Ubud, Bali

Ubud, Bali  - August
“I just met you. Want to share a room?” One of the best parts of traveling is meeting new people. There’s a type of kinship among those backpacking, taking a “gap year,” a “sabbatical,” whatever you call it, particularly among those traveling alone. I liken it to Freshman Orientation. Everyone is pretty open minded and laid back, open to making new friends and having new experiences. Things you wouldn’t normally do at home (ie, hitchhiking, meeting people and deciding 5 minutes later to share a hotel room, are commonplace.

I met a Dutch med student on my way from Gili T. to Ubud. We were in the same van going from the port to town and were both traveling alone. Neither of us had booked a hotel in advance, and while rooms in Ubud were incredibly cheap ($15 for a decent hotel), we figured why not save the $7.50 and just share a room. Anouk had been to Ubud once before and thus became my pseudo tour guide for the next few days.

“Of course I know how to drive a motorbike...” The golden rule when renting a motorbike is telling the agency you know how to drive one. The second rule is actually being able to drive one... After crashing my bike into a wall (oops), the agency refused to rent to me, despite my protests that I was just a bit rusty after having not driven one for awhile (or ever). Thankfully they rented one to Anouk, she taught me how to drive it, and the second agency I went to rented to me. The hardest part was just remembering to drive on the left side of the street. We spent the first day exploring the marketplace, art market, various bead shops, and the Ubud Palace before moving on to the Wats.

“The Island of a Thousand Temples.” There’s a reason why people use this phrase to refer to Bali - the wats are everywhere. I learned a lot of about Hindu gods on this trip. We rode our bikes out to Monkey Forest, Pura Panataran Sasih (Moon Temple), Goa Gajah (Elephant Cave, which was beautiful), Gunung Kawi (spectacular).

Goa Gajah,which means Elephant Cave, was pretty amazing. We entered the site by walking down a series of steps, and were met with a pond bearing life-size stone carved maidens holding jugs of sprouting water believed to possess “magical properties.”

The cave itself dates back to the 11th Century, and has a grotesque, demonlike figure at it’s entrance - which, when looked at from a distance, resembles big elephant ears. A little Balinese man guided us through, pointing out statues of Ganesha (the Elephant god of Hinduism), as well as the Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva (Hindu Trinity).

Gunung Kawi is a Hindu Complex founded in the 10th Century and was absolutely incredible. We entered the site through a steep, stone stairway and then made our way through terraced rice paddies. The river flowed through the center, cutting the site into two sections, with a bridge connecting one side to the other. Simply put, it’s a bunch of ancient tombs lining the banks of the Pakerisan River, located at the bottom of a ravine and overlooked by terraced rice paddies. The legend of Gunung Kawi holds that a mythical giant named Kebo Iwo carved the ancient tombs in one night with his fingernails. It’s the type of place that makes you feel pretty small and insignificant.

The temples were spectacular, but the ride back was what really made the day. We rode alongside rice paddies, stopped to take pictures and ask locals for directions, and basically just took it all in.

I was a bit “watted out,” so went on an Eco Bike Tour the following day.

"Cat Poo Coffee." We had a group of fifteen, and began the ride at a Luwak Coffee Farm. Luwak coffee is supposed to be exotic and “the best,” but the idea behind it is pretty gross - it comes from beans collected from the excrement of a civet (a cat like creature). For some reason, when civets digest the coffee beans, it enhances the flavor, or does something to it that causes people in the states to pay upwards of $30 a cup for what is basically Cat Poo Coffee. But as I said - traveling is about trying things you wouldn’t normally, and so I tried it. And while I’d never pay $30/cup, I’ll admit, it was pretty good.

We toured a local home and learned about some of their beliefs and traditions. The Balinese are very superstitious, and a typical house compound features shrines and temples. One thing I found really interesting though was the juxtaposition of ancient beliefs and pop culture: there was a teenager who lived in the home, and while standing in the middle of the compound I could see the family shrine, the pig farm, and her Britney Spears poster on her door.

And then I saw more Wats.

Tanah Lot

Tanah Lot was another favorite. It’s a Hindu temple basically built into a rock located in the middle of sea. I went there at sunset one night. The legend of Tanah Lot holds that poisonous sea snakes protect the temple from evil spirits and intruders.

Tanah Lot

Pura Ulun Danau Bratan was another favorite (okay, I had a lot of favorites).

Pura Ulan Danau Bratau

When I wasn’t visiting Wats or biking around, I got massages (incredible and cheap). Nights were spent eating spring rolls and noodle dishes, followed by drinks at either Laughing Buddha Bar or the Reggae Bar. I improved my motorbike skills, and even put together a business plan one night regarding opening a bar in Bali with an Australian guy.

I loved Ubud. The place smelled like incense and rice, and there were bamboo offerings set out everywhere (which I was always afraid I’d step on). There was an artsy, laid back, spiritual vibe to the city, and a constant roar of motorbikes. And the people were so kind.

Sprain, snow, and espressos

View from my balcony

One of my goals while traveling was to keep a blog. Not so much for the narcissistic purposes of “I think it’s pretty cool what I’m doing, don’t you?” - but moreover due to my terrible memory and the easiness of having one forum to keep friends and family updated than having to write twenty five identical emails.

Unfortunately, actually updating a blog (particularly in third world countries) proved more tedious than anticipated, and thus my blogging ambitions were pretty much relegated to scribbling notes down in my notebook.  I now have about twenty half completed entries that I never finished or posted, and a moleskin filled with musings like “Bali - monkey temple. Nearly crashed my motorbike. Saw Elephant Cave. Drank shit (literally) coffee. Eco tour bike ride.”
The plan was always to actually sit down and turn these notes into actual entries so I’d remember what I had done. But there was always something to see, or something more fun to do than sit at a computer. I kept saying I just needed a rainy day to sit down and basically be forced to do it. Well, instead of a rainy day I got a sprained ankle (not even a good story - I stepped off a curb wrong and down I went) and a snow day. And now that I’ve finally learned how to work the espresso machine in my apt, what better to do than get high off of caffeine and finish my half written entries and organize my photos?

Most Fascinating People

"Gianni Menichetti". Photo (c) Marco Bakker

It’s been nearly ten months since I began my sabbatical/belated gap year/break from the “real world” - whatever you want to call it - and during that time I’ve met a lot of amazing people. Those who I’ve found most fascinating have been the ones living totally bohemian lifestyles completely outside the norm, shunning society’s “rules” and really just being. And then there are those who don’t know any different - they live what, to them, are completely normal lives, but lives that are completely alien to most of us. 

There was Gianni Menichetti in Positano, Italy, an artist, poet, and self proclaimed philosopher who lives in a wild Canyon called the Valley of Il Porto with his forty plus dogs (yes, he knows all of their names - I asked), numerous cats, chickens, birds, and other creatures. My friend Claudio brought me to meet Gianni one day, simply telling me in advance, “I think you’ll find him interesting”. It was quite an understatement.

Il Porto

Valley of Il Porto lies on the outskirts of Positano and is a pavilion of sorts open to the Tyrrhenian Sea but protected by 1,000 foot cliffs. It’s overgrown and completely wild, with an art deco-esque abode at one end, an animal sanctuary on the right, and a fountain type, moss covered structure carved into the cliff on the left.When Claudio and I approached the front gate, the 40+ dogs announced our arrival.

"Gianni Menichetti in his Wild Canyon" (c) Lina Eve

Gianni was unlike anyone I'd ever met, not only in looks but in character.
He had a tattoo in the center of his forehead, eyeliner-esque tattoos outlining his eyes, and a big, bushy black mustache. His hands, too, were covered with henna like tattoos. Perhaps what was most striking about him though were his black sideburns, which hung down past his shoulders, braided with little beads attached at the ends. He reminded me a little of Captain Jack Sparrow.

Gianni spoke perfect English. He told me about his efforts to preserve the canyon, and about fighting the developers who want to come in and destroy his sanctuary. But mainly, he talked about the love of his life: Vali Myers, an artist, dancer, and complete free spirit. He didn’t show me his artwork, but Vali’s. And when I left, he gave me a book he’d written about her.

Check out Gianni here - as I said, fascinating:   "His Savage Mistress" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tK1tflgkX8A

Mai and her friend on on hike to the village

Mai. Mary Logan and I met Mai in Sapa, Vietnam. She’s from the Black Hmong tribe, and speaks a tribal language, as well as English (no Vietnamese). Along with her three sons and husband, Mai lives in a two room shack that is a six hour hike from the main market in Sapa.

“I used to be poor,” she told us in her broken english. “I didn’t even have any chickens! But now things are going well. My husband and I have our own house and a water buffalo to help us in the rice fields. And soon we’ll have enough money to buy another one.”

It’s amazing the differences in the definition of “poor.”

Mai's Home

Mary Logan and I hiked the six hours with Mai to her village and her home. A family of pigs lived in the front yard. Chickens roamed about freely. The house was composed of two rooms - the main room, which was kitchen/loom room/living room, and the bedroom, which also housed the fire pit/stove. The walls were loosely built, with a three inch gap between the dirt ground and the start of the wall, and two inch gaps between the boards of the actual walls. As you can imagine, Mai said it gets pretty cold in the winter.

Mai’s mother and sister were in town visiting, and together we prepared dinner of buffalo meat, tofu, mushrooms, and rice. Mai’s sons were about five, three, and one and were all incredibly polite - the five year old even stuck out his hand and said “nice to meet you” when we first approached.

Bedroom and kitchen

We spent the night at Mai’s in a bed covered with mosquito netting, listening to the pig grunting outside, and later, to the storm that had blown in. It was an incredible experience, and amazing to meet someone like Mai and be welcomed into her home. It wasn’t even seeing “how the other half live,” so to speak. It was a complete cultural awakening, a look into the life of a tribal family  who considers themselves fortunate to own chickens and water buffalo; a family who makes a living picking rice, weaving fabrics and selling silver jewelry, and for whom a trip to the grocery story encompasses a six hour hike. 

Sundays with Jim. Jim Haynes is another bohemian I was fortunate enough to meet when my friend Duc (another intriguing character I met at the Tour de France in 2004) invited me to dinner two Sundays ago.For the past thirty years, Jim has hosted weekly Sunday dinners in his atelier, a former sculpture studio located in the 14th arrondissement.  The premise is simple - every Sunday, a different friend prepares a feast, and the first sixty or so people who call or email him are invited. Yes, sixty... although in summer he’s had upwards of one hundred fifty. As Jim puts it, he believes in “introducing people to people.” The dinners are complete melange of age, ethnicity, profession. There’s no formal seating, just a few couches and standing room. It’s all about mingling and making new friends.

Jim checking the guest list

New friends mingling

Over a delicious pre-thanksgiving meal of turkey, green beans, stuffing and cranberry sauce, I learned about Amsterdam from a newly transplanted couple from Seattle, was invited on a pub crawl with some university students, learned about a new author’s inspirations, chatted with a Parisian about what he considers the best off the grid sites in the city, and looked at photos by an artist exhibiting her work at the dinner. 

Jim has authored a number of books, and I flipped through a few, gaining better insight into his philosophies. “I’ve never worked a day in my life,” begins one of his books (I really liked that philosophy). Another demonstrates his views on formal education by stating "Schooling is not a very subtle way of brainwashing." Jim once edited a series of guidebooks to Eastern Europe and Russia, but rather than fill them with “must see” monuments and museums, he filled them with names - little biographies of people he’d met who had offered to act as guides and welcome travelers to their cities. 

As Jim puts it: “Like Tom Paine, I am a world citizen. All human history is mine. My roots cover the earth. I believe we should know each other. After all, our lives are all connected.”

I highly recommend doing dinner at Jim’s for those of you planning a trip to Paris anytime in the near future. It was certainly an unforgettable experience, and one of the best things I’ve done in Paris yet.

Check out Jim’s website here for information on how to get a dinner invite: http://www.jim-haynes.com/

Thanksgiving in Paris

Gargoyles atop Notre Dame

I’ve been abroad for a lot of Holidays this year, and it’s been interesting to see how other countries celebrate. Unfortunately, Thanksgiving is about as American as you get (a day devoted to stuffing your face with as much food as possible!), and thus Thanksgiving Thursday was just another normal day in Paris. I haven’t really been homesick much, but seeing everyone’s FB updates about Thanksgiving, and hearing my mom’s menu plans made me miss family and friends a little bit.

Without getting sappy, I really do have a lot of be thankful for this year. My wonderful family and friends (obvi), my dad’s cancer going into remission once again, and the opportunity to spend a year traveling the world. This past weekend, I was especially grateful for Megan and Trevor coming to Paris so we could spend the holiday together.

It was Trevor’s first time in Paris (ironically, his dog made it to Paris before he did). As he and Megan had only the weekend here, the goal was to make it as packed as possible, and enable him to see as much as Paris as possible. And I like to think we did a good job.

Friday afternoon they arrived and we began the day with a trip to the market and a little wine and cheese picnic at my apartment: Roquefort, Chevre, Manchego, and Brie along with fresh banquettes (still warm from the bakery), three different types of tapenade (fig, eggplant, and basil), tomatoes, and a bottle of red wine. From there we layered up and prepared to brace the cold.

First stop - Espresso Bar. Megan and Trevor had been up since 5:30am, and we’d just finished a bottle of wine and a carb filled lunch. Caffeine was much needed. And Trevor had never had an espresso before! He doesn’t even like coffee, so we didn’t bother to sugar coat it. “You’re not going to like it,” Megan and I told him. “In fact, you’ll probably hate it. But drink it. Three sips and you’ll be buzzing for hours.”

Decorating of the Christmas Tree at Notre Dame

Cloudy view of Paris

After the Esprsso Bar, we were off to Notre Dame. Fun fact about Notre Dame - it was actually slated for demolition in the 1800’s! Victor Hugo’s Hunchback of Notre Dame was responsible for saving the cathedral by reviving interest in the Gothic period. According to our new friend Miles, who is six, Notre Dame is “Big! Really big! Like, as big as a giant’s butt!!!”

Megs and Trev toured the inside while I held our place in line outside, and then we climbed a few hundred spiraling stairs up to the top of the church so we could take in the views of my city. I’ve been up a few times before, and it’s one of my favorite things to do in Paris. Being on par with the gargoyles and looking out over the city - seeing Sacre Coeur, the Eiffel Tower, and the

rooflines of the houses - is just breathtaking. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t cooperating with our desires of “perfect views,” and thus we had foggy views of the city.  But still - beautiful. After playing paparazzi with the city and snapping about a hundred photos, we went up one more level, to the very top of the church. We hadn’t been up for more than five minutes when we noticed storm clouds rolling in over the Eiffel Tower. We braced ourselves for rain, and were pleasantly surprised when it started snowing! It was such a delightful experience being atop Notre Dame and watching the first snowfall of the season cover Paris.

The Contemplating Gargoyle

From Notre Dame, we headed towards Hotel de Ville with the intentions of a leisurely walk along the Seine. Unfortunately, snow plus river does not a leisurely walk make, so we revised our plans and headed to Musee D’Orsay instead to take in some French Impressionism. We arrived with only a little over an hour before closing time, so unfortunately had to rush through, but made sure to see all of the Monet’s, Renoirs, Degas’, and Picasso’s. I discovered a new favorite artist too: Alfred Sisley.

The weather had improved when we left Musee D’Orsay, so we made our way towards Place de la Concorde and the Champs Elysees, stopping at one point to watch the Eiffel Tower glitter (it lights up and sparkles every hour on the hour).

6:00

When we reached the Champs Elysees, we stopped at the first booth of the Christmas Market - the booth selling Gluhwein (aka Vin Chaud, or mulled wine, which is so much better than hot chocolate on a cold night). So we drank our gluhwine and made our way down the Champs Elysees towards the Arch de Triumph, taking in the lights and decorations along the way, and making mental notes of our Christmas lists as we passed Louis Vuitton, Cartier, and designer sunglass stores.

Arch de Triumph

 We were pleasantly surprised to find the Arch de Triumph still open, so we bought tickets and for the second time that day, climbed up 100+ spiraling stairs to take in the views of the city (which were breathtaking).

Stairs galore

Glittering Tower

We stayed up long enough to watch the Eiffel Tower glitter once more, and then headed home. The plan had been to change quickly, catch the Bateau Mouche (boat down the Seine), and grab dinner. But once we got home and began warming up with wine and cheese, we decided to forgo the boat ride and stick with dinner.

We enjoyed a dinner of fois gras, duck and scallops at Le Colimacon, a great French restaurant in Le Marais specializing in wine and snails, and then headed out for drinks. And then I accidentally brought Trevor to his first gay bar. Most of the people I’ve met in Paris are gay, meaning I’ve been hanging out primarily at gay bars. Which is great, as I can request all the Lady Gaga, Britney and Rihanna I want. The only downside to this is when I have straight friends come visit, I don’t know where to take them - which was the case when I dragged one of my Australian friends to Cafe Banana because he wanted a fun dance bar. While I knew Megan and I would have loved shaking our asses on the dance floor at Cafe Banana, I didn’t think it would be quite Trevor’s scene, so I called a friend and asked for a recommendation. I guess I forgot to specify that I wanted a non-gay bar, so Trevor ended up having his first gay bar experience anyway. But the DJ was fabulous, the drinks were good, and we had a great time!

Plucking the turkey

Belated Thanksgiving Day. Saturday morning came early and found us at the local market picking up our turkey. I ordered it a few days in advance, which was so they could go to the farm and slaughter it. No joke - we arrived at the market before the turkey wasn’t quite ready and found him with his neck, head, and tail feathers still attached. Thank God the butcher took care of that for us, as well as all the pulling out gizzards stuff - he even stuffed the bird with chestnut stuffing for us. We still had to pluck a few feathers out when we brought him home (eww), but thankfully not many.

Once we had the turkey safe in the fridge, day two of touring commenced, and we headed to Sainte Chapelle, my favorite Church in Paris, and another great example of gothic architecture.

Sainte Chapelle. Absolutely stunning.

From Sainte Chapelle, we headed down towards the banks of the Seine for a leisurely walk, stopping to admire Pont Neuf along the way.

Fun fact about Pont Neuf: It’s the oldest standing bridge in Paris (built in 1607) and is decorated with mascarons (ie, a grotesque, sculpted head). There are a few stories of who these mascarons represent, but my favorite claims they’re of King Henry IV’s friends who were present at the elaborate opening ceremony of the bridge. It was a huge celebration, everyone got drunk, and there was a caricature artist present. The king loved the artists renditions of his friends so much, he had them replicated into mascarons and place upon the bridge. So basically, when you walk under the bridge, you can stare up at 300+ faces of drunken men from over 400 years ago.

Pont Neuf

 Upon crossing under the Pont Neuf, we walked a bit further, and then crossed over Le Pont des Arts, which is covered with “love locks.” Couples from all over the world have clamped padlocks on the bridge’s railings before hurling the keys into the Seine below. Incidentally, last weekend I saw a police boat under the bridge with a few scuba divers, and I wondered if some rich couple had broken up then hired divers to retrieve their key. 

Love locks

Pont Alexander II

Next we hit up the Louvre. We didn’t have time to go in, so just took in the architecture from the outside, warmed ourselves up with hot chocolate, and then walked through Le Jardin des Tuilleries towards Place de La Concorde, the largest square in Paris, home to the Obelisk, and where thousands of people were executed by guillotine during the French Revolution.

We crossed over Pont Alexandre III, the bridge adorned with art nouveau lamposts. We then made our way towards the Eiffel Tower, stopping at a boulangerie along the way for a fresh baguette. We then spent about thirty minutes by the tower enjoying a little picnic (and freezing our asses off) before heading home to begin our Thanksgiving Feast.

This Thanksgiving was unlike any other. We enjoyed Fois Gras and tapenade, salad and cheese, turkey and green beans, and washed it all down with sancerre and a few too many bottles of red wine. We managed to cook the turkey to perfection (based off of my translation of the butcher’s French cooking directions, which thankfully I didn’t screw up, and sans the little butterball pop-up thing that tells you when it’s done). But it’s been three days and so far no one has complained of salmonella symptoms, so I think we pulled it off!

Thanksgiving ended with a trip to The Ice Bar. It’s pretty self-explanatory.

The actual bar in Ice Bar

 And awesome. An entire bar made of ice! We were given down jackets and gloves, and then handed glasses made of ice filled with some sort of fruity drink. The bar itself was made of ice, as were the walls. There was even an ice bed! We went to a few “normal” bars after that, and then ended the night by hitchhiking home (Megan gets credit for that one). All in all, a wonderful thanksgiving.

As did Saturday, Sunday came way too early as well. But we got up, grabbed croissants, pain au chocolate and espressos, and made our way to Montmartre. We didn’t have much time, but worked our way through the windy streets, through the artist’s area, and up to Sacre Coeur.

Artist's Square in Montmartre. Photo credit goes to Trevor

 It was a wonderful, packed weekend I don’t think I fully recovered until Tuesday. I’m so grateful to have had my friends to celebrate Thanksgiving with this year when I couldn’t be home for it!

Thanksgiving Update

Rome from Palazo Venezia

Happy Thanksgiving from Paris! I’m on the hunt to find a turkey today, which is actually a lot more difficult that one would imagine. We’ll be having a belated, Saturday thanksgiving. It will be a franco-american thanksgiving, full of stinky French cheese and fois gras, and fruit-tartes and eclairs instead of pumpkin pie. I’ve never actually cooked a Thanksgiving dinner, so am hoping it turns out okay.

The past few weeks have been full of travel. I went to Normandy two weekends ago. It was cold and rainy, but beautiful. The highlight was hiking through fields in the pouring rain to reach the cliffs with the rocky beaches down below. Breathtaking. It wasn’t a long walk, but the mud puddles were unavoidable and the rain was blowing sideways and in every direction.

Normandy

I only spent one night there, and then went to Rome the following day. I love Rome... The food, the architecture, and the energy of the city. It’s definitely one of my favorite big cities. I stayed for a week in the historic center, only two blocks from the pantheon. As I was just there in March and had already done all of the “must do” touristy things, I spent the week wandering random streets and neighborhoods, and not really having any set agenda, which was great. Getting lost on side streets has always been my favorite way to see a city.

I met some great people while there too. I was able to visit the vatican (my favorite place in Rome) with a seminary school drop out which was perfect, as he could answer all of my “who’s that statue of” and “what’s the significance of that?” questions. He grew up in Southern India, and told me he had joined the seminary because he liked the idea of living a life of poverty and helping people. He dropped out because he found the church to be full of contradictions, which lead to a discussion on what Jesus would have thought of the Vatican (we both decided he would have found it a bit flashy). And then we went a step further, and tried to determine how much money could be raised if the Vatican decided to auction off one of its statues - even one of the small, not so important ones. It’s always interesting having deep conversations like that with people you’ve know for less than 24 hours.

I explored the dodgy areas along the Tiber river with a Turkish friend and the seminary school drop out, and spent about an hour taking photos of interesting graffiti. One of the guys was an amateur photographer, so taught me how to use my camera the “real” way, rather than just on auto, like I usually do.  We visited the Jewish Ghetto and tried unsuccessfully to find some good vintage shops, spent a rainy day in Camp di Fiori, and explored the cobble stone and vine covered streets of Trestevere. I went up to Villa Bourghese for the first time, and spent about two hours walking through the parks, sitting by the little lake, and taking in the view over the city. And then of course visited the Colosseum, went to the top of Palazza Venezia (my favorite building), and climbed the Spanish Steps.

Nights were spent gorging ourselves on gnocchi, prosciutto and buffalo mozzarella, eggplant parmesan and pasta dishes, all washed down with cheap wine, sambuca, and limcello. I even learned how to salsa dance (sort of).

All in all, a great time.

Pics can be viewed via FB:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2850773&id=4901962&l=ea2fcac95a

Switzerland Photo Montage

More photos of Switzerland...

Zurich

View of Zurich from our hike

I went to Zurich last week to visit Megan and Trevor. I’d been to Geneva once before, but never to Zurich. I loved it, and it’s easy to see why people say Zurich has the best quality of life in Europe. I arrived Thursday afternoon, and Megan and I began the day with a picnic on the lake before heading to a wine tasting. The tasting was on the lake and spread across 11 boats. There were also 4,000 different types of wine -  yes, dangerous.

We arrived at 3pm and began with the “American Wines” section, trying different Petite Syrah’s from California and Washington, then tried a few Cabs, and a few table wines. After that we made a rule to only sample 2 wines from each table, because the pourers were incredibly generous and sample sizes ended up filling half the glass - and clearly it would be rude to only take a sip, or to spit it out like we saw some people doing.

A few of the wine boats

Unfortunately, this “rule” was a short lived idea that didn’t even make it to the next table - the Prosecco Table. We tried about six different types, then headed to the French section to sample a few Sancerre’s. Then we were back to the Italian section for Chianti, and then back to the American section because Trevor had just arrived, and he had to taste our favorite Petite Syrah.

View from the top of Zurich

We ended up staying until around 9:00, then grabbed dinner at a lovely vegetarian restaurant (that turns into a night club). Needless to say, we were all feeling a bit ill the next morning.

On Friday, I toured Zurich a bit in the morning while Trevor worked and Megan was in her German class (most likely showing off her new vocabulary lesson from the wine tasting - chocolate, cherry, oak, raspberry). Megan and I met up around lunch and went outside the city a bit for a hike. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and unseasonably warm for Zurich, and we ended up hiking for about three hours.

Megs gets credit - "Wouldn't that be a cool pic?"

 It was beautiful. We enjoyed a traditional Swiss meal that night, and the following day went to Lucerne.

Lucerne

Lucerne was just as beautiful as Zurich. We took a boat over to one of the other sections of town, and the views from the boat were just stunning: sailboats set against snow covered mountains, vineyards, and gorgeous old buildings.

View from the boat

When we reached our destination, we walked for a minute, and then found a lift to take us up Mt. Rigi. We went halfway up the mountain, as we were told the views there would be just as good as the one from the top. We weren't disappointed. It was a clear day, and we could see for miles.

View from top of Mt. Rigi

We started walking towards the top, but a fog came in, so we decided to relax for a bit and drink a beer. What’s wonderful about Switzerland is they provide massive wool blankets to those wishing to sit outside! So we sat outside, huddled under blankets, and drank our beers while looking at the snow covered Alps. Not bad at all.

 

When we got back to Zurich, I was in for another Swiss treat - fondue. We went to Restaurant Suiss Chuchi in Old Town for dinner and devoured two pots of melted cheese and washed it down with a bottle of wine (we were told it’s unhealthy to eat fondu with anything other than beer or wine). For after dinner drinks, we headed to Jules Verne, a panoramic bar offering incredible view of the city.

It rained the next day, so we toured a few churches, drank “The Best Hot Chocolate in the World” from Springli, and then ate bratwurst for lunch, Zurich style. And then it was back to Paris for me. I had an absolutely wonderful time in Zurich, and can't thank Megs and Trev enough for being such great hosts!

Best hot chocolate in the world

My first experience with glug wine - a success. Delicious.

More scenic images from the boat ride