Day 8 Grindelwald

Waiting at the train station in Lausanne. We were leaving

Lausanne and heading to Grindelwald.

I thought the little villages along the way were so quaint,

but pictures just do not capture it.

I kept trying though.

Trying again, to capture the beauty.

This is where the camera fails miserably. At Interlaken, the

water is turquoise. I have never seen water quite this color.

I wanted so badly to capture the color. this was the best I

could do. It was one of my favorite places that I saw. So

darn beautiful.

Just strolling around Grindelwald.

Hotel Central Wolter

It was Sunday when we arrived in Gridelwald. Julie was

just having her day of rest. = )

Something else that was fun to have a picture

next to.

Sunday morning we got up and had breakfast at the

Hotel Elite in Lausanne. That was our last day at that

Hotel. It was the one we stayed at the longest. At each

hotel we stayed at, they included breakfast. Our

breakfast would consist of sliced lunch meats, sliced

cheese, crusty breads on one table. Then at another

table they had juice, milk, 3 types of cereals, 3 types

of yogurt, and cut up fruit. Then on your table, they

would bring you a bowl of different breads. The

croissants were great. We also had hot chocolate

each meal. We ate at the Hotel Elite 5 mornings. We

almost felt like it was our home base. But, we were

off to other places now. We got on a Golden Pass line

which had panaoramic trains. Even though the train

rides were long, they didn't feel that way, because of

the beautiful countryside we could see. When we came

to Interlaken, I had discovered my favorite place in

Switzerland. Mel had told me he thought it was really

beautiful. Now I could see what he meant. I really

wish I could show you the color of the water in these

lakes. MAN. Anyway, it wasn't much longer and we

were in Grindelwald. It was similar to Zermatt, but not

as crowded. A very touristy, or rather, a place where

people came to go skiing. Just like Zermatt. Kind of

like a Small Park City. We had come on the last day of

the regular ski season. They were shutting down the

town basically. But we walked around a little, explored

some of the things there. (A few shops, an ice skating

rink, possibly the place where they practice for the

Olympic curling team). And we looked up at the huge

mountains that we would be exploring the next day.

The Eiger, MÜnch. They were breathtaking, even with

the cloud cover that was part way up, so you couldn't see

the whole huge mountain. The weather was a little

unsettled so we wondered if we would have the clear view

like we did at the Matterhorn.

Day 8 Zermatt and the Matterhorn

Mel and Julie on the train we took to Zermatt.


We passed through the city of St. Niklaus. Fun huh?

A lot of the chateaus had this type of roof.

The train that took us up to the Matterhorn

In Zermatt, with the Matterhorn behind us

Zermatt, with the Matterhorn in the background. Can

you tell I'm obsessed with the Matterhorn

The Matterhorn!

Going up the mountain to see the Matterhorn

Aren't the Alps beautiful

On the train again, or is that still?

Look at the skiers. Everyone seems to know how to ski

in Switzerland, and the surrounding countries

trying to get a panoramic shot of the alps in the next 4 shots

We've arrived at Gornergrat. Check out the elevation

I now know what they mean by "thin air"

Can you tell what we were excited to see?

It totally beats the Disney version

Showing the beauty of the Alps of Switzerland

There was a restaurant and it looks like an observation

area.

It was SO bright and sunny. Glad I had on the shades.

This little church was up there too.

The weather was so nice. I could hang out in just my shirt

sleeves. LOVED IT!!

Eating at the restaurant. It was just so beautiful. Mel has

Julie's scarf as a headdress, to keep his forhead from burning.

Mel could feel the rays burning his face. He really covered

up. = )

So, we went to see the Matterhorn. I was obsessed with it.

I took picture after picture. It was just so beautiful. And the

weather was absolutely wonderful. The interesting thing

about being at 10,132 ft. is the air is so thin, and you actually

feel really light headed. Well....at least Mel and I did. Julie

didn't notice anything different. But we mosey'd around,

took pictures and ate some lunch, just basking in the

swiss air, enjoying the beautiful view of the Matterhorn.

We took a train from Lausanne to Zermatt. I wish I could

remember how long it took us. 2 hours maybe. Then we

took a train up the mountain side. All the while just

enjoying the beauty. We did a little shopping in Zermatt

before heading back to Lausanne. Well, window shopping.

Mel said that he will remember this day forever.

Day 7 Eiffel Tower and Seine River Cruise

one more picture at the fountain at Place de la Concorde


looking from below the Eiffel Tower

my shots of Paris from the Eiffel Tower

more of the city of Paris

The tourists

I tried to get a panoramic type of shot of the city

Julie on the second level of the Eiffel Tower

The Seine River from the second level of the Eiffel Tower

Another view

Where the "lift" goes up the tracks

Going Up? On the Eiffel Tower

scenes from our Seine River cruise

I've forgotten what this is.

Notre Dame

The back view from the river, of Notre Dame

The ornate bridges

The back side of the Thinker statue

The street where our Hotel was on

The name of our Hotel in Paris

Julie on the stairs of our hotel in Paris

This was our Metro Stops. From Gare de Lyon to Concorde.

The last day in Paris, we boarded our tour bus, and headed

for the Eiffel tower. That was the one destination that we

HAD to see, and also had to go up to the second level. I

was too chicken to go to the top. It sways. Eeeek. So,

we waited in line for 2 1/2 hours, and finally got to go on

the "lift". It was so crowded. There were so many people

there. There were Bosnian women begging for money. They

were in a very organized group. Spread all around Paris.

Then there were African men selling Eiffel Tower trinkets.

It was crazy.

After we were done there, we went and bought a crepe by

the Seine River and took a boat cruise. It was fun to see the

city at a different angle. We took notice of the bridges, which

are all different. When we were done with the cruise, we headed

back to our hotel and got our luggage and hopped on the Metro

to go to the Train station. The train station was overflowing.

It was freakish how many people were there. It was so crowded

that when people came up the escalator, it was so jam packed

that there was no place for the people coming up, to go. I kept

hearing screams. It was scary. Mel said he felt like he was in

Instanbul, or India. We finally figured out where our train was,

boarded, and headed back to Lausanne, Switzerland for the rest

of our trip. Paris was a nice place to visit, but I was ready to

head out. Especially after the experience at the train station.