Hi everyone!
This is the first time weve been able to get to an internet cafe.
We are in Lake Como, Italy. We left Interlaken and headed up toward the northeast corner of Switzerland to Appenzell area. This was probably the hardest spot to find a hotel as we were out in the middle of nowhere in dairy cow country and it was after 6 p.m. and we finally found a Bed and Breakfast up a hillside. karen and stan were on the first floor with a bathroom in their room. no walls for the bathroom, just a curtain around the toilet. We were on the 3rd floor and had to use the hall bathroom. but as no one was there besides us it wasnt so bad. Quiet, you cant believe how quiet. I love the cows all night with their bells clunking all night.
The next day we took off for Chur on the way to Lugano and we stopped to see a church that was huge and was reported to be the biggest in Switzerland. I cant spell the name but it was unbelievably gorgous. Beautiful paintings on the ceilings and ornate carvings and paintings everywhere. Then we stopped in Liechtenstein and stopped and saw the castle of the Royal Prince.
Then after that went to Chur and found a hotel. tired very tired. We have covered a lot of Switzerland in the car. It is one of the cleanest countries I have ever seen. no garbage anywhere, the roads are in great condition, and there is no pollution.
Yesterday we headed for Lugano. and drove down one of the longest canyons we have ever seen. it had to be at least 30 miles of all downhill. then we found a great bed and breakfast 20 minutes out of town and way above the city overlooking Lake Lagono. No phone, no TV, no credit cards but they had a restaurant that was obviously popular with the locals and for good reason, very good food. The view was spectacular.
We turned the car in this morning and caught the train to Lake Como. The trains are easy to navigate once you figure out the system. Our hotel overlooks the south tip looking north on the lake and tomorrow we are catching a water taxi that will take us around the lake and we can get off and check out small villages and gardens. We re thinking that we will catch the train on Saturday for Milan and go check it out, we didnt get reservations in time to see the Last Supper but Milan looks cool and its only an hour away.
We miss you all and hope you are all well. Take carek, love to you from all of us.
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Hi from Interlaken, Switzerland
Hi everyone.
We have seen some unbelievable mountains and valleys in Switzerland. Yesterday when we got back into Interlaken, we decided to go up a cable tram car to a high spot called Harder Kulm. Its a restaurant up on the north side of the Interlaken valley and when you look south from up there you got an incredible view of the mountain peak Jungfrau. The weather was clear and the views of the mountain range with snow on top was incredible. Also from up there you could look down into the Interlaken valley and see the Brainzee lake to the east, the outlet where the glacial turqoise water flows exits the lake and runs west through Interlaken to the lower Thun lake to the west where it empties. This whole Interlaken area is one of the most beautiful locations I have seen in a long time. There are several train and tram rides you can take and go on mountain hikes and go up to see several mountain peaks in the Swiss Alps and could be situated here for weeks and never get bored.
Today though was incredible. We left at 8:30 this morning and took a 2 and 1/2 hour ride on 3 different trains and two different cog wheel trams to get up to the Jungfrau mountain peak. The place we were actually at was called Jungfraujoch. The train and tram rides went through some of the most picture perfect postcard type scenery imaginable with green valleys dotted with the traditional Swiss Chalet type houses and dairies everywhere. But then to top it off, mountains would just jut straight up from these valley communities right up behind them. It took your breath away. The last half hour of the last tram ride near the top was through a carved out tunnel of rock that was constructed in 1895. The train stop at Jungfraujoch was in carved out rock underground and you came out into the hugh visitor facility. There were several floors of this complex perched up on top of this mountain. More than half of the facility was under rock or carved in the rock and you would walk down several rock tunnels to get to the different parts of the visitor center. We first took an elevator to the "Crystal Ice Palace" This literally was tunnels carved in the snow and ice under a snow pack and there were several outpockets in the ice tunnels where they had done ice carvings of animals and structures. It was cool to walk through it. At the other end you come outside and walk along a perch between the Jungfrau peak and the Monch peak. (The Jungfraujoch is the visitor center located between these two peaks). As we came outside we were blinded by the bright sunshine on the snow but also the bitter cold as the wind was howling up there. It was blowing snow in gusts that were so strong it could blow you over. But looking to the north, you could see down into the Interlaken valley in all directions and looking south, you looked over a glacier flow flowing away to the south that was hugh. West you looked up at the mountain peak Jungfrau and east you looked up at the mountain peak Monch. Between the altitude of 11,500 feet and the bitter blowing wind, to say that it took your breath away was an understatement. But to say that we did it and made it up there was an achievement. We then went back in and had lunch with delicious hot soup and then went over to the east end and up an elevator to something called the Sphinx Observatory. This was very tall and had incredible views plus they do meteorlogical studies there. Then we went down below and Craig and I walked out onto the glacier ice flow where they had made a walkpath for visitors. That was cool. Then we finally decided to come down the mountain on two more cog trams and 3 trains through gorgous valleys and mountain ranges. We were tired and happy and ate dinner at a restaurant called Pizpaz and ate delicious Italian food.
So this is our last night here and we are up on the road for new adventures. Karen and Stan and Craig are making the plans and our next stop is up by Zurich somewhere.
We miss you all and hope all are all well. Lots of love from all of us to all of you.
P.S. I am in love with the brown Swiss cows and the wonderful bells that clunk while they eat. I want to bring one home with me. Craig is in love with the efficient trains systems and the cool working flushing toilets! Love ya
We have seen some unbelievable mountains and valleys in Switzerland. Yesterday when we got back into Interlaken, we decided to go up a cable tram car to a high spot called Harder Kulm. Its a restaurant up on the north side of the Interlaken valley and when you look south from up there you got an incredible view of the mountain peak Jungfrau. The weather was clear and the views of the mountain range with snow on top was incredible. Also from up there you could look down into the Interlaken valley and see the Brainzee lake to the east, the outlet where the glacial turqoise water flows exits the lake and runs west through Interlaken to the lower Thun lake to the west where it empties. This whole Interlaken area is one of the most beautiful locations I have seen in a long time. There are several train and tram rides you can take and go on mountain hikes and go up to see several mountain peaks in the Swiss Alps and could be situated here for weeks and never get bored.
Today though was incredible. We left at 8:30 this morning and took a 2 and 1/2 hour ride on 3 different trains and two different cog wheel trams to get up to the Jungfrau mountain peak. The place we were actually at was called Jungfraujoch. The train and tram rides went through some of the most picture perfect postcard type scenery imaginable with green valleys dotted with the traditional Swiss Chalet type houses and dairies everywhere. But then to top it off, mountains would just jut straight up from these valley communities right up behind them. It took your breath away. The last half hour of the last tram ride near the top was through a carved out tunnel of rock that was constructed in 1895. The train stop at Jungfraujoch was in carved out rock underground and you came out into the hugh visitor facility. There were several floors of this complex perched up on top of this mountain. More than half of the facility was under rock or carved in the rock and you would walk down several rock tunnels to get to the different parts of the visitor center. We first took an elevator to the "Crystal Ice Palace" This literally was tunnels carved in the snow and ice under a snow pack and there were several outpockets in the ice tunnels where they had done ice carvings of animals and structures. It was cool to walk through it. At the other end you come outside and walk along a perch between the Jungfrau peak and the Monch peak. (The Jungfraujoch is the visitor center located between these two peaks). As we came outside we were blinded by the bright sunshine on the snow but also the bitter cold as the wind was howling up there. It was blowing snow in gusts that were so strong it could blow you over. But looking to the north, you could see down into the Interlaken valley in all directions and looking south, you looked over a glacier flow flowing away to the south that was hugh. West you looked up at the mountain peak Jungfrau and east you looked up at the mountain peak Monch. Between the altitude of 11,500 feet and the bitter blowing wind, to say that it took your breath away was an understatement. But to say that we did it and made it up there was an achievement. We then went back in and had lunch with delicious hot soup and then went over to the east end and up an elevator to something called the Sphinx Observatory. This was very tall and had incredible views plus they do meteorlogical studies there. Then we went down below and Craig and I walked out onto the glacier ice flow where they had made a walkpath for visitors. That was cool. Then we finally decided to come down the mountain on two more cog trams and 3 trains through gorgous valleys and mountain ranges. We were tired and happy and ate dinner at a restaurant called Pizpaz and ate delicious Italian food.
So this is our last night here and we are up on the road for new adventures. Karen and Stan and Craig are making the plans and our next stop is up by Zurich somewhere.
We miss you all and hope all are all well. Lots of love from all of us to all of you.
P.S. I am in love with the brown Swiss cows and the wonderful bells that clunk while they eat. I want to bring one home with me. Craig is in love with the efficient trains systems and the cool working flushing toilets! Love ya
Friday, September 28, 2007
Hi from Alpnach, Switzerland
Hi everyone, we have been visiting Alpnach, home of Stans parents. This is just below Lucern. Its a small village and Stan has loved visiting with a cousin he didnt know if he was still alive.
Yesterday we went up the mountain Pilatus. Wow and wow. We rode up a cog wheel tram car up to 7000 feet. At times this car was climbing at almost 50% grade. We got higher and it was much colder than below. We finally came out at the summit and the weather was iffy when we left but we lucked out at the top. There were still clouds blowing in and out (and I mean blowing, it was very windy and cold up there) but as the clouds moved through you could see off in the distance the beautiful snow capped mountain peaks of the Swiss Alps. We climbed more stairs up to an observation tower and it literally took your breath away. To the south and east were the mountain ranges and to the north and west were the green (green everywhere) valleys of Lucern. I have taken so many pictures but they will not do it justice. It was one of those moments you wish you could freeze in your memory forever. No smog, no pollution, just crisp, clear air and sharp visions of raw nature. I didnt want to leave up there.
We then took off in a small tram on a cable to start out descent to Lucern. This took almost a half hour and we came down near Lucern. We were high enough to look down on top of the fir trees. Several of them were loads with cones and tall here. It was wild to look down on the tops of such huge trees. We then took a bus to the ferry docks of Lake Lucern and caught a ferry boat to come back to Alpnach by boat. We rode the ferry boat for 90 minutes as it made several stops along the lake shore. It was cold on the lake and windy but we didnt want to miss any of the views. There are several hugh lakes here that are all interconnected. And on many shores there are no shores. Along the water line in many places man made rock walls line the shore. Some places you can see the mountain drop down and disappear into the water. The forests here are thick and you can tell up the mountainsides how hundreds of years ago trees were cut to make room for the farms. There are farms everywhere around here. Dairy dominates and the Swiss brown cows are everywhere. I have fallen in love with the bells around their necks. Supposedly when they go up to upper pastures during the summer the bells stay below. But when they come down for the winter, the bells go around their necks and as you walk around town you can hear the bells jingling all the time. I will always remember the bells here. Plus there are churches everywhere and their bells go off on a regular basis. Charming things like this I wish we had at home.
Today I am not sure where we are going. We might double back to Interlaken so that we can see the Jungfrau mountain. (Its suppose to be a sight not to miss) but the weather has been unpredictable. We had everything from rain, wind, overcast, to clear. Or we might decide to just move on and go to new territory.
We love and miss everyone. Hope all is well with you. Love from all of us to all of you.
Yesterday we went up the mountain Pilatus. Wow and wow. We rode up a cog wheel tram car up to 7000 feet. At times this car was climbing at almost 50% grade. We got higher and it was much colder than below. We finally came out at the summit and the weather was iffy when we left but we lucked out at the top. There were still clouds blowing in and out (and I mean blowing, it was very windy and cold up there) but as the clouds moved through you could see off in the distance the beautiful snow capped mountain peaks of the Swiss Alps. We climbed more stairs up to an observation tower and it literally took your breath away. To the south and east were the mountain ranges and to the north and west were the green (green everywhere) valleys of Lucern. I have taken so many pictures but they will not do it justice. It was one of those moments you wish you could freeze in your memory forever. No smog, no pollution, just crisp, clear air and sharp visions of raw nature. I didnt want to leave up there.
We then took off in a small tram on a cable to start out descent to Lucern. This took almost a half hour and we came down near Lucern. We were high enough to look down on top of the fir trees. Several of them were loads with cones and tall here. It was wild to look down on the tops of such huge trees. We then took a bus to the ferry docks of Lake Lucern and caught a ferry boat to come back to Alpnach by boat. We rode the ferry boat for 90 minutes as it made several stops along the lake shore. It was cold on the lake and windy but we didnt want to miss any of the views. There are several hugh lakes here that are all interconnected. And on many shores there are no shores. Along the water line in many places man made rock walls line the shore. Some places you can see the mountain drop down and disappear into the water. The forests here are thick and you can tell up the mountainsides how hundreds of years ago trees were cut to make room for the farms. There are farms everywhere around here. Dairy dominates and the Swiss brown cows are everywhere. I have fallen in love with the bells around their necks. Supposedly when they go up to upper pastures during the summer the bells stay below. But when they come down for the winter, the bells go around their necks and as you walk around town you can hear the bells jingling all the time. I will always remember the bells here. Plus there are churches everywhere and their bells go off on a regular basis. Charming things like this I wish we had at home.
Today I am not sure where we are going. We might double back to Interlaken so that we can see the Jungfrau mountain. (Its suppose to be a sight not to miss) but the weather has been unpredictable. We had everything from rain, wind, overcast, to clear. Or we might decide to just move on and go to new territory.
We love and miss everyone. Hope all is well with you. Love from all of us to all of you.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Hi from Alpnach, Switzerland
Hi everyone, hope yzou are all well.
We arrived in Interlaken yesterday about 5 p.m. We took back roads from Bern to Interlaken and it was gorgous. We picked up our rent a car in Bern and by the time we walked to the place, got the car, and drove back and picked up the luggage and headed out of town it took us a hour. It went easy but we were very careful as there were a lot of one way streets not marked. We headed north and went and saw the Swiss Temple. It was beautiful but smaller than we expected. From there we headed south toward Interlaken and decided to get off the main highways and enjoy the backroads. It was cool to drive through what I would call villages and twice we stopped to visit castles. The first one was in the town of Thun south of Bern and the castle was built in the 1100s. It was barren and cold and huge. It was fun to walk up and climb up to the turrets for the incredible views. From Thun you can see the beginning of the two lakes that make up the Interlaken area. Then we drove some more and saw the Oberhofen Castle. This one was built in the 1600s and a lot more opulent with expensive furnishings, paintings, wood carved paneled walls and armor with spears everywhere. Plus gardens galore. Even now with the trees turning and its really cold, there are flowers everywhere especially geraniums.
Finally, we got to Interlaken, its a tourist town but we are discovering that one big advantage to being here when the dollar is so miserable to the Euro is that all the tourists are staying home or visiting South America where the dollar is worth more. Therefore, we dont have crowds and the roads are empty of cars. Its great.
We really thought we would find more Swiss food restaurants but all we see are Italian, Chinese, and McDonalds. But they have good food. We did Italian last night and it was good.
We are finding hotels fine in Switzerland and wow is this country clean. All the bathrooms even the public ones are spotless. The streets are clean, you hardly see garbage cans and everything is very pristine and Craig wants me to mention how great the toilets flush. Last night if you were sitting down when you flushed, there is so much water, your backside would get a full bath. He was too chicken to try it, but he thought it was great.
Today we arrived in Alpnach. This is where Stans dad was born. With the help of a couple of pictures we found what we thought was his dads farm house and we met the people there and found it was the house of his aunt and uncle and the 89 year old resident was his first cousin. There was a son and daughter in law there who spoke English and we had a great visit. Up the mountainside from the valley we finally found the house that Stans dad was born in and the view from up there was spectacular.
We got hungry at 5 p.m. and none of the restaurants open until 6 p.m. So we finally found one that opened earlier and it was Mexican food that was really good.
When we were in Bern the driving required a little more concentration but once you got out on the highways and backroads, its very much like home, except the roundabouts. Although we love them as they make navigating changes easier, although when you cant read the road signs all the time we have been known to circle the roundabouts a few times till we make up our minds which way to go.
Its raining here and very cold. You can see snow in the surrounding mountains. But we hope to take a cool tram and boat ride tomorrow up to the peak and surrounding mountains called Pilatus. Hope the weather cooperates.
We miss you and hope all is well. love to all of you from all of us.
We arrived in Interlaken yesterday about 5 p.m. We took back roads from Bern to Interlaken and it was gorgous. We picked up our rent a car in Bern and by the time we walked to the place, got the car, and drove back and picked up the luggage and headed out of town it took us a hour. It went easy but we were very careful as there were a lot of one way streets not marked. We headed north and went and saw the Swiss Temple. It was beautiful but smaller than we expected. From there we headed south toward Interlaken and decided to get off the main highways and enjoy the backroads. It was cool to drive through what I would call villages and twice we stopped to visit castles. The first one was in the town of Thun south of Bern and the castle was built in the 1100s. It was barren and cold and huge. It was fun to walk up and climb up to the turrets for the incredible views. From Thun you can see the beginning of the two lakes that make up the Interlaken area. Then we drove some more and saw the Oberhofen Castle. This one was built in the 1600s and a lot more opulent with expensive furnishings, paintings, wood carved paneled walls and armor with spears everywhere. Plus gardens galore. Even now with the trees turning and its really cold, there are flowers everywhere especially geraniums.
Finally, we got to Interlaken, its a tourist town but we are discovering that one big advantage to being here when the dollar is so miserable to the Euro is that all the tourists are staying home or visiting South America where the dollar is worth more. Therefore, we dont have crowds and the roads are empty of cars. Its great.
We really thought we would find more Swiss food restaurants but all we see are Italian, Chinese, and McDonalds. But they have good food. We did Italian last night and it was good.
We are finding hotels fine in Switzerland and wow is this country clean. All the bathrooms even the public ones are spotless. The streets are clean, you hardly see garbage cans and everything is very pristine and Craig wants me to mention how great the toilets flush. Last night if you were sitting down when you flushed, there is so much water, your backside would get a full bath. He was too chicken to try it, but he thought it was great.
Today we arrived in Alpnach. This is where Stans dad was born. With the help of a couple of pictures we found what we thought was his dads farm house and we met the people there and found it was the house of his aunt and uncle and the 89 year old resident was his first cousin. There was a son and daughter in law there who spoke English and we had a great visit. Up the mountainside from the valley we finally found the house that Stans dad was born in and the view from up there was spectacular.
We got hungry at 5 p.m. and none of the restaurants open until 6 p.m. So we finally found one that opened earlier and it was Mexican food that was really good.
When we were in Bern the driving required a little more concentration but once you got out on the highways and backroads, its very much like home, except the roundabouts. Although we love them as they make navigating changes easier, although when you cant read the road signs all the time we have been known to circle the roundabouts a few times till we make up our minds which way to go.
Its raining here and very cold. You can see snow in the surrounding mountains. But we hope to take a cool tram and boat ride tomorrow up to the peak and surrounding mountains called Pilatus. Hope the weather cooperates.
We miss you and hope all is well. love to all of you from all of us.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Hi from Bern, Switzerland
Hi everyone, the day before we headed out from Paris on train for a 4 hour ride to Geneva, Switzerland. The ride was wonderful and the countryside was rolling and lots of agriculture. We got into Geneva about 5 p.m. and basically were starved and there were not many restaurant choices around so we ended up at McDonalds. Then we walked down to the Lake Leman, the huge lake in Geneva. There it was lined with 5 star hotels and out on the breakwater there was a hugh, and I mean hugh, fountain shooting up by the docked boats and yachts. It was like a hugh fire nozzle shooting a couple of hundred feet in the air. We walked around looking at the boats and hotels and came back for sleep.
We got up early and went down to the lake and went the other way and along the lake they have beautiful promenade walkways. As we didnt have much time, this was all we could do.
We walked to our train (Jay our travel agent, set it up that we could walk to train stations wheeling our luggage behind us. It saves on cab fares). Today was just a 2 hour train ride but we were on top of a 2 decker train and the train went slow because it went through several towns so we had great views of vineyards and dairy farms and small villages. Everything here is green. And we got into Bern about 2 p.m. We are in an older part of town that has a river on three sides of it. On the other sides of the river across bridges I suspect is the more modern part of Bern. But its enjoyable to walk around the expensive shops (window shopping only) and all the buildings here are made of some kind of greenish grey stone. Its pretty with flower boxes in all the windows of all the floors but the buildings are all the same color. The churches are the same too. I wonder what type of stone it is and where they got it. We found an Italian restaurant tonight that had an English menu as we cant read Swiss German at all.
They speak German here (Geneva was still French) but its Swiss German and its different. We are all struggling to figure things out but we usually find someone that speaks English to help us. So we are doing very well.
Tomorrow we are picking up the rent a car and hitting the open road. So I dont know when our next entry may be, depending on what hotel we find and if they have internet service in the smaller villages. Stan wants to head to Interlaken and then north to where his parents came from. I cant pronouce the names let alone spell them but it should be exciting.
Hope everyone is well, and we miss you loads. Lots of love from all of us to all of you.
We got up early and went down to the lake and went the other way and along the lake they have beautiful promenade walkways. As we didnt have much time, this was all we could do.
We walked to our train (Jay our travel agent, set it up that we could walk to train stations wheeling our luggage behind us. It saves on cab fares). Today was just a 2 hour train ride but we were on top of a 2 decker train and the train went slow because it went through several towns so we had great views of vineyards and dairy farms and small villages. Everything here is green. And we got into Bern about 2 p.m. We are in an older part of town that has a river on three sides of it. On the other sides of the river across bridges I suspect is the more modern part of Bern. But its enjoyable to walk around the expensive shops (window shopping only) and all the buildings here are made of some kind of greenish grey stone. Its pretty with flower boxes in all the windows of all the floors but the buildings are all the same color. The churches are the same too. I wonder what type of stone it is and where they got it. We found an Italian restaurant tonight that had an English menu as we cant read Swiss German at all.
They speak German here (Geneva was still French) but its Swiss German and its different. We are all struggling to figure things out but we usually find someone that speaks English to help us. So we are doing very well.
Tomorrow we are picking up the rent a car and hitting the open road. So I dont know when our next entry may be, depending on what hotel we find and if they have internet service in the smaller villages. Stan wants to head to Interlaken and then north to where his parents came from. I cant pronouce the names let alone spell them but it should be exciting.
Hope everyone is well, and we miss you loads. Lots of love from all of us to all of you.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Last full day in Paris!
Well today was a little less hectic. We tried to figure out how to get out to Versailles but we couldn't do it. It wasn't until last night we figured out that we could have taken the metro. Darn but it's just something for the next trip to look forward to. We knew coming into this that we would not be able to see everything.
We found an aquaduct that ran for quite a ways and walked along the top of it yesterday. They have planted beautiful gardens along it and it was wonderful to enjoy and eat our lunch there. Yesterday also was a great nap day. During the afternoon I took a 2 hour nap. It was heaven. Then we had dinner across the street from our hotel. I am loving the salads here. So much flavor. Then we were picked up last night by Nicolas our driver to drive us to the Eiffle tower and take a cruise boat down and back again for an hour. It was beautiful to see the lights around Paris along the Seine River. The Eiffle tower is normally all lit up with off white lights but because we were in town this weekend for the Rugby World Cup they had changed the color of the lower half to green for the Irish that were in town. France won by the way 20-3. The celebrations around here were intense. Rugby is so interesting to watch on TV. Looks like a combo between our football and soccer.
Then Nicolas drove us around the city and explained more about the sights and their history. By this time it's about midnight and no traffic, it was great. The lights are beautiful. There is so much richness here. We also saw the hugh church and building where Napolean is buried. Didn't have time to go in but he is held in great esteem here.
Today we are on the train to Geneva Switzerland. Can't wait. Miss you all loads. Lots of love from all of us to all of you.
We found an aquaduct that ran for quite a ways and walked along the top of it yesterday. They have planted beautiful gardens along it and it was wonderful to enjoy and eat our lunch there. Yesterday also was a great nap day. During the afternoon I took a 2 hour nap. It was heaven. Then we had dinner across the street from our hotel. I am loving the salads here. So much flavor. Then we were picked up last night by Nicolas our driver to drive us to the Eiffle tower and take a cruise boat down and back again for an hour. It was beautiful to see the lights around Paris along the Seine River. The Eiffle tower is normally all lit up with off white lights but because we were in town this weekend for the Rugby World Cup they had changed the color of the lower half to green for the Irish that were in town. France won by the way 20-3. The celebrations around here were intense. Rugby is so interesting to watch on TV. Looks like a combo between our football and soccer.
Then Nicolas drove us around the city and explained more about the sights and their history. By this time it's about midnight and no traffic, it was great. The lights are beautiful. There is so much richness here. We also saw the hugh church and building where Napolean is buried. Didn't have time to go in but he is held in great esteem here.
Today we are on the train to Geneva Switzerland. Can't wait. Miss you all loads. Lots of love from all of us to all of you.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Last day from Paris!
Hi guys. this is our last day is Paris. i am still trying to figure out the keyboard and had my message all done and couldn't figure out the right key to enter the entry and wiped out my message so I am starting over. Oh well, we are not on a schedule this morning.
I love Paris. it's beautiful. we can't figure out how people get around with cars. there is no visible parking anywhere. they must know something we don't. and Paris has a lot of tourists.
we got up Friday morning and took off on our tour bus (hop on and hop off) and went to Notre Dame first. wow, and wow. the stain glass inside was so beautiful and the arched ceilings were so high. then we walked around it and the flying buttresses were impressive. it was way bigger than i thought and it's out on a island in the river. we then went next to the Concorde plaza, like a central located plaza where their major streets branch off from. you could see the Arc de Triumph and the Champs Elysee street (forgive my spelling, not sure) there were fountains and beautiful old buildings. we then got on the bus and went to the Arc de Triumph which has about 8 streets branching off it and the roundabout around it is crazy. we had lunch by it at a outside restaurant and people watched. but as we walked around the Arc it was hugh. beautiful carvings and reliefs carved in stone and the French's tomb of the unknown soldier is there. then we went to the Eiffle tower. the bus drives you around so you can take pictures from all angles and then lets you off in the front. we stood in line for about a half an hour just to get tickets and then stood in line for about the same amount of time to get up the lifts to the very top,but the wait was worth it. the views from the top take your breath away. you can see how the city is layed out and where the major tourist stops are. the buildings look different from above and you can get an appreciation for how they layed out the city. their city blocks are mostly in triangle shapes and the whitish stone buildings that are about 6 floors high are everywhere in this part of town. but it also gives you a chance to see how the Louvre and other churches and museusm look from above. it was hard to come down but we decided to walk down the lower steps. 785 of them and we were wobbly at the bottom. then it took awhile to navigate the buses back and we missed the last 6 p.m. bus and had to walk from Notre Dame an mile and a half. that doesn't sound like much but at the end of a very hectic and long day it seemed forever. but we walked along the river and it was great. Yesterday, we were up and on the bus driving around andseeing the sights again. when we got to the Eiffle tower we could see the lines were hugh compared to our day and we were glad we had gone the day before. finally we got to the Louvre and it's gorgous and hugh. we saw Mona Lisa (she is beautiful) and other paintings and greek statues and art. with lunch this alone took almost 3 hours and it was just one wing of it. it would take a long time to see everything. then we navigated the buses to go north of town and see the Moulin Rouge and the Paris Hard Rock Cafe. we got back last night tired but thrilled at all we did in two days.
today is slower day and tonight we are signed upto go out on a boat on the river and drive around to see the lights after dark. can't wait.
tomorrow we are off to Geneva, Switzerland.
hope you are all well and we miss you loads. love from all of us to all of you. take care!
I love Paris. it's beautiful. we can't figure out how people get around with cars. there is no visible parking anywhere. they must know something we don't. and Paris has a lot of tourists.
we got up Friday morning and took off on our tour bus (hop on and hop off) and went to Notre Dame first. wow, and wow. the stain glass inside was so beautiful and the arched ceilings were so high. then we walked around it and the flying buttresses were impressive. it was way bigger than i thought and it's out on a island in the river. we then went next to the Concorde plaza, like a central located plaza where their major streets branch off from. you could see the Arc de Triumph and the Champs Elysee street (forgive my spelling, not sure) there were fountains and beautiful old buildings. we then got on the bus and went to the Arc de Triumph which has about 8 streets branching off it and the roundabout around it is crazy. we had lunch by it at a outside restaurant and people watched. but as we walked around the Arc it was hugh. beautiful carvings and reliefs carved in stone and the French's tomb of the unknown soldier is there. then we went to the Eiffle tower. the bus drives you around so you can take pictures from all angles and then lets you off in the front. we stood in line for about a half an hour just to get tickets and then stood in line for about the same amount of time to get up the lifts to the very top,but the wait was worth it. the views from the top take your breath away. you can see how the city is layed out and where the major tourist stops are. the buildings look different from above and you can get an appreciation for how they layed out the city. their city blocks are mostly in triangle shapes and the whitish stone buildings that are about 6 floors high are everywhere in this part of town. but it also gives you a chance to see how the Louvre and other churches and museusm look from above. it was hard to come down but we decided to walk down the lower steps. 785 of them and we were wobbly at the bottom. then it took awhile to navigate the buses back and we missed the last 6 p.m. bus and had to walk from Notre Dame an mile and a half. that doesn't sound like much but at the end of a very hectic and long day it seemed forever. but we walked along the river and it was great. Yesterday, we were up and on the bus driving around andseeing the sights again. when we got to the Eiffle tower we could see the lines were hugh compared to our day and we were glad we had gone the day before. finally we got to the Louvre and it's gorgous and hugh. we saw Mona Lisa (she is beautiful) and other paintings and greek statues and art. with lunch this alone took almost 3 hours and it was just one wing of it. it would take a long time to see everything. then we navigated the buses to go north of town and see the Moulin Rouge and the Paris Hard Rock Cafe. we got back last night tired but thrilled at all we did in two days.
today is slower day and tonight we are signed upto go out on a boat on the river and drive around to see the lights after dark. can't wait.
tomorrow we are off to Geneva, Switzerland.
hope you are all well and we miss you loads. love from all of us to all of you. take care!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)