Montreux, Switzerland

Well the first two days were a little rainy in Montreux. We stayed at the Fairmont Palace right across from lake Geneva. Everyone said the view was amazing the day before, but it took a while for the clouds and fog to clear. We were pretty wasted the first day and got in too late to go on our Chillon Castle tour, so we went to Rouvenaz for dinner just up the street. I can't tell you how long I anticipated a European meal. Everything tastes better, especially the cheese and gelato. I really love how mealtimes are an event not just a chore. I had Gnochetti with artichokes, cheese and the famous dried swiss ham. Chris had a calzone, and everything was delicious. A big group of us went together. Part of what I love on the trips is meeting up with old Horace Mann friends that we usually only see on the trips. Chris' close friend Joel and his wife Kara are so much fun to hang out with. We have so much in common, and they are a blast to hang out with. I hate that they live all the way out in Wisconsin. Hanging out with Kara is like hanging out with one of my sisters, she just gets me and my oddities. We were all falling asleep at dinner so we turned in early and then I woke up at 2:00 then 3:00 then finally just got up at 4:00. The time change really sucks, and exchange rate really sucked it took $1.20 american dollars to equal a swiss franc but also everything was priced much higher there. For instance a personal size pizza was about 30-35 francs, so about $35-$41. But that's Europe, you can count on paying about double what you would in the U.S. for something. but it seemed that Switzerland in general was especially expensive. I can't tell you how many Ferrari's, Bentley's, and even Rolls-Royces we saw, It was like a Mercedes or BMW were economy cars. Whatever the Swiss are doing, the U.S. should follow suit.

Switzerland here we come!

Well it is literally 2:00 a.m. and I have been browsing hotels in france for about the past 4 hours. But I can't help it, I am soooo excited to get off this continent! It almost feels like I've already left. I really have started to check out a little bit. We are going to be staying a week in Montreux, Switzerland with the company and then we're striking out on our own and heading down to Genoa to take a Western Mediteranean Cruise. We'll hit Naples, Palermo, Palma de Mallorca, Barcelona and then Marseilles. Then after docking we're gonna spend a couple days in Genoa, and then a couple days in Nice, with maybe a half day in Monaco. We also just got our package from the company with our itinerary and some fun spiffs from the company. That always helps to get your anticipation revving! Well Bon Soir, I think I had better hit the sack! And no I have not brushed up on my french at all, I had grand hopes of ressurecting some semblance of my memoires of the language, but alas, we'll have to maintain the french's opinion that we are ignorant uncultured dopes. I hate to dissapoint after all, and I don't think that even Rosetta Stone could save me now.