Blogs from South-West, Switzerland, Europe - page 112

I've been doing a bit of random travelling since the last time I wrote here but I'll write a couple of different blogs since they are all pretty different. After Chris and me finished our cycle trip in Annecy on Sunday (30th April), we went out for some food and couple of beers with Duncan for a final night in Annecy. The next morning we packed up and orded our taxi to take us to the bus stop for Geneva, only to be told that the buses weren't running as it was a bank holiday...still been getting used to nothing actually opening in France any time useful, so didn't come as too much of a shock. So, looked up the train instead and we took that from Annecy to Geneva - Chris had carefully hand drawn ... read more

I'm still at home in Switzerland.... however, departure is now only about 24 hours away. The question now is whether I am ready to go... * Mentally - I suppose so. I'm looking forward to it actually! * Packing - The things I'm taking are all nicely laid out. Will it fit in my backpack? * Vaccinations - OK: I should now be protected against scary things like Japanese Encephalitis. * Visa - India/Vietnam/China are done. Apparently I don't need to get any for the other countries (Except for Cuba, but we're supposed to get that at check-in in Toronto ?!) So, tomorrow morning I'll be catching a flight from Geneva to London Heathrow. In England, I'll meet up with Phil, a good friend from my time at university in Southampton, and with whom I'll be ... read more

So I just got back from Verbier, after a weeks snowboarding with my girlfriend and her family...and what a week! Firstly, it snowed a lot, hugely increasing the chance of me falling in the bad visibility and breaking something...which would not be good considering the trip coming up in a weeks time..! luckily icy patches avoided fairly successfully, and few sketchy moments! :-) verbier was nice, good accomodation, good shops, bars etc.. everything was on the expenisve side but that was obviously because of the wealth of many visitors to the resort...als still swears she saw doug richards - dragons den..! this also meant that a lot of people were really rude! if someone accidentally knocks into you in verbier, do not expect an apology! the 4 valleys meant there was quite a bit of choice ... read more

So... my next train doesn't come in for not another 3 hours. It was early afternoon and I didn't have anything planned for this. I figured I hang out at the train station at some coffee/pub place, but it was pretty packed and noisy. I tried the people watching idea, but I could never get used to it. I also feel that the person I'm watching sees me and think I'm some perv or crazy even. I had a cup of cappuccino and relaxed, but after that... I just thought, what the hell... I started wondering off and see what I can find. I found the Jet d'Eau, but it wasn't on due to the overcast and cold weather. Admired the architecture around the lake, a Russian church, and eventually found a free entrance museum. Of ... read more

Just a bit of a test before the real trip begins... Christmas 2005 was spent in Switzerland with a fantastic bunch of people falling down mountains, eating and drinking a too much. A quick run down on my take on our activities Cross-country ski-ing - just as I'd always thought, an impossible way to go down hill, hard work going uphill and not that great on the level either - best avoided. Snow-shoeing - a great way to get round, through or on top of the countryside. Tobogganing - highlight of my trip. A 3.5km adrenalin rush down to the bottom of the hill, stopping best done with feet, or just bail out. Curling - definitely an old peoples' sport, bowls on a slippy surface. Ice skating - best left to the young and mad, seems ... read more