August 19

LAST DAY!!! Up the morning for a typical European breakdfast before heading off to the airport to catch out flight. Departure at 1:45 and arrival in Calgray at 3:00. We left Calgary and headed to Vancouver at 5:35 and landed in Vancouver at 6:00. Back in our van and homeward bound.:)

August 18

After saying goodbye to our house we packed up the car and headed off. Checked in at the hotel we drove out to the airport to meet the Lenoirs and give them their car. We had a drink before they headed home. We headed back to our hotel and watched some Olympics before goign to sleep.

August 17

Today was a cleanup day. Everything claned up, packed up and put away. We had the neighboors over for burgers which was nice. Then we said goodbye to them and got to bed early to be up early the next morning.

August 16

Today we were up early in the morning to get started on the lawn mowing and the recycling. Then we caught a train into Lausanne and then headed to Zurmat to do some hiking. We saw the Matterhorn which was cool and we walked along this neat little trail back down to the village where the boys bought swiss army knives. We got on a train back to Lausanne where we had a delicious fonue dinner before we headed home to Sugnens.

August 15

Today Graham and I took Grandma to the airport in Geneva to get her on her way. We came back pickd up the boys and headed into Lausanne to get some shopping done. The boys bought Swatches and Sam bought some clothes. We then headed down to a little restaurant called "Chez Roney's", which was a very nice. Headed home and went to bed early.

August 14

Today we were up at 6:30 to head to the market. We bought a couple of things-wallet, shorts, shirts to name a few. Could have spent a bit more time looking but had to go catch the train(which we ended up missing anyways). Graham got us on a 12:30 train instead, so with time to kill we headed to the to the village to get some snacks and a drink. Graham and the boys picked Grandma up and headed back to Sugnens.

August 13

Franceca, Jon anad their kids(relatives) left today after lunch. Today the sea was very rough so Sam and Charlie took the windsruf board out and tried to ride the waves, somewhat unsucessfully. Graham, Grandma and I went into Ventimiglia to look for a wine kraft, also somewhat unsucessfully. The boys stayed at home, read, played cards and listened to music. Camilla and Soren made a delicious dinner for us all. Jack and I had to say goodbye becaue we were up the next morning to catch a 10:30 train back to Lausanne. Back home to the hotel, watched some Olympics while packing up and getting ready for bed.

August 12

Another sunny day down at the Vila. Lots of swimming, snacking, reading etcetc. We arrived there at about 10:30 and went back to our hotel after a delicious dinner.

August 11

Graham, Jack and I were up at 6:00, Jack and I caught a 7:20 train from Lausanne heading to Menton, France. Graham, Sam,Grandma and Charlie drove down to Menton and met us in our hotel. Grandma stayed just inside the Italian border with some relatives. We got out bathing suits and headed down to the sea. We visited with some reltives at the place where Grandma was staying then headed back to the hotel for the night.

August 10

Today was a resting day before a flurry of activity/travelling. We hung around the house, watched some of the Olympics, ate chocolate... The blog was much worked and books were read. Late lunch with a relatively early dinner before bedtime early for eveyone exept for the bearer of the blog writing burden.

August 9

A travelling day. Up in the morning at aroung 8:00, another huge breakfast of course, then out the door by 9:00, shockingly, at the time we WANTED to leave. So far so good. We then hopped on a 9:40 after saying goodbye to Norah and were on our way home. With a long ride ahead of us we engaged in the typical train ride past times such as card playing, music listening, boof reading etcetc. Upon arrival in Lausanne we had a quick sushi dinner then got on a 10:30 train to Sugnens, and in home safe and sound at 11:30.

August 8

Today we woke up; indulged in another huge breakfast and then headed off to Belvedene to see the Palace. After that we headed off to a diferent hospital to visit Carl for about half and hour. We came home around 6:00, after we ambled up and down the strip for a while. Carl and Bibi's daughter came over with her huband for dinner. It was delicious topped off with the trademark ice cream balls.

August 6-7

Today we did much of the same(blogged, journaled, badmintoned...)in preperation for our night train trip into Vienna. We caught a 7:40 train out of Lausanne headed for Zurich. On the train we read, listened to music, talked and snacked. We arrived in Zurich at around 10:00, went adn found something to eat in the shape of a sausage then boarded the night train at 10:40 headed to Vienna. Our compartement was a little small but once everyone was in their respective beds it turned out to be quite roomy. We had a peacful sleep before we were woken up abruptly by breakfast which was brought right to our rooms. We finished up our breakfast just in time to get off the train at aroung 8:00. Norah was there to greet us and guide her back to her apartment. When we arrived at Norah's "cool" appartement she had a massive breakfast all laid out just waiting to be eaten. After we'd chowed our way through breakfast we headed off to the Zoo at Schoenbrun.
This was quite cool seeing as the boys had never been to a zoo before and it contained nearly ever animal on the planet, or os it seemed. Post trip to the zoo, we visited Bibi in the hospital for about 15 minuted before we had to catch a bus down to the main entrance because the hospital was huge. That night after another spaghetti dinner we headed off to explore some of Vienna's finest highlights. We tramed around the outside of the city, stoppin only to see the structures we wanted to see. Our favortie was St. Stephens chruch which has been there since the 1400's and was bombed in the second world war. Two very long days.

August 5

Today we hung aroud the house, updated the blog, wrote in journals, played badminton...Graham went to pick Grandma up at around 4:00 in Genenva from th airport. Tracy and the boys went for a bike ride in and around the surrounding fields of their house. Graham and Grandma got back and we enjoyed a spaghetti dinner, before hitting the hay relatively early.

August 4 – Morges

Checked out the little town of Morges, not too far from us. We rented 3 bikes and 2 “all terrain” scooters to cruise along the lake to “Saint Sulpice” (near Lausanne). On the way back to Morges the boys had a swim. After returning the bikes we enjoyed a peaceful drink (one wine, one beer and 3 coke) on the water and surveyed the view of Mont Blanc. After our beverage we went looking for a restaurant and learned that Morges shuts down early. So in the end, we made our first visit of the trip to the,always luxurious, McDonalds. It was actually pretty good. A “meal” costs about $11 SFr (similar to $11 C).

August 3, Verbier- Mont Fort

Mountain Day. We headed back into the Valais to check out Mont Fort. This was recommended to us as some good hiking. We left out of the village of Verbier (a big ski village) and shamelessly took full advantage of the lifts. In total we probably only logged about 2 hours of hiking but we caught some great scenery, explored a neat hut, tried there worlds largest binoculars and generally had a good swiss mountain day.

August 2

Quiet day today catching up on shopping and chores as stores were closed yesterday and tomorrow. Tonight we were invited to dinner by our neighbours Nicole Cedric and Hugo (8). The food and hospitality were great! and after dinner we ahd even more fireworks. I think Cedric and Hugo has some kind of a bottomless supply. Charlie commented a number of times that Uncle George would be jealous of the quality of the volcanoes compared to the ones George buys from his “supplier”.

August 1

The Swiss national Holiday…we drove to Lausanne to have dinner with Jen and Alex and their Kids, and see the fire works on Lake Geneva. We had hamburgers and Hotdogs with salad fix’ns which was delicious, then walked from their house down to the lake to watch the festivities. It is quite amazing because every little village has there own celebrations but they all do the same thing….a little parade of children with glowing lanterns to an open area that will have a massive bonfire (which is guarded by firemen and their ready water hoses), and tons and tons of fire works!!! It was really great to see. You could look down the lake and watch other village’s bonfires and fireworks. As we drove home we watch fireworks from some if the other villages and when we got to our place Cedric and Nicole and Hugo were outside lighting off their own fireworks….so we watch with them and went to bed at about 12:30 or so. I think we fell asleep listening to fireworks in the distance.

July 31

An excellent day. To start off with we headed south east along the Lake Geneva and stopped to visit Chateau Chillon (just South of Montreux). It is a really neat old castle (mostly constructed in the 1200s) right on the lake of Geneva. Jack liked it because it had “chains, cells, and towers to look all around from”. There were some cool latrines too. The Chateau was made famous when Byron wrote the Prisoner of Chillon based on the true story of Francois Bonivard, a Genevois who was imprisoned there in the 1500’s for opposing the local Duke. When we were finished we went for a swim at this little crescent beach right beside the castle. It was clean blue water and very refreshing.

Very weird coincidence, as we drove south from Monteux through a neighbouring little town called Villeneuve we heard Smoke on the Water being played on the radio. The weird part is that this is apparently where Deep Purple got the inspiration for Smoke on the Water as they watched the wooden concert hall in Monteux burn after it was lit on fire by a flare at a Zappa concert.

We then drove a little further south east to a little town called Sion. We drove past several vine vineyards that creep up the hill side so far that you wouldn’t think that anyone could possible stand and pick the grapes let alone plant them. It was so beautiful. The wine is supposed to be some of the best in Switzerland…so we bought a couple of bottles. We then proceeded along a long, steep and winding road for about 16 km. to one of the largest (highest, as high in fact as the Eiffel Tower) dams in the world, ‘Grande Dixence”. It was definitely high and large! Quite neat to see. Mind you, several comparisons were made between this particular sight and Clark Griswald’s “World’s Largest Ball of String” which was only "three short hours away".

On the way home we stopped in Vevey and had a picnic (apparently pronounced “peekneek” in French) on the lake while watching the sunset.

July 30

After a morning of little things to do here (like ping pong, badminton, journals & laundry) we headed North West from here. We drove to Lac de Joux. On the way there we stopped at a small beautiful medieval village called Romainmotier. It was built right on the hill side. We went inside the church and as we were entering it we could hear loud, heavy organ music and it seemed like we were in a movie….but it was just the organ guy practicing. It was pretty cool. We looked around the village, had coffee and ice cream and then had a drive to Lac de Neuchatel. We stopped in a town called Yverdon and had a swim before heading home. We got home and started dinner and just as a thunder and lightening storm hit. We were happy to be home.

July 29

Road Trip! We went off to France. We drove down the south west side of Lake Geneva and just across the boarder to a town called Annecy. Once we found the old part of the town we had lunch and walk around on the little cozy streets. They are full of old stone buildings all close together and the river/canal on the other side of the side walk. We toured the “Palace on the River” which is a prison built in the middle of the river with little arched bridges going to it. It was used for a jail at one time and the cells are still there with heavy wooden doors and large rough metal hinges and door knobs. We really enjoyed it.

We then drove back towards home and stopped in Geneva for a swim in the lake, to look around and have dinner. I tried to find a store that I once went to with only hand made Christmas ornaments but no luck. Graham was really, really disappointed... He did however take us down a road that was for only the trams…..it was quite funny. Fortunately for us (and the Lenoir’s car) there were not tram’s running at that time. We cooled off in the lake, saw the big fountain (Jet d’Eau), then walked around and stopped for a great dinner at Pizza Molino. Home by about 9:00…

July 28

Carrie, Chris, Beast, and Tina left us today…..we had fun with them.

A rest day today….stayed here and caught up on a few things. Sleep, work, laundry, journals, groceries and emails. The boys and I went into the little town of Echallens for groceries and explored a bit. We came home with food and a Badminton set. The boys got that all set up, played that and a bit of ping pong.

July 27

Bright blues skies….more hiking before hiking down to the cars. The only thing you could hear was the sound of the cow bells, some in the distance and some very close. It was peaceful.
Back in the cars to Lausanne but first a stop in Montreux. Walk along the water, had some ice cream and some of us went for a swim. Home to Sugnens, dinner and a good game of cards before bed. We played for Chocolate instead of money….what else would you do in Switzerland.

July 26

We met friends (Jen, Alex, son Lian 7 yrs, and Tessa10mnths) of Graham’s in a little village in the mountains called Gryon/Solalex. We needed to be there to put our gear on a truck to be taken to the Refuge, but we were running a bit behind due to some traffic issue in some of the other little villages. Then the thunder storm hit! We met Alex and crew however the road to the Refuge was washed out in several places and the truck could not go up or down. So we sat in a cozy little restaurant and drank white wine, beer and hot chocolate until the rain stopped. (about an hour or so) Then the 13 of us hike for an hour and a bit to the Refuge. We dined on a very good Fondue and tucked in for the night. No rocking to sleep for anyone. Nine of us did sleep in one room so that made for lots of laughter….until we got in trouble from one of the French speaking workers…..it was only 10:30 for heaven sakes.

July 25

We spent the next 3 days and 3 night with the Trumpy's.. We went to Grindelwald to walk beside the Eiger and through some amazing mountains. The skies were clear so we had fantastic views. Some of us were a little stiff the next day but up for more hiking.

July 24

Up in the am and after breakfast we did Notre Dame. A very impressive building to be in!! However the outside was just as impressive. Hopped the TGV back to Lausanne and met Carrie, Chris, Beast and Tina in a little town close to us called Echellens. It was great to see them. We had a great dinner with them: Beast and Tina make spaghetti and all the fix’ns, Graham made some very good G&Ts….and we laughed a lot.

July 23

Slept well. Breakfast in our funky little hotel and off we went to the Louvre. It was busy but we managed to see a fair bit including the Mona Lisa….A bit of a disappointment because it is so small and the crowds were crazy. After a couple of hours in the Louvre we walked through the Champs D’Elysees to the Arc de Triump for an amazing 360 degree view of the city. We were lucky as it was a clear sunny day ( warm too about 30 ). Then back to the hotel shower and off to dinner and walk to Notre Dame which was closed for the night but it was lit up from the outside. At night the street vendors seem to come out and that night we saw an impressive group of young men doing crazy stunts on their roller blades…yes it was without any protective gear so it was hard for Graham and I to listen to how “COOL” it was from the boys…..however impressive it was.

July 22

Off to Paris on the TGV (fast train) today. The train was very comfy, spacious and peaceful. Left Lausanne at 9:03 and arrived in Paris at 13:04. The first thing we did was go and see Bastille, which was not the actuall prison form all those years ago during the French Revolution, but instead stood a momument in its place. After a very good lunch at a little restaurant on a street corner with a waiter who was lots of fun, we headed off through the Gardens of Luxemburg, towards Saint Sulpice. The Gardens of Luxemburg was quite neat with a tree laden path and a huge golden head topped of by the Presidential Offices. Saint Sulpice was a big church but very well kept and details galore, with most of its fame coming thanks to The Davinci Code. Our hotel was as we remembered…cooked floors and ceilings and exposed brown beams with white walls. Our two rooms were on the very top floor. Good thing we didn’t have any suite cases. We freshened up and went to the Eiffel Tower…that was about 7pm. After waiting in line for about 45 to 60 mins we climbed the stairs to the second level….what a view!! We didn’t go all the way to the top as it would have been over a 1 hour wait from the second stage and we heard the next day that it was a 2 hour wait to get down. Once down we went to the park beside it and watch a light show on the Tower. It was beautiful. We were happy to be down. We then headed to our hotel and went to bed!

July 20

A travel day….took the train from Zurich to Lausanne on the way to our home in Sugnens. We switched trains in Lausanne and took another to Yverdon, where a car with complete directions to the house waited for us. The house is very aggreable and the family had a nice bottle of wine several maps, and books about what to see and do in this region. We dined on a very tasty dinner of spaghetti and meat sauce left for us by Manuela….very kind. The parents in the neighbouring area speak excellent English, whereas the kids speak none at all. There is a play area just down the road with a grassy area for soccer, basket ball and general play for the kids that live here. The boys have been out with the local kids, including the boy next door, Hugo, who is 8. He has a ping pong table, along with a pool. The surrounding area is mostly rolling hills with wheat, sunflowers and turnip (I think) growing in them. The thing that I like best is the peaceful jingle of the cow bells in the distant fields.

July 19

What a day…the train ride on the first class train didn’t end-up so first class. Our train had some technical difficulties so we had to get off of it and board a regional, slower, and fuller-so-we-stood-for-almost-an-hour train. Then onto one of the nice trains for an hour ride into Zurich, which was pretty. We got a very nice hotel in the heart of Zurich and dragged the boys all over our old stomping grounds: along the Neidredorff to walk along cobble stone roads lined with cafes/restaurants, to the lake side, on a tram to Vollieshoffen to our old place were we lived, past the AMI Clinic were I use to work, back to the center of town to get money from the UBS bank were Graham worked ,and a walk along the Bhanoffstrasse. For dinner we ate a typical Swiss dinner of Rosti and snitzel/sausage and beer. We strolled back to our hotel looking at some of the beautiful sights of Zurich and now we are going to bed. WHEW…

July 17-18

We made it!! The flights were great….Air Canada was way better than we had been told. Everything was on time and all five of the bags arrived, the food was tasty ( and I didn’t have to make it or clean up….YES!) and even a couple of free G&Ts. Jack and Graham managed to sleep a bit more than the rest of us so we were all very tired when we got to our hotel in Frankfurt. It was very hard to just have an hour nap….Graham was trying so hard to wake Charlie up and just couldn’t so he yelled,” BLACK HAWK DOWN” WE eventually got him up and went into the center of Frankfurt for some bratwurst, beer and Orangina drinks. Then back to the hotel to sleep…..with a detour of the “red light district”….nice, really nice. I think we were in bed and asleep by 8pm Frankfurt time,(11 am in Vancouver). Everyone slept well and Graham woke us up with Coffee,OJ, Bananas and very, very good Chocolate Croissants.
We are now on the train to Zurich….the boys love our seats. They think they are going to “Hogwarts”. All is well…..