Back in the UK........

We had an 'interesting' journey home.....I think we'd been spoilt by the Swiss efficiency of how expertly they join up their travel systems and how well they organise everything.  Our journey home started after we'd had a last walk around Zermatt, and after Sue had bought her long sought after cuckoo clock!  The first she had bought was a fridge magnet, which I might add, sounded a bit like a strangled duck and nothing at all like a cuckoo!  Fancy that going off evey time you pass the fridge!  Anyway, she managed to find a 'real' one that didn't sound half bad and even had an echo.......oooooo.  Well, cases and backpacks filled with Swiss chocolate, we made our way to the station for the train to Visp and then to Geneva.  As usual, the train pulled up well before time and our carriage stopped right where we were standing.  On we jumped and settled down to wait for the off.  Changing at Visp was a doddle too as by now we had sussed the system and were seasoned Swiss travellers!

Geneva, however, was a bit of a damp squib, in more ways than one!  Very disappointing apart from the famous fountain in the lake.  And...it started to pour!  We snuck into the nearest bar to have a well deserved beer and wait for the rain to stop......it didn't.....  So we found a nice little restaurant and tucked in to Lasagne, chicken and burgers washed down with more beer......to lift our spirits you understand!

We decided to hit the airport and get in the dry, so off to yet another train and about a ten minute journey for the flight home.............oh dear.................got to the airport.  Checked in, dropped off the baggage only to be told the flight was delayed from 9:40pm until 11pm!  Typical, we thought, after all this Swiss efficiency good old Easyjet strikes again.  But.....it turned out the desk staff had got it wrong and confused our flight with one to Liverpool not Luton.  Well done to Sue for spotting the mistake else we could have hopped back on the train into Geneva and missed the flight altogether!  We did have a delay, but only about 40 minutes and we managed to make most of that up during the flight.  By the time we had got off the plane and got through the passport check our bags were on the carousel, so maybe easyjet's not so bad after all......

Check back soon, for more updates as there's still lots to tell, and we'll pick out our favourite and non favourite places and tell you why......

Homeward Bound

Well.....what a fantastic place Zermatt is!  We have had THE most fantastic time and seen sights that make your jaw drop.  We have decided we would like to (no....will HAVE to) come back again.  Richard and myself are talking of maybe driving over here and exploring some of the mountainous tracks in the Land Rover.

I am having dreadful trouble with the netbook at the moment trying to get connected to WiFi.....so, I may not be able to upload any photos today..BUT...don't stop visiting the blog just yet, as it will be fully updated and finished off with LOADS of pictures to make your jaws drop too!  We even caught sight of the Matterhorn, though sadly not the top as it was covered in cloud.

We are now off to breakfast, then the station to board a train to Geneva.  The trip will take about 4 hours but will leave us enough time to look around the Lake, get some food and generally spend the rest of our cash before heading off to the airport for the flight home......

Sadness at having to leave this wonderful place, tinged with looking forward to seeing our dogs again.

Sue quote for yesterday: " You've got buy something haven't you" and "I want it so I'll ave it!"
Stay tuned everyone............

DAY 7- Zermatt

Hi all, suffering a bit here with the altitude.  Joey and I are very dizzy.  I expect after a good nights sleep we will feel much better.  The journey here was long, around 6 hours.  Although the journey had its highlights we all agreed that the Bernina Express trip was the best......but fair to say we haven't ended the trip yet as we have to get to Geneva.  There are no cars allowed here.  We were picked up from the station by a small electric vehicle, a bit like a closed in golf cart.  I will get a picture of one tomorrow, too much rain tonight!

Our hotel room is lovely and over looks the Matterhorn, but we can't see the top yet as it is covered in mist.  Tomorrow we plan to go higher into the mountains and seek out a good view or two, we just hope it is clear.  Such a shame to get all this way and not be able to see anything.  The cable car we had planned to take is unfortunately shut for maintenance...........such is life!

Some pictures of the sights on the way up.  It was very difficult to take photos as the reflection on the glass was terrible, also the trees kept getting in the way!  So apologies for the poor quality....

Fran taking a picture of the inside of a tunnel!!  She lost the job of chief photo taker after this....

Over one of the viaducts....the front of the train disappearing into yet another tunnel..

Fran a bit confused about which glass or knife and fork to use!!  Shortly before the waiter tipped a whole glass of wine over the table and Joey's trousers....

And, finally, for today.....a lovely view....
See you all tomorrow for some more updates...

Day-Can't Remember but we are off to Zermatt

Guten Morgan Miener Damen und Herren.  We had a fantastic day at the top of a glacier yesterday.  It was so wierd standing there in t-shirt and shorts in 6ins of snow.  Never mind the wind that nearly blew you off your feet.  We got the cable car back down and then walked a little of the way back to St Moritz instead of catching the train.  Of course, we found a hotel with a bar on the way......we then had a wander around St Moritz, doing mostly window shopping as everything is far too expensive to buy...unless you have a swiss bank account.

We, of course, all met up in a bar...we were supposed to be going to the coop to buy some wine to take back to the rooms but...there happened to be a bar next door so we were distracted.......several pints later we decied we need some food as we'd had nothing since breakfast.....but translation somehow got lost and we ended up with another pint.

I have to go now as we are off to catch the train....more later...............

St Moritz- Bloggen Missen cozen Pissen!

Hi all, had a great day, once again, but spent far too long in the bar.  Off to bed as early start in the morning for trip to Zermatt.  Will fill you in later and post some stunning photos too.  Night

Ermmm, DAY 5- Onwards to St Moritz

Another fantastic, amazing day!  Words cannot describe the views we have seen today and the pictures don't do them justice either.  If you do nothing else, then please take a ride on the Bernina Express.

We started our day with a leisurely breakfast, this time without swimming in Fran's orange juice.  A stroll down to the station to pick up some filled rolls, beer and things for our journey, and then on to the coach for the 3 hours to Torino in Italy.  We had to laugh as Sue had to sit next to a travel sick nun all the way........it was the quietest she'd been all trip!




We all found ourselves struggling to stay awake  after the initial 10 miles or so.  The gentle rock of the coach was sending us off to lullaby land.  We stopped at a coffee shop about half way through the trip for a drink and a wee break.  Somehow, don't ask me how.....Richard managed to find his way into the ladies toilet and caused a right rumpus with the German contingent when he stepped out to wash his hands!  Off we traveled, over the border into Italy and alighted at Tirano station where we were to pick up the Bernina Express train.


We had about an hour to wait so we tucked into our picnic in the sunshine. Before we knew it it was time to board the train and we were off.  This picture shows one of the wonders of the BE as it first traveled under this viaduct and the OVER it.  It was to be the start of many circular tracks up the mountain in order to gain height quickly.  But it did mean we could get some good shots of the train we were traveling in.

The other peculiar thing about the trip was that the train actually traveled along the road at various points.  It was so weird to see cars and trucks overtaking us and traffic stopping to let us pass over junctions.

The sights that were to follow are astounding and a full photo album will follow.  It is very slow uploading and while everyone else is pushing up the zzzzz's I'm sitting here writing the blog and not getting to sleep until midnight.....not complaining  tho, just saying it takes a l-o-n-g---time.  It will be a lot faster to upload everything when we get back.  In the mean time I will give you a small selection of what we have seen.  Please follow the photostream link below to see more of everything.

We climbed higher and higher, and higher.  And the scenery just got more and more stunning.












Part of the glacial lake at the top of the Bernina Pass, some 10,000ft up.

And some of the glacier itself.....brrrrr.


We are now down to 8,000ft in the hotel Hauser in St Moritz.  I had kangaroo steak and salad for tea,.....there was horse on the menu, but.....no, I couldn't face it.  The others had a combination of rossti potatoes, sausages and cheese, and jolly nice it was too.  After tea we went for a walk around town, but the bars all close at 10, and I think the days travel and sights and the altitude had got to us so we ambled back to bed....well some of us.....!  Me?  I'm off too now as my feet and ankles have swollen to three times their natural size and I need to get them up. A combination of travel, altitude and not drinking enough water has caused it I think.  However, what a cracking day!  Night for now, see you all tomorrow for more blogging.

DAY 4 - Lugano- our 31st Wedding Anniversary

What a fantastic day!  WOW!!!  Lugano is lovely.  We had a very substantial breakfast.....especially Sue(t) who is in the mind set of 'I've paid for it, so,I'll 'ave it!'.  Sausage, egg, croissants, jam, rolls with cheese and ham, there was no stopping her....she who doesn't 'do' breakfast.  We all had our fill and Fran managed to start the day by sharing a whole glass of orange juice with the table......the chair.....me.....and anything else that got in the way and then said to the waitress that 'we' had had an accident!  Oh..that must be the Royal WE...the waitress (who happened to be American, retorted " typical English, making a mess"!!  We all had a jolly good laugh...but, as the saying goes 'you had to be there'.

We checked our travel arrangements for tomorrow to make sure we knew where we had to pick up the coach and made our way down to the town with a map from reception.  We had a lovely walk around and stopped at a Lido, for coffee.  This is where Joey got told off by the staff for wearing her shoes on the boardwalk......apparently totally missing the sign which said NO SHOES.........

We decided to head towards the funicular railway and head upwards...which turned out to be a  fantastic idea with some magnificent views.








Fran, Joey and Sue gave a splendid impression of hear no evil, see no evil, and speak no evil,which was especially good for Jo as she is scared of heights and Sue, because it was the only time since breakfast she had stopped talking!!







This track was almost vertical...but the trip was worth the spectacular views from the top at 3000ft.

We made our tired way back to the hotel where we had a well earned dip in the pool.  This was interrupted by a thunder storm so we retired to our rooms for a quick shower before meeting in our room for drinkies and Swiss chocolate to celebrate our anniversary.  I have,in fact, omitted to say how hot it is here, even though we have had some rain, it is still comfortable to walk around in t-shirt and shorts.  It is very humid.

We finished the evening in a small local restaurant, serving traditional home cooked food.  Calves liver, country style chicken, veal and risottos washed down with red and white wine served in ceramic bowls rather than  glasses.  After returning to the hotel on another funicular railway we went for a nightcap in the bar with more wine and beer!

Well, it is now 11:27 pm and I think I should retire to bed, we have an early start in the morning to join the Bernina Express and make our way to Tirano and then on to St Moritz.  I will upload more pictures when time and WiFi allows.  We are having a cracking time, and there is still so much to tell you, like the enormous sausages and hams we saw in the shops today, and the chocolate shops that you could die for with wall to wall chocolate sold by the kilo!  The cake shops, the clothes and watch shops and the jewellry shops that do not price anything and have bouncers on the doors!  All will have to wait I'm afraid untill I have my beauty sleep.  Night all.  See you in the morning...Lugano is a great place to visit....but.....bring lots of money!

More of Day 3. Luzerne to Lugano

The trip on the William Tell paddle steamer was excellent and the scenery stunning. Pictures will follow soon but the one here is taken from the steamer on the Lake.We were a little disappointed with the two course lunch....we were given a voucher for CHF 18.50, and most things on the menu were 24 or over, so this left little for a full meal. Luckily we had a fairly substantial breakfast so we only needed a snack. We had several beers, bottled, and at 4.90 Swiss Francs a shot it meant that if we had 3 each it would blow our meal ticket sky high. However, all was well, and although with food and drink we went a little over our allowance, the nice lady on board said we didn't need to pay any more. We will pass our comments on to the Swiss travel service so they can update their meal vouchers...perhaps.  The picture here was taken on board where we had our meal.........very nice...dating from 1929.

We are currently on the William Tell Express train on our way to Bellinzona and eventually Lugano. The weather has changed considerably for the worse. We left Lake Luzerne in brilliant hot sunshine, and now up in the mountains there is low cloud and it is raining. Perhaps it will stop by the time we need too change trains.15.09.

22:04...well another day of travel!!  No hitches, changing trains was a doddle and some of the scenery from the train was stunning once again.  The weather was still a little on the bleak side but we passed many large waterfalls tumbling from the mountains and could see lots of snow on them tha' hills!  We had no trouble finding our next hotel where we will stay tonight and also tomorrow night, giving us a free day to explore Lugano in more detail.  We took a short walk down to the lakeside and town......which is quite steep and has a cable car to get you back up again!  Looking at the times of running we made sure that our return journey would not involve a breathless walk up the side of a mountain......however.............after eating a nice Itlalian meal of pasta and pizza 'lika mumma usta maka', we discovered the cable car was closed!  Oh no!  A voice in the distance called......'over here'......it was a bus driver, sitting waiting patiently to take the abandoned passengers up the side of the hill.  So....our first cable car ride turned into a bus ride instead, but we all felt jolly lucky we didn't have to walk!

Day 3...I think!

Loosing track of the days already!  Today we board the William Tell Paddle Steamer across lake Luzerne to Fluelen.  Then a train ride to Laguna.  More of that later.

We had a fabulous night last night.  After having a mediocre meal at an extortionate price, we found a small, smoky (yes, no rules out here it seems) bar where the locals play a very strange game of cards with even stranger playing cards! After a bit of negotiating we managed to borrow a pack....mmmm...we've taken some pics of them so will get them posted soon.  They consisted of Kunig (King), Ober (we named Queen), Under( our Jack), a strange 10 and the rest of the pack up to 6.  Each suit was an acorn, a flower, shield and.....orbs.  But we had a great time making up our own games of gin and trumps.  We laughed so much the whole place thought we were mad and wondered why we could make their local card game to funny!

I think my internet connection is about to time out, so will leave this  now and write some more when we next hit a wifi hotspot.  We are having a great time! xx

Day 2- Lucerne

Hi all you intrepid followers!  We made it to Lucerne......in our 2nd class 1st  class carriage!  Yes, we were supposed to be in 1st class but completely missed the two carriages at the front of the train and ended up in the last carriage in 2nd class.  However, all was well as we were the only ones in there apart from one brave fellow traveler!  Lucerne is lovely, much better than where we stayed last night in Basel, where we witnessed some poor soul getting a kicking outside the train station and when we walked down the road every one of the shop front windows looked like they had been attacked with a hammer or a hand gun!!

Today we wandered slowly around Lucerne taking in the sights.  First we had breakfast/brunch in a small bar where we ordered what we thought was sausage, eggs and whatever it was we couldn't pronounce on the menu.  Only to find out that we had coffee, croissants , bread and jam!  Oh well, the joys of traveling. Nothing is in English and they seem to speak a lingo all there own which we have christened swingo or swerman as it is a combination of German and something completely different!

We are getting by and wondering what dinner has in store for us!  We struck lucky last night and went for a pizza......ordered pasta....but it was the best that any of us had ever had so we were well chuffed.  We went into an Irish bar today......yes I know, not very Swiss, but the beer was cheap and we had three ltrs of the stuff, before getting back to the hotel and now everyone is snoozing while I update the blog.I'm having trouble uploading the pics we took today, but hope to have this sorted soon.  In the meantime, here is a picture of the river through Lucerne which running mighty fast!

On Our Way!!

Well, we are on our way at last. Picked up on time at 06:00 by minibus, got to Cambridge an hour early so caught an earlier train to Kings X.  Presently sitting having a lovely coffee after gin and tonics on the train!!  Care of Sue, who kindly provided glasses and lemon! 

Pre-Trip Nerves......

You're lucky! I have a wedding to oversee and have to ring the bells as well...take the dogs to Nick's to be looked after, finish packing, water the plants.......have a nervous breakdown worrying whether I've forgotten anything....like the tickets or my passport.....stuff Richard in his rucksack......have a drink......have another drink......have some beer, then another drink....oh...go to bed....get up and then......and THEN...................... GO ON HOLIDAY!!!!!! JB

Well its nearly upon us

Well its nearly upon us and I have produced our currency convertor on the back of my business cards. They are durable & lightweight - so not too heavy for Bushy to carry but easy for Sue to lose!!. Have got a hockey club hen do to fit in the day before i go so should be nicely relaxed for a 6.00am departure. Fran

Some Comments !!!!!

Chris - Enjoy, remember no beer is too expensive!


Teresa - I shall be following your Blog with interest, particularly as there is a comedy element, already evident in your initial musings!

Nicky - £10 a pint…ouchhhh! You’ll be on detox then!!!!!

Kus – Dark chocolate please!