Last Stop...Venice

We concluded our journey in Venice, Italy. It was an extremely interesting place and we both enjoyed our stay. We had two days of rainy weather and then one that was quite nice. Even though it was rainy, we were able to see just about everything we wanted to (with the time we had). We both love to walk so it was great for us in that we were able to walk most places with the exception of our water taxi excursion to Murano. We ate some great Italian food including some excellent gelato. I think out favorite place to visit was Piazza San Marco in the evenings. There was a small orchestra playing continuously and the lighting around the square was amazing. It had a magical atmosphere unlike anyplace else we've been.

Off to Switrzerland

We trained from Paris to Vevey Switzerland on October 3. After we arrived at Larry and Anne-Lydie's we had lunch and then took a short drive to Chateau Gruyère. The chateau was located at the top of a hill surrounded by a medieval village in the mountainous Gruyère region (known for it's cheese). We walked through the chateau and then hiked around the little village surrounding it stopping in a cafe for meringue's and tea before we left. Johnny has discovered his new favorite dessert!

Our second day in Switzerland we took a boat with Uncle Larry to a little French village actross Lake Geneva. We spent the afternoon hiking around the little village that is celebrating it's 600 year anniversary! There were several nice shops and restaurants and a fantastic chateau where the same family has been living since the 17th century.

As it was on our first visit in May of 2004, Switzerland was a amazing, we can't wait to go back!

Paris, Day 1...

We arrived in Paris after a bearable but uncomfortable plane trip. Upon arrival at the airport, we decided to try the RER Train rather than a taxi. This was much less expensive and more enjoyable.

As for the 1st day, we viewed Notre Dame and the area around our hotel. Towards evening, we met with a friend of Erin. Andi and Erin have been friends since preschool. Andi married Etienne and they now have a 1 year old son named Gabriel. Etienne, Andi and Gab have been very kind in visiting sites with us and sharing meals.

For dinner our 1st evening, we enjoyed some fondue in the St. Germain Quartier. The atmosphere was nice and we got to see some new areas of Paris.

The second day, we started with a visit to the Musee D'Orsay. It is a Museum in an older train station that has been converted. It was very nice, but jet-lag set in about 1 hour into our visit. Next, we decided to head over to the Hard Rock Cafe for my birthday lunch. We found ourselves on the wrong Metro line and got to see some new areas of Paris ;)

After lunch, we met up with Etienne, Andi and Gab to see some sites. They were great to show us Sacre Coeur, Moulin Rouge and Montmartre. Afterwards, we visited their apartment for dinner. We had pizza and some dessert that was yummy!

Tonight, we plan to see the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triumph in the evening lights. Tomorrow, we will embark on some new adventures... hope to share stories and pictures soon...