European vacation part 2 - doing Switzerland

As we are in holiday season, I will continue with my holiday post series, taking up from where I left off here, Experiencing Paris via dugustation.

DAY 5 - May 27

Last day in Paris, so I started with an hour run in the park ( I must say I have seen some of the sights of Paris via my runs that I may have otherwise missed!).  It is really hot today and saw heaps of rabbits along the way.  We enjoyed a buffet breakfast and then hopped onto a train down to the Notre Dame.

This is a beautiful old church with gargoyle's around the tops, very gothic. After a bit of a walk around the town we caught the train back to the hotel and packed our bags and went out to dinner thanks to another medical company rep. I will be happy to move onto Switzerland, have seen as much as I want to here at the moment and feeling a little claustrophobic. Looking forward to some greenery. We are up at 6am in the morn to catch the TGV to Lausanne.

DAY 6 - May 28

We made it ok on to the train and arrived in Lausanne at around 11.30am. Can't check into our guesthouse until 3pm so we left the bags and hit the shops.  Andrew just had to buy a Swiss army knife.  We got some great shots of lake, I cannot believe how beautiful this place is.  There is no wind, full of boats and snow capped mountains at about 30 degrees.

We have an awesome view from our hotel room at Lausanne guesthouse overlooking the lake and mountains. It doesn't get late here until about 10pm which is perfect for us to see as much as possible. So very relaxing and tranquil.

Tomorrow we are heading to Interlaken and staying at Lauterbrunnen hostel, meeting up with good friends from London, Pete and Lucy.

DAY 7 - May 29

Spectacular day to say the least! We were recommended the train on the Golden Line from Lausanne to Zweisimmen and it was fantastic.  Big glass windows and views that never ended.  Lots of pics!!

We met Pete and Lucy at Interlaken station and took the train to Lauterbrunnen, checked into the Valley Hostel.  This place is Heidi country just breathtaking. We have the best view up the valley to the glaciers and waterfalls.  Snow on the peaks but here in the valley we are still wearing shorts and singo's.

We took a very steep 2.5 hr walk up to Wengan and soaked in the view.  Very peaceful and sound of water streams flowing. 

The hostel is great and cooked up a big spaghetti and salad for dinner.  Not a lot around except for staples.  We are off on a big trek tomorrow along a cliff and down so that should be interesting. It really is better than a postcard here. Disappointed about the cold though, really been a waste of time packing all the jackets, but whose complaining??

DAY 8 - May 30

After a nice big sleep in until 8am, we had breakfast and packed our backpacks with lunch and headed off for our day trek.  Uphill first along the ridge to Murren was about 2 hours and then down to Grimmelwald.  Here we got the cable car back to the bottom and walked the 6kms back to the hotel. Hard walk but the views were amazing.

By the afternoon it had clouded in the valley with a slight drizzle so we were really lucky to see it in all it's glory this morning. 

Tomorrow morning we are off to Venice, big day of travelling on the train.

DAY 9 - May 31

Up early to catch the train to Interlaken, then Brig and onto Venice via Milan.  All up about 7 hours on the train.  We arrived in Venice at 4pm then went to catch the no1 vaporetto to San Marco square.  This was on strike so we caught the 82, to Rialto.  The Albergo Doni is in a very central spot near the main square. I must say I have out done myself with my research on this trip and made some good decisions with our accom so far!

Venice really is a mecca for tourists, shops, hotels, Church's and restaurants.  It is so, so old with a mind blowing history.  You really can feel the history oozing from this place.  No cars, bikes.  Everything by boat or foot. We walked, ate gelato, pizza and got into the spirit of things with the sun setting around 10pm.  It was nice to sit on the waterfront and just watch the boats and daily life.  Gondolas everywhere, not real romantic watching them get thrown everywhere in the wash!!

Day 10  - June 1

Started with a run down to the park and a did a few loops.  Not much choice without getting terribly lost.  We then decided to walk a loop around the islands.  It really is just tourists here, apparently most visited place in the world and I believe that!

We have been lucky NOT to be visiting during a neap tide.  All islands in knee deep water, hard to get around and most of the bottom floors are flooded. 

A lot of medieval masks and lace here.  Back to our hotel for a rest then we went into San Marco church.  It was quite amazing with it being all tile mosaics and embossed in gold.  No photos allowed.  We grabbed some dinner and sat at the waterfront again.  Hot around 30 degrees.

TBC - next week I am off  to Florence!