From: Mt. Stanserhorn, Switzerland
Showing posts with label Switzerland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Switzerland. Show all posts
Monday, September 12, 2011
Monday, May 17, 2010
Photo of the Week: Switzerland
Mt. Stanserhorn, Switzerland. I love the eye to eye with the top of a mountain aspect of this photo.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
European Discovery Day 12
Day 12 (May 19): Lucerne to Paris
Through the French countryside to the romance of Paris. Enjoy a first view of the sights of this spectacular city of light.
Today we got a little later of a start since we were going to the top of Mt. Stanserhorn, so I got to sleep till 6:30, wahoo! We took an 8:10am train up to the gondola that would get us to the top of Mt. Stanserhorn. What a phenomenal view! And, because it was still cloudy this morning, it was actually warmer at the top then in town. We got a nice chance to walk around before coming down so the bus could leave at 9:30 for Paris.
Today I decided to be a flowerbox, I sat in the front row of the bus with Chris. Our first stop was after 3 hours for lunch. I found the French to actually be pretty friendly, but I was a little overwhelmed by the trying to pick out food, I ended up with quiche. Actually, the most stressful part of the whole trip would be the first rest stop in each country, trying to order food in a new culture. After lunch it was a 2 and a half hour ride on the bus, the highlight of this part of the drive would be playing Horse. This is as easy game that anyone can play, see a horse and be the first to call it. One point for real horses, two points for pictures of horses. At this next rest stop the woman was rude, so being an annoying American, I kept going back to her.
Back on the bus Hans gave us a history lesson on France, something about Napoleon. At 7:30pm we finally got to Paris, we had 30 minutes to check in before dinner and our evening tour of Paris. The hotel was nice, but the rooms were smaller than a shoebox for sandals. We had a pretty good dinner at the hotel, Chicken, rice and salad.
At 9:00 we headed out to the Eiffel Tower and the city tour. The first stop was the Eiffel Tower, with a drive through the Arc de Triomphe on the way. We had a bit of a line to get into the Eiffel Tower, but we made the best of our time by starting the wave. The view from the Eiffel Tower was amazing, especially with the late dusk
sky. I give credit to those who were afraid of hights, but still went up as I know it wasn't easy for them. Good job gals! Anyway, back to me. I bought myself a giraffe Eiffel Tower and a blinking Eiffel Tower. But the funniest thing was when Mike bought multiple blinking Eiffel Towers and then tried to sell one to one of the peddlers. Mike offered 5 euros, but the guy would only pay 4 and Mike didn't have change for him. Then Michael tried to buy one from him for 2 euros, telling him they were made in China and the cost was really low. Amazingly the guy stuck around quite a while for all the torture we would inflict on him.
After that we did our drive around Paris, we saw a lot of things... The Paris Opera House, The Louvre, Notre Dame, Musee Rodin, Hotel de Ville, and a bunch of other stuff. We got back to the hotel around midnight and got to bed a little after 1:00am.
Through the French countryside to the romance of Paris. Enjoy a first view of the sights of this spectacular city of light.
Today we got a little later of a start since we were going to the top of Mt. Stanserhorn, so I got to sleep till 6:30, wahoo! We took an 8:10am train up to the gondola that would get us to the top of Mt. Stanserhorn. What a phenomenal view! And, because it was still cloudy this morning, it was actually warmer at the top then in town. We got a nice chance to walk around before coming down so the bus could leave at 9:30 for Paris.
Today I decided to be a flowerbox, I sat in the front row of the bus with Chris. Our first stop was after 3 hours for lunch. I found the French to actually be pretty friendly, but I was a little overwhelmed by the trying to pick out food, I ended up with quiche. Actually, the most stressful part of the whole trip would be the first rest stop in each country, trying to order food in a new culture. After lunch it was a 2 and a half hour ride on the bus, the highlight of this part of the drive would be playing Horse. This is as easy game that anyone can play, see a horse and be the first to call it. One point for real horses, two points for pictures of horses. At this next rest stop the woman was rude, so being an annoying American, I kept going back to her.
Back on the bus Hans gave us a history lesson on France, something about Napoleon. At 7:30pm we finally got to Paris, we had 30 minutes to check in before dinner and our evening tour of Paris. The hotel was nice, but the rooms were smaller than a shoebox for sandals. We had a pretty good dinner at the hotel, Chicken, rice and salad.
At 9:00 we headed out to the Eiffel Tower and the city tour. The first stop was the Eiffel Tower, with a drive through the Arc de Triomphe on the way. We had a bit of a line to get into the Eiffel Tower, but we made the best of our time by starting the wave. The view from the Eiffel Tower was amazing, especially with the late dusk
sky. I give credit to those who were afraid of hights, but still went up as I know it wasn't easy for them. Good job gals! Anyway, back to me. I bought myself a giraffe Eiffel Tower and a blinking Eiffel Tower. But the funniest thing was when Mike bought multiple blinking Eiffel Towers and then tried to sell one to one of the peddlers. Mike offered 5 euros, but the guy would only pay 4 and Mike didn't have change for him. Then Michael tried to buy one from him for 2 euros, telling him they were made in China and the cost was really low. Amazingly the guy stuck around quite a while for all the torture we would inflict on him. After that we did our drive around Paris, we saw a lot of things... The Paris Opera House, The Louvre, Notre Dame, Musee Rodin, Hotel de Ville, and a bunch of other stuff. We got back to the hotel around midnight and got to bed a little after 1:00am.
Monday, October 5, 2009
European Discovery Day 11
Day 11 (May 18): Florence to Lucerne
A spectacular Alpine drive as we pass Lake Como and head for Switzerland. Lucerne awaits with its cobbled streets, and our orientation tour takes in the beautiful wooden Chapel Bridge. This afternoon, there’s also a chance to visit Mt. Stanserhorn.
I was up again at 6:15 for breakfast, and the bus left at 7:30. This morning I got
to sit with Lisa, from Australia. We had our first stop at 11am for lunch, I've found that after 3 hours on the bus I start going crazy, thankfully we usually stop by the time we hit 3 hours. After lunch we were back on the bus, we passed Lake Como, which was very beautiful, apparently also expensive. We got into Lucerne around 1:30 - 2:00. We skipped the ride to the top of Mt. Stanserhorn because it was too cloudy to see anything. Hans took us up to the Dying Lion Monument which was carved in honor of the Swiss Guards killed in 1792.
After that Hans took us over the famous Chapel Bridge to a watch and Swiss army
knife store. I bought a Swiss army watch and a really cool Swiss army knife for myself and some other souvenirs for family and friends. After I went off with Chris and Alberto looking for a store for Alberto to buy a pen and a cafe to warm up in. We found a store and Alberto bought a very nice Mont Blanc pen for his Dad. Then we searched and searched for a cafe, we ended up in a McDonalds. At either 4:00 or 5:00most of us met up for a boat cruise through Lake Lucerne, which had cheap drinks. The views were very nice, it's a very nice city but unfortunately it was so cloudy you couldn't see much.
After checking into the hotel, finally a decent hotel, we had dinner at the hotel. The party then moved to the hotel bar where people tried to burn off their last Swiss Francs, if they could afford to buy a drink. The bartender was crazy and sold Simon a drink for 20 Swiss Francs that had 17 shots in it. I did try some, and it was pretty good, but due to an aversion to Peach Schnapps I didn't have too much. But Lisa had a good time with the bartender...
A spectacular Alpine drive as we pass Lake Como and head for Switzerland. Lucerne awaits with its cobbled streets, and our orientation tour takes in the beautiful wooden Chapel Bridge. This afternoon, there’s also a chance to visit Mt. Stanserhorn.
I was up again at 6:15 for breakfast, and the bus left at 7:30. This morning I got
to sit with Lisa, from Australia. We had our first stop at 11am for lunch, I've found that after 3 hours on the bus I start going crazy, thankfully we usually stop by the time we hit 3 hours. After lunch we were back on the bus, we passed Lake Como, which was very beautiful, apparently also expensive. We got into Lucerne around 1:30 - 2:00. We skipped the ride to the top of Mt. Stanserhorn because it was too cloudy to see anything. Hans took us up to the Dying Lion Monument which was carved in honor of the Swiss Guards killed in 1792. After that Hans took us over the famous Chapel Bridge to a watch and Swiss army
knife store. I bought a Swiss army watch and a really cool Swiss army knife for myself and some other souvenirs for family and friends. After I went off with Chris and Alberto looking for a store for Alberto to buy a pen and a cafe to warm up in. We found a store and Alberto bought a very nice Mont Blanc pen for his Dad. Then we searched and searched for a cafe, we ended up in a McDonalds. At either 4:00 or 5:00most of us met up for a boat cruise through Lake Lucerne, which had cheap drinks. The views were very nice, it's a very nice city but unfortunately it was so cloudy you couldn't see much.After checking into the hotel, finally a decent hotel, we had dinner at the hotel. The party then moved to the hotel bar where people tried to burn off their last Swiss Francs, if they could afford to buy a drink. The bartender was crazy and sold Simon a drink for 20 Swiss Francs that had 17 shots in it. I did try some, and it was pretty good, but due to an aversion to Peach Schnapps I didn't have too much. But Lisa had a good time with the bartender...
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