We had a wonderful last four days in Europe - stayed with friends who had a home/chalet in Annecy (French Alps) after meeting them in Luzern and spending 2 days with them there. Joan had a memorable return to Mt. Pilatus where she and her sister had visited in 1970 -young girls galavanting around Europe no less. However ageing does something to the memory cells and she had difficulty recalling much of what had changed (I am sure there had been many changes - they are in the finishing stages of a hotel atop Mt. Pilatus - a mere 480 euros/night! The other highlight with Richard and Denise was getting to the top of Mont-Blanc - 3842 metres - highest peak in Europe located next to Chamonix (property prices??? - 1200 sq. ft. loft for a mere 1.5 million euros!!!). Of course we didn't want to show the locals up so we decided to take the tram up to the top. Good decision as it was raining and -2 at the top amid some swirling snow. Quite a view when the clouds cleared for brief periods of time - had a gorgeous view of the entire valley in and around Chamonix.
Had some fantastic regional food while in Annecy - raclette (about a 1/4-1/3 of one of the large wheel of raclette cheese which is then put under a heating element. You then scrape away the cheese as it melts and put it on your vegetables, potatoes and cold meats. Talk about Cholesterol highs!!! We really enjoyed our time at R. & D.'s chalet and hearing all of their "stories" about its construction, dealings with local contractors, and learning how to boost your knowledge of the French language through the entire process. While it is a work in progress, Joan and I see the most difficult part being behind them. We both suggested that now they both need to do some "nesting" to make it personal and even more cozy than it currently is. Many thanks, Richard and Densie for your most gracious hospitality and friendship.
Didn't encounter any problems during our flight (although were weren't as lucky as our return from our Mediterranean cruise 5 years ago where we were upgraded to first-class on the flight home from Frankfurt). Got a few interesting photos of bergs, snow and ice as we flew over Greenland and the clouds parted. Glad we didn't have to deal with that kind of cold weather on our holidays!
And so our European Adventures - 2010 edition comes to a close. There were many memorable events, people, food experiences and sights that we encountered. Additionally, Joan and I both agreed that this holiday pushed our boundaries considerably what with taking trams, having to find our way around train stations - under construction for the most part - in large European cities, and having to begin most conversations with "Parlez-vous Anglaise?" and then seeing where that would lead us. While we may return, I think that our purpose would be different, more focussed, and likely less tiring. Experience is a wonderful thing.
We welcome any comments, questions, conversations (either online or in person) and hope that those of our friends and relatives who have read our blog have found it informative and entertaining. Talk with all of you in the days and weeks to come.
Jim and Joan
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