Now that I have a bit more energy and clarity, I’m gonna get started on telling my travel experiences so far … So, if you’re reading this, check back for subsequent posts to read my travel log to date. Here’s the various dates for the places I’ve been up until now:
London, England, UK - 12/17/2006
Rome, Lazio, Italy 12/18 - 12/20/2006
Pisa, Marina di Massa - Tuscany, Italy - 12/21/2006
The Cinque Terre: Monterosso, Vernazza - Tuscany, Italy - 12/22/2006
Bern, Switzerland - 12/23 - 12/31/2006
In the interest of saving time and catching up, I think I’m just gonna post my journal entries from my written travelogue. It will be really nice to be posting in real-time and I want to get to that point as soon as possible!
After resting and opening presents over the past few days, we’re heading out of Ittigen to see some more of Switzerland.
We went skiing/snowboarding in Gstaad. (It’s pronounced kinda like shtawd. The G is very soft, almost not pronounced. It’s definitely not guhstaad or jastaad with a harsh G.) Snow on the way up was very iffy. Switzerland has, so far, has less snow at this time of year than it has in ten years. Record-low snowfalls. The slopes at Gstaad had snow, but most of the lower elevation was artificial. Rental prices and lift tickets were surprisingly reasonable, although still expensive. We paid about $100 US for both rental and lift. It is a bit less in the US, but we thought it being expensive Switzerland and Gstaad we’d be hosed for more. Dinner was expensive, though, about $120 for pub grub and a few beers for 4 adults and two kids.
It was fun to board. I went down a couple times. Once pretty hard on my left butt and it took a few days to stop aching. Nobody took any major damage, and James left with all arms un-broken. He was being very, very overly cautious. Which was good, but limited where we ended up boarding. We would have been more adventuresome if he hadn’t been so paranoid. As it was, we only boarded about 1/2 way up the mountain. The best place to ski was way at the top. It was also fun to watch the kids, Nadia and Brandon. Apparently it was only their second or third time on the snow. Aside from Brandon being fascinated with eating the snow, he did really well and seemed to enjoy it. Nadia progressed so far that at the end of the day, Jay said she’s about ready to head up to the bigger slopes. Monique held down the fort and kept our stuff safe and had plenty of snacks for us. I think we all slept very well that night.
Today I’m getting as much rest as I can. Tomorrow we’re planning on skiing and I want to be ready! Looks like we’re heading to Gstaad.