So...the post:
We first want to warmly thank Jaime and Sarah. They were gracious and generous hosts to their delightful home in beautiful Switzerland. This guest blog is from Jaime’s Dad, Paul (Grandpa Curl, English accent) and stepmom Candy (Grandma Can’deé, Lucia’s French accent).
After Candy read the self-help book, “Packing It In”, and spent a week packing everything we MIGHT need, we were on our way. After breaking in our walking shoes while running for our connecting flight in Amsterdam, we arrived in Geneva and two very well-packed bags were lost somewhere in the Delta airways. No problem! First rule in packing, per Candy’s research, is to bring the essentials for one day in your carry-on.
Our French-speaking guide J Jaime met us at the Geneva Airport, got us on the right train to our hotel in downtown Geneva, gave us a quick tour and then returned to work. It was 11:00 AM on Wednesday morning and there we were in beautiful Geneva, exploring the city more or less on our own with just a city map (that was in French!) and a few quick directions from Jaime in case we got lost or arrested.
We didn’t expect to fall in love with Geneva, but we certainly did. It is a beautiful, clean, dynamic, exotic and exciting city! I was enthralled by the lake and all the activity along the shoreline. We walked for miles and didn’t see half of what there is to see or a quarter of what there is to do. And the fountain! Paul had seen pictures of the fountain in travel literature beforehand and had thought “it’s a fountain; everybody has a fountain, big deal.” Well, he was delightfully wrong. The pictures just don’t do it justice. It is truly magnificent, shooting hundreds of feet into the air. You can feel the spray several blocks away!
As much as we enjoyed the city, our favorite experience was spending quality time with Jaime our delightful granddaughter Lucia, and getting to know Sarah better. They make a wonderful little family. We enjoyed their home in the village of Veyrier, particularly the phenomenal view from their backyard of the French cliffs, complete with a cable car to the top and paragliders galore. Veyrier is a quaint and quirky little village and we enjoyed walking the streets, visiting Lucia’s school, exploring the shops and having dinner at Jaime and Sarah’s favorite restaurant.
Touring Geneva and Veyrier and spending time with Jaime, Sarah and Lucia, would have made the trip complete, but Jaime and Sarah went above and beyond requirements of European hosts when they rented a car and took us for a tour into the French Alps! It is hard to find the right words to describe the mountains, towns and villages. They are, of course, beautiful but they are much more than that: overwhelming; powerful; awe-inspiring; noble; immense; we could go on and on – and we did!
The first night of our road trip was spent in Chamonix at a quaint old hotel nestled in this charming village that hosted the very first winter Olympics! Impressive! Candy’s fear of heights was challenged a bit when we purchased tickets to ride the gondola to the top of the tallest mountain in Europe. She has always tried to ignore this fear of heights by simply keeping her feet on the ground. Since Lucia was so excited to go up this 12,500 foot snowy mountain in a box with sliding glass doors, she wasn’t about to let anyone know she was already feeling preliminary signs of a heart attack before we bought the tickets. But I saw the fear in her eyes. What a trooper. Here is her story of this highlight of the trip:
"It certainly didn’t help knowing they had delayed the gondola ride earlier that morning because of bad weather! So we climbed in the little box hanging from a few wires with what I thought was far too many people as a searched for the capacity sign. As we climbed to the “Top of the World” the beautiful city of Chamonix disappeared in the clouds BELOW us and when we reached the top, all my fears disappeared in the beauty of it all. I found myself at the edge of the lookout just inches (or millimeters?) from some of the highest mountains in Europe – in minus whatever degree Celsius, and except for the cold, I didn’t want to leave!
After Chamonix, we were on to Vallorcine. Jaime had made not only room reservations at the beautiful Residence and Spa Hotel, but spa treatments for me and Sarah. Believe it or not, in my 62 years, I had never had a spa treatment! True! I was indeed apprehensive. But, after climbing a mountain, I felt I could do anything! The Spa Treatment in the French Alps is definitely something I recommend! How perfect! Thank you Jaime!"
We finished the road trip driving around Lake Geneva and stopping in Montreux (the Chateau De Chillon castle built in 1585, Wow!) and Lausanne (the Olympics Museum) in Switzerland.
We were able to spend the last two nights in Veyrier relaxing with Jaime, Sarah and Lucia. Candy enjoyed and will always remember her precious time catching bugs with Lucia and researching each one in her bug book. “I was amazed how she would chase them down and pick them up ever so gently and put them in our little container without harming a single wing or tiny spider’s leg. When we let the little creatures go back into the wild of Lucia’s favorite place – her back yard, I almost cried with joy when sweet, sensitive Lucia tried to put the spider back into the web and was sad when he didn’t stick. (Don’t tell Lucia, but I HATE BUGS, and just writing the word “BUGS” makes these little bumps crawl up the back of my neck!)
Though Candy never did pick up any of the French phrases, and not wanting to brag, but I became pretty fluent with a few French words; bon jour, qui, merci, baguette (the bread was to die for) and frites (French fries with practically every meal). I also found out that vendors look at you like you are crazy when you ask for Diet Coke. I learned very quickly to order Coca Cola Light, which isn’t quite the same but close enough.
There were so many things that made the trip perfect. Spending time with Jaime, Sarah and Lucia in their little village was the best part. We look forward to seeing them in July.
The travelers in Veyrier...gateway to the Alps!
The first full day of Geneva...getting ready to take the taxi across the lake.
Candy on the cable car she will never forget! But in style with her new French hat!
Ah, Chamonix. A special town, great company, amazing scenery, food and memories.
Chateau De Chillon
The World Olympics Museum. Lausanne, Suisse.
We all loved the visit from Grandpa Curl and Grandma Can’deé! It was so amazing to share our part of the world with them and catch up on lost time. Dad: sorry if we made your appendix burst...but we'd do it the same if we had to do it again. :)
Au revoir,
The gang
No comments:
Post a Comment