Switzerland...As beautiful as in a story book.

How do we describe Switzerland? How about lush, pristine, majestic, ancient... 

Switzerland is so beautiful it's like driving through a storybook. Many of the buildings and homes are hundreds of years old. Being in Europe makes one realize that America is still a baby at only 233 years old.

(Click on any photo to enlarge it, then hit the back arrow to get back to the blog.)

 

Wine country in Swisserland runs along very steep hills along the Alps. 

Chris and Phillip live in Grandvaux about 500 feet above Lake Geneva. 

 

They have wonderful views and are only minutes away from the quaint villages you see pictured here. 

Festin d' Escargots (Festival of Escargot)

This train runs tourists through this little town.

There are four official languages in Switzerland, French, German, Italian, and Romanche (very close to the old original latin that was spoken before Rome took over). In this area, the primary language is French. 

The women used to wash clothes in these water bins.

Swiss wine country runs along the very steep mountainsides.  Chris took us wine tasting at a local shop that pours many different winemakers wares. They are known from their white wines made from the grape chasselas. We enjoyed the wines and took some back to Chris and Phillip's home to enjoy with dinner.

Lunch of perch, fritz (fries-Ken) and ratatouille (Carol). 

After our big main mid-day meal we went to Lausanne to visit the new Technical University's student center and then do a driving tour of Lausanne.  

The Beautiful Town of Lausanne, Switzerland:

The churches in Europe are so old and beautiful. This one was built about the year 1314.

The next 3 pictures are the same cryptic statue in the church, it's beautiful.

The ancient people of Europe did love their castles...

(Cannot remember the name of this one above, but it's beautiful.)

Below, Château de Chillon, located on Lake Geneva in Montreux, Switzerland. The castle consists of 100 independent buildings that were gradually connected to become the building as it stands now.

The oldest parts of the castle have not been definitively dated, but the first written record of the castle is in 1160 or 1005.

London, Day 3

The people of London do love their clocks....giant clocks everywhere!
And...they do love their statues even more than the clocks.

Dragons are placed at all the entrances to the city. They are said to guard the city of London.
(click on any photo to enlarge it)

Buckingham Palace is quite a residence . Following are pics of the changing of the guard which happens every day at 11:30 am.

Two of the many statues outside Buckingham Palace.

"The Mall." The guards, horses, and marching back walk up this road to the palace.

Buckingham Palace, built in 1703 for the Duke of Buckingham. It's the official home of the Queen of England and her family. 

The first guards coming up the road.

The marching band ahead of the guards just going through the gate to Buckingham Palace.

Notice the big barrier that comes out of the ground before and after anyone enters or exits. These are the gates into the Palace.

Standing guard after the band and guards have entered.

The changing of the guard ceremony.

The night shift goes home.

Home to get some shut eye.

The royal mail truck.

Glad they have not forgotten about her. In the park across from the Palace.

Glad they had these markers because Ken kept looking the wrong way before stepping into the street!

War memorials everywhere, but this one dedicated to the women of the war.

In the afternoon we had to check out Harrods--the largest department store in the world. We made it out without buying anything. For a truly "British lunch" we were told to eat at the Georgian, which is in Harrods. Great buffet prepared by a chef who had been there 30 years.

On our last night in London we couldn't resist one more visit to the theater district to see the London version of The Phantom of the Opera. Great trip to London, if we knew how much fun we would have and how friendly the people were we would have scheduled more time there. Tomorrow is a travel day to visit our friends in Switzerland.

Day 2, London

An Epic day that started with the "Big Bus Tour" with an overview of all the major London attractions then a traditional lunch of fish and chips ,smashed minted peas with a glass of ale.

The Houses of Parliament. This structure is absolutely beautiful. The day before we arrived, the Queen rode through the city in her carriage to these buildings to open parliament. That would have been fun to see.  This picture was taken from the London Eye, a gigantic ferris wheel on the edge of the Thames river.

By chance we ended up at Westminster Abbey at 5 pm. The bad news was they had just closed the Abby to visitors, the good news was if you were there for the service you were welcomed.  We just couldn't resist this opportunity.  The service was a beautiful choral service called Evansong. The sound of the choir was so beautiful. The church is amazing. This is the church where kings, queens, and others are coronated and where Princess Di and Charles got married.

The police were called out yesterday to break up this demonstration. We do not know if they came. 

We ended our evening at the London production of Les Miserables.  Just fantastic.  Sally, you would have loved it.  There are about 150 Theaters in London, so little time.