Hello Everyone, Well I'm certainely becoming a world class traveler. After being home for only 3 days after getting back from Europe, I flew to California. Caroline, the Executive Director of Bear Valley Music Festival met me in Sacramento. We went to Coscos which was an adventure in itself. Then she took me to In And Out Burger! It was soooo good. Californians you are lucky people. So I made it to Bear Valley. I knew it was going to be a small town and I kinda expected it to be like Nacogdoches (that's what I think of when I think [View Full Entry]

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PROMPT: What did you see/explore/discover on your own in France today? What national holiday was today? Today was the national holiday of Pentecost. Pentecost is a religious holiday that celebrates the day when the Holy Spirit came down on the Apostles and allowed them to speak in tongues (many different languages). Today Mrs. Runnels and I went to Basel in Switzerland. Arabella took us to the train station and we caught a train that stopped at a few places. It was my first time on a train and I found the whole thing to be very interesting. I think the public [View Full Entry]

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PROMPT: What issues surround foie gras? Are these American only issues? Have you found the beer in Europe to be different that what we normally drink in America? Some of the issues that surround foie gras are the humane treatment of the animals being used for the product. In order to get the goose or duck’s liver large enough for a good pate the handlers must force feed them ensuring an enlarged liver. Many people would claim that this is animal abuse and is wrong. Also, the living conditions of the animals must be taken into consideration. If the animals are [View Full Entry]

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PROMPT: What have you learned about vineyards and wine tasting today? What wine stood out for you? Were the vineyards tourist ready? Today I learned that the vineyards that we passed are not all owned by just one person. Instead a few rows are owned by one person and then the next rows by a different person. The name of the wine also depends on the region the grapes grow in. The sparkling wine that we were served today can not be called Champagne because the grapes do not come from the champagne region in France. Before coming in to the [View Full Entry]

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PROMPT: Is French hospitality delivery different than what you experienced in Switzerland? Discuss a recent customer service encounter that you had. Yes the French hospitality delivery is different than what I experienced in Switzerland. To me Switzerland and the people there were extending their hospitality to our group as if we were just a part of their extended family. For example, the family that owns Blatter was always welcoming and willing to talk about topics from the city to our trip. Mrs. Bradley even had a conversation about New Zealand with the family. Another example of Swi [View Full Entry]

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PROMPT: Why is Strasbourg called the capitol of Europe? How is the architecture different from what we have seen so far? How is the patisserie different from American bakeries? Strasbourg is called the capitol of Europe because it houses the European Parliament (EP) which was founded in 1949. Members of Parliament are directly elected from the countries that comprise the European Union and there are 758 members as of today. The circular building that houses the EP looks to be unfinished. This is to symbolize that the EP is still open to other countries. Currently, Turkey is in negotiations [View Full Entry]

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PROMPT: Is the glass factory an attraction for tourists? How does the Hotel Palace Luzern differ from the other hotels we have visited? I do think that the glass factory is a tourist attraction. The museum that they put together to show the history of the factory is interesting for both historical and heritage tourists. The glass factory floor where they make the glass is fascinating. I could have stood there for at least a few hours just watching the men work on the glass. The part of the factory where you can play with the glass is great for people [View Full Entry]

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So today was a free day for us. It seems like I’m fighting a little bit of a cold right now. Or maybe it’s just allergies. I had planned on trying to go paragliding today, but the weather was too bad to go. So we went to Plan B. One of the hotels in Engelberg had a very nice Spa and Arabella helped set up appointments for me, Stefanie, Janet, and Jamie. We decided to meet at 1:15 to walk up together even though all of our appointments were at different times. Until then Stef and I walked around Engelberg. She [View Full Entry]

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Hello Everyone! So who can say that they were playing in the snow for about 7 hours today? I can! We went to Mount Titlis which has an elevation at 10,000 ft. First we got a little background on the company from the marketing director, Peter. Next, we headed to the cable cars. Mount Titlis is famous for being the first resort to ever have a rotating cable car. First you get in a small 6 seat cable car that takes you through two points. Then you hop onto a bigger box car and head up until you get to the [View Full Entry]

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PROMPT: Describe the ski resort. Discuss the transportation we used to get to the resort. Is global warming an issue for this resort? Was it discussed at all today? The ski resort at Mount Titlis is located at the top of the mountain. To get to the summit you must take three different lifts of various sizes. The last one is the Titlis rotating car which was the first of its kind in the world. At the top you have different areas you can walk around and there is also the Ice Flyer which takes you over the glacier and over [View Full Entry]

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