Rick & Tami Visit - Part 1

Rob's parents have come to visit and we have been running around seeing as much as we can with them. We did a few new things and a few old things but had fun relaxing and enjoying no matter where we were.

The trip started with them landing in Geneva and helping them recover from jetlag. Our advice on jetlag is to stay up till normal bedtime, eat meals even if your not hungry at the appropriate time for your new time zone, and take melatonin to keep you asleep thru the entire night.

Saturday we headed to Chamonix and to take the tele-cabin up to the Mont Blanc viewing station. It is kinda cloudy but the wind didn't stop the tele-cabin from going to the top. It's a little pricey (40 euro) for a round trip, but totally worth it. There is a mid way station on the way up that we stopped at for our packed picnic lunch. It was simply serene. Being above the tree line, watching brave soles ice climb the glaciers with their heavy gear, and me enjoying the cold wind on my bare legs since I foolishly decided to wear shorts! It was warm at the bottom, but chilly at the top.

At the top station overlooking Mont Blanc

Lunchtime Picnic Serenity

We then drove thru the alps and made our way to the Oberland. We stayed at the all famous mountain hostel and had to endure the youthful folks and a dorm bed environment. We weren't sure if Rick and Tami would be up for it, but they were troopers, and it was only for one night. We ate some wonderful traditional rosti and drank beers. The next day we saw the Trummelbach Falls again and headed back to Geneva with a quick lunch stop thru Bern.

Tami @ Mountain Hostel

We relaxed and enjoyed Geneva at a leisurely pace the next few days before we took off to the Cinque Terre. Our second time there and ended up staying in an apartment just one entrance away from our last place. We did a lot of the same stuff and enjoyed eating fantastic Liguirian cuisine.

Lazy Relaxed Full of Stairs Cinque Terre

It was then off to Florence to take in some famous Gelato at Vivoli and climb the Duomo steps. We decided to explore separately on these days so we all didn't have to do the same things. Plus it would be a great warmup for Tami & Rick to explore Rome together this week without us as tour guides. Rob and I drove back to Geneva on Monday morning and fly out to meet them in London this Thursday for part 2 our their visit. It has been lots of fun to have them here and getting to share our European experience with them. They got to appreciate for themselves how much I loathe doing laundry here!

Florence

To see the rest of my pictures from Part 1 ~ Click Here!

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TR Visits! & Christmas Time

Christmas Dinner - Fondue!

Our first visitor Tina R came to visit for Christmas! We were very happy to have her stay with us and we did our best to show her around. We met up with Ms A, B, and Tina at the airport. Ms A&B took the train immetiatly after landing to go meet up with relatives. Tina stayed in Geneva with us for a few days and we tried our best to get her over jetlag and make the most of her time. 

We ventured out her first day up to Gruyere and did the cheese making tour. Not a lot of action but some pretty scenery at the castle. We then headed back down to Lac Leman and went to the Montreaux christmas market. The scenery was beautiful but unfortunately the clouds didn't lift to reveal the Alps. The christmas market was smaller then the one we visited a few weeks ago but had a lively atmosphere. Rob and I tried the Montreaux Tea and Rob had his spiked with Rum. It was very delicious. It was sweet and hot which was nice contrast to the cold wind by the lake. Tina R tried some spiced wine. We also surveyed all the German food that was being sold and marveled at the expensive prices! A nice home cooked meal was awaiting us at home that evening so we didn't partake. It did smell yummy though! 

Montreaux - A picturesque city by the lake.

Do you know the song "Smoke on the Water?" This is town referred to in that song! 

The chestnut roaster posed for me. Notice the pots at the end of the row? 

Tempting German Swiss Food

Artistic Snow Shot

An old "echo-y"church at the castle

Group Picture

Tina R and the snowy alps

Looking below from the medieval town on the hill

The Gardens at the castle. 

Gruyere - With "Cherry" the voice of our guide on the headphone tour. 

The second day of her visit was the obligatory tour of Geneva including Place Du Nations, St Pierre Cathedral, and several shopping havens. For lunch we went to the downtown Manor and eat the top story restaurant. I really wanted the pasta but had to watch several people order it before I felt comfortable enough to order it too. I tried to be prepared for the questions the chef asks beforehand so I know how to respond. For example, I needed to be prepared on what type of pasta I wanted and what color sauce. Also I needed to turn down the option to add chicken or shrimp. Tina R took the "safe" route and got "Soupe De Legumes". (Vegetable Soup) 

Christmas day we relaxed at home and watched "Love Actually" on DVD. We ventured out in the afternoon and headed to a tiny little small town called Echallens. We saw a Christmas concert being advertised free on the internet so we checked in out. It was a full house! The venue was a tiny church of only about 20 rows of pews. The three of us ended up standing in the upper balcony and having to look over a few people to watch the performance. About 80% of the way thru the concert, TR started to feel faint and we rushed downstairs before she got a chance to pass out. It was getting hot up in the balcony so it was totally understandable. A nice swiss woman who seemed to be associated with the church gave her some watered down lemonade to sip.  We left a few songs after we came downstairs and headed home. We prepared a traditional swiss fondue for christmas dinner complete with cornichons. We made a ton of phone calls on Skype and between the 3 of us spent over 2 hours on the phone! Overall, we had a great christmas and spent it with a great friend!

Tina R took off this morning on a train to go meet up with Ms A&B. But E&M arrive in just a few hours! We are off to Brussels, Amsterdam, and Paris. We'll be back to Geneva on the 4th! Hope everyone has a Happy New Year!!! 

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