ON LEARNING ITALIAN
When we booked this trip last summer, I purposed that I would learn enough to get by. I got a Duolingo account, bought Rick Steves’ phrase book and got a copy of Pimsular Italian. I confess that I was a bit lax, but come on, I should at least get past “bonjourno”… Is it “hello?”, […]
FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF ITALY – SHOES AND CIGARETTES
Italian customs is the easiest we have ever encountered. If I had not said “bonjourno” (to Marcy’s chagrin) we would have probably gotten through with just the sound of the agent’s imprint stamp striking our new passports and nary a word. Last year, we flew home from Linate, which is Milan’s answer to Laguardia – […]
CHAMONIX-MONT-BLANC, FRANCE
Today’s excursions took us across Lake Geneva to France. Our first stop was the medieval city of Yvoire, and from there our tour bus drove us an hour south to Chamonix-Mont-Blanc in the heart of the French Alps. Lunch in France sounded so exotic to us, but our excitement was dampened a bit by […]
BERN, SWITZERLAND
It was hard for us to appreciate the beautiful city of Bern because it was so hot the day we visited. Air temperatures were climbing toward 100 degrees and the cobblestone streets were even hotter. Nevertheless, we pressed on, finding shade under the arched covered sidewalks and inside the beautiful Gothic Münster Cathedral. The cold […]
LUCERNE TO INTERLAKEN
Even though it has been two months since the last Switzerland post, we still want to blog the entire trip. During the last eight weeks, we took time to learn a new video editing system, improve photo editing skills and learn how to use several supporting software tools. We hope the viewing experience is better. […]
CHÂTEAU DE GRUYÈRES
July 7, 2015. With the last views of Lake Geneva behind us, we head back toward Vevey then north. The route to Gruyères takes us through a beautiful, broad, flat farming region with Alpine foothills rising on either side. Twenty five miles ahead is the medieval Château de Gruyères which is about midway between Vevey […]
