This is what I look like after a two hour train ride and a seven hour flight. I think it is pretty obvious how I was feeling, so there is no need to describe that part.
When Graeme and I were planning our trip to Europe (specifically France, Switzerland and Italy), I wasn't really concerned about being tired and/or dealing with jet lag. I figured that when we landed in Paris and I was tired, I'd just deal with it because
we were in Paris. What I didn't anticipate, however, was that I
would not sleep on our seven hour overnight flight... even though (no matter what time of day) I
always fall asleep on the plane. Chalk it up to nerves I suppose, but I arrived in Paris after 12+ hours of traveling running on almost no sleep. Hence the photo above.
Needless to say, we
were in Paris, so I stuck with my original plan: power through. Graeme and I took the metro downtown (which really means nothing because so many people live in Paris and
everything seems like downtown to me), saw the Notre Dame, and had some delicious hot chocolate and pastries. The photo above is of our first evening in Paris. We picked up a baguette from a local bakery, stopped the grocery store to get a bottle of wine and some cheese, and then had a picnic near the Eiffel Tower. By far, this was one of my favourite experiences. The Eiffel Tower was a lot cooler than I anticipated, and it is totally worth the time to wait around for the lights to turn on.
I have never appreciated a bed more than I did after our first day in Paris. By the time we hit the hay, we had been awake for close to 40 hours. Disgusting. Needless to say, we were up early in the morning and off for more adventure in Paris. We started the day by waiting in line to visit the Louvre. Based on this photo, it was apparently windy that morning. The Louvre made me keenly aware of the fact that a) I know almost nothing about art, and b) I am quickly irritated by large groups of people. Experiencing the Louvre was a phenomenal experience, but I could have done without the thousands of other people.
Especially the 100+ people who always seemed to be in front of the Mona Lisa.
Not surprisingly, one of my favourite things about Europe in general is castles. I love architecture, and history, and all things fantastical, so I suppose a love of castles makes sense too. This castle is on the very edge of Lake Geneva in Montreaux. It took what seemed like forever to get through the whole thing (which included something like forty rooms), but it was a wonderful place. If castles weren't terribly cold during the winter months, and inevitably overrun with bugs and rodents, I would certainly live in a castle. :)
Our first wedding anniversary conveniently landed during our trip to Europe. We spent the day driving up a mountain (as per usual), and then went to this lovely restaurant to have drinks with the family. Admittedly, I am not a big flowers person. I mean, they're alright. Flowers like the one in this photo, however, are pretty mind-boggling. I was especially aware of the flowers that would
not grow in Saskatchewan that totally flourish in Switzerland, namely fuchsia, which I always loved as a child. Graeme and I were really lucky not only to be in Switzerland to celebrate our first year of marriage together, but we also (as you can tell) had perfect weather!
In addition to being relatively ignorant about art, I am also ignorant about wine. Nevertheless, I was very excited to do a winery tour and have a wine tasting! Switzerland isn't necessarily known for it's wine (unlike France or Italy), but perhaps that's because something like 95% of the wine produced in Switzerland stays within the country. After a failed attempt at touring a large winery close to our chalet, and being bounced around with a few recommendations, we ended up at a small, family-owned place in a nearby village. We got a tour entirely in French, translated by Graeme's multilingual uncle, and then had a wonderful wine tasting in the late afternoon sun!
Though I am not much for shopping--I'd rather run around and see things than buy stuff--I really enjoyed the open-air market in downtown Sion. We went to the Friday morning market twice while we were in Switzerland, hunting for souvenirs and generally people-watching. I spent some time in the market on my own, writing postcards and drinking far-too-expensive cola. The only actual things that I purchased on this trip were from this market: a pair of earrings for
my bestie, and a typically Swiss place mat for my Mom.
I have wanted to travel to the Mediterranean since I was in junior high. When Graeme and I were planning our trip, we didn't actually think we'd end up in the Mediterranean at all; our plan was to see a bit of northern Italy and call it good. As it turned out, driving to the coast of Italy (and thus the Mediterranean) was only about five or six hours. Surprise! A two-day trip to the Mediterranean it is. :) This photo is one of my first encounters with the Mediterranean, and obviously, I was stoked about it. Ruining my camera in an unfortunate incident involving large, salty waves of water wasn't so great... but other than that the Mediterranean treated me well!
On our second day in the Mediterranean, Graeme and I split from the rest of the group (bless their hearts, but we needed to be on our own) and went
runningCinque Terra, the five villages along the coast. This photo is in what may be my favourite place in the entire universe. After running through the typically-narrow Italian streets, we happened upon a nearly thousand-year-old church, perched on top of a cliff. Crisp ocean air, waves crashing on rocks, and ancient architecture is enough to nearly make me weep with joy! Thankfully, Graeme's Dad was relatively nearby for part of our Italian adventure, hence the photo of
both of us together.
Now THIS is why we went to Switzerland in the first place. This trip had been talked about for more than a year, as Graeme's Dad was retiring and Graeme's uncle was turning fifty. All the men in Graeme's family love motorbiking, so this trip was primarily for a boys' bike trip. Bless my husband, he was more than willing to have me ride along on the back of his bike for the day (actually two), and it was one of the coolest things I've ever done. Granted, I've been on a motorcycle with Graeme before, but a fifteen-minute bike ride to get groceries isn't all that exciting. Winding through mountain passes, however? AMAZING. Oddly enough, I felt a lot more safe on a motorcycle than I did in a car, because all of the Swiss and Italian roads are too darn narrow for regular vehicles!
After the three-day bike trip was over, our last day in Europe finally arrived. Instead of traveling to the Matterhorn with the rest of the family, Graeme and I opted to stay in Sion and (this is why I love my husband) go on another castle adventure! This castle was by far my favourite, and it was more of a formerly-walled city than a castle. Every day that we drove off for another Swiss adventure, we would see this castle in Sion from a distance, as it is perched on top of a hill (which is pretty obvious in the photo). After about twenty minutes of driving around the
bottom of the castle, we finally figured out how to get to the top of it! We hiked from one side of the castle to the other, and loved every minute of it. The best part was having absolutely no one else around, as if the castle belonged just to us!
Europe was awesome.
Half of the rest of my 800+ photos are on facebook if you're starving for more details. :)
--- chRistie
