Day 15 - 2013 Europe Trip - Fin

8:04 PM AirplaneFoodCritic 2 Comments

To quote Lloyd Christmas, I hate goodbyes!
I hate goodbyes!
I don't know when the bf fell asleep but when I woke up about a half hour before our 3:30am alarm, I found the bf already up, unable to sleep. We decided to get an early start so perhaps we might sleep on the long flight back. We dressed, said out goodbyes to the dark and silent lake and dragged ourselves and luggage up to the car. One might have thought there was a live nuclear weapon in my duffle the way I was treating it. Am I allowed to joke like that? It's true though, it had all our glass and breakable gifts in it. We packed the old Mercedes up and drove back to Geneva. The city is a little confusing as all cities are with the construction, unparallel streets and one way roads. I almost forgot to get gas and did a really crazy, four-in-the-morning-up-the-wrong-way-street-u-turn of madness that actually got a honk out of what must have been the only other car in that city at that time of what I can only call night. I filled up, cause, you know, I'm an expert now. We were a little surprised by ourselves that we found the car return place solely by using signs. I had some confusion about what to do then. We rented from Auto Europe but the documents say Avis. I parked the car in an Avis spot and dumped the key into their drop box. I also left the registration and stuff in the glove. I have no clue what I am actually supposed to be doing. I got a wee charge on my credit card of $200 which tells me they found the car.......and possibly the scratches I put on the rearview mirror after hitting the construction sign....ahem. I'll call and find out more with that soon.

I was nervously singing which the bf informed me that it was far too early for that. I want The Smith's "I wanna go home, I don't want to stay...." Some people just don't appreciate the finer things in life I guess. We got to the terminal, checked in after a couple disagreements with the computer and ditched two of our bags, leaving me with my heavily guarded duffle and his backpack. I tried to find somewhere to get my tax return papers looked at but no booth was manned at that ungodly hour of the morning. We shuffled our way onto the plane and had no events to Frankfurt. Our bags were checked all the way through to San Francisco so we just had to find our connecting flight. I also found the tax return people and managed to get back about $60 on some of our big purchases. Yay! Made me feel like a big girl, taking care of stuff like that. Plus, I like free money. We saw we, once again were not sitting together. In fact, we were about thirty seats away from one another. I knew the flight was full and I remember the last time, they couldn't do anything to help, but I had time so I went to the counter and asked. The woman scratched her chin and said that would be very difficult. About a thousand key taps later she did it! We got on the plane, me guarding the duffle like it was the crown jewels. I eased the duffle into the overhead compartment then quickly padded it with the multiple jackets I was wearing to make it look too full for other bags. That worked too!

We were on a roll. But all good things must end and a man walked up, carrying not one, but two toddlers in either arm. He was bringing his adopted twins from Africa to their new home, eleven hours away in San Francisco. And he was doing it right next to us. These kids were on the last leg of their thirty hour journey and we got to spend it with them. I mean, all things considered, these kids were pretty good. The DAD was amazing. He was all alone, taking care of these two squirmy, confused, unhappy campers. Things were manageable for the first five hours but then those twins were DONE. No sleeping for anyone on that plane. The shrieks were loud and in unison. After that, the kids decided to mingle with the rest of the passengers to varying receptions.
Meanwhile, the bf had given me the aisle seat while he shushed his six foot seven frame between me and the window guy. He was alright with that scenario until the guy on front of him decided to play beat the guy behind you with your reclining seat. So, basically, all the usual fun stuff you experience on a long flight, or a flight of any time frame for that matter. It is just amplified on linger flights.
We landed and were cattle's through the motions. We must have showed that little form we filled out to ten different agents. It shows that we don't have any steaks or snails with us. By the time we got to the last dude, the bf was sleeping where he stood. I handed mine over to him but the bf could have sworn he had given it to the last guy. The smart ass TSA agent said something about him being the first in ten billion people to do that and to check his pockets. Sure enough, it was there. The bf, in his grogginess, said....sorry to ruin your day. Well, apparently you should NOT say that to an NSA agent. The guy grabbed him, pulled him back and searched him. He asked for his passport. He tried to give him a hard time but that must have been the extent of what he could legally do to the bf and he let him go.
We waited an eternity for our bags. I saw mine and reached for it but the man downstream from me would not budge to help so he got a face full of my suitcase as I hauled it up. Oh yeah...it all was going smoooooth. We went out the exit doors and easily found the airporter waiting area as we watched our bus drive away. This means that we will be waiting the maximum time for the next. The bf hooked the precious duffle around the handle of his bag and we sat down. I hear a CRRRACK!!! I turn my head and there, laying on the cement sidewalk is my yellow duffle bag laying, suffering under his fallen, too heavy bag. I was not happy. Not at all. I made a few how could you remarks then did a verbal assumption of which things I think must have broken. The bf checked. Nothing had broken. Everything was just fine. Phewwwwwww!
We suffered through traffic across the city knowing that our little pup was so close! Mom picked us up from the airporter. We looked out the window and saw her in the car, unloading the little guy. I was bursting. He was so happy to see us. He was smiling and his little corgi nub of a tail was wagging his whole body. It was wonderful. He was so soft and he smelled so good. I need my doggy fur huffs. I think I will go hug him now.

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Day 14 - 2013 Europe Trip - Last day of the trip - France and a visit to CERN

10:00 AM AirplaneFoodCritic 0 Comments

I got up at the usual time to find a miserable bf. He really can not sleep with any light at all. This room had tons of light, too. He decided to skip breakfast so I, once again, went alone. I was sleepy and did not know what I was doing. The waitress asked what I wanted and I said tea. She was a little put off and asked what kind, like black, green....? I said black was fine and found a place to sit after wandering around a little searching for a buffet that didn't exist. The lady finally saw my room key and realized what was going on.

This wins for cutest breakfast of the trip!
She brought me the sweetest breakfast. It was a cute big tray with cows all over it. On the tray were two mini fondue pots, one with butter and cherry jam, the other with berry yogurt. In the center of the tray was a plate of a bunch of cheeses in a starburst pattern. In the center of that was some cold bacon with a Swiss flag stabbed in the middle. I also got a basket of sliced bread that I ate in entirety. I had orange juice and the tea to finish off a wonderful breakfast.

When I returned to the room, I found the bf groggily awake. We packed up and headed out. I had paid for the hotel the day prior so I just returned the key. The lady came running after me. I did not know that breakfast needed to be paid for. Twelve dollars later, we were in the car, ready to drive the hour to Geneva to tour the CERN campus.
On the steps of CERN!
We missed the only guided tour of the day which was at 10:30 am. It was alright though since there is plenty to see for free. We spent a good three hours looking at displays, interacting with experiments and watching videos. I found a few cute things to buy in the shop. I bought us both little CERN pins for our German hats and I got myself a cute pink top that shows a collision array.
In the CERN collider tunnel.
It was lots of fun and TONS of information. There were two campuses to look at, both with plenty of hands on things to do. One had a room of audio answering scientific questions like parallel universes and dimensions. It also had a room where you can recreate breakthrough experiments done in the past. For example, you can prove that electrons have a negative charge. They even have a sign that says you are welcome to as the reception for paper and pencil to do your equations. Oh boy! Get out of my way! No, I didn't do the calculations, but I did turn lots of dials. The other venue was still under construction and was a building shaped like a huge wooden sphere.
More CERN stuff to see.
It was dark as we entered. The room was playing soothing, futuristic music and was filled with white orbs of varying sizes. Inside some were original pieces of equipment like the first internet router or modem or something. Then, some orbs were chairs. Other orbs were interactive with projections of images on them that you could touch and manipulate.  We grabbed a snack as we left at around three pm and then drove the fourth five minutes to Yvoire, France, where we would stay the night.
The view from our little hotel room balcony in Yvoire.
Yvoire is a super darling medieval town with, once again, no cars allowed. We found great handicap parking and walked down the the edge of a massive, beautiful lake. The air smelled of cool marine air as it brushed across our overheated cheeks. We wound through very old stone buildings, down cobbled stone streets and to The Hotel Du Port. What a beauty this place is!
Our hotel, Hotel du Port.
We checked in and got room three. It has french doors that open to a carpeted patio and a table an chairs. The cool, perfumed air wafted into the room. It was well welcome too, as the temperature was upwards of 26°C and we needed a cool down. I ordered a bottle of wine to be sent to our room for us to enjoy as we took on the daunting task of packing up all our gifts. A long, elegant, blue bottle was delivered in an ice filled champagne bucket. I was not expecting such a lovely bottle. I wish I could have kept it but not so much after I glanced over to the bed that was covered with things we picked up in the last two weeks. We sat on the patio, held hands, drank wine and really enjoyed ourselves for a little bit. After one glass we tackled the seemingly impossible task. I had the foresight to pack a rolled up duffle bag. I packed the duffle with all our fragile objects. It is kind of fun to go over our gifts one more time. We saw our hand blown vases, rock salt candle holder from the salt mines, my awesome tracht style top, and plenty of gifts for friends and family. It all went surprisingly smooth. The bf bought loads and loads of chocolate for everyone he knows and I am sad to say that it had ALL melted in the car. He managed to save almost  all of it. He found a cool corner of the room and tried to flatten it out. I sure hope it turns out OK because chocolate, although abundant here, is really expensive! We out our dirty clothes in our regular bags that we plan to check at the airport and we put together our airplane outfits. I was pleased at the results but I was way too hot. We went outside and took a stroll, hand in hand, along the water's edge. We looked at some restaurant menus along the way but our hotel still looked the best and, luckily, we had half board again, so dinner at the hotel was included.
The medieval town of Yvoire.
We returned to the hotel for another glass of wine and a rest. The hotel provided some bath crystals for free so I took a semi cool bath. The crystals smelled wonderful and made me feel super soft. I wrapped myself in one of the provided big, white, fluffy robes and sat on the patio with the bf as the sun began to lower.
The view from our dinner spot.

We were getting a little sleepy so we thought it would be a good idea to fill our bellies and get some good rest. Our flight tomorrow is from Geneva, 45 minutes away at 6:45am. Gross, I know! I was super disappointed because I read that they are happy to serve guests a private breakfast on the balcony. We were going to have to miss that but we will return for sure. We were seated along the railing so we had an unobstructed view across the lake. The sun was blazing but it didn't take too long to dip below some puffy clouds giving my eyes a rest. The restaurant was very nice, fancy, even, like the rest of the hotel. We learned from Triberg to tell the restaurant that one of us is a vegetarian before to avoid any trouble. The waitress came to our table to discuss the vegetarian options which was really nice. He had some really good options and chose really yummy things I was almost jealous of. His first course was an asparagus mold that was creamy, a little foamy and cold. It was a little better, but not that much, than my cold white fish terrine with ratatouille. I ordered a Campari to start then a half bottle of local Viognier that went perfectly with the fish meal.
I got the favorite meal of the restaurant. So decadent, so good.
We noticed that everyone around us were ordering one particular meal so I was super excited to see that is what I got for my main course. I it obviously is popular. And for good reason! It was little strips of battered and fried white fish. It came with a side of fries. This alone would have been divine as the fries were perfect and the fish was so flavorful and the batter so light and balanced BUT lest we forget we are in France. The sauce that accompanied the dish defies all nature. It was both creamy-buttery and fresh-citrusy at the same time. How they did that and kept it smooth, I do not know. Any attempt I could ever make would end up in sour, runny curdles. Not the French. I think it is in their DNA or something. At first, I gently drizzled the butter delight over the fish. Then there was the occasional fork load dunk. Once I was down to a sauce-heavy misproportioned of food I went a little bonkers. I should never be given a small gravy boat, whatever the size. In the wrong hands those can be lethal and I am the wrong hands. I was eating french fry-butter soup by the end of my meal. No regrets though. I may have sweated a little butter the next day at the airport but that is a small price to pay for what my taste buds did tonight.
Veggie mousse, chilled to perfection.
Vegetable selection.
The bf? Oh he had only the most incredible array of salads placed in petal shapes around a center of fresh grilled vegetables. I can only recall a couple as I could not see across the table through the haze of butter but there was a lentil salad and a quinoa one. I'm sorry, I was blinded by sauce and can not remember many events after I was served. I do know that he was very pleased. For dessert the bf got a divine, perfectly crisped creme brulee. I ordered a meringue with a ball of blueberry sorbet and a ball of something, I forget, all covered in fresh cream. It was so good, I am forever shamed that I forget what the other boule was. Guess I have to go back!
Goodnight, Yvoire, A bientot!

We waddled up to our room. The sun, by this time was almost fully set so that it cast a deep amber hue across the water and the clouds had a dusting of pink. I took lots of photos as the the colors rapidly changed before our eyes. I had saved a glass each of the wine from earlier. We enjoyed one more romantic moment on our balcony before we retired to the bed. We set the trusty Xoom up and watched Dr. Katz episodes until I feel asleep.

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Day 13 - 2013 Europe Trip - Last day in Switzerland = Chocolate & Cheese!

2:24 PM AirplaneFoodCritic 0 Comments

The best sleep of the trip...likely a combination of leaving the patio door slightly open, those duvets are killer warm, a super comfy mattress, although we were still separated by the twin mattress ridges, and walking all over high hell and back as our hotel was practically on top of the Matterhorn. I had to convince the bf to come to breakfast because I didn't want to be alone again. Plus, I had taken most of their serving dishes bringing him breakfast yesterday and we told the cleaning lady to take a break so we had half the stuff in our room. We shared the same table with the stellar view up the valley to the perfectly clear sky and, yes, the 'Horn. This time there was a half a round loaf of cut it yourself wheat bread. I chopped off a thick hunk and, being the only person in the hotel who was eating meat, I snagged all the bologne and cured ham. I buttered that sucker and topped it all off with the meat. I then took a croissant, buttered the bottom and smothered it with three jams so I would have a different taste every few bites. That's how I roll. 
Yummy breakfast creation.
The bf made his usual brie and jam sandwich and we ate, not speaking. We stared at the mountain. That is what it is like up there. The Matterhorn has a sort of magical presence. When it peeks through the clouds, everyone stops, even the locals and workers, and we all stare. It forces your eyes to enjoy, to appreciate, so we obliged.
The proprietor, or host, I'm not sure, is a very kind, young surfer looking dude. He spoke great English and took great care of us. He does paragliding lessons on the side, something that the bf is pretty interested in so we got a brochure for next time. I might accidentally 'lose' it before then though. Hee hee. As we walked downstairs to check out, we came across the wonderful, super happy black lab. This time he was carrying an old shoe as a toy. We have played with a rubber pig and a ball in the past. We played a little with the shoe then went to the reception. The host was surprised to see his own shoe in the dog's mouth. I cracked up. Then he noticed pieces of his shoe in his office as this had been going on for a few minutes before we got there. Funny stuff. We checked out and, as he had promised when we first arrived, he drove us back down to the train station. 

Taking the hotelier's tiny, electric bus through town and to the train station.
We loaded up into the crazy little electric van that the locals use around Zermatt. As you may recall, there are no cars at all in this town. We got about ten meters when we got stopped by another little golf cart like thing that was parked in the middle of the tiny, tiny roadway. Our host called the number on the side of the cart after trying to find keys and trying to jump start it on his own. He also tried a lot of honking. The people on the other end of the phone line insisted that cart was on the other side of the town. After about ten minutes, some kids came out of one of the nearby buildings and we were on our very bouncy way. The quietness of the vehicles and the narrowness of the streets provided lots of entertainment as we frightened both people on the streets, as well as me as I feared hitting various objects and souls.
We had about twenty minutes before the next train took us to Tasch so we sat on a bench and transferred some music between our computers. As we sat I barely noticed a family walk by. A few minutes later I saw an unattended suitcase sitting right in front of us. I turned it over to the ticket guy and we boarded the train. After the ten or so minute ride we watched a family on the train with us freak out, we didn't have to speak Japanese to know it was their bag. We communicated to them where their bag was and went on our merry way. The parking ticket, for those of you who may be using this to help plan your own trip, was 29 Francs. Not the worst for two whole nights. We programmed our next destination and zoomed off into the heat.
Eating one of five all you can eat dishes of Raclette. See the man melting the cheeses behind me?
Along our drive today our car read as high as 26°C if you can believe that. I actually had to put on the A/C in the car. After an hour of driving we noticed a huge difference in both scenery and language. We were out of the Alps and into the French speaking portion of Switzerland. We arrived in the town of Sierre, home of Chateau du Villes, the masters of Raclette. I found this place on the internet when I looked up THE place to have the Swiss dish, Raclette. We got a lovey table outside where the sun was shaded by green, leafy trees and a soothing, cool breeze washed through. I ordered the raclette, my cheesed out bf got another kaseschnittel. Which, I might add, was smothered in cheese! He loved it. 
Kaseschnitte #3 of the trip!
I had five different Raclette cheeses from five different local regions and I was also allowed two extra from my favorites of those five. Raclette, for those who may not know, is a tangy semi hard cheese that is served by heating the whole wheel half under a heat source then scraping the melted part onto your plate. This is usually served with potatoes, cornishons ( little pickles) and cocktail onions. My meal came with all the fixins. My favorite was the second one I tasted because it was not too mild, and not too oily or thick. I asked for a sixth serving to be that then I had to call it quits or I may have fallen asleep on the road.
Next stop: Chocolate!
I practiced my French in my head as we drove the next hour fifteen to the next destination: a chocolate factory. Apparently, Nestle was started here in western Switzerland. The first chocolate factory in all the country is Cailler, who teamed up with Mr. Nestle to form a chocolate superstar. I won't go into the details although they are fascinating. We went on the English tour which was like walking through life sized dioramas that led you through the history of chocolate. 
Maintenant! Tout le temps!
At the end of the tour you are brought to a room where you can taste everything  they make pretty much. Did I mention that it is all you can eat?? Did I mention that I ate them all? Yeah, that's right, I ate every single sample available with the exception of one milk chocolate with coffee beans in it. I had already eaten the dark chocolate version of that and I just hate the taste of coffee. I managed to eat maybe thirty or more full sized chocolate chunks. We then bought some as gifts but I shall not share whom they are for.
I counted later on, I had something like 34 or 40 chocolates!!

I tasted every. single. one.

It took us minutes to drive on to the town of Gruyeres. This town is so precious as it perches on top of a mountain, surrounded by its ramparts. It's like we are staying in a medieval castle. No cars are allowed in the cobblestoned town so we ditched the car and hurried to see the HR Geiger museum and shop before they closed. Upon entering we were immediately wowed. 
Alien
The ticket counter is a massive, black, glossy alien-like bone structure. We bought the 25 Franc pair of tickets from the Swiss girl with sleeves and purple hair and were informed not to take photos. The first of several room was small and held some colorful acrylic paintings. Then, we entered a bigger room and were greeted by a life sized Alien statue hanging from the ceiling. It literally terrified me, even though it's obviously a statue. 
Alien Brain?
We had to take photos.  I snuck some of the sculptures, the bf just turned his video on and walked around with his camera around his neck. All sculptures have unbelievable detail and are made of various materials. All the art from the Alien movies were incredible. The paintings, the sketches and my favorites, the sculptures, all filled multiple rooms. 
Alien Hot Shoe!

I see you too!
His other art is mostly erotic involving aliens having sex in many ways and lots of naked female aliens. We are young, hip youths who are a member of an open generation. Still, we were a bit uncomfortable walking through parts of the museum. There was a French couple there too who found the erotic art quite the opposite what we did. They were making out full force in every room. We finished the tour and browsed the gift shop. Everything in there was 100 Francs or over. I would have loved to take home a statue, or even a print but we could not afford a thing. We crossed the street to the Alien Bar which is a functioning bar fully decked out in Geiger's style. 
A little bit of the Giger Bar in Gruyeres, Switzerland.
The ceiling is a giant alien spine and the tables were like spider legs. It really was like we were in the belly of an outer space beast. We took tons of pics but were not into the menu so we left. It was then I noticed the sign that said photos only for customers....oh well.
Gruyeres is another darling, cobblestone town where cars are not allowed. It is surrounded by ramparts. 
We went back to the center of the town and found the hotel. The whole town is a tiny village, surrounded by ramparts. There is one street that stretches the length of town and truncates at the chateau. The chateau is the castle which we never had time to visit....next time. I keep saying to the bf that it is a good thing that we have not been able to do everything on my schedule because that leaves plenty to do and a good reason to come back again and again. I attempted to speak French but kept mixing German in there to the reception. They were nice enough to speak English but only after they let me suffer a little. The woman showed us to our room that was so big, it could have been an apartment. In fact, I am convinced someone lives there and just gave it up because they were overbooked or something. There was one two person bed and one blanket on it. That is the first time this trip, I think, that we got to actually share a blanket and mattress. There was also two single beds if we needed them. The bathroom was through multiple doors, one could get lost in there.
We went down to get our things when we came across some sheep....my favorite animal. 
I ran into more sheep! It is a theme and a lovely good luck charm.
They were right next to a fence so I could touch a couple. One little guy started wagging his cute little tail when I pet him. I stuck my fingers into his wooly back. I was thrilled. Such cute animals! We brought the luggage from the car but the bf thought it would be a good idea to just bring his backpack. That turned out to be a mistake because he did not have his eye mask and there was nothing to stop the morning light coming through. I even woke up the next day to find him trying to sleep in one of the single beds because they were down a darker hallway. Poor fella. As hotel guests we got a ten percent discount at the store in front so we bought some things. I got myself a pear eau de vie and then we got our pup a Swiss leash (shhh don't tell him til we get back!) and us some wooden spoons. We spent some down time in our room for about two hours. I showered. The shower is level with the rest of the bathroom, separated by a curtain. The problem was that the drain backed up. I watched with terror as the whole front bathroom flooded. What to do? Nothing. We rested and let the bathroom dry out.
The view of the Gruyeres ramparts and the setting sun out the restaurant window.
We walked around to see the menus of the five restaurants in town. We chose the one with the best tasting green salad for the bf. It was so warm and balmy that everyone was eating outside along the main street. We went inside and found a secluded table with an unbeatable view down the hillside. We ate as the sun set right before us. 
The "Gruyeres Dinner", wine and soup and salad for the bf.
I ordered the Gruyere dinner. It started with cured meats, then cheese fondue and ended with raspberries....that ended up being strawberries cause they were out of raspberries, with a huge side of Gruyeres Cream. The cream is a cross between whipped cream and butter....closer to butter, actually. Really, I was eating pure butter. Oh so freaking good. The bf got a wonderful, loaded salad that he loved followed by a lemon ice cream cake that he also was really happy with. We b-lined it for the hotel and relaxed some more.
My dessert. Notice the beautiful inlaid wood table we are eating off of!

The bf's lemony goodness dessert.

The bf needed something from the car so I went with him because I wanted some fresh spring water that comes out of a fountain near the parking lot. We got what we needed when an old drunk Frenchman started giving me hella shit about parking in a handicap spot. I showed him my cane and the placard and he proceed to make all this fun of me by dancing around pretending he was handicap. I decided to screw it and walk away. It bugged me but not enough to stop me from falling right to sleep....I'm sure the Eau de Vie helped with that a little.
Goodnight, last night in Switzerland, and thank you for all the good times, and weather!

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Day 12 - 2013 Europe Trip - A Whole Day In Sunshiney Zermatt, Switzerland

1:25 AM AirplaneFoodCritic 2 Comments

Im not a professional photographer, it is the Matterhorn herself that is so photogenic! Again, a photo taken from our balcony while a gondola goes by!

I got up at the usual morning time, 8:30, and the bf said he wasn't going down for breakfast. I was concerned about him. He was either sick or upset about the whole losing his job while on a very expensive vacation thing. I went down by myself to let him sleep. A young man greeted me and explained we are the only guests staying here so the breakfast room was all mine. A sweet black lab came up to me. I was so happy to play with a dog that I spent all breakfast with him. I pet him, scratched him under his collar and even gave him belly rubs. Sure, my hand stunk like dog, but I was thrilled to have him keep me company. Him and the Matterhorn. 
Silly black dog was my new friend.

I have visited this town maybe four or five times and I think this is the most clear and majestic I've ever seen the mountain. It is literally breathtaking. I sat in a sunroom with totally unobstructed views of the Matterhorn, the valley and hillsides. I ate all the salami and bologne. I drank some oj  and peppermint tea. The young man was kind enough to let me take a tray with tea, a whole carafe of orange juice and a brie and jam sandwich I made for the bf.
Breakfast at the Hotel Bijou

When I arrived back at the room, I set the tray down and went to slip outside until the bf awoke. He stirred and called out my name so I came to his side. He was giggly. What? Well, during the night, he got the info from HR at Zynga. His severance package is so sweet that we are thinking about buying a house! Also, he already has a job offer to consider so he is better off....WAY better off than when we left to come on this trip. That is why he needed more sleep! He was so happy. What a morning.
We finished up breakfast on our big ol'  balcony and suited up for a hike up the mountainside. We immediately removed our jackets. It had to be close to 80F by the time we left at 11am. 
We hiked along the little path you can see along the right of the photo.
We hiked up The Matterhorn Trail for about an hour until we reached a gate. I thought it was the end of the trail but the bf noticed the gate had a sign asking to keep it shut. We crossed past the gate when I heard the unmistakable sound of livestock bells. They were more tinkly than cow bells. 
Sheep!!!
We rounded a corner and sure enough, sheep! My favorite animal! I climbed on top of a big rock where I could lay back and simultaneously enjoy the cute sheep play and the Matterhorn shining bright in the clear blue sky. 
Hiking in my Crazy King Ludwig t-shirt!

Ready for a lovely hike up the Matterhorn Trail.
After basking on the rock we headed back down the mountain and up another trail towards the village of Blatten. There is a ski-in restaurant in this town but it isn't open this time of year. I do hear wonderful things about it. I hope to enjoy it someday when I come in the Fall. What interested me much more today was the Ricola Garden. Way up on the side of the mountain there is a garden displaying all the herbs that go into making the Ricola throat lozenges. The herbs were in full bloom and there was something new up there. You can take an herb quiz. There is a display garden telling the names of each of the fifteen or so herbs. Then they had numbered patches of the same herbs. I took a pamphlet and tried to identify the numbered plant patches by looking and tasting them. It was super fun for me. I was running around like a maniac. I put my answers into the receptacle. I now wait to see if I am one of the winners of some Ricola prizes. Thanks, Ricola!!
Riiicoooolllaaaaaaaa! This was just the center of a spiraling garden.
We also visited a tiny, white church way up there. I lit a candle. Actually,  I lit two because I accidentally put too much money in the little money box. Not to worry though, there are plenty of things to light candles for. I said a little prayer or two and we headed down the mountain back to the hotel. 
Candles of thankfulness and asking.
As we wandered through the trees we heard actual cuckoo birds cuckooing. It was surreal, like I was part of a giant cuckoo clock. The bf has really big feet and his shoes were small so by the time we got back to the room, his feet were hurting pretty bad. We rested for a bit then headed into town because I was starving.
We meet again, Kaseschnitte!
We stopped to eat at the Weisshaus which is next door to the place we had dinner last night, aka pretty close to the hotel. It had a menu outside that said "kaseschnitten". It was all we both wanted. We both ordered a Rivella, which is a Swiss soda made of milk serum, sugar and carbonated water. I know, it sounds....really weird. It is sorta a cross between a cream soda and a lemon soda. Leave it to the Swiss to make a soda pop from a cow. The bf ordered his with the usual cheese and bread, then he had tomatoes, pineapple and a super fresh egg on top. He loved it. He's a freak for pineapple on anything so he was excited. I had ham and tomato on mine and it was per-fect. Tell me, Kaseschnitten, where have you been all my life? WHY is it that I have been coming to Europe for thirty six years and only NOW do I discover this divine creation of bread soaked in white wine and smothered in raclette cheese?? I'm hungry telling you about it and I only ate that last one a couple hours ago.
We were pretty beat after the hike this morning. It is probably the most physical my body has been in over a year and I felt every step in my nerves. I had to up my meds a little this afternoon to get up from the lunch table. I needed a rest but first, I was going to either need more pain killers or more booze to help cool the fire in my blood. We walked down the main street to the Co-op to get me a cheap, twist off bottle of wine for relaxing on the balcony. Along the way we found some nice gifts for the bf's brother. The bf has been trying to find the perfect gift for his bro and he finally found it. Good thing too since we have two more days left of our trip! We grabbed the six dollar wine and started the long, steep journey back to what we keep calling home. I spied a shop called 'Stephanie's Creperie' that had a giant fake ice cream cone and had the urge to eat ice cream. So, Stephanie, that advertising works! I got a scoop of delectable caramel ice cream ( I'm going to start a petition, by the way, to bring this specific ice cream to the US 'cause I don't think I can live without it). It came in a flaky, sweet, toasty, homemade crepe cone. I ate it as a distraction to the grueling trek up to the hotel Bijou.
Stefanie's Creperie. Please ignore the crazy look on my face. I have ice cream on the brain!
I poured wine, checked up on some loved ones (the ones who were up at seven in the morning). And drank my wine on the bed, propped against a swirl of blankets and snuggled up with the bf. There we relaxed for a couple hours. My pain calmed down considerably, thank goodness. I got pretty hungry but we were so pooped still and we looked out the giant bay window and saw it was sprinkling out. We looked at each other and shared that unspoken look that says: let's get take out pizza and eat it here in bed.
Sometimes you just gotta eat in your hotel room!
We put on warm clothes and headed out once again. When we got to the stairs landing we were greeted by the black lab. He was so warm and soft so we pet him for a while. Then we ran into the innkeeper who recommended a place not too far away with good pizza. We slid down the hill and found Grampy's which looks like an Irish Pub on the inside. We got a pineapple pizza with ham on one half and a four cheese one. Fifty dollars later we were dragging the pizzas in their not so insulated boxes up the hillside.

They. Were. Delicious. And we had the best ambiance and view and company possible. Win-win-win-win. I'm now polishing off my cheap wine as I type this in my bed. I only dropped one slice of pizza upside-down on my white sheets. I guess better that than crumbs in the bed. The sun has gone down and I checked the weather which looks great tomorrow so sweet dreams, everyone.

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Little photos...Good morning, perfect day!

11:39 PM AirplaneFoodCritic 0 Comments

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Day 11 - 2013 Europe Trip - Zermatt and the majesty that is The Matterhorn

2:06 PM AirplaneFoodCritic 0 Comments

Woke up in terrible pain...sigh. I tried to withstand it for as long as I could because I only have a very small number of pain killers I am allowed to take each day. I may have shared that, for this trip, I am taking more than prescribed so I can really enjoy this trip but it's catching up with me. I waited from about six am to eight, then it was all I could endure. I took two norco and my day got immediately better by about nine. I listened to the cars go by and could not tell the weather by the sound. At six am it was a beautiful, but there was a heavy fog that lay in the valley much like I wished I was laying in my bed. I so wanted to be cradled by the Earth as I slumbered that morning. Once I crawled out of pain, and bed, at nine, the sun was back like there was some secret between only me and the fog.
The bf stirred about an hour after my nerves did so we had to jump to it to get out by eleven o'clock checkout. We packed up and zoomed off to the train that would take us and our car through the steepest of the Alpine roads. 
Typical views along the drive.
After an hour of me driving and the his feverish photo taking we arrived at the Kandersteg train station. I was all nervous, as I get in most unfamiliar situatins, but it went so smooth, you couldn't cut the fresh butter here faster. I paid the 22 Francs and slid onto the train with about two cars behind me before the train was full. We were already moving almost before I could put on my e-brake. I thought it would be like me in a car wash where I try to stomp on the brake to stop the weird movement feeling. But no. I giggled and smooched my bf. When it bounced extra, I squeezed his hand extra. No problem. Fifteen minutes later we were in Goppenstein and only one gorgeous hour from Tasch.

Our view on the auto train that takes you through the steepest parts of the Alps.
But wait, Airplane Critic, I thought you were going to Zermatt today. Yes, for those who have never been to this magical town, you may not be aware that you can not drive there.  You can't even take your car there and park it. You, instead drive to the town of Tasch, leave your car and take all your luggage on a train up the mountain to this popular skiing village. We made it to Tasch with no issues and tons of out-the-window photos. We ditched the car temporarily and trained it up to the town of Zermatt. It's about a ten minute ride up. 
On the train to Zermatt
Once we arrived in the town, we were at one end, the Matterhorn was at the other and somewhere in the middle was our hotel. I chose the unfamiliar to me Hotel Bijou because it was the least expensive hotel available that had a view of the Matterhorn from the room. I did not have a clue as to it's location. There is a board when you arrive where you can call your hotel so I called the hotel and an accented man seemed surprised to find that I was already in town. I asked if a little bus could be sent for us. See, no cars are allowed in Zermatt, so the only transportation are these tiny little electric breadboxes shaped like a tiny bus. The man explained that he, himself was not in Zermatt so I had to walk the twenty minutes or take the 25 Franc taxi ride. We chose to walk. It was lovely and worth the effort.
Along our walk to our hotel. You can see we are past the main part of town and getting into the country.
We pulled our gift laden bags through the main street, past the furthest I have ever gone....past what I thought was the end of town, past what I sorta thought might be the next town, across a river and up a hill so steep that some local women trying to push their babies up couldn't even make it themselves! We arrived out of breath and sweaty. It was over seventy degrees out yet we still passed several skiers and snowboarders who were heading down for their apres ski. We felt that heat then. The hike was worth every heavy step. I feel like I say this a lot, but I feel this a lot....it felt like the mountain was placed there just for us. 
The Matterhorn as seen from our balcony at the Hotel Bijou

Our room is massive and so comfortable. There is a giant, wraparound deck that both looks right up, unobstructed by anything, at the Matterhorn, the reason we are here, but also down into the darling village. We rested for a while just marveling at our fortune to be able to experience this world like this.
We strolled into town, found a bakery. We bought cake, juice, a sandwich and chocolate milk and hit up a park bench. We snacked at the foot of the 'Horn then, with satisfied bellies, we snuggled on the park bench for a bit. 
Sandwich and park in Zermatt.
We then went to town, literally, shopping. We picked up goodies for some girlfriends of mine then just wandered the little alleyways for awhile. The bf was really hungry but I was not. We ended up just getting an early dinner at the Cafe Du Pont, a favorite restaurant of mine. We got the shared fondue which was incredible. It was full of fresh cracked pepper. The funny old man who works there came and showed us how to chop up the potatoes then spoon the fondue over the top. I ate maybe three potatoes like that when I started to realize just how full I was. Oh mercy. I shoved the rest of the potatoes in my purse. I'm eating them now as I write this. Sure wish I could have saved some warm cheese but these are pretty good on their own. The bf killed me by ordering an apple streusel in front of me and my full belly. It looked incredible with the crispy crust and this one was covered in chocolate, something no one has dine to this point. I had to sneak bites to the protest of my stretched stomach.
Best restaurant in Zermatt, Cafe du Ponte
This time, I was glad for the long walk to the hotel. We got our computers and relaxed on the balcony for a while. The bf checked his email and learned that he had lost his job. Oops. We spent the next hour or so finding out about severance packages and unemployment. He is quite excited at the prospect of finding a new job and with the amount of money he is getting from Zynga, he will have several months to spend at home with me. We spent the rest of the evening drinking wine and taking time lapse photos of the mountain from our balcony. When it got too cold for me, I came in and took a hot shower. I ate the potatoes and wrote this.
Shutter speed fun on our balcony.
Things are looking up and the hike I have planned for us tomorrow sounds like it will be just what we need right now. So, until then, goodnight. One more potato and I'm out of here.

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