I am in Geneve today. We caught the train this morning from Dietlikon and got off in Neuchatel and had a walk around there for a couple of hours, then back on the train to Geneve.

We found a hotel for the night, put our gear in it and headed off to explore.

We walked to the lake and there was a boat about to leave for a cruise on the lake so we hopped on. We spent a leisurely hour on the lake sitting in the sun with a nice cool breeze.  One of the attractions of Geneve is that they have the highest fountain in the world, it sprouts up about 170 meters into the air.

When we got back we had a nice ice-cream and did a heap more walking around the town. There is so much to see. We have decided to spend the day here tomorrow as well. We were going to take the morning train to Zermatt and then go to Dietlikon from there but we need to spend more time here to see all the things we want to see.

I have charged my camera and I have photos to share with you tomorrow night  when we  get home.

That's it for today I'm afraid. Have had to buy an Internet card and I only have half an hour.
Till tomorrow
Thanks for dropping by
Cheers
Julie

I know I said I would not be posting tonight but the hotel Anne and I are staying at have free WiFi and I just happened to bring my iPad with me so here I go. Unfortunately I did not bring the cables to connect my camera to my iPad so there will not be any photos. Another problem is that I forgot to charge my camera battery so I am only able to take a very limited number of photos. What an idiot.

I have to tell you though I have found the place I want to retire to with Ray, Cindy and Charli. It is called Lugano and is in the south of Switzerland.

We took the Train from Dietlikon at 6:44am this morning, meaning I was up at 5:30AM, to Zurich. Then another train to Chur and then onto the Bernina Express. The Bernina Express took us through 55 tunnels, 196 bridges and viaducts covering 122 kilometers. The scenery was once again magnificent and the weather just about perfect except for a few showers while we were on the train.

We left the train at Tirano (Italy) and got on the Bernina Express bus to Lugano. What an experience, the roads are so narrow in some parts that the bus and a car can not pass so the driver had to blow his horn when he was approaching some corners to warn car drivers that he was coming. I can tell you he received a round of applause from us passengers on a couple of occasions for maneuvering his way around corners and past cars without causing any damage to them, us or the bus.

The scenery was once again magnificent. Lakes, mountains, old buildings that have been maintained and are still in use for everyday housing, shopping etc.
There was a bit of mist around the mountains and some clouds but it was beautiful just the same.

When we arrived we took the cable car to our hotel. The hotel is very nice and is right in the middle of town. Our room was renovated last winter so it is all nice and new. We went to a local restaurant for tea and then a walk to the lake. How magnificent!!! I am hoping my camera will last long enough tomorrow to get a photo to share with you tomorrow night.

We are back in our room now. Anne is reading and I am going to read as well for a while then a good nights sleep before we explore more of Lugano and then catch the train back to Dietlikon.

Till tomorrow
Thanks for dropping by
Cheers
Julie

Today I am having a lazy day....washing, reading, walk to the shops, phone calls to home. Tomorrow Anne and I head off on our Bernina Express train trip. We will be staying in Lugano tomorrow night and then back here on Sunday night.

I am not going to take my iPad so will not update my blog until Sunday night, when I will share photos and details of what we did. It is 32 degrees here today.....yippee

Take it easy
Till Sunday night
Cheers
Julie

Well another day in paradise!!! We left our hotel at about 8:30am after we had finished breakfast and went to Pontresina via a beautiful mountain pass. We passed the Morteratsch Glacier

What a majestic sight. We drove a bit further up the pass to the top and I took this photo of a cow with a cow bell for Charli

All of the cows up in the mountains have cow bells. I thought they only put bells on a few of the cows but they have them on all of the cows. We then drove to St Moritz. A beautiful place. We sat in the sun at a restaurant and had a nice cold beer. It was 11am

We left St Moritz and drove throught Tiefencastle to Alveneu Bad where we had lunch and then a dip in the thermal mineral baths. So relaxing. They have jets in the pools and it is like having a whole body massage. GREAT.

We then drove back to Dietlikon, which is where we are staying, via Chur. The scenery in the mountains is just fantastic.

The weather had been great, I think it was supposed to reach 31 degrees today.

Tomorrow we are having a rest day at home. We need to do the washing etc so we are ready to go on our train trip on Saturday.

Time to go
Thanks for dropping by
Really enjoy your emails, keep them coming
Cheers
Julie

Another great day of sightseeing today. We headed off at about 9:30am for Santa Maria which is the most easterly point of Switzerland.

The weather was very good although it did get a bit overcast later in the day and a light shower fell.

A sample of some of the scenery I saw today:-

A view of the village we stopped in to have lunch

We booked into a hotel called Hotel Liun in Mustair, which is about 5km further on past Santa Maria and about 2km from the Italian/Swiss boarder.

This is a picture of my room.

And my ensuite

The cost is 95 Swiss francs which is about 1:1 for Australian dollars at the moment, so not badly priced.

After we booked in we went for a bit of a walk around and came across a convent that is open to the public. It is a museum really. This is a photo of the paintings on the alter of the chapel.

Very quaint.

It is time to go down for dinner now
So till tomorrow
Thanks for dropping by
Cheers
Julie

I have been absent for the last couple of days as there has not been much to tell you about.

We had lunch with Will's brother and his wife on Sunday and then dinner with Heiny and Madelaine (Anne and Will's friends) last night. It is very pleasant and they go out of their way to make me feel very welcome but this generation of Swiss do not speak much English and I can not keep up with the conversations. I must admit they speak more English than I speak Swiss so perhaps I should make more of a effort when I visit here to try to learn the basics of their language at least. I rest too much on having Anne and Will to do all my talking for me.

Today we had a great day.
We drove to Walansee and had lunch in a fantastic restaurant over looking the lake

When we had finished lunch we drove on to Klontralersee, which is another lake a bit further on. The scenery was fantastic. The mountains, the water and the green of the trees and pastures was fantastic. There was even still a bit of snow on the mountains and cows with cowbells at both places.

The water is crystal clear and about 20 degrees. Should have had my bathers with me.

The weather has been perfect today. I think I am even getting a bit of a tan.

When we got home I cooked some carbonara for tea and now we are all doing our own thing.

Anne is still not well.

Tomorrow I am going to suggest she stay at home and rest. She has certainly had a hard time of it over the last three weeks. I feel very sorry for her.

I can't believe the weather since we have been here and I hear it is going to continue for at least the next few days. I am going to make the most of it while it is here.

That's it for today
Thanks for dropping by
Don't forget to send me an email from time to time
Cheers
Julie

Hi there.

Today Anne and I caught the train into Zurich. We went to the tourist centre and booked a trip on the Bernina Express for 2 days on the 28th and 29th July. Then we went to see the Grosse Munster which is a church with a very high tower. The stained glass in the church was something to see and then we climbed the large amount of stairs to the top of the tower to see the view

This is a model of the church

This is the detail on the door. Made of wood and all detail hand carved into a 5" thick solid door

This is the view from the tower

The other thing I did today was to buy a cow. When I was here in 2009 I saw these cows all over the place. I thought about buying one then and didn't and have always thought I should have so when I saw them today I decided to buy one. They are about 30cm long and very colourful. They come in all sorts of designs and each one is designed by an artist selected to do so. The one I bought is called "Kick" and is very bright.

Till tomorrow
Thanks for dropping by
Don't forget to send me an email
Cheers
Julie

Today we went for a drive to Stein am Rheim. It was a very pretty village.

This is one of the man hole covers that I took a photo of. They are all like this throughout the village

This is one of the buildings in the main township area. Very picturesque.

We had coffee at a delightful hotel right on the Rhine River. The toilets were something to see. All lead light walls and toilet doors. Very pretty. Very classy and well worth the visit.

We found some very lovely shops and bought some gifts for people we needed gifts for. We bought a glass cat with a bird in it's tummy for Madelaine as she is an avid cat lover and Will is always giving her shit about cats eating birds, and I bought a cow bell for Charli as I had promised her I would bring one back for her. Well Ray did actually. This is it.

After we left there we headed to the thermal baths at Bad Zurzuch. What a wonderful way to end a day, floating around in thermal mineral pools. It was so relaxing and the jets in the pools were like a beautiful massage. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Sooooo relaxing just about fell asleep on the way home. 

Tomorrow Anne and I plan on taking the train to Zurich to have a bit of a look around and book our trip on the Bernise Express.

Thanks for dropping by
Don't forget to send me an email sometime soon
Till tomorrow
Cheers
Julie

Not much to tell you about today.

We drove to Malters near Luzern to pay for a rifle for Will's friend.

We had planned to take the scenic route home and have a bit of a look around but Anne was feeling pretty sick so we came straight home. I have not done much for the rest of the day but Anne has been resting and hopefully will feel much better tomorrow.

So with nothing much to tell you
Till tomorrow
Thanks for dropping by
Cheers
Julie

Up early this morning to pick Anne up from the airport at 8 am. We arrived at 7:45pm to find that her flight was delayed by one and three quarter hours.

We filled the time in just sitting in the glorious sun. It was so nice to see the sun and it has been magnificent all day.

When we finally got home from the airport at 10:30 we had a chat and catch up then went and got some groceries for dinner.

Anne and I then spent some time deciding on a 2 day trip we would like to do. We then walked down to the shops and I changed the British pounds I had left into Swiss franks and went to the post office to buy a post pack to send some things home that I no longer need.

Tomorrow we are driving to a gun manufacturer near Lucerne to pay for a gun for one of Will's friends and have a bit of a look around the area. I have been to Lucerne before but it will be nice to re-visit the area.

On the way home we are going to call in at the railway station and book the train trip we picked today. It is a 2 day trip and takes us into the Italian part of Switzerland. I will give you more detail when we take the trip.

Yesterday Will and I went to visit Madelaine, a friend of Anne and Will's that we stayed with off and on last time I was here. We sat in her back yard in the sun and had a cup of tea while her and Will caught up. They were talking in Swiss German so I did not understand anything they were saying but they tried to include me as much as they could. Madelaine's English is 100% better than my Swiss German.

I actually got a bit sunburned, a bit of colour. I can't believe the great weather we have had since we got to Switzerland. Soooo great. I hope it hangs around for a while.

That's it for this time
Hopefully I will have some photos to share tomorrow night.
Thanks for dropping by
Till tomorrow
Cheers
Julie