! We certainly noticed the altitude though and were both quite dizzy at times!




We finished the day with a walk around Zermatt - then shared some potato rosti and a cheese fondue in a very cute restaurant. Yummmmmm!




It was an absolutely and utterly perfect day!!!!!

Friday 7th May - visited Vevey and Montreux on Lake Geneva - in an area known as the Swiss Riviera. Quite cold and a bit rainy - but a nice day.

Vevey is where Charlie Chaplin lived for the latter part of his life - we saw a statue of him along the waterfront.

Both Vevey and Montreux have a beautiful waterfront - would be gorgeous in nice weather. Both places were both French speaking and so we got to try out our French!!!

We visited Chillon Castle in Montreux -a pretty nice looking castle jutting out into the lake. Also would have been very picturesque on a clear day as it has a bunch of rather huge mountains behind it that, even just seeing glimpses of them through the cloud, looked superimposed!!!!




Look for the large dark area of cloud above the castle (castle in middle of pic). Above the dark area of cloud there is a faint line of dark cloud - THAT is the tops of the mountains!

Tomorrow - Lauterbrunnen

Lots of love and aufwiedersehen for now!!

Bernina and Glacier Express

Bernina Express - Italy to Switzerland
Glacier Express - Chur to Brig

4th May- Bernina Express

Caught train from Varenna to Tirano to connect to the Bernina Express. We weren't 100% sure that it was our train as there was no announcement and no-one around to ask - but it was around the right time - so we thought it better to catch it! I was in the middle of asking a passenger if it was the train to Tirano when suddenly we reached a long tunnel and everything went black! No lights on in train! So Mum and I stood there clasping on to our luggage, trying to stay upright as the train flew through the tunnel!

We WERE on the right train :-). Arrived in Tirano with about three hours to spare so had a wander around - even though it was raining! Weather had really taken turn for the worse and was really foggy and quite miserable actually!

Bernina Express ride through the mountains to Chur in Switzerland was lovely. Most of the mountains were shrouded in fog so I'm sure it could have been 'spectacular' rather than 'lovely'! We did manage to get some great photos - we found some windows that we could open in a passageway near our seats - we could then take photos without a reflection of the train carrage in them! So we spent the whole trip racing to the window when there was a great view - then sitting down for about 2 minutes until the next interesting view! Was fun - and funny as we tried to remain upright while rushing to the other side of train as a better view appeared. The side to side momentum was probably worth videoing actually! We were glad that there were bars to hold on too!















Arrived in Chur at 7pm - walking to hotel our immediate impression of Switzerland was how calm, orderly, clean and friendly it was.

5th May - Glacier Express across Switzerland to Brig

Well after such a long time planning - it all just comes down to the weather! And the weather was revolting!! Rain, fog, sleet and wet windows on the train - I think I only took about 5 photos - and they were really only in desperation!




This was not the Switzerland in the pictures!! It was pouring with rain when we arrived in Brig so we trudged to our hotel (walking the wrong way initially!). We looked and felt like drowned rats, dripping all over the hotel reception floor! We were given a lovely warm and friendly welcome though and we really appreciated it!

We checked in then went out exploring, despite the weather!

The weather forecast is terrible for next few days - we were hoping to see the Matterhorn tomorrow or next day. The hotel staff suggest waiting until Friday rather than going tomorrow (Thursday) but said that it didn't look good! So perhaps we will go to Montreux (on Lake Geneva) tomorrow and attempt Zermatt (and the Matterhorn on Friday). Not looking good but we'll see!!


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Lake Como

2nd May
Caught early train to Milan then another train to Varenna, in Lake Como. Raining the whole journey. Arrived in Varenna - still raining and really cold! 10 min walk in rain to hotel down a really steep hill - glad to arrive!

Oh - getting OFF the train .... Train driver obviously only expecting a few to get off so started to close the doors after about 10 seconds .... Mum was almost off so I helped get her baggage off - only to be shut in the doors !!!! Mum grabbed a door and pulled - and I pushed as hard as i could but the doors stayed put for a little while - half of me - and all of my luggage inside the train!!! Having visions of being dragged along the platform I pushed sideways as hard as I could (with the help of a lot of extra adrenalin!!!) and Mum pushing the other door as hard as SHE could, finally the doors budged enough that I could get out - but started to close again so we pushed as hard as we could against doors while I simultaneously yanked my luggage out and threw it on the platform!! I wish I had video footage of that!!!

Our hotel rooms had an amazing view of the lake - well - we assumed so as we werent sure given the clouds, fog and rain!! Checked in to hotel then hopped straight on the ferry to Menaggio - literally opposite our hotel. Here's what the lake looked like!




Shortly after taking that photo I dropped my iPhone on the ferry floor and the glass panel smashed!!!!!! So with the train, weather and iPhone incident I was actually feeling a bit disappointed with my Lake Como experience thus far!! The weather remained cold and wet for rest of day. Walked around Menaggio - had awesome lunch though - as was so cold we stayed in restaurant for a few hours had minestrone then osso bucco - yummm!). Then caught ferry to Bellagio and as still raining, had a very yummy and warming Irish coffee!! Perfect!!!

3rd May
Woke up and peered out window - to find this view -



There are actually mountains all around!!!! Couldn't see that the day before!!! We quickly had breakfast then hopped on ferry to Como - 2hr ferry ride. Soooooo nice to see a bit of sun! Still overcast with patchy sun for rest of day but managed to get lots of photos whenever sun shone - and loved it!!!






Visited Villa Carlotta - wow what amazing gardens!







Went back to Bellagio and had a good walk around - lovely. Lots of steps! Stayed there for dinner - our last Italian dinner :-(.

Got back to hotel just as a storm was beginning - spectacular lightning and rolling thunder - went on and on!

The hotel was nice - huge rooms - both of us had a corner room so had brilliant view of the lake. Breakfast was a bit reminiscent of a Fawlty Towers episode!! We'd had soup in the dining room on the first night - and the hotel owner sat as at the table - quite specifically ie 'you sit here' ! Well someone was sitting there the next morning so we sat at the next table. Manuella the waitress wasn't happy!! Mum was actually eating her cereal and all of a sudden it got picked up and put on another table!!! 'you sit over HERE!!! DAT table is for diiiinnerr' (said in huffy voice with French accent!).
Next morning we sat at same table - and Manuel (the male waiter) said 'three???' - I replied 'oh, ah, two' - and with a roll of the eyes, Manuel dramatically whisked away the extra place setting :-)

Overall - loved what we saw of Lake Como and would love to come back and see it in better weather!





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Just photos - Venice

Cinque Terre - last day

1st May - Started at Cornelia this morning - a smaller village than some of the others. It's up on a hill and doesn't have a harbour so we had to catch a bus up to the village. It's a nice village but not a patch on the others.

A first in Italy - we went to a cafe there and tried to order a coffee - but they didn't serve coffee!! NO COFFEE!!! We hightailed it out of THERE! :-)

Then caught train back to Monterosso and spent a number of hours there wandering around. Also had a coffee (right near the 'Giant' statue - if anyone knows the history of that I'd like to know - it's a huge (giant!!) statue carved on a rock at the end of the promenade in Monterosso). We also shared a delicious foccacia (fresh tomato, mozzarella and oregano). Apart from one average meal (our first night in Venice - and actually we were almost too tired to lift the forks to our mouths anyway!!) and one truly revolting coffee (also in Venice, near the bus station, while waiting for it to get darker so we could view the lights) the food has been absolutely magnificent!!!

After Monterrosso, we headed to Vernazza one last time as we'd had such a great time there a few days ago. Waiting for the train on the platform at Monterrosso, the crowd was building..... And building ...... until we were all so crammed in on the platform that we were all standing as one!!! Getting on the train was an interesting moment - literally pushed along, up, then down the carriage steps to the lower level - right near the middle of the carriage! Well that was me - Mum went a completely different direction but managed to stand her ground near the opposite door - go Mum!! Getting off was just as much fun as only some were getting off at our stop - fighting my way through the carriage and back up the steps to get to the door was an athletic event!! Here are a few photos I managed to take after we were off the train!










Needless to say, this experience, together with the fact that the weather had turned very overcast, and the pizza we bought was cold (a few days earlier it was absolutely mouthwatering and one of those food moments you think longingly about after you get back home!!) made for a very different encounter with a cute little village that, a few days before had been peaceful, sunny, and joyous!!! It certainly made me appreciate all the more the four days we'd already had on the Cinque Terre!

Oh - it was a Saturday AND a holiday - we think that's why there was such a crazy influx of people!!

That night we had a fantastic meal at a local tratorria in Levanto (I had the yummiest minestrone I've ever had - it was full of green vegetables - including peas!!! Not a tomato in sight! The taste was fantastic!!! Would love the recipe!!) and Mum had fresh anchovies marinated in lemon and said it was delicious! We then went back to our rooms to re-pack as up at 5.30am to catch early train to Milan, then on to Lake Como.

Hey look - I'm nearly a local!!!



I did have washing hanging there but thought I'd spare you and give you some of the view of Levanto instead!! PLUS I said 'prego' at the right moment and 'serra' instead of 'buonaserra' to our hotel owner in Levanto - so I'm really nearly Italian! :-)

Allora (think that means okey dokey :-) ) - ciao for now!!