The World’s Best Tour Guides
This evening marks our final night with Melissa, Michele, Massimo, and Giovani at their beautiful home in Canton Vaud, Switzerland. We feel so fortunate to have been their guests for the past four days and to have gotten a glimpse of their lives in the green hills above Lake Neuchatel.
We arrived Wednesday evening from 900 km away in Saumur, France amidst a major heat wave. That boiling temperatures have continued throughout our visit, and many of our activities have been a quest to cool off.
Thursday and Friday the kids caught up on reading and relaxing while I caught up with Melissa. Dave and I also did tons of research, planning and calculations for the next leg of our trip.
Saturday we took the ferry from Lake Neuchatel through a canal to another lake and explored the storybook town of Murton. The perfect, relaxing outing for our two families.
And today we drove about 45 minutes northwest to Les Gorges de L’Areuse. As temperatures climbed to 100 degrees, we plunged into mountain streams and enjoyed the cool of the Jura Mountains.
Only in Switzerland can you find a picture-perfect hike through a gorge with a train at the end to take you back to the starting point. It could not have been a more beautiful, pleasant, and family-friendly walk.
Michele treated us to his famous pasta carbonara this evening, and then we began the process of organizing ourselves for our departure tomorrow morning. The next leg of our journey will take us to Basel and then north along the Rhein. The forecast is for 85 degrees tomorrow instead of 100, but I’m sure we’ll still be on the look-out for lakes and public fountains.
We arrived Wednesday evening from 900 km away in Saumur, France amidst a major heat wave. That boiling temperatures have continued throughout our visit, and many of our activities have been a quest to cool off.
Thursday and Friday the kids caught up on reading and relaxing while I caught up with Melissa. Dave and I also did tons of research, planning and calculations for the next leg of our trip.
Friday evening when Michele and the boys got home from work and school, we began to discover what incredible tour guides this family is!
First we all drove to Fribourg for dinner and a stroll. What a cool town!
Saturday we took the ferry from Lake Neuchatel through a canal to another lake and explored the storybook town of Murton. The perfect, relaxing outing for our two families.
And today we drove about 45 minutes northwest to Les Gorges de L’Areuse. As temperatures climbed to 100 degrees, we plunged into mountain streams and enjoyed the cool of the Jura Mountains.
Only in Switzerland can you find a picture-perfect hike through a gorge with a train at the end to take you back to the starting point. It could not have been a more beautiful, pleasant, and family-friendly walk.
Lake Neuchatel was waiting for us when we returned from the Jura Mountains. What a fabulous place to cool off, interact with the community, and play.
Michele treated us to his famous pasta carbonara this evening, and then we began the process of organizing ourselves for our departure tomorrow morning. The next leg of our journey will take us to Basel and then north along the Rhein. The forecast is for 85 degrees tomorrow instead of 100, but I’m sure we’ll still be on the look-out for lakes and public fountains.
We are so thankful for our generous, kind, considerate, fun, and creative hosts for a wonderful introduction to Switzerland! I highly recommend a visit to the Palmieri/Vidana household here in Cudrefin for anyone, anywhere, any time - especially families with kids. We feel so lucky to have been among the first to visit from Corvallis!
I will miss these guys and their sleek neighbor...
— Liv
What a beautiful home and area! Y'all look rested, shorn, and ready to put the mettle to the pedal!
ReplyDeleteYehaa! Fantastic! Thanks for the great description of your visit with your friends. And I'm quite sure you've chosen your future routes with care. Have a great ride today! And don't forget your second breakfast, and maybe a third as well. Neither of those kids is porking up thus far (unlike Molly, who needs a bigger collar). Allons!
ReplyDeleteGreat update, Liv! The walk through the gorge looks so beautiful, and it was probably the coolest place around. Wonderful photos of everybody, including the pretty horse! Happy riding today---glad the temps will be better. Salud!
ReplyDeleteWow, how did I miss this?? Such a wonderful post, Liv, thank you. I felt like I was right there with you.
ReplyDelete