Switzerland and France

Switzerland and France came after Scotland! Katie and I had a bit of a rough time making it across the Channel - we didn't realize until a little too late that you have to make reservations for tickets in advance. Oops! So instead of going through Paris, we took a roundabout trip through Brussels. 

Switzerland was beautiful! Everywhere looked like a photograph. We stayed in Lauterbrunnen, a small ski town near Interlaken.

The view out our window! AMAZING!

The first day, we walked up to Isenfluh. After spending all day walking on the West Highland Way, the hike felt quite short. It was beautiful, with patches of snow still on the ground, and the mountain air smelling so fresh and whole. I was amazed at how steep the mountains were, with houses nestled into the flat parts of the mountain, and in the valley below.

The woods were amazing, different from Scottish woods and English woods. Once we reached the village, we sat for awhile looking across the valley. I am in love with Swiss houses - the brown against the green is an amazing contrast! The houses look like they belong on the landscape.

We spent most of our two days wandering around Lauterbrunnen, enjoying the houses and scenery, and marveling at the majesty of the Alps.

The day we left Lauterbrunnen, the clouds burned off and we could see the tips of the mountains against the blue.

And we were off to Nice, France! Lots of time in the train. We arrived in Nice late at night, and it was a bit scary after dark, so it wasn't until the next morning that I realized what a beautiful spot we had come to. On April 24th, I touched the Mediterranean sea for the first time! The water is incredibly blue, and you could see so far down. We sat on the pebbly beach, I got sunburned, and it was a lovely, lovely day.

The water was quite chilly, so we spent most of our time looking at it instead of swimming in it :)


The bus and tram system around Nice was very well organized, so Katie and I made a few day trips. My favorites were Eze and Monaco.
Eze was a delightful medieval city full of narrow and windy streets. We wandered around for a few hours, and had lunch looking out over the water in a garden where we realized later we weren't supposed to be....oops. But it made for a wonderful lunching spot!

In Monaco, we wandered around the harbor, which houses one of the most exclusive yacht clubs in the world, we were told.

We both tried Pistachio Gelato (so delicious.....), wandered around streets where Grace Kelly had walked, and saw the famous Casino. My favorite part of the city was the old area near the palace - the colors of the buildings were beautiful.

We stayed for several nights in France, switching between days by the water and day tripping. A wonderful time, but too short! After Nice, Katie and I said goodbye, and I headed back to London.
Nice was fun; quite the contrast from the UK and Switzerland! ....and so nice and warm :)