Our trip to Switzerland was more than one year in the making.  Originally, we had planned to go the previous fall, but unexpected family matter pushed it out to this April.  When we rescheduled our flight last fall, we didn’t looked too closely at the weather expectation for early April, thinking the worst of the cold should have passed.   A few months later as we started to rebook our car rental and saw there was an extra “winterizing” charge for that period, we did get a little worry.  Of course, this March turned out to be one of the coldest March on record for Europe didn’t help as we got closer to our departure date.  James also started getting a serious cold, which further increased his apprehension of the trip.   However, our trip turned out as well as can be hoped, and the somewhat cooler than normal weather provided us with some winter favors that we otherwise may not have been able to experience.

A Multi-Culture State

One of the things we experienced as we traveled across Switzerland was the changing of both language and culture with the landscape.  At Geneva and the southwestern part of Switzerland, a strong French influence can be felt.   At Bern, Interlaken and Luzern, there is a lean toward German culture.   Finally, down at the southeastern part of the country around Lugano, you almost feel like being in Italy.   It makes it easier to understand why most Swiss are multi-lingual.

As for the Swiss efficiency we hear so much about, we definitely could see how well things are done in the roads, railways and buildings we saw.   But for all the precision and quality that are displayed, we could also feel the warmth of the people there.  People we interacted with were helpful and seem to handle problems without getting upset at small things.  A good example is on the road:  If we were going too slow or do something wrong on the road, the drivers behind us don’t honk or rush us.  They just patiently drive behind us and only pass us at the proper spots.

The downside to Switzerland is that things are relatively expensive here. From groceries to clothes to restaurants, things do seem to be a tad more costly than even in other European locales.  A typical meal combo deal in a fast-food joint could cost 7 or 8 Swiss francs (exchange rate is about US$1.05 to CHF1.00).  If the trade-off to the higher cost is a well-run and clean environment, it may be worth it.

Geneva – City of Diplomacy

Our debarkation point into Switzerland was Geneva.  The reason we chose it was because we thought the surrounding area offers more things to see and do than the other choice, Zurich.  Lake Geneva (or Lac Limon to the French), is actually split between Swiss and French, with portion of the southern coast of the lake belonging to France.   Geneva sits on the western end of the Lake and is the center of Romandy, the French speaking part of Switzerland.   Geneva was an independent city for many years.  It considered joining the Swiss Federation in the 1500, but ended up not joining and remained independent.  In the early part of the French Republic years, it was annexed into France.  But soon after the Napoleonic Wars, it finally joined the Swiss Confederation.

With a population of about 200,000 today, Geneva is not very large, but during the past couple of centuries, it has evolved into a center of international diplomacy, where many international centers and agencies are based in the city (such as United Nations and Red Cross) or located nearby (CERN).  It has also been a place where people have come to negotiate or settle international disputes.

While we did spend a few minutes walking outside the UN compounds, our visit focused on the Lake and the natural sights and the city’s neighborhood.   Our flight arrived late at night; we did not get to our hotel, President Wilson, until almost midnight.  The hotel is located near the shores of Lake Geneva.  While our room didn’t have a lake view, it was roomy with all the comfort amenities, just what we needed to decompress from our long flight.  After cleaning up, we quickly fall asleep.

Our first full day was Good Friday.   The good part of walking around the city on Good Friday was that traffic was light and very few people around.  The bad part is that almost all shops were closed as well as many restaurants.   After a late breakfast at the hotel, we start our walk around town along the Lake by our hotel.     On Quai Wilson, the road along the northern edge of the Lake in the city, there was a number of hotels with various 19^th century architectural styles.  There was a harbor near the west end of the Lake, where there are a number of ferry piers and a few outdoor eateries, all of which seem to be closed.  Just across the lake on the other side is Jet D’eau, a water jet that shoots a stream up to 140 meters.

 

 

 

 

 

We crossed the Quai Mont-Blanc Bridge, where the lake flows into two rivers, to where Jardin Anglas is located.  This is a small park where the Flower Clock is located.   It’s a big clock built from flowers.   From there, we walked along the streets and plaza lined with stores and restaurants.  With the exception of a few eateries, most of them were closed on that day.  There were only a few people on the street (many were probably tourists like us) but the street cars were operating.

We did what we can with shops closed: leisurely window shop. The empty streets and plaza does provide an interesting perspective of an urban center without people.  We mostly just wandered from street to street.  By Parc de Bastions, which is near the old city wall, we went into the Rath Museum, which holds temporary exhibits.  When we were there, there were exhibits of old Swiss tapestries and potteries as well as items from the Middle East.

Jessica wanted to go to the Philippe Patek Museum, located south of Parc de Bastions, but was closed that day.   With no other special targets in mind, we decided to find a place for lunch in that area.  There weren’t too many restaurants open for business; one was The Swiss Chalet, one that has a feel of a family restaurant.   The menu seems to be fairly basic but has most everything.  The two entrees we chose were the day’s special, grill shrimp with ratatouille and rice, and the grill perch with fries.  The shrimp and ratatouille was very good, savory and aromatic.  The perch was ok but not memorable.

After lunch we started walking back toward the hotel along another route and bridge, taking pictures as we go along.  With few people around, it is actually a good day to take pictures without worrying about dodging the crowd.  We walked back along a neighborhood on the other side of the hotel that was dotted with a number of falafel and other ethic eateries.  This enclave was more bustling than other parts of the city that day, though still relatively quiet.

Given the difficulty of finding an open restaurant on that day, we asked our hotel concierge helped us booked a reservation for a restaurant that offers traditional Swiss cuisine.  The restaurant, Les Armures, is located in the old Cite-center area.  It was about half an hour walk from our hotel.  The restaurant wasn’t large, but holds a good crowd.  The patrons were a mix of locals and ‘visitors’ like us.  Next to us was a US couple who were having dinner with some local friends.  The menu offer fondue, with a selection of cheese and add-ins (mushroom, bacon, etc).  We had thought of ordering one fondue and one other dish, but we ended up ordering two fondues, one with mushroom and one with bacon.  We also order soup as appetizer (lobster bisque and a tomato soup).  Both turned out to be good.  The fondue came with bread and potatoes, which are the traditional complements for fondue there.  However, after a few pieces, Jessica decided that she probably couldn’t survive on fondue alone.   While not an aficionado for fondue, James found it to be fine.   Since Jessica didn’t eat too much of the main course, we also order some ice cream for dessert.

 

 

 

 

 

By the time we left the restaurant for the hotel, the streets were very quiet.  It was quite a cool night, but it was a nice night time walk back to the hotel.  The quietness and stillness of the area make you feel like you have the whole city to yourself.

The next morning, we picked up our rental car from a nearby Hertz location.  We were given a Peugeot 5008, a compact MPV.  The base rental wasn’t too costly, but with all the various fees and insurance, it did add up.  It took us a while to figure out how to work the GPS and other controls.  (We tried to look at the manual, but it was in French, so not much help to us.)   But once we did, we went back to the hotel to pick up our stuff and started our around the country tour.  Our next destination was Lausanne, about 45 minutes from Geneva on the north shores of Lake Geneva.

Lausanne – Home of the Olympics

Lausanne is the fourth largest city in Switzerland.  With a population of about 130,000, it also holds the distinction as the smallest city in the world with a subway system.  It is the home of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).  The city is situated on the southern slope of the Swiss Plateau, with the town sloping down from the northern edge of the city down to the shore of Lake Geneva at its southern edge.

We first stopped at a place GPS indicated was near city center.  We found a parking spot and figured out how to pay the meter.  We put enough money for about 90 minutes and started walking around.  The spot we stopped were on a plateau overlooking the Lake.  There is a grand ‘Justice’ building there with a small garden/courtyard area.   After taking a few pictures, we started searching the areas with restaurants for lunch.  We came to a shopping center area about a quarter mile away.  There were a few cafes and some restaurants.  As we were tight on time, we figured on two potential quick spots:  restaurant at Migros (a department/supermarket store) or McDonalds.   We settled on the latter; going with the familiar.   We got a couple of chicken wraps, salads, chicken breast strips, fries and drinks.  That simple meal set us back almost 30 Swiss francs (about US$32).   The one interesting thing we did find there was that there is a code on the receipts for the restroom; an interesting way to control access to the restroom.

After lunch, we decided to head down to the lake shores and take a look around there before heading to our next destination:  Montreux.  We didn’t have anything particular in mind, but as we drove around, we saw the Olympic Museum and decided to take a look.   The full museum was being remodeled and was closed, but a temporary ‘free’ exhibit was placed on a ship docked on the lake by the museum.  The exhibits included replicas or actual medals and torches from all the winter and summer modern Olympics.  There were also a display of a few game-used items like hockey stick, bicycles, and shirts, along with plaques describing highlights of all the Olympics Games.  And there were also some miniature stadium replicas from recent games.  While the exhibit wasn’t very large, it did provide some favors of the Games.  We bought a few items at the souvenir shop outside the exhibits and then decided to walk up to the garden area on the hill toward the museum, which was still open (or at least not blocked off).  There were a few statues around along the path, but the best part as we reach close to the museum was the view of the Lake.   Even though it was an overcast day, you could still see the snowcapped mountain on the other side of the lake.

 

 

 

 

 

putting in “Chateau Chillion” into our GPS to start our way toward Montreux, we began to drive northward through Lausanne.  The GPS’s intend was for us to take the expressway.  However, an accident on the expressway had blocked off the entrance that GPS wanted us to use.  We started to drive around and around, changing GPS settings, but it kept trying to direct us to that entrance.  Finally, we stopped at a gas station store to ask someone for an alternative route.   The attendant at the shop didn’t speak much English, but she found a customer who could.  Neither was sure the best way to go around the blockage, and but the customer brought me to her boyfriend in the car.  The only other way he could think of was for us to go back down to the shore and take the road along the lake.  So we turned around and start our way back down.  As we drove downward through the streets of the town, not guided by the GPS but by our own sense of direction, we could feel and see how much of the city is built on a hill.  We also got a chance to ‘see’ more of the city than we otherwise would have.  We finally passed through where we were when we started, at the Olympic Museum, along the lake shore. Traveling on the road along the shore is probably slower than if we have taken the expressway, but I am also sure this route gave us some better views.

Montreux, located near the eastern end of Lake Geneva, is a fairly small town with a population of about 25,000.  The surrounding area is an important wine-growing region of Switzerland.   We didn’t get too much a chance to see the town except on our drive through the city along the lake to Chateau Chillion.   We arrived around 4PM, which gave us just enough time and light to walk through the castle.

Chateau Chillion self-described itself as “Switzerland’s most visited historic monument”.  It is consists of 100 independent buildings that are connected.  The castle is estimated to be first built in the 11^th or 12^th century.   The inside of the castle is in fairly good shape and has been well maintained, given its age.  They have some furnishing around to provide a visual sense of what things look like in the days when the castle was in use.  One of the more interesting pieces was the ‘toilet’, an open circular hole on a wooden bench, with a steel bar bisecting the hole underneath to prevent any unexpected fall, as it drops straight down about 40-50 feet to the lake below.  The ‘dungeon’ where they kept supplies and prisoners was dark and dank as expected, but in there one can hear the sound of the lake.

Atop one of the towers that we could access, there was a beautiful view of the lake coast looking toward the city of Montreux, with water, buildings, mountain and cloud that seemed to blend together just right.  It provided one of our favorite shots of our whole trip.

After picking up some postcards in the shop outside of the castle, we drove toward Bern, our stopover for the night to shorten our drive to Interlaken the next morning.  The reason for the layover was that we had wanted to do the scenic drive during daytime as much as possible to be able to see the landscape.  Our drive over to Bern was mostly uneventful on the expressway until we got into the city right around dusk.  The GPS put us in a location that doesn’t seem to be where our hotel was located.  After rechecking our input, I had selected a similar but wrong street name, which put us about 5KM away from our hotel.  After readjusting, we finally reached the hotel, Holiday Inn Bern.  We were relatively tired by then so decided to try the hotel bistro for dinner, not even bother checking with restaurants in the adjacent mall.  While the meal wasn’t extraordinary, it was good enough to balance out the Mickey D lunch we had in Lausanne.

At Bern, we entered into another part of the country.  At the convenience store and hotel, we noticed that people were using German mostly.  And the street names and locations also have a touch of German to them.

One thing that we didn’t take into account was the Daylight Savings Time change.  James had thought the changed had already occurred, but with March 31^st being the last Sunday in March, the change was to be occurred on that morning.  We didn’t find out of the time change until the morning when James noticed difference between the time on the iPad and his watch.  He had thought he was up early, but then wasn’t.   Anyways, it was snowing when we looked out of the window.  A bit of worry arose in James’ gut for the drive to Interlaken, but his concern eased as the snow lightened as the day got brighter.  While there seem to be a few inches of snow accumulation, the roads were fairly clear, so no trouble in driving on them.

Jessica was enjoying seeing all the snow covered trees along the road and on the last part of our drive, the scenic lake and mountain views.  She was busy taking all the pictures as we started our short journey to Interlaken.  The last half of the trip was driven along Lake Thun.  While it was picturesque, there weren’t convenient spots for us to stop and take pictures.  When we rolled into Interlaken, there was just a bit of light snow, but nothing that should impede our plans for that day.

 

Interlaken – Gateway to Ski Country and Jungfrau

Interlaken is located in the Bernese Oberland region of the Swiss Alps, between Lake Thun and Lake Brienz.   It has become a key gateway to the mountains and lakes of the region.  Today, hotels, restaurants and shops line the length of the main thoroughfare, which is anchored by a rail station on its east and west ends.  It is said that Interlaken became a tourism destination in the 1800s when people saw the landscape paintings of the area by renowned Swiss artists.

After dropping off our car and bags with the reception at our hotel, the Metropole Interlaken, we headed out to the East Rail Station to go to Jungfrau.  It’s about a twenty minute walk from the hotel to that rail station.  It was around 9:30AM.  James had wanted to try to catch the 10AM train, but with all the stops Jessica made for pictures along the way, that wasn’t going to happen.  Anyways, we got to the station about 5 minutes pass 10AM; we end up having to wait a few minutes in line to buy the tickets, so pushing for 10AM probably would have been tight regardless.  The extra time at the station gave us a chance to grab some pastries and juice, as we hadn’t had any breakfast.

The route to Jungfrau requires two train changes, at Lauterbrunnen and Kleine Scheidegg.  The portion from Interlaken to Lauterbrunnen is mostly on flat land; the latter two segments are mountain climbs and in snow country.  There were many picture opportunities on the train, and Jessica was busy taking pictures through all three segments.  From Lauterbrunnen to Kleine Scheidegg there were a couple of stops at what looks to be ski resort towns, such as Wengen, where people use as their base for their ski vacations in the area.   (Grindelwald is another big ski base in the Jungfrau region.)

From Kleine Scheidegg to Jungfrau we can see ski runs and lifts, in some stretch people seemed to ski right next to the rail tracks.  The last few miles to Jungfrau the track ran entirely through tunnels inside the mountains.  There was one stop before reaching the peak station, which has a view point with large windows carved in the rocks for views outside the mountains.  However, the day we were there, all we could see was the cloud at that elevation.

Since it was around 1:30PM by the time we arrived at the top of Jungfrau, after taking a few pictures first, we decided to eat first before working around the peak base.  We chose a restaurant with bay windows looking out to the ‘top of the world’ view.  We were able to get a seat right next to the window.  So while we refueled and got ourselves adjusted to the altitude, we took a number of pictures of the view outside.   After lunch, we started to walk around the base station.  Almost everything you can do is indoors (for good reasons as we would find out); there were films, ice sculptures, view towers, etc.  There was a spot where you can go outside to an area looking out “over the world” above the clouds.   It was so windy out there; it felt like 50 C below.  When we were taking pictures, we had to put our hands in the pockets every so often to warm up to get the feelings back.  (We did have a pair of gloves, which we split up with each wearing one to use to hold the camera and taking picture with the bare hand).  Generally, we wore enough, but we hadn’t brought any headgear to shield our faces.  Jessica’s iPhone actually seem to have shut down after a while, which we think it is due to the cold.  It came back to life after we got back inside.  But the view and feel outside was one of the exhilaration when you stand there and look out, even if it felt very cold.

 

Around 3:30PM, we started the hour and half return trip back to Interlaken.  On the way back, we saw a lot of skiers returning back from their ski runs to their resort bases.   Even though we took the same route back, during the first two train segments, we still saw a number of interesting photo opportunities.  After arriving back in Interlaken, we walked back along the main road.  We were trying to see if there were any interesting spots for dinner.  Maybe it was because it was Easter, outside of hotel restaurants; there were only a few places that seem to be open; and none appealed to the both of us.

 

 

Our room was on the 10^th floor, and there was a balcony where we had a wonderful view of the town, mountains, and lakes in the area.  As one of the tallest building (if not the tallest) in town, there was no obstruction to our view.  It was simply spectacular.   After cleaning up and resting a bit, we deliberate a while before deciding to try the restaurant located on the top of the hotel.   The menu offering was fairly basic, leaning toward a Bavarian style.  We end up ordering a baked fish (for Jessica) and a wiener schnitzel (for James), along with soup and dessert.  The food turned out satisfying if not spectacular, but the service and the environment were excellent.

The next morning, we decided to look for a local restaurant along the main road for breakfast before departing.  About a quarter mile from the hotel, there was a nice café restaurant serving breakfasts and pastries: Des Alpes.  Its large bay window has a perfect view of the street and the mountains.   We ordered some croissants, ham & eggs and tea.   The sun’s warmth shining through the windows provided a perfect backdrop to our meal as we leisurely consume our food.

After we packed up, we started our drive to Lucerne.  A good stretch of the drive from Interlaken to Lucerne was along narrow mountainous roads with lots of switch back turns, not the kind of road that give the driver an opportunity to enjoy the scene.  But it did give Jessica an opportunity to take pictures along the way of snow covered mountains and lake views.

The path of our drive to our hotel took us through Lucerne; from the west side of the city, we drove around the northern end of the Lake Lucerne to the eastern side of the Lake; it gave us a preview of the city we planned to explore that day.

 

Lucerne – Alpine Lake and City

With Lake Lucerne on its edge and Mount Pilatus as its backdrop, Lucerne is a picturesque Alpine city.  The city was founded in the 8^th century and has always had a strong Germanic influence.   It was an important point in old trade route in the region.  Today, it is a favorite tourist spot.

 

 

 

 

 

Our hotel, the Hermitage, is situated right on the eastern edge of Lake Lucerne.  It looked to be recently renovated, with the room fitted out with new furnishing and with a large sitting area that include table and sofa. The front of the room has floor to ceiling bay window that faced Lake Lucerne, providing an excellent view of the entire lake area.  The staff during check-in was very helpful on places we can visit in town.  They also told us that it would be easier for us to take the bus into town instead of driving.  There is a bus stop right in front of the hotel.

While the bus stop was convenient, figuring out how to purchase the ticket still took a bit of effort.  James had wanted to purchase an All-Day ticket, but end up buying one-way tickets instead.  Anyways, the ride into town only took a few minutes.   Like Geneva on Good Friday, many of the shops were closed on Easter Monday, although a number of the high-end shops catering to the tourist trade were open.  A few tourist buses dropped-off their passengers’ right in front of the shops off the main road that borders the lake.

We first headed toward the Lion Monument, a walk that was to take us by a renowned restaurant in the city that Jessica wanted to try, Old Swiss House.  Unfortunately, that restaurant does not open on Mondays.  Disappointed, we continue onward to the small garden where the Lion Monument is located.  The monument is a carving that commemorates the death of Swiss Guards killed during the French Revolution in Paris.  It’s a very small garden where the monument is at the back of a pond.

Leaving the garden we started toward the city’s Old Town area.  This area reminds us of other old towns in Europe, with narrow street lanes, shops on the ground floor and living spaces above.  Many of the buildings seem to be in very good shape.  Despite that most of the shops were closed, there were still a number of people walking around the area.   We did a bit of window shopping, but mostly took a lot of pictures.  After reaching the river, we walked along it toward the old city wall at the northern edge of the old town, before circling back toward the Lake and Chapel Bridge, maybe the most well-known landmark of the city.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapel Bridge was first built in the 14^th century, said to be the oldest covered bridge in Europe.  One special aspect of the bridge is the 17^th century paintings that depict the city’s history.  There is also a small chapel in the middle of the bridge.

We went to the other side of the river looking for another restaurant Jessica found on her iPhone (another illustration how travel has changed with technology).  But that restaurant was closed due to Easter Monday.  It was around 2PM by then, so we headed back toward the restaurants lined along the river near the Chapel Bridge.  We end up choosing an Italian restaurant, where we were given a seat next to a window.  Even at that hour, the place was fairly packed on the first floor (there is a second floor that was not use at that time).  Jessica ordered Penne pasta with chicken while James ordered Spaghetti with sausage and a tomato soup.  The food may be fairly typical Italian fare, but getting a chance to do some people watching out the window as we ate and reviewing our pictures did make the atmosphere better.

We walked around the old town some more afterwards and then headed toward the area along the Lake shore.  There were a number of shops along the road that were open, including Bachmann, which is a local confectioner that specializes in chocolates.  We grabbed a few specialty items of the shop to take back with us.   Then we checked out a couple of jewelry and watch shops; just to check out the prices.    We didn’t find the watch prices to be better than what we can find elsewhere, at least in those shops.

It was around 4:30PM when we decided to head back to the hotel.  James was thinking of going to the Swiss Air and Transport Museum, which was on the way back to the hotel.  But Jessica nixed the idea of walking around in a museum for another hour or so.

After resting up a bit in our room, we headed up to one of the hotel restaurant, which received some good reviews in local guides we read.   Because of our late lunch, we weren’t too hungry, so decided just to go for a main dish and dessert.  Jessica ordered a grilled whitefish with vegetables and potatoes, while James had the seafood risotto; we topped it off with ice cream and sherbet.  The kitchen also gave us a complementary appetizer of prosciutto and cheese that was very good.  The main dishes were also done well, which we enjoyed very much.

As we were relaxing back in our room after dinner checking our plans for tomorrow, Jessica found a lot of bad feedbacks on the hotel we had booked in Lugano for the next couple of days. Thus, we decided to cancel that reservation and rebook a new hotel.  It wasn’t difficult to find a new hotel online, but cancelling our original reservation turn out more difficult because that hotel was no longer affiliated with the international chain that we had originally booked the room.  Thus, I had couldn’t cancel it on the chain’s website or phone services.  I had to call the hotel directly to cancel.

The next morning, we departed a bit later than plan, but we were still able to be on the road by around 10AM.   About half way along our route, we stopped at a service area for a bite to eat.  We shared a local Danish-like roll and a roast beef dish, which was better than we expected.  This would turn out to be our only meal until dinner.   The road from Lucerne to Lugano took us through valleys between mountains and hills.  While not as scenic as the earlier roads we had traversed, they still boost some wonderful bucolic background and exude a southing, calm feeling.

 

Lugano – Italian Lake Districts

Lake Lugano is located on the southeastern part of Switzerland, just north of Lake Como across the border In Italy.  This part of Switzerland definitely has a heavy Italian influence and the main language here is Italian.  The whole lake region in the area has become a resort destination, where people come to enjoy the beautiful lake scene and the slower pace of life.

We reached our hotel by around 1:00PM, the Grand Hotel Lugano.  Our room was in the older section of the hotel, where the elevator seems to have been from the turn of the 20^th century (i.e., 1900).  However, the room was well laid out and with all the things we need.  It also has a balcony that looks directly out to a stunning panoramic view of the lake.  We started to take pictures even before putting our stuff away.  (The one bad part of the room was that it gets hot in the afternoon.  And with air conditioning not available during the time we were there, it got fairly warm inside even late in the evening that we had to keep the balcony door open until we went to bed.)

We were soon off to our next destination:  Foxtown (in the town of Mendrisco).   Foxtown is the premium outlet shopping center, which Jessica said is the biggest one in Europe; it is about 15KM south of Lugano.  When we got to the mall, the one parking lot we went to was pretty full; we drove around a few times before finally found a spot.  The mall is different than James had expected.  Most of the premium outlet malls he has been to are all outdoor malls, including the one in Florence.  But this one is a multilevel, multi-building indoor mall.   The number and type of shops is quite impressive, with just about all the European name brand stores (at least those that sell in outlets).  We spend almost 4 hours there and picked up bags of stuff.

After putting our shopping stuff back at the hotel, we decided to take a walk along the lake and find a place in the town center area for dinner.   There was still a bit light as we started our walk.  The fresh, cool air felt especially good; and last bit of sunlight hitting the far reaches of the lake provide a beautiful sunset view.  It was surprising quiet; there weren’t too many people on the streets.  It took use about 30 minutes to reach an area with a number of restaurants.  We chose an Italian restaurant that looked to be well patronized.   Really want to try a pizza, James ordered a small margherita pizza as ‘appetizer’ and gnocchi with meat sauce as his main dish.   Jessica ordered minestrone soup and grill shrimp with vegetables and rice.  James thought the pizza was good, but it could just be that it had been a while since he had a decent one.   The Gnocchi was ok but pasta might have been a better option.  Jessica’s soup and entrée turned out to be excellent.

After dinner, we walked back passing through some of the shops in the town area.  They were all closed, so it was merely window shopping but Jessica was trying to see if any would be worthwhile to try to come back the next day.

After breakfast at the hotel the next morning, we went back to Foxtown.  We timed it almost perfectly, arriving just before it opened at 11AM.   Being one of the first cars there, we had our picks of parking spots.  We spend another 3 hours there, picking up a few more things and walking enough to work up an appetite for lunch.  As we left around 2PM, we decided to swing by Como for lunch, which is another 10KM or so to the south.   The drive to Como turned out more interesting than we expected.  There was a border control gateway we have to drive through.  (Going into Italy, they did not stop us, but returning back to Switzerland, the border guards did stop us and ask if we carrying more the $10K in cash.)  We also noticed that the streets we drove through to get to Como were just a tad less well maintained and a bit bumpier than the roads in Switzerland.

We weren’t able to pick a specific spot in Como on our GPS, so we end up driving around a bit before finding a parking spot near an area near the lake.  The first thing we did was look for a place for lunch. There were a number of restaurants along the lake front promenade area.  We end up choosing one that had some guests even at that hour.  We ordered some steamed mussels for appetizer and for entrées; James ordered the mushroom risotto while Jessica chose the grill fish with vegetables.  The mussels were really good, even the broth was delicious.  The risotto was decent but not great; however, Jessica enjoyed the grilled fish very much.   A bit famished, we finished every little scrape on our plates.

Beside the food, sitting along the promenade gave us a platform for people watching, not to mention enjoying the nice afternoon weather by the lake.  There were a lot of tourists in the area, but there also seem to be a number of locals as well.   We walked around the area and got some gelato before heading back.  Jessica had to have a gelato before leaving Italy.   We also picked up a couple of 2 liter bottles of water at a local store.  At less than one euro for the two bottles, it was much cheaper than what we have seen in Switzerland.

We returned to our hotel by around 5:30PM.  Jessica wanted to rest up before dinner; James decided to walk around to see some more the area.  So he went by himself and walked up to the area to the hotel we had originally booked.  It looked a bit less impressive than he had seen in the photos, but can’t really tell how the inside would be.  But he was happy we did switch hotels.  Most of the shops in the area seem to be open at that hour, but the foot traffic was light.  The one area James wanted to find was the ‘cable car’ to the mountain peak; he wanted to find out when it closes.  Just as he reached there, the last car to the top was departing at 6:30PM.  (During the summer month, the cable car schedule would be longer.)   He walked around another 30 minutes or so, visited a Migros store before headed down toward the lake before heading back to the hotel.

For dinner that night, we decided to try the hotel restaurant.   We waited until almost 8:30PM before going given our late lunch.  Jessica ordered the mushroom soup and the steak with polenta while James ordered a foie gras appetizer and scallops with dumplings for main dish.  All the dishes turned out very good, both cooked well and with fresh ingredients.  But given our late lunch, we couldn’t quite finish our entrees.  The waiter was worried that there were some problem with the food since Jessica only ate about half the steak.  But we were really satisfied with the meal.

The next morning, we got up a bit earlier to start our long drive back to Lake Geneva area.  Although after breakfast, it was almost 10AM before we got on the road.   We drove south and west through Italy and then through Mont Blanc tunnel before turning up north back to Lake Geneva.  While the road (expressway) itself was not much different in Italy, one major difference was the toll collection at the various gateways we had to pass and pay along the way.   Including the Mont Blanc tunnel fee, we paid more than 80 euros of tolls from our drive from Lugano to Lake Geneva through Italy and France.  The one misadventure we had was when we were trying to stop at a service area for a break – we ended up exiting the expressway instead due to James misreading the sign; thus we end up having to drive more before able to catch the next service stop.  Driving through the Mont Blanc tunnel was interesting, because in addition to the speed limit, it also requests cars to keep 150 meters apart.  And there were markers along the side to help you gauge the distance between cars.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mont Blanc, Evian and back to Geneva

The backdrop for most of our drive back to Lake Geneva was not too special.  But after we exited the Mont Blanc tunnel on the French side, we were able to stop at a viewing spot with a spectacular view of the Chamonix valley and mountain ranges in the area.  The peak of the Mont Blanc range seems to be just above us.  We took numerous pictures there from all angles.  We spend almost 20 minutes there before returning back on the road.

It took us another hour so before we reached our destination of Evian-Les-Bains on the south shore of Lake Geneva (in France).  The last half hour or so we drove through a number of small towns.  We were thinking of stopping at one of the restaurants in one of the town for a bite, but decided to wait until we arrive at our destination.  Lake Geneva was overcast that day; we could not see the other side of the lake.  Our hotel, Hilton Evian, was located along the lake front, and our room had its window and balcony directly facing the lake.   After catching up on our emails and messages, we decided to take a walk around the town, thinking if we can maybe catch an early dinner.

The town sits on a hill that rises up quickly from the lake shore.  We started our walk up the hill to where some of shops and restaurants were located.  While most shops were open, we noticed most of the restaurants were closed and didn’t see signs of when they would open.  Given it was close to 5PM, we find it strange there were still no activities in those restaurants. We did notice a few of the restaurants have signs says open continuously between certain times, which we didn’t catch immediately the meaning.  In any case, we picked up some croissant and bread as temporary filler at a bakery shop and continue our walk down through the streets.  We walked by Evian Casino, which has a prominent location on the lake front.   Then we noticed some of the restaurants around there have signs indicated they open for dinner at 7:00 or 7:30PM.  As we walked along the street back toward the hotel, it seems that is the typical hour most restaurants there would open for dinner.  We realized that’s why the few restaurants that operate around clock would advertise themselves.

Anyways, we walked past the hotel restaurant as we were heading back.  After checking the menu, we decided to dine there tonight.  Since it also opens at 7:30PM, after making a reservation for 8PM, James decided to go for a workout before dinner (his first opportunity for a workout on the trip) while Jessica would rest up with her iPhone.  Despite the overcast sky, it was still reasonably light when we walked back down toward restaurant through the garden on the hotel grounds.  The restaurant menu has a well mix of styles, but lean more French.  Jessica ordered the goose liver and the day’s special grill duck breast, while James selected the mushroom soup with roast chicken as his main entree.  The goose liver turned out to be the cold version, which wasn’t what Jessica had wanted, although it was still good.  The grill duck and roast chicken turned out to be good.

The next morning, after breakfast at the hotel, we started our drive back to Geneva for a final spin and some shopping before returning home the next day.  We arrived back in the city around 11AM.  We decided to drive around a bit before going to the hotel and return our car.  We first drove to the United Nations plaza.  Along the side of the road, there were some cars parked but no meters.  Unsure of the parking regulation, we asked another driver who was just stopping his car near us.  He explained of the parking “card” that we should have (which we found in our glove compartment box) and how to use it.  It’s something we won’t know what it was or how to use unless someone shows us.  We walked around and down to the front gates in front of the Palace of Nations, where there is a sculpture of a broken chair, which symbolizes opposition to land mines and cluster bombs.  After taking some pictures, we found out that ‘visitor’ entrance was up the road another kilometer or so.   We got back to our car and start to drive toward there, but then we decided to drive around the city instead.  After another half hour of ‘touring’ the city’s outer edges, we headed to our hotel.  We dropped off our stuff and checked-in before we drove the car back to Hertz and do our final walk around town.

It was a different feel with more people on the streets than when we walked around town on Good Friday.  We first grabbed a couple of sandwiches at a local café for a quick lunch.  Then we started walking around the shops near the lake front area.  Jessica picked up a few items she hadn’t found in other places and then we walk toward another area of town where we were trying to find a local chocolate store that was recommended to Jessica, Chocolaterie Micheli.  The tourist maps we have didn’t quite cover where the shop is located.  We got the general direction from Google while at the hotel, but still took us a bit of going back and forth in the area before we found the shop.  The shop was not big, but it had a small café alcove where there were people enjoying some hot chocolates/coffee and various chocolate confection the shop made.   The shop had a fine selection of chocolate bars, truffles and pralines, including a 100% cocoa bar, something neither one of us has seen before.   We picked up a sample of various pieces and bars to take back home with us to enjoy.

We headed back to the hotel to rest up before our final dinner that evening, at Le Lion d’Or.  The restaurant was located on the other side of the lake in Cologny.  Even though we really didn’t know how far it is from the hotel, we decided to try to walk there, giving us one final chance to take in the city.  However, when we reached the ferry terminal near the Quai du Mont Blanc, Jessica convinced James to take the boat across to the other side of the lake.  It was a 5 minute boat ride, but it shortened our walk quite a bit.  Once there, we realized the boat ride was a good idea as finding the way to the restaurant was a bit tougher than anticipated.  What we also couldn’t tell from the map was the road to the restaurant actually was an uphill road.  The last few hundred yards was a struggle, but we made it right at our reservation time.

The restaurant sits along a hilltop where the dining rooms overlook the lake and the city.  The menu was simple and short, but offer a bit of everything.   Jessica selected the three-way Lobster, where the lobster was made into three distinct dishes: ravioli soup, salad, and risotto entree. The staff was excellent in explaining the selection and portion.  James went with the foie gras and grilled sole.

Each dish was done well and was excellent.  When the main entrée arrived, the grill sole turned out to be a whole fish, which the waiter filleted it at the table.  It was much bigger than James had anticipated, but it was also one of the best grilled sole he ever had.   When we got done with the entrees we were truly stuffed, such that we could only nibble at the complimentary confection items provided.

The next morning, before heading off to the airport, James went to a local bakery to get a couple of croissants for us to enjoy one last time since getting this taste seems be difficult to find outside of Europe.  James was able to enjoy the quiet Saturday morning street ambience of the area; one last chance to absorb the town before departing.

 

We arrived in Rome from opposite ends on the globe, one from San Francisco and the other from Hong Kong.   Despite on different landing times, we were able to meet up at the baggage area.   Finding our way to the Express Train into the city also wasn’t too difficult.  The train we were on was quite packed, with many people standing near the train ends and a relative small luggage area per cabin.  The train appears to be much older than the airport express trains I have ridden in London, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur and Tokyo.

Arriving at the Rome Termini Station, our first encounter with the local taxi did not turned out well.  First we didn’t find any taxi at the station exit that we came out.  Then one came along and gave a very high estimate (90 Euro) to our hotel.   After another 20 minutes of not finding any other taxi, another one came along and gave a 55 Euro that we decided to go with. The ride over to the hotel made us think taxi drivers in Rome is as crazy as those in China.   We probably should have been more alert when the taxi driver wouldn’t go into the hotel driveway and offered to drop us off outside the hotel gates.  James was getting the luggage as Jessica was to pay the driver.  But there was a dispute of what Jessica gave him.  After some back and forth, we finally settled.  But after we run through all the amounts and double checking what she had and what she now has, we ended up paying 135 Euro for the taxi ride.  In hindsight, because of the location of our hotel, we should have just taken a taxi from the airport directly.  We stayed at the Rome Cavalieri, which is located north of the Vatican City up on a hill, providing some spectacular view of the city.

After getting a quick bite at the hotel as we waited for our room, we headed out to Vatican City.  Inattention in making payment again on our taxi ride there caused us to pay 15 Euro than it should be.  Both Jessica and James started to feel that like two bumpkins getting taken for a ride in a big city.

Nonetheless, we decided to make the best of what the Eternal City has to offer.  Our first stop was the St. Peter Square.  It wasn’t too crowded when we got there at about 3:30PM on a Friday.  After walking around the square and taking all the obligatory pictures, we decided to head into the basilica.  Going inside the church is free, and the line was fairly light.   However, the security is almost as tight as those at the airport.  Cash, coin and my belt set off the alarm as I went through.

The interior of the church is very big, with lots of nooks and altars on the side and a large front altar. The length of the church is as long as I have seen.  It is bigger than Notre Dame in Paris and Cathedral of Saint Mary in Seville, two of the bigger ones I have visited.  Coming out of the basilica, we went into the post office to get some Vatican stamps.  One thing Vatican City has learned from other tourist places is to place gift shops and stores around the exits to entice people to peruse and purchase souvenirs.

After buying the stamps, we started walking to look for a gelato place.  There are numerous shops around St Peter Square and on Via Della Conciliazione as we walked along the streets. But Jessica wanted a ‘good’ one, i.e. where there is a long line of people waiting at the shop.  We didn’t see one, and we just walked around the area between Castel St. Angelo and the Vatican.  We saw some interesting shops and buildings. This is still a predominately tourist area, but it seems to have lots of locals as well.

After finding a gelato parlor to Jessica’s acceptance near Piazza del Risagimento, we sat in the Piazza as we ate the gelato while planning our next move. It was getting close to 6PM, so we started thinking of dinner options.  We didn’t find any “recommended” places in the area that aligned to Jessica’s taste, so we decided to just walk around to see if anything would look good to us.   We spend the next hour or so checking the local shops on and around Via Ottaviano, which feeds into the Piazza.  We found a trattoria that seemed decent a couple of blocks from the piazza.  It was a run of the mill restaurant, nothing fancy, just basic dishes.  James ordered spaghetti and Chicken Milanese while Jessica ordered vegetable soup and roasted chicken.  But we did notice that the food is a bit lighter than what we find in the States, in both portion size and also in the amount of sauces used, with just enough to give it the favor without overwhelming the food.

We braced ourselves for another round of taxi adventure as we decided to head back to the hotel. We went to a taxi stand at the Piazza.  Both the ride and the payment turn out to be uneventful this time.   After putting away our things and settling in, we started to watch Angels and Demons on the iPad, to see all the spots we may want to catch the next few days. (With limited English language TV options, this wasn’t a bad option.) But about half an hour into the movie, we both just kind of dozed off.

James got up early the next day with his jet lag; although Jessica was able to sleep through it pretty well.   James started doing things on the iPad in bed around 5am.  Even though the iPad can be fairly quiet, the screen can be bright in a dark room.  Anyways, after about an hour and a half of web surfing, James rested for an hour or so before getting up.

Jessica had arranged to meet up with her friend Lei and her husband Carlo late in the morning at the Trevi Fountain, who had came over from London to meet up with us that weekend.  We took a taxi down to that area a bit earlier to let us stroll around the area by ourselves.  In this area, you can see and feel the history of the city.  The narrow alley ways between the buildings and the local shops epitomize old Europe.  With all the people around the Trevi Fountain even at the early morning hours, it didn’t quite have the same quietness from what we recall from the movie Three Coins in a Fountain.  Nonetheless, it is still a spectacular place, both the fountain itself and the surrounding area. We took a big circle around the area and enjoy the nook and crannies that the neighborhood has to offer.

After meeting up with James’s friend and her husband around 11AM, we headed out from Trevi Fountain to the Pantheon, the oldest temple/church in Rome, built around the time of Christ.  The journey of getting there was as much fun as seeing the sites.  Carlo is a native Roman, so he was able to provide some tidbits on the little things we saw along the way.

The Pantheon has an oculus at the dome where it brings natural light inside.  Directly beneath the oculus are drainage holes that let the water flow out when it rains.  The Pantheon is still the world’s largest unreinforced concrete dome, and it is considered to be an architecture marvel. 
Inside, it holds the tomb of the first king of the reunified Italy and the last king as well.  After the fall of the Roman Empire, Italy was splintered into a number of self-ruling States, such as Florence, Venice, etc.  It wasn’t until the 18^th century that it was unified again.  The temple also holds the tomb of Raphael Santi, the fame Renaissance artist.  But unlike depicted in the Angels and Demons movie, he was brought there as soon as he died, rather than moved there at a later date.

From the Pantheon, we headed towards the Roman Forum and the Coliseum.  We went into a few small churches that were along the way as well as looking into some of the shops.  We went to a local coffee house that Lei had visited before.  As it was very crowded in the coffee house, we end up deciding to just buying a few bags of coffee beans and snacks to take with us.

We walked by Il Vittoriano (also called the Monument), which is distinguished not only by its size, but by its whiteness, which is very different than the color of most structures in the city.  This is a monument to Italy’s first king, Vittorio Emanuele II and home to the tomb of the unknown solders.   We headed to the Chiesa Di Santa Maria in Aracoeli, which is located up a staircase near the Monument.  Despite that the church was closed during the lunch hour, the platform in front of the church offered a great vantage point of the city.

After taking a number of photos, we decided to go to one of the nearby restaurants for lunch.  We end up picking one that the menu seems agreeable to us all. During the meal, Carlo provided some background of meals in Rome, the various type of courses, how the courses are usually taken, the long lunch breaks (kind of like Spain) and the typical family meals.  We talked of the difference of how bread and salad is served and used between Italy and the US.  We each ordered a different type of dish:  pasta, risotto, fish and meat, along with two vegetables.  We shared a bit of our dish with each other and thoroughly enjoyed the food and the company.

After the meal, we started walking toward the Forum.  Right behind the Monument, there is a little hill which provides a view down into the old ruins of the Roman Forum.  I have seen pictures of the place lots of times, but this is something that one can only truly appreciate when it is seen in person, to imagine what Rome was like 2,000 years ago.  It is also interesting that today’s Rome is literally built on top of the old Rome.  This is why every time some place is excavated, there could be discoveries of the past.  We didn’t walk down onto the Forum ground itself, but a guided tour could probably bring even more history into light.  Across the street from the Forum is the old Roman market place, which is another ancient site worthy a visit.

The hill that we were on also offers some great photo vantage point of the Forum and beyond, including the Coliseum.  The Coliseum, located down the street from the Forum, looks majestic from a distance.  The most interesting part of the place is all the “pot holes” around the outside of the Coliseum, looking as if mortar rounds have bombarded the place.  But in fact this is where people over the years have punched out pieces to use for their own needs.   Of course, the missing upper part of most of the Coliseum is where the stones were cut to build other buildings.  The line to get in was long, so we decided not go in.  We just walked around the outside a bit and peeked into the entry ports.

We next visited the Palatino, the Beverly Hills of ancient Rome.  There was no line to get in here, but we decided to pass and see other places.  From Palatino, we walked toward where Circus Maximus was located.  Today, aside from some remnants at one end, this is just a big open area with a dirt path and grassland.  What surprised me is the length of the place.  It looks to be over two football field long, which seems to be much longer than what it looked like on screen in the movie Ben Hur.  But then for chariot races, it has to be big to let the horses run.

We proceeded toward the river and stopped at Isle Tiberina, a small island in the Tevere River.  The main structures on the island today are a church and a hospital.  But next to the church, there was a Gelato shop with a long line when we got there, just the kind of place Jessica likes.  We each got a small cone.  And while we ate the gelato, we enjoyed the quiet scenery and small talks.

By the time we were finished with the gelato, it was just past 5PM.  Lei and Carlo has some family stuff to attend to.  After parting, we headed out toward Trastevere.  We took a loop around the area over the next hour and a half.  We saw Santa Maria Church and a number of small shops and restaurants in the area.   We probably should have picked a restaurant there for dinner, but instead I suggested we headed toward Plaza Navona on the other side of the river.   However, by the time we reached Plaza Campo d. Flori, a few blocks short, we just wanted to sit down.  There were a few restaurants there, and we picked one that has soup on its menu.  We ordered some bruschetta, a seafood soup and a pizza.  The bruschetta was just some meat slapped on an ordinary toast.  The soup was a bread based variety that was very thick and not what Jessica had wanted.  The pizza was ok but nothing special.  When we asked for the check, the soup wasn’t on the bill, but then on a 29 Euro bill, the change from 50 Euro note was only 11 Euro.

The restaurants at the Novano Plaza seemed to look to have better menu items.  Of course, what’s on paper doesn’t necessary translate to reality all the times, but we may have been able to find something better if we had walked just a bit further.

The fountain at the plaza is where one of prime site shown in the movie Angels and Demons.  (In my judgment, it is a bit unlikely that what happened in the movie could have taken place without a lot of people noticing it.)  Anyway, after looking around the plaza, we found another gelato place for our dessert.  After savoring the gelato, we took a taxi back to the hotel.

Our first order of business the next day was to go to the train station and booked our train tickets to Florence in a couple of days.   After breakfast, we took the hotel shuttle to the city center.  The shuttle took a route through Villa Borghese, a ‘Central Park’ north of the city center that used to be part of vineyards, monasteries and noble estate gardens.   It remains one of few areas that have escaped the building boom of the city.  Driving through it, we see signs where the lake, amphitheatre and other activities can be found in the “park”.

After getting dropped off, we took a short subway ride to the Central Termini.  We bought our tickets in one of the kiosks.  It wasn’t too difficult to buy the tickets through the menu offering, although even under ‘English’ menu, there are some details only in Italian.  Walking around the station afterward, we realized that the main lobby was indeed very far from where we had exited when we arrived from the airport the first day.  If we had walked to the front of the station instead of exiting from the back, we would have found more transportation options.

Leaving the train station, we headed to the streets to walk around the area and intend to go toward Republica Square.   But we went in the wrong direction and headed  toward Plaza Santa-Marie Magglore instead.  It turned out to be not a bad diversion, as we saw some interesting shops and street scenes along the way and Santa Maaglore is a fairly good looking church.  After winding our way over, Republica Square didn’t turned out to be anything too special, but it has some neat Georgian buildings.

We then took another short subway ride to the Spanish Steps.  This is one of Rome’s most popular destinations for both tourist and locals.  When we arrived there, around noon, the place was packed with people, both at the plaza at the bottom of the steps and all the way to the top of the stops. As we walked around the area, we saw that the area is packed with name brand shops and restaurants.  We stopped to browse a few of the local shops, but didn’t find anything we end up buying.  Strolling along, really not a clue on the direction we were heading, we start thinking of a place for lunch.   We end up in a courtyard where a few restaurants were interspersed with shops like a small shopping center.   We picked one with vegetable soup on the menu.  Jessica ordered the soup and grilled Sea Bream, while James ordered lasagna and vegetables.  The portions were generous without being overly big.  All the dishes were prepared well, but the grilled fish was especially good.

After lunch we continued our stroll in an unknown direction and eventually reached People’s Square.  (This is the first of four landmark stops in Angels and Demons.)  The square has a big set of gates on one end, and toward the back on the other side toward the hills, there is a viewing platform.  We decided to walk our way up to that vista point.  Along the path up there, it winds its way through a couple of garden areas and a number of vendors also set up shops along the way.   The view up there has a perfect view of the western part of Rome, which includes the Vatican City and St. Peter’s Basilica.  We discovered that this hill is part of Villa Borghese.

On the way down the hill, we saw a DaVinci museum nestled along the side of the hill.  It was a small museum, but it has a number of replicas of inventions that DaVinci conceived along with copies and some originals of his writing and sketches.   Coming out of the museum, we started our way toward Castel St. Angelo.   We decided to cross the river toward the Prati district and worked our way westward toward the castle. It was a quiet neighborhood on a late Sunday afternoon.  We passed Palazzo di Giustizia, which is the Hall of Justice building; almost too beautiful to be a government building.    Between the Plazzo di Giustizia and Castel St. Angelo, there is a small park area along the river, where some vendors, including a small carrousel operated.

Castel St. Angelo is where the church kept its prisoners and stored much of its treasures once upon a time.  It is a castle.  There was an exhibition of art work related to the Garibaldi family when we visited.   One of the highlight of St. Angelo is the terrace, which offered a 360 degree view of Rome as you walked around it.  We decided to grab a table on terrace for a break of gelato and lemonade.  It was good to just sit back and soak in the view as we rested.   After the snack break, we then went up to the top of the castle for a higher panoramic view of the city.  With the late afternoon sun, it provided some interesting color background to our photos.

After leaving the St. Angelo, we walked toward St. Peter’s Square and then checked out the back streets behind the Vatican that we didn’t see on Friday.  There were many shops along Via Vitelleschl that leads to Piazzo Risorgimento.   It was approaching early evening on a Sunday, but the streets were still crowded.  But there weren’t many restaurants on this street, so we went back to the other side of Piazzo where we wandered on our first night.  We settled on one on a corner with a menu we liked.   We ordered a minestrone soup, Linguine with Clam sauce, a seafood rice plate that was off the menu and a vegetable side dish.   The two main dishes came on a large plate with plenty of clams and seafood respectively.  Again, there was just enough sauce to provide the taste without overwhelming it.

By the time we finished it was about 8:30PM; even thought it was Sunday, there were still plenty of people on the streets.  We took another stroll around the block to walk off our dinner and to enjoy and soak in the local atmosphere before heading back to our hotel.

The big event on Monday was to see the Vatican Museum.  It was recommended to go early as the line is always long.  We got there around 9:30AM, but the line is already wrapped around the block.  If we go with the normal line, it would take 3-4 hours before getting in.   The alternative is to join a ‘tour group’, which typically have scheduled entrance time.  The ‘tout’ says we can get in ‘right away’.  After deciding to go with the tour group, we still end up waiting about an hour or so before we got into the museum.   We essentially were added onto a tour group.

Once inside the museum, the guide did provide some interesting tidbits on the museum and in particular, background on the Sistine Chapel, which is one of the main reasons to visit the museum.  But there were quite a bit of other artifacts, painting, sculptures, etc. and the unfortunate part is the ‘tour’ seemed to move very fast through to get to the Sistine Chapel.

Inside the Sistine Chapel, it was packed with people, both standing and on the bench along the walls.  This is where the College of Cardinals meets to select the pope.  But the reason just about everyone comes to see is what is up on the ceiling and along the wall:  The mosaic that Michaelangelo painted there.  To study the details, you can probably stay there all day.   We stayed about 15 minutes and then headed out.  We went back to see more of the museum, spending about another hour there.

We left the museum close to 2PM.  We went to a restaurant near the museum that has been recommended in one of the guide books.   We went with basic items:  Spaghetti, salad, vegetable soup, etc.  After all the time spent in the museum, the food hit just the right spot for us.

After lunch we went back to St. Peter’s Square to meet up with Lei and Carlo again.  We stopped at a Gelato shop to grab another cone for dessert on the way.  The Square seemed a bit busier than Friday afternoon when we first visited.  The line going into St. Peters were much longer.

We decided to walk the ‘back way’ along the hills from Vatican City toward Piazza Garibaldi and then work our way down to the Trastevere area. As we started to ascend up the hill, it started to drizzle a bit.  The four of us seemed to be the only people on the road; in a way, it was almost a serene and peaceful walk along a road that was lined with gated housing estates.  Despite the rain, we were able to enjoy the view down toward the city as we ambled up the hill.   At the Piazza Garibaldi, it offers another view of the Rome down below.  As we started down toward Trastevere, we ran into a few monuments, which we never quite figured out what they were.  Although we could kind of figured out the year of some of these things were completed by the years scribed (in Roman Numerals of course).

When we reached the streets of Trastevere, we looked around at some of the stores.  We went into a local store that sold cheese and meat.  There were wheel size Romano cheese and a number of other local cheese varieties.  Carlo bought some cheese to take back to London.  We also tried some sample baked Ricotta which was better than what I had expected.   Visiting these kinds of stores is what makes exploring new places interesting.  We continued to walk around the area that we didn’t see previously, looking in stores and checking out churches along the way.  There was even an American University in that area.

As darkness fell, we decided to pick in a restaurant there for dinner.   With so many, selecting one is also not easy.   With this being our last night in Rome, we want to have a good meal.   After scanning a few menus, we picked one that seemed to have a good balance of dishes and price.   After going back forth between risotto, fish and pasta, James selected the Seafood Fettuccine.   Jessica selected the steam Sea Bass.   Lei had Gnocchi (a dumpling dish), while Carlo had another pasta dish.  All four dishes were good, but the sauce of James’ seafood Fettuccine probably put it as the best of the four.  And just as good were the two desserts we split, a perfect ending to a good meal.

The next morning, after breakfast, we went up to roof terrace of the hotel for a view and some pictures.  It was windy and overcast, but it offered yet another spectacular view of the city.  It gave us a chance to look at all the places we had went these past few days, and the places we didn’t get a chance to see.   As we headed out to the train station to go to Florence, we knew that we need to return to the Eternal city for more exploration.