Blogs from South-West, Switzerland, Europe - page 7

It was late in the evening when we unlocked the door to our next home - Rue Jean-Calvin in Geneva. My pram wouldn't fit into the lift, so I was carried upstairs :). We weren't there long. Almost immediately, I was carried back down, and put back in my pram. The cobbled streets bounced me off to sleep, whilst mummy and daddy found a place to eat nearing midnight aside the Old Arsenal. A very accomplished violinist was practicing / busking adjacent to the restaurant, so dinner was accompanied by live music. This was not the lifestyle mummy had when she lived in Geneva - she rarely went out to dinner back then! Daddy was very tired the next morning because apparently, after dinner, he had attempted to move the car closer to our apartment. After ... read more

Partly because mummy is keen on swimming in high (& cold) lakes, and partly because Pierre-Jean has an emotional connection to the area, we were driven up a windy hillside clad in grape vines and then a treacherous mountain pass (4 cars were washed from the road 2 days after we visited) with hand blasted cliffside tunnels to Lac de Derborence. The walk on the other side of the valley had whet daddy's imagination. You can see the path in the photos. Conquering this path could help me to become a mountain adventurer! The lake was very low and a thunderstorm threatened, so we just scampered around the lake edge (with one eye open for rattlesnakes) and then took a late lunch at the 'refuge'. A piano accordianist in the corner had me dancing and bringing ... read more

Thursday 20 July I awoke to find myself in the dreaded car seat again. I had just got used a pace of life with a less hectic travel rhythm, but there I was again! Fortunately it was only a few minutes before we stopped in Carouge. Daddy and I enjoyed a stream of filtered sunlight whilst mummy went to find her Spanish friend whom she had met when she had lived in Geneva. Daddy had also met her some 15 years ago. Sonia is very pretty and has a beautiful smile. She gave me a great hug before we sat down for a morning tea of pizza. Apparently Sonia is always hungry! We did return to driving (sigh) with the target of Chamonix in our sights as neither daddy nor Sonia had been there. There were ... read more

It's was good day for a hike so we decided on our most favourite trail in this area which is from Schwarzwaldalp down to Meirengen. We got the subsidised bus up to Grosse Scheidegg which is a steep and winding ride with the claxon horn warning on bends and hidden parts of the road to oncoming traffic and bikes. The view from the Scheidegg is wonderful looking back down to Grindelwald in the distance. It sits right under the Wetterhorn mountain with sheer convoluted rock faces straight up like the Eiger. This countryside really is magnificent with soaring peaks and rock faces all around. Since we had the kids with us we got the bus down to Schwarzwaldalp where it flattens out and then is a few kilometres down to our destination. Our walk started across ... read more

In Trient and happy to be so. Another good day's walk, as we settle into routine. Breakfast, walk up, walk up, walk up, walk along, walk down, walk up, walk up, walk along, walk down, walk down, oops forgot somewhere in there there has to be an icypole or two, arrive, shower and feed. But now we are seeing familiar faces although some are huffing and puffing as much as us so the greeting is usually a nod or a wave rather than a long conversation. Unusual accomodation today. Very 'Fawlty Towers'. Some bits were quite good (evening meal soup was really good) but others were at the best unusual (huge room but nothing but a bed, single chair and a wardrobe with no hangers in it. The room was as white as Mt. Blanc with ... read more