Our last full day of our trip. Sadness. But we saved the best city for last. Geneva. Mom and Dad had already seen a little yesterday, but today we would visit the things I love. But first- we had a very special treat scheduled at 10. We drove into Geneva and pulled into CERN- the European Organization for Nuclear Research, with the world's largest particle accelerators, including the Hadron Collider. If you're a geek- you probably know about it. If you've seen Angels and Demons you have seen some shots of it, but you have been hugely deceived. Rumors spread that the CERN is going to blow up the planet, the movie pretends that they have amassed antimatter which could destroy the world...etc. As they informed us- the only thing the movie got correct was the eye scanner. There IS an eye scanner and we got to go through it- but since we're not in the system we just used a special electronic key. Oh yeah- I guess I forgot to say: we GOT TO GO INSIDE. Our very close friend Alison has as friend that has been working there for years and he was happy to take us down. All other visitors are limited to their visiting centers/ museum- which is also good and fun- but as I say- its limited. Dad was over the moon that we got to go down. If you still have no idea what Cern is or what I'm talking about- go look it up. We got through the eye scanner and put on safety hard hats. Dad was practically bouncing up and down. We rode and elevator down 100 meters to go see one of the sections of the accelerator (which was obviously not in use at the moment- moment meaning months- their projects take years to orchestrate) which was opened up. It is enormous and very cool. Dad and the scientists lost me in most of their science jargon, but I was still able to follow much of it. It probably helps that I had visited their public centers twice before- so I had some previous basic science lessons.
I don't think I can say too much that dad was like a kid in a candy store. It was very fun and I am glad that we got to finish our trip with such an experience. I think all three of us, mom, dad and I, have had unforgettable experiences with things that just blew us away- and they were all different.
When we finished around lunch time we drove into the city and ate most of the stuff we still had in our car. Since it was our last day we needed to get rid of all the car snacks. We parked the car under Plain Palais. If you've lived in Geneva you'll know what I'm talking about. We walked from Plain Palais over to Place de Neuve and walked up the hill into the Vielle Ville (old town). We went to the Cathedral and went inside. Dad wanted to climb the tower. Mom didn't need to, and though I would have liked to, I was pretty tired at the moment and I knew there would still be lots more walking today. I had seen the view before, so I stayed with mom and we waited for dad.
When we left the Cathedral we walked down the other side of the hill, toward the lake. We walked down the street following the rivers that flow south from the lake and went to the Swatch museum which is on one of the bridges. There are many bridges in Geneva. We walked back along the other side of the rivers and crossed the big bridge that has all of the flags and the closest view of the Jet d'Eau (the fountain). We took pictures of the famous flower clock and walked through the Park Anglais over to the docks.
Then walked out onto the jetty that takes you to by the Jet d'Eau. Mom didn't venture far because she didn't want to get wet. Dad protected his camera and then joined me on other end of the jetty- past the wet part where the fountain water splashes you. I love that big fountain. I love being out in the middle of the water, with Geneva surrounding me.
When we were done at the Jet d'Eau we walked back through the shopping area of Geneva and hopped on the very packed trams to take us into 'my' part of town. We stopped at a Migros- the grocery store that I frequented often and which had the selection of chocolate that I had been holding out for. I bought a ton of chocolate. I probably bought 3 kilos. Oh and I HAD to buy my Excellence yogurt. I hope one day you people will be able to discover it- the tastiest yogurt you'll ever have.
The woman working the checkout smiled at all the chocolate and I said that my parents and I were going home tomorrow- I was stocking up.
"that makes sense" she said, "you should take the cheese home too."
I told her that I wished I could take home some cheese and Gruyere cream, but they wouldn't do well with traveling. Maybe next time I'll do it anyway. Planes themselves have very cold cargo holds- I think its just the airport time that would be problematic.
After we were done shopping I wanted to pop over to a very cute part of town that I used to work in. My first companion in Geneva had introduced me to a lovely Gelateria that I wanted to go to. Luckily they were open and we got to enjoy that fantastic ice cream. It was delicious, as usual.
We hopped back on the tram and rode to Place de Neuve to sit in the park, where I ate my much-anticipated yogurt, while my mom took in the monuments built to honor the leaders of the Reformation. John Calvin is a major part of Geneva history.
I forgot to take them back up to the world's longest bench, which we had passed earlier on our way to the Cathedral. Dang it. I hope my dad snapped a picture the first time.
The sun was setting as we left Geneva, and though we would be flying out of the airport- I said my goodbyes (again) to the beautiful sights that I love so much. We drove back to Lausanne for the night.
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Day 26: Sunday
I woke up early in the morning and showered. I was mostly dressed for church when Jeremie asked me to move the car so he could get his scooter out to go to church. After I moved the car I walked out of the drive way and ran into a very tall, blond man standing there. I was shocked...because I recognized him. It was one of the Assistants to the President from my mission. Mikael Mayer.
"Sister Read? What are you doing here?"
"I'm visiting with my parents, what are YOU doing here?"
"I live upstairs."
No way.
I had been staying with the Jaquet family for the past 3 days and I had no clue that he was living in the apartment up stairs. We was off to church and I still had to get ready. My parents and I were going to miss the first hour of church.
I was SO excited for today. I still remember my first Sunday when I bore my testimony and I barely understood what was being said in church. It felt like coming home to be there again among so many familiar faces. As we were looking for parking we passed some very familiar faces in a car and followed them to find where we could park. I was so excited as soon as I saw them. It was Fabio and Elodie Vigliotti. Fabio was my ward mission leader and Elodie was one of the first members I met on my first Sunday. I left Renens while they were expecting their first child. Then at the end of my mission there was a stake Relief Society conference where I was surprised to see them all, Elodie and their baby boy and even Fabio. But this time, there was one more member of their family. In August they had a baby girl. I could hardly keep myself from jumping out of my car to go greet them. It was weird to 'bise' Fabio. It is custom to kiss cheeks (3 times in Switzerland) as a greeting, but of course, as a missionary I wasn't allowed to bise the men. I'm not a missionary anymore. Elodie laughed at Fabio and said "did you just bise a sister missionary?"
My excitement levels didn't really drop for the next 2 hours as I got to participate and enjoy church. And then to make things AWESOME, it was the 3rd Sunday of the month, so it was the ward potluck after church. I couldn't have asked for a greater blessing. The food was delicious and the company was fantastic. I met the sister missionaries working in the ward now, and as it turns out- one of them was taught by Sister Scott (my MTC companion) when she was in the MTC, and the other one's second companion was my trainee, Sister Layton. Had to get a picture with them and post it on Facebook right away. I wish we could have stayed forever, but we needed to get to Geneva. I was anxious to do so because I was also going to get to go to my ward in Geneva. It was not a long drive and soon enough we were pulling into the driveway of that very familiar building. Home again. I have so many homes.
Mom and Dad didn't need to sit through another church block that they wouldn't understand so they went into the city to go see some things I've already seen. Namely the United Nations, the Red Cross museum and a very well known Russian Orthodox Church. They were sight seeing the city until they came back to ge time at the end of church.
I got there right in the middle of the first hour, which is Relief Society, so no one was in the hall ways. I wanted to poke my head around to see where people were and if I could tell which was the other ward meeting at the same time. I was hoping it was the Spanish ward, but I think it was actually the English ward at the same time as my French ward. This is a good thing, but I didn't see any of the Mongolians I wanted to see again. Still- as I was in the hallway, popping my head in the windows, suddenly someone said from behind, "hey Soeur Read!"
Olav is the son of a woman that I visited often as a missionary. He saw me pass by the window and came to get me. It was very sweet.
So I stepped into Relief Society and got to participate and surprise a few people. It was wonderful. When RS was over and some of the brethren came in for Sunday school I was immensely pleased to see that Brother Junod was still the teacher. He was the bishop when I first came to the area, but in the middle of my time there he was released and became the Gospel Doctrine teacher- the best one I've ever heard. As you can imagine, it was incredible to see people again. As I sat down in sacrament meeting, which was actually the sunday of the Primary Program, I saw a woman sitting up in the choir seats with her primary class. It was Rachel, a woman that I taught here in Geneva. She was baptized in the lake. Honestly I worried about her conviction and if she would be a strong member of the church. But I knew that she was doing the right thing by being baptized and it would bless her and her family. Her sister also lives in the ward and was up on the stand sitting in front of Rachel. When I saw them I almost started crying. I didn't expect to see her actively fulfilling her calling- I should have had more faith in her. When the meeting was over I had to rush to see Sister Spirig, Olav's mom, who also rushed to see me (and that just makes my heart swell with joy). My parents arrived right as the meeting was ending so they got to meet these people too. Rachel was happy to see me, as was her sister Tabitha. I made sure to take pictures with most of those wonderful people before we left Geneva.
We needed to get back to Lausanne because the Jaquet family invited us to dinner with the missionaries- like I used to do every Sunday that I was in Renens- only this time I wasn't a missionary. Dinner was wonderful- and the dessert was amazing- I don't know how to describe it other than it being a thick custard-like cake with plumbs. Or were they prunes. Dang, I don't remember. It was so good it was hard to stop eating it. Even my mom just wanted to keep eating it.
The evening couldn't have been more perfect. Laughing together and making new memories while all my old memories that I hold so dear were resurfacing. It warmed my heart.
Today was one of my favorite days, of course. I hope every missionary gets a chance to revisit their mission- to see the people they served and loved so much. I am jealous of those who can drive to their missions and I encourage them to do so often- you don't know how lucky you are.
I know someday I will be back again. I just can't stay away.
"Sister Read? What are you doing here?"
"I'm visiting with my parents, what are YOU doing here?"
"I live upstairs."
No way.
I had been staying with the Jaquet family for the past 3 days and I had no clue that he was living in the apartment up stairs. We was off to church and I still had to get ready. My parents and I were going to miss the first hour of church.
I was SO excited for today. I still remember my first Sunday when I bore my testimony and I barely understood what was being said in church. It felt like coming home to be there again among so many familiar faces. As we were looking for parking we passed some very familiar faces in a car and followed them to find where we could park. I was so excited as soon as I saw them. It was Fabio and Elodie Vigliotti. Fabio was my ward mission leader and Elodie was one of the first members I met on my first Sunday. I left Renens while they were expecting their first child. Then at the end of my mission there was a stake Relief Society conference where I was surprised to see them all, Elodie and their baby boy and even Fabio. But this time, there was one more member of their family. In August they had a baby girl. I could hardly keep myself from jumping out of my car to go greet them. It was weird to 'bise' Fabio. It is custom to kiss cheeks (3 times in Switzerland) as a greeting, but of course, as a missionary I wasn't allowed to bise the men. I'm not a missionary anymore. Elodie laughed at Fabio and said "did you just bise a sister missionary?"
My excitement levels didn't really drop for the next 2 hours as I got to participate and enjoy church. And then to make things AWESOME, it was the 3rd Sunday of the month, so it was the ward potluck after church. I couldn't have asked for a greater blessing. The food was delicious and the company was fantastic. I met the sister missionaries working in the ward now, and as it turns out- one of them was taught by Sister Scott (my MTC companion) when she was in the MTC, and the other one's second companion was my trainee, Sister Layton. Had to get a picture with them and post it on Facebook right away. I wish we could have stayed forever, but we needed to get to Geneva. I was anxious to do so because I was also going to get to go to my ward in Geneva. It was not a long drive and soon enough we were pulling into the driveway of that very familiar building. Home again. I have so many homes.
Mom and Dad didn't need to sit through another church block that they wouldn't understand so they went into the city to go see some things I've already seen. Namely the United Nations, the Red Cross museum and a very well known Russian Orthodox Church. They were sight seeing the city until they came back to ge time at the end of church.
I got there right in the middle of the first hour, which is Relief Society, so no one was in the hall ways. I wanted to poke my head around to see where people were and if I could tell which was the other ward meeting at the same time. I was hoping it was the Spanish ward, but I think it was actually the English ward at the same time as my French ward. This is a good thing, but I didn't see any of the Mongolians I wanted to see again. Still- as I was in the hallway, popping my head in the windows, suddenly someone said from behind, "hey Soeur Read!"
Olav is the son of a woman that I visited often as a missionary. He saw me pass by the window and came to get me. It was very sweet.
So I stepped into Relief Society and got to participate and surprise a few people. It was wonderful. When RS was over and some of the brethren came in for Sunday school I was immensely pleased to see that Brother Junod was still the teacher. He was the bishop when I first came to the area, but in the middle of my time there he was released and became the Gospel Doctrine teacher- the best one I've ever heard. As you can imagine, it was incredible to see people again. As I sat down in sacrament meeting, which was actually the sunday of the Primary Program, I saw a woman sitting up in the choir seats with her primary class. It was Rachel, a woman that I taught here in Geneva. She was baptized in the lake. Honestly I worried about her conviction and if she would be a strong member of the church. But I knew that she was doing the right thing by being baptized and it would bless her and her family. Her sister also lives in the ward and was up on the stand sitting in front of Rachel. When I saw them I almost started crying. I didn't expect to see her actively fulfilling her calling- I should have had more faith in her. When the meeting was over I had to rush to see Sister Spirig, Olav's mom, who also rushed to see me (and that just makes my heart swell with joy). My parents arrived right as the meeting was ending so they got to meet these people too. Rachel was happy to see me, as was her sister Tabitha. I made sure to take pictures with most of those wonderful people before we left Geneva.
We needed to get back to Lausanne because the Jaquet family invited us to dinner with the missionaries- like I used to do every Sunday that I was in Renens- only this time I wasn't a missionary. Dinner was wonderful- and the dessert was amazing- I don't know how to describe it other than it being a thick custard-like cake with plumbs. Or were they prunes. Dang, I don't remember. It was so good it was hard to stop eating it. Even my mom just wanted to keep eating it.
The evening couldn't have been more perfect. Laughing together and making new memories while all my old memories that I hold so dear were resurfacing. It warmed my heart.
Today was one of my favorite days, of course. I hope every missionary gets a chance to revisit their mission- to see the people they served and loved so much. I am jealous of those who can drive to their missions and I encourage them to do so often- you don't know how lucky you are.
I know someday I will be back again. I just can't stay away.
Day 25: Switzerland
We got up early and drove north, stopping in Yverdon for breakfast. I have been to Yverdon numerous times before. In the beginning of my mission we were teaching a Portugese woman in Yverdon. I have a few fond memories in Yverdon. We drove through the center of town and found a bakery for breakfast. Then we drove out of Yverdon and up to Sainte Croix, a quaint little town with a museum about music boxes and automatons. Our tour was small, just us and one other man, who was kind enough to agree to a tour in English. It was fascinating to see the progression and ingenuity behind the mechanics of a music box- which also led to automatons and self-playing instruments. We wanted to buy a music box, but their selection was very limited, so someday we'll order one online.
We drove to another small town called Le Locle and my parents visited a watch museum.
Before driving back to Lausanne we drove through more of the gorgeous Swiss countryside around Neuchatel and up to a common viewpoint of the Swiss Alps, Vue-des-Alps. We were lucky it was a clear day so we could see those impressive peaks that stretch all across the horizon- including Mont Blanc.
There was randomly a Toboggan on the mountain and dad and I thought, "what the heck? why not?" So mom took pictures and I dad and I rode down the slope.
When we got back to Lausanne in the afternoon we went down to Ouchy- the lakefront part of town, which is just beautiful. Lausanne may not be a place that everyone has heard of, but it is a more significant town than you might guess. Lausanne holds the headquarters of the Olympics, and, of course, they have an Olympic museum. I got to visit it while I was on my mission, but unfortunately they started doing some renovation after I left, so they moved some of their items onto a boat to become a temporary floating museum. Even though they only brought a portion of their museum, they brought the coolest stuff: every torch and every medal from the Olympic games. Here's the good thing: when I came a couple years ago, I wasn't aloud to take pictures, but on the boat, we could! Yay!
Dad wanted to find the headquarters of the Volleyball Federation, but there was only a sign showing where the property is, surrounded by a large hedge, so he couldn't get any closer- though he tried.
As we drove back up through town we passed by some apartments and I told my dad we needed to stop. There was someone I needed to see if she was still there, though I knew it was likely she no longer lived there. I had to try. So he dropped me off and then went to find parking. The woman I hoped to see no longer lived there, but I took a walk down memory lane and I prayed that where ever she is, she is happy and healthy. Just a few doors down the complex lived a family from the church that I love very much. Sister Ruz did laundry for the sisters years. But I had seen on facebook recently that they were planning on moving, so I was hoping that hadn't happened yet. I went to their door, which still had their name- but you can't always trust that- and I rang the bell. I had no need to worry. It was Lindsey at the door. My parents walked up just after and they invited us inside. It felt so good to be with them again. Language-wise it was a complicated conversation; between Spanish and French, and translating for my mom- it was very fuddled. Dad was very happy to talk to people from Chile and they suggested that we should go to a Chilean restaurant in Lausanne, Creacion del Tata, which is owned by a member. I had heard of it on my mission and always wanted to go, but we never found it. Now we had the address from the Ruz family and we needed somewhere to go for dinner. Sounds like a plan to me. Off we went. Boy were we glad we went there. We walked inside and met Sister Nunez and her son who works with her. Dinner was amazing. You'll have to ask my dad for the names of all the foods we ate. I can tell you the empenadas are amazing, but I'm not sure I spelled that correctly.
We decided to leave her with our family picture and a postcard for San Diego (like we did with all the people we stayed with) so I went out to the car to get them. Mom didn't like the idea of me walking around alone but I assured her I'd be fine. Its my city and I know how to deal with people. The car wasn't far anyways, but I did have to walk through a group of Africans who, as expected, smile and flatter as you go by. But they are harmless. On the way back to the restaurant I passed one man walking up the street and he said hello. I returned the greeting and he took that to mean I wanted to talk. He asked if we could get a drink and he could get to know me. I politely refused and explained that my parents were waiting for me. I guess my mom has good reason to worry when I go off alone, and if I hadn't been a missionary, I wouldn't know how to react- but I got this- and its just hilarious.
After we left the restaurant we went up to the Cathedral and discovered that something big was going on. There had been signs all around the city that we had seen and not paid attention to: they were for a night of museums. If we had looked closely we would have known that most of the museums were open until 2 am and all you had to do was buy a bandanna to get into all of them. Unfortunately we couldn't go into the Cathedral, even though they were taking special tours up into the tours, carrying candle lanterns. That would have been SO fun. But maybe we'll come back someday and have an equally awesome opportunity. I love the Lausanne Cathedral and I will be back again in the future.
We did get to hear the town crier. They still have a man who shouts from the tours every hour after nine to announce the time. It was late when we decided to head home. But first I wanted my parents to experience the Lausanne metro. It is special because at each stop they play a little sound when it announces the station. I wanted to record some of them since I never did on my mission and I am a very nostalgic person. That meant that we actually rode back and forth a couple of times, but I loved it. We got home late and went to bed.
We drove to another small town called Le Locle and my parents visited a watch museum.
Before driving back to Lausanne we drove through more of the gorgeous Swiss countryside around Neuchatel and up to a common viewpoint of the Swiss Alps, Vue-des-Alps. We were lucky it was a clear day so we could see those impressive peaks that stretch all across the horizon- including Mont Blanc.
There was randomly a Toboggan on the mountain and dad and I thought, "what the heck? why not?" So mom took pictures and I dad and I rode down the slope.
When we got back to Lausanne in the afternoon we went down to Ouchy- the lakefront part of town, which is just beautiful. Lausanne may not be a place that everyone has heard of, but it is a more significant town than you might guess. Lausanne holds the headquarters of the Olympics, and, of course, they have an Olympic museum. I got to visit it while I was on my mission, but unfortunately they started doing some renovation after I left, so they moved some of their items onto a boat to become a temporary floating museum. Even though they only brought a portion of their museum, they brought the coolest stuff: every torch and every medal from the Olympic games. Here's the good thing: when I came a couple years ago, I wasn't aloud to take pictures, but on the boat, we could! Yay!
Dad wanted to find the headquarters of the Volleyball Federation, but there was only a sign showing where the property is, surrounded by a large hedge, so he couldn't get any closer- though he tried.
As we drove back up through town we passed by some apartments and I told my dad we needed to stop. There was someone I needed to see if she was still there, though I knew it was likely she no longer lived there. I had to try. So he dropped me off and then went to find parking. The woman I hoped to see no longer lived there, but I took a walk down memory lane and I prayed that where ever she is, she is happy and healthy. Just a few doors down the complex lived a family from the church that I love very much. Sister Ruz did laundry for the sisters years. But I had seen on facebook recently that they were planning on moving, so I was hoping that hadn't happened yet. I went to their door, which still had their name- but you can't always trust that- and I rang the bell. I had no need to worry. It was Lindsey at the door. My parents walked up just after and they invited us inside. It felt so good to be with them again. Language-wise it was a complicated conversation; between Spanish and French, and translating for my mom- it was very fuddled. Dad was very happy to talk to people from Chile and they suggested that we should go to a Chilean restaurant in Lausanne, Creacion del Tata, which is owned by a member. I had heard of it on my mission and always wanted to go, but we never found it. Now we had the address from the Ruz family and we needed somewhere to go for dinner. Sounds like a plan to me. Off we went. Boy were we glad we went there. We walked inside and met Sister Nunez and her son who works with her. Dinner was amazing. You'll have to ask my dad for the names of all the foods we ate. I can tell you the empenadas are amazing, but I'm not sure I spelled that correctly.
We decided to leave her with our family picture and a postcard for San Diego (like we did with all the people we stayed with) so I went out to the car to get them. Mom didn't like the idea of me walking around alone but I assured her I'd be fine. Its my city and I know how to deal with people. The car wasn't far anyways, but I did have to walk through a group of Africans who, as expected, smile and flatter as you go by. But they are harmless. On the way back to the restaurant I passed one man walking up the street and he said hello. I returned the greeting and he took that to mean I wanted to talk. He asked if we could get a drink and he could get to know me. I politely refused and explained that my parents were waiting for me. I guess my mom has good reason to worry when I go off alone, and if I hadn't been a missionary, I wouldn't know how to react- but I got this- and its just hilarious.
After we left the restaurant we went up to the Cathedral and discovered that something big was going on. There had been signs all around the city that we had seen and not paid attention to: they were for a night of museums. If we had looked closely we would have known that most of the museums were open until 2 am and all you had to do was buy a bandanna to get into all of them. Unfortunately we couldn't go into the Cathedral, even though they were taking special tours up into the tours, carrying candle lanterns. That would have been SO fun. But maybe we'll come back someday and have an equally awesome opportunity. I love the Lausanne Cathedral and I will be back again in the future.
We did get to hear the town crier. They still have a man who shouts from the tours every hour after nine to announce the time. It was late when we decided to head home. But first I wanted my parents to experience the Lausanne metro. It is special because at each stop they play a little sound when it announces the station. I wanted to record some of them since I never did on my mission and I am a very nostalgic person. That meant that we actually rode back and forth a couple of times, but I loved it. We got home late and went to bed.
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Day 24: Switzerland
We left early in the morning to drive up to Bern. I finally got to see the Swiss Temple. It was incredible to see how international it is. The workers there come from so many different countries. We heard French, German, Spanish, Italian. It is a beautiful temple.
We got out in Bern to see the bear park and as we were driving out of the city we found an incredible view of the whole city with the river bend.
After Bern we went into Fribourg and saw the Gutenberg museum- where the printing press was invented.
We did a lot of driving through the Swiss country side- a lot of cities in one day.
Our next stop was in Broc for the Maison Cailler, a chocolate museum. Yep, you read me right. Chocolate Museum.
We could smell chocolate from outside. And inside you buy your tickets for a tour in the right language and then you wait in their shop for your group to be called. When I say shop, I mean large chocolate store- with a large wall loaded with bars and a little cafe.
When our tour got started we were in a room with Mayan stone decor. The recording started up and said that we would be starting on a journey through the history of chocolate in the world and how it came to Switzerland. Then the floor started descending. It was so Disneyland. The floor dropped about five feet until it was now at the right level for a different door at our side could open up and when we walked through we were in a jungle- still smelling of chocolate. The tour continued to be very fun and a little cheesy at times. But it did a REALLY good job of making you want chocolate at the end. They had a room with great big sacs of cocoa beans and nuts from different countries. You can eat them if you want and I tried a cocoa bean- but they are gross. For a moment it DID taste like chocolate, but it also tasted like wood and it was ridiculously bitter. But I tried it! That's a new thing. Behind glass, like at Krispy Kreme, you can see the Cailler bars being made. Their machinery is really impressive.
The very last thing before we get back to the store in the front is the chocolate tasting room. Yep- tasting. The best part: they don't kick you out. You can stay in there as long as you want and the chocolate just keeps getting replenished. The unfortunate thing is that there is nothing with which to clean your palette. After about 7 pieces I stopped being able to taste the differences. And after about 12 pieces, I couldn't put any more chocolate in my mouth. But it was SO GOOD.
After we left the chocolate factory we went to Gruyère to the Cheese factory. What a day, right? We didn't actually go into the museum, but we saw the large basement where the huge rounds of cheese are stored and aged and machine-brushed with salt water. And of course we went to the store and bought cheese and Gruyère cream (double cream). This cream is very special and I have been searching for it since the beginning of my mission after the Jaquets introduced it to me. It is a typical swiss dessert to eat Meringues with double cream, and it is AMAZING. I mean- its basically pure sugar, but the combination of the sugar meringues with the unsweetened cream is so good that they made an ice cream flavor from it. Seriously. When I made my mom try it she said "just a bite." Then I gave dad a whole one and ate another one myself and then my mom said "maybe I'll have one more."
After we left Gruyère we drove down to Montreux, on the south east edge of lake Geneva. This is where you find the fantastic Chateau de Chillon. This castle is built right on the rocks that stick out of the water. It is on many lists of top things to do in Europe, so it didn't take much convincing of my parents to go. But when you see pictures you might not understand why it is so popular. It isn't the biggest or most beautiful castle- and we certainly have seen many of those. But it didn't take long once we got inside for my parents to understand. They just kept saying "this is so cool!" and "there's more?"
There are no guided tours- you just have free reign- over every inch of the castle. I'm not kidding- you go everywhere- and it is so fun to imagine that you're in a different century. We only had an hour to see the whole thing- but luckily since I'd been there before I remembered where to go and we were able to keep a good pace to see everything. As we were leaving right at 7, when they were closing, a group of people coming for a private party were arriving. Some stupid women were wearing tall heels- but they were in for a hard surprise that the whole castle is paved with cobble stones- good luck walking! It was perfect timing to take gorgeous pictures of the exterior because it was sunset!
It was a perfect day. Seriously- there are no words. Thank goodness there are pictures. When I look at them I can imagine I'm back there, experiencing it all over again. And to finish this perfect day, we went to get a kebab from the restaurant where I first discovered the Kebab- in the beginning of my mission. The same man works there, and I remembered how nice he always was. Missionaries went there so often and he would always wave when he saw us walk by. I was glad to see that the shop is still there and business was booming. They were very busy. And the kebabs were delicious and huge. I'm so proud of 'my first kebab shop' which still makes the best ones.
We got out in Bern to see the bear park and as we were driving out of the city we found an incredible view of the whole city with the river bend.
After Bern we went into Fribourg and saw the Gutenberg museum- where the printing press was invented.
We did a lot of driving through the Swiss country side- a lot of cities in one day.
Our next stop was in Broc for the Maison Cailler, a chocolate museum. Yep, you read me right. Chocolate Museum.
We could smell chocolate from outside. And inside you buy your tickets for a tour in the right language and then you wait in their shop for your group to be called. When I say shop, I mean large chocolate store- with a large wall loaded with bars and a little cafe.
When our tour got started we were in a room with Mayan stone decor. The recording started up and said that we would be starting on a journey through the history of chocolate in the world and how it came to Switzerland. Then the floor started descending. It was so Disneyland. The floor dropped about five feet until it was now at the right level for a different door at our side could open up and when we walked through we were in a jungle- still smelling of chocolate. The tour continued to be very fun and a little cheesy at times. But it did a REALLY good job of making you want chocolate at the end. They had a room with great big sacs of cocoa beans and nuts from different countries. You can eat them if you want and I tried a cocoa bean- but they are gross. For a moment it DID taste like chocolate, but it also tasted like wood and it was ridiculously bitter. But I tried it! That's a new thing. Behind glass, like at Krispy Kreme, you can see the Cailler bars being made. Their machinery is really impressive.
The very last thing before we get back to the store in the front is the chocolate tasting room. Yep- tasting. The best part: they don't kick you out. You can stay in there as long as you want and the chocolate just keeps getting replenished. The unfortunate thing is that there is nothing with which to clean your palette. After about 7 pieces I stopped being able to taste the differences. And after about 12 pieces, I couldn't put any more chocolate in my mouth. But it was SO GOOD.
After we left the chocolate factory we went to Gruyère to the Cheese factory. What a day, right? We didn't actually go into the museum, but we saw the large basement where the huge rounds of cheese are stored and aged and machine-brushed with salt water. And of course we went to the store and bought cheese and Gruyère cream (double cream). This cream is very special and I have been searching for it since the beginning of my mission after the Jaquets introduced it to me. It is a typical swiss dessert to eat Meringues with double cream, and it is AMAZING. I mean- its basically pure sugar, but the combination of the sugar meringues with the unsweetened cream is so good that they made an ice cream flavor from it. Seriously. When I made my mom try it she said "just a bite." Then I gave dad a whole one and ate another one myself and then my mom said "maybe I'll have one more."
After we left Gruyère we drove down to Montreux, on the south east edge of lake Geneva. This is where you find the fantastic Chateau de Chillon. This castle is built right on the rocks that stick out of the water. It is on many lists of top things to do in Europe, so it didn't take much convincing of my parents to go. But when you see pictures you might not understand why it is so popular. It isn't the biggest or most beautiful castle- and we certainly have seen many of those. But it didn't take long once we got inside for my parents to understand. They just kept saying "this is so cool!" and "there's more?"
There are no guided tours- you just have free reign- over every inch of the castle. I'm not kidding- you go everywhere- and it is so fun to imagine that you're in a different century. We only had an hour to see the whole thing- but luckily since I'd been there before I remembered where to go and we were able to keep a good pace to see everything. As we were leaving right at 7, when they were closing, a group of people coming for a private party were arriving. Some stupid women were wearing tall heels- but they were in for a hard surprise that the whole castle is paved with cobble stones- good luck walking! It was perfect timing to take gorgeous pictures of the exterior because it was sunset!
It was a perfect day. Seriously- there are no words. Thank goodness there are pictures. When I look at them I can imagine I'm back there, experiencing it all over again. And to finish this perfect day, we went to get a kebab from the restaurant where I first discovered the Kebab- in the beginning of my mission. The same man works there, and I remembered how nice he always was. Missionaries went there so often and he would always wave when he saw us walk by. I was glad to see that the shop is still there and business was booming. They were very busy. And the kebabs were delicious and huge. I'm so proud of 'my first kebab shop' which still makes the best ones.
Day 23: Mountains
We got up really early and said goodbye to the Lepores. We wanted to find a market that opened at six but we couldn't find it. So we just went straight to the institute where Terencia was going to meet us. We parked the car and bought breakfast from the boulangerie while we waited for Terencia.
When I saw her from across the street I was so excited, and she was walking with someone I didn't recognize from a distance. I knew it wasn't anyone I had met in Geneva. When they were on the other side of the street about to cross I could finally see her clearly. It was Alexandra, a girl I taught while I was in Geneva. She got baptized while I was still in Geneva but she has moved around a lot for internships. I had no idea she was in Lyon. I nearly started crying I was so surprised. I didn't know who to hug first! We sat on the bench and talked for an hour. It was the best morning I've had in a long time. It was precious. Apparently Alexandra is Terencia's roommate and after Terencia made plans with me she told Alexandra that she was going to go meet up with a returned missionary. She showed Alexandra my picture from the Liahona and Alexandra said, "wait! that's MY Soeur Read!"
Tender mercies come from the smallest things. We visited the institute, and I talked to the secretary, who helped me call Terencia. And all of that resulted in a moment that I will never forget.
It was painful to leave, but we needed to get on the road.
We drove through Annecy to take pictures. When I first heard about Annecy on my mission I wanted to serve there so bad. President re-opened the area with sisters while I was in Geneva but I never got to see the city. It is a gorgeous little town. We got out of the car to see the lake and there was a man feeding birds. He gave me some of his bread and the little sparrows came and landed right on my hand. They were so cute! I wonder how long it took for the birds to trust him. I am sure he goes there every day.
After Annecy we drove to Chamonix, re-entering Switzerland. We had been driving under a constant light cloud coverage which worried us because we wanted to see Mont Blanc. But the people at the ticket booth told us there wouldn't be a problem. Mom decided to stay at the bottom and she did some shopping while dad and I took the cable car up to the top, to the Aiguille du Midi. There were people wearing serious mountaineering gear. One guy carried a backpack that could fit a full-grown man inside. I have no idea what was actually in there. As we took the cable car up we entered into the cloud and we couldn't see anything. The cable car has a halfway point where we have to switch cars to go all the way up. In the second car we still couldn't see anything but clouds until suddenly, out of the constant light grey, the most impressive, white-capped mountains extended on both sides as far as the eye can see. The clouds only sat over the land, blocking all view of the mountains, but above them it was perfectly clear and sunny. And cold. I could barely believe where my father and I were standing- seeing such glorious mountains FROM the mountains is really incredible. And there was a LOT of snow. Our timing with the storms that had passed through days before was perfect.
I thoroughly enjoyed our time up there. I through snow at my dad, ate and icicle and bought a hot chocolate. I also freaked my dad out every time I took my feet off the ground. Jumping up on the railing for a picture or stepping out onto the snow through the gate where the snowboarders come in- no matter that I was always totally in control- dad would shout "Nanu! Get down!" He's more afraid of heights than I am- even though I think hiking half dome is FAR more risky than anything I did. Dads gotta be dads.
We passed through Martigny after we left Mont Blanc. It is a little swiss town in the mountains that has a museum about St. Bernards, which were used as rescue dogs in the mountains for years. They actually have dogs at the museum and if you have lots of money you can pay to go out with them when they walk the dogs. We just enjoyed seeing them an petting a couple. They are such big, cute dogs. They're SO FLUFFY!
We drove through Vevey, a town on the edge of Geneva lake, or Lac Leman, and took a picture infront of the Nestle Alimentarium fork. Its just a big fork statue in the lake.
We got in to Lausanne in the evening. We're staying with the Jaquet family. They were very welcoming to the missionaries and always had us for Sunday dinner. They said we could always come and stay with them. They have a camping car where we can sleep. Sister Jaquet asked if we were going to eat dinner with them. We didn't already have other plans and I couldn't refuse.
When I saw her from across the street I was so excited, and she was walking with someone I didn't recognize from a distance. I knew it wasn't anyone I had met in Geneva. When they were on the other side of the street about to cross I could finally see her clearly. It was Alexandra, a girl I taught while I was in Geneva. She got baptized while I was still in Geneva but she has moved around a lot for internships. I had no idea she was in Lyon. I nearly started crying I was so surprised. I didn't know who to hug first! We sat on the bench and talked for an hour. It was the best morning I've had in a long time. It was precious. Apparently Alexandra is Terencia's roommate and after Terencia made plans with me she told Alexandra that she was going to go meet up with a returned missionary. She showed Alexandra my picture from the Liahona and Alexandra said, "wait! that's MY Soeur Read!"
Tender mercies come from the smallest things. We visited the institute, and I talked to the secretary, who helped me call Terencia. And all of that resulted in a moment that I will never forget.
It was painful to leave, but we needed to get on the road.
We drove through Annecy to take pictures. When I first heard about Annecy on my mission I wanted to serve there so bad. President re-opened the area with sisters while I was in Geneva but I never got to see the city. It is a gorgeous little town. We got out of the car to see the lake and there was a man feeding birds. He gave me some of his bread and the little sparrows came and landed right on my hand. They were so cute! I wonder how long it took for the birds to trust him. I am sure he goes there every day.
After Annecy we drove to Chamonix, re-entering Switzerland. We had been driving under a constant light cloud coverage which worried us because we wanted to see Mont Blanc. But the people at the ticket booth told us there wouldn't be a problem. Mom decided to stay at the bottom and she did some shopping while dad and I took the cable car up to the top, to the Aiguille du Midi. There were people wearing serious mountaineering gear. One guy carried a backpack that could fit a full-grown man inside. I have no idea what was actually in there. As we took the cable car up we entered into the cloud and we couldn't see anything. The cable car has a halfway point where we have to switch cars to go all the way up. In the second car we still couldn't see anything but clouds until suddenly, out of the constant light grey, the most impressive, white-capped mountains extended on both sides as far as the eye can see. The clouds only sat over the land, blocking all view of the mountains, but above them it was perfectly clear and sunny. And cold. I could barely believe where my father and I were standing- seeing such glorious mountains FROM the mountains is really incredible. And there was a LOT of snow. Our timing with the storms that had passed through days before was perfect.
I thoroughly enjoyed our time up there. I through snow at my dad, ate and icicle and bought a hot chocolate. I also freaked my dad out every time I took my feet off the ground. Jumping up on the railing for a picture or stepping out onto the snow through the gate where the snowboarders come in- no matter that I was always totally in control- dad would shout "Nanu! Get down!" He's more afraid of heights than I am- even though I think hiking half dome is FAR more risky than anything I did. Dads gotta be dads.
We passed through Martigny after we left Mont Blanc. It is a little swiss town in the mountains that has a museum about St. Bernards, which were used as rescue dogs in the mountains for years. They actually have dogs at the museum and if you have lots of money you can pay to go out with them when they walk the dogs. We just enjoyed seeing them an petting a couple. They are such big, cute dogs. They're SO FLUFFY!
We drove through Vevey, a town on the edge of Geneva lake, or Lac Leman, and took a picture infront of the Nestle Alimentarium fork. Its just a big fork statue in the lake.
We got in to Lausanne in the evening. We're staying with the Jaquet family. They were very welcoming to the missionaries and always had us for Sunday dinner. They said we could always come and stay with them. They have a camping car where we can sleep. Sister Jaquet asked if we were going to eat dinner with them. We didn't already have other plans and I couldn't refuse.
Day 22: Montelimar- Lyon
As we made our way out of Avignon, we stopped by their old roman archway and took pictures while I called my friend from Lyon who was giving us a place to stay for the night.
We stopped in Montelimar, a place made famous for the origin of Nougat. So we had to check out their Nougat factory. You can watch it being made and packaged. We bought a couple of flavors for the road and as a gift for our friends in Lyon.
I was reading a book to my mom in the car but after a couple of hours I looked up and noticed that we were driving by a river and I can't really explain what was so familiar, because we weren't really in the city yet; I had never been on that road but there was something about the buildings and the river that just screamed LYON to me. I perked up and said "are we almost there? I can already tell!"
There was no more reading after that. I was too excited when I started recognizing things: the aquarium I visited on a preparation-day, a bridge, a building, the large cathedral on top of the hill. I was home.
We drove into the center of town to go to the Tourist office. We needed to get our city passes so we could take the public transportation around town. You cannot imagine how excited I was about that.
It took forever in line to get our passes. I don't even want to talk about the annoying old man who just kept going around in circles with his questions while every one is rolling their eyes waiting for him to be finished. He never did- after nearly 25 minutes someone else finally came out to start a new line.
Before we could explore the city we drove out to find my friends' house- the Lepores. It was a bit more complicated than we expected. There are two roads with a similar name and we went to the wrong one, but Roland was able to come and help us find the way- it wasn't far.
Amie and Roland moved into Lyon while I was serving there. She is American and he is French- his parents also live in Lyon. They have the most adorable children the world has ever seen and when we pulled up the kids came running out to greet us. I could finally pick them up! We had a lovely lunch with the whole family and I thoroughly enjoyed playing with the kids.
We took the bus after lunch to go into town and see the sights. I was overjoyed to walk around my town again. We visited Vieux Lyon (old town) and saw the Guignol museum, which I had not visited before, and we walked through a few of the passage-ways that make up the Lyon Labyrinth. Lyon was built on the production of silk and these passages were used to transport the silk from the factories without getting damaged from rain or snow. They are like tiny alleyways that go through the buildings from street to street, but they go under apartments and many of them are not publicly accessible because people still live in all the apartments. We also went to see the silk factory where they have machinery that is hundreds of years old and they still use it! We could watch the man at work making a striped red velvet. I had no clue how velvet was made and now I know and I must say it is pretty genius.
We hopped on the metro to go down to 'my part of town.' The Lumière Brothers museum is right in the neighborhood where I lived as a missionary. The Lumière Brothers invented the moving pictures- the creation of movies. The museum is in the enormous house that their father built. You should look it up- its a remarkable building.
Since we were so close we walked to see my apartment (which is now occupied by Elders and I hope they are taking good care of it). Just at the edge of our block corner is the boulangerie that we frequented often so I had to stop in and get a pastry.
Then we went a couple stops on the metro to stop by the institute. There were elders inside, teaching. I didn't really get to know the Institute director or his secretary but I still saw them often enough that when I went upstairs they did recognize me. It is really weird to think that I have been home for 16 months already. While I talked about who was still in town (most of the young adults are either on missions or in different cities) my parents found the photo albums that the missionary couple used to put together. There is a picture of me in one of the baptism pictures. I am so glad that we stopped by the insitute because I got to call Terencia, a young woman that worked with us all the time. She was working that night but I had to see her so I asked if we could meet up the next morning before my parents and I left town. We only had a little time to be in Lyon because we needed to drive up to Lausanne with many stops on the way. So even though our plan was to leave Lyon early, I HAD to see Terencia and she said it would be possible.
We left the institute and took the metro and funicular up to see the Cathedral and the Roman Ruins. We quickly popped into the Cathedral and took some pictures outside. We were outside when we heard the bells ring six and then we walked down to the ruins. The man in the tourist office had told me that they close at seven. But we got there and the gate was closed. The man in the tourist office forgot that the winter schedule started 3 days earlier so the ruins close at 6. Crap. I was really excited to show the ruins to my parents. It is a very impressive amphitheater. Actually, it is 2. And you can walk all over and around the ruins. My dad would have enjoyed it. Too bad.
We made plans with the Lepore family to meet up with us for dinner. We went to a restaurant in Vieux Lyon that I remembered. It was so much fun to be with the kids and the food was really good too.
After dinner we went home and chatted with the family and the kids presented us with some pictures and notes that they drew for us that afternoon. It was SO adorable. I'm going to miss them a ton.
We stopped in Montelimar, a place made famous for the origin of Nougat. So we had to check out their Nougat factory. You can watch it being made and packaged. We bought a couple of flavors for the road and as a gift for our friends in Lyon.
I was reading a book to my mom in the car but after a couple of hours I looked up and noticed that we were driving by a river and I can't really explain what was so familiar, because we weren't really in the city yet; I had never been on that road but there was something about the buildings and the river that just screamed LYON to me. I perked up and said "are we almost there? I can already tell!"
There was no more reading after that. I was too excited when I started recognizing things: the aquarium I visited on a preparation-day, a bridge, a building, the large cathedral on top of the hill. I was home.
We drove into the center of town to go to the Tourist office. We needed to get our city passes so we could take the public transportation around town. You cannot imagine how excited I was about that.
It took forever in line to get our passes. I don't even want to talk about the annoying old man who just kept going around in circles with his questions while every one is rolling their eyes waiting for him to be finished. He never did- after nearly 25 minutes someone else finally came out to start a new line.
Before we could explore the city we drove out to find my friends' house- the Lepores. It was a bit more complicated than we expected. There are two roads with a similar name and we went to the wrong one, but Roland was able to come and help us find the way- it wasn't far.
Amie and Roland moved into Lyon while I was serving there. She is American and he is French- his parents also live in Lyon. They have the most adorable children the world has ever seen and when we pulled up the kids came running out to greet us. I could finally pick them up! We had a lovely lunch with the whole family and I thoroughly enjoyed playing with the kids.
We took the bus after lunch to go into town and see the sights. I was overjoyed to walk around my town again. We visited Vieux Lyon (old town) and saw the Guignol museum, which I had not visited before, and we walked through a few of the passage-ways that make up the Lyon Labyrinth. Lyon was built on the production of silk and these passages were used to transport the silk from the factories without getting damaged from rain or snow. They are like tiny alleyways that go through the buildings from street to street, but they go under apartments and many of them are not publicly accessible because people still live in all the apartments. We also went to see the silk factory where they have machinery that is hundreds of years old and they still use it! We could watch the man at work making a striped red velvet. I had no clue how velvet was made and now I know and I must say it is pretty genius.
We hopped on the metro to go down to 'my part of town.' The Lumière Brothers museum is right in the neighborhood where I lived as a missionary. The Lumière Brothers invented the moving pictures- the creation of movies. The museum is in the enormous house that their father built. You should look it up- its a remarkable building.
Since we were so close we walked to see my apartment (which is now occupied by Elders and I hope they are taking good care of it). Just at the edge of our block corner is the boulangerie that we frequented often so I had to stop in and get a pastry.
Then we went a couple stops on the metro to stop by the institute. There were elders inside, teaching. I didn't really get to know the Institute director or his secretary but I still saw them often enough that when I went upstairs they did recognize me. It is really weird to think that I have been home for 16 months already. While I talked about who was still in town (most of the young adults are either on missions or in different cities) my parents found the photo albums that the missionary couple used to put together. There is a picture of me in one of the baptism pictures. I am so glad that we stopped by the insitute because I got to call Terencia, a young woman that worked with us all the time. She was working that night but I had to see her so I asked if we could meet up the next morning before my parents and I left town. We only had a little time to be in Lyon because we needed to drive up to Lausanne with many stops on the way. So even though our plan was to leave Lyon early, I HAD to see Terencia and she said it would be possible.
We left the institute and took the metro and funicular up to see the Cathedral and the Roman Ruins. We quickly popped into the Cathedral and took some pictures outside. We were outside when we heard the bells ring six and then we walked down to the ruins. The man in the tourist office had told me that they close at seven. But we got there and the gate was closed. The man in the tourist office forgot that the winter schedule started 3 days earlier so the ruins close at 6. Crap. I was really excited to show the ruins to my parents. It is a very impressive amphitheater. Actually, it is 2. And you can walk all over and around the ruins. My dad would have enjoyed it. Too bad.
We made plans with the Lepore family to meet up with us for dinner. We went to a restaurant in Vieux Lyon that I remembered. It was so much fun to be with the kids and the food was really good too.
After dinner we went home and chatted with the family and the kids presented us with some pictures and notes that they drew for us that afternoon. It was SO adorable. I'm going to miss them a ton.
Day 21: Marseille
We got up in the morning to drive down to Marseille (pronounced Marsay), the largest port in France. If you're a reader you might know it because of a fantastic novel known as the Count of Monte Cristo. Just off the coast is a couple of islands- including one tiny little island with a prison fort called the Chateau d'If (Shat-oh deef). Though the fantastic movie of the Count of Monte Cristo makes you believe the island is far from any other coasts and it is a great feat that Edmond Dantes swims to freedom, in actuality it is very close to the port and even closer to the bigger island Frioul (Free-ool).
Unfortunately it was a very windy day- very windy. So windy that it was impossible to land any of their boats at the Chateau d'If, but we could still go to Frioul. So that is what we did.
Frioul is a natural reserve and it has many beautiful places to swim (which was on mom's list to do), and many places to get a great view of the Chateau d'If. But you have to walk there- cars and bikes are not allowed without special permission. So we had about a 20 minute walk to a beach that was suggested to us. The environment is so different from what I was used to in my more northern areas in Europe. We felt like we were in Mexico. It was very desert-y and there were a few dilapidated abandoned buildings.
We found the beach, which was gorgeous, but we also found a large group of people filming a french tv show. We could only swim in one portion of the beach to stay out of their shot.
Mom and Dad got changed and went swimming, but I knew I would freeze. Even if the water temperature were more reasonable, the wind would not be fun. These things didn't stop my parents however. So took pictures of the beautiful clear Mediterranean water while they got their fill. We didn't stay too long but we watched the filming from a distance for a few minutes as we walked back. The scene they were doing was some woman murdered on the beach. We think a dog finds her and leads some man to her body. It was fun to listen from afar, "ACTION!" and "COUPEZ!"
We got lunch back in the port before we got on our boat back to Marseille.
The boat ride is fun because it is extremely choppy due to the wind, so it is a fun challenge of keeping your feet under you as you walk around.
Back in Marseille we passed by a boulangerie and decided to treat ourselves to some delicious pastries.
After we left Marseille we went to Arles so my parents could see another roman arena but I slept in the car. They woke me up to see a monument to Van Gogh and then we left Arles to go to St. Remy, where Van Gogh painted Starry Night. There is a trail through the town that goes out to the hospital where he lived. They have historical plaques spread out along the way. It got dark while we were there- which seemed appropriate for the place where the most famous night landscape was painted.
Before getting home we went to the grocery store to find some easy dinner and food for the road tomorrow.
Unfortunately it was a very windy day- very windy. So windy that it was impossible to land any of their boats at the Chateau d'If, but we could still go to Frioul. So that is what we did.
Frioul is a natural reserve and it has many beautiful places to swim (which was on mom's list to do), and many places to get a great view of the Chateau d'If. But you have to walk there- cars and bikes are not allowed without special permission. So we had about a 20 minute walk to a beach that was suggested to us. The environment is so different from what I was used to in my more northern areas in Europe. We felt like we were in Mexico. It was very desert-y and there were a few dilapidated abandoned buildings.
We found the beach, which was gorgeous, but we also found a large group of people filming a french tv show. We could only swim in one portion of the beach to stay out of their shot.
Mom and Dad got changed and went swimming, but I knew I would freeze. Even if the water temperature were more reasonable, the wind would not be fun. These things didn't stop my parents however. So took pictures of the beautiful clear Mediterranean water while they got their fill. We didn't stay too long but we watched the filming from a distance for a few minutes as we walked back. The scene they were doing was some woman murdered on the beach. We think a dog finds her and leads some man to her body. It was fun to listen from afar, "ACTION!" and "COUPEZ!"
We got lunch back in the port before we got on our boat back to Marseille.
The boat ride is fun because it is extremely choppy due to the wind, so it is a fun challenge of keeping your feet under you as you walk around.
Back in Marseille we passed by a boulangerie and decided to treat ourselves to some delicious pastries.
After we left Marseille we went to Arles so my parents could see another roman arena but I slept in the car. They woke me up to see a monument to Van Gogh and then we left Arles to go to St. Remy, where Van Gogh painted Starry Night. There is a trail through the town that goes out to the hospital where he lived. They have historical plaques spread out along the way. It got dark while we were there- which seemed appropriate for the place where the most famous night landscape was painted.
Before getting home we went to the grocery store to find some easy dinner and food for the road tomorrow.
Monday, October 7, 2013
Day 20: Nîmes, Avignon, Pont du Gard
The house where we are staying is out in the country-side and it all smells of lavender.
We took longer than we wanted to get out of the house, but it takes a lot of planning to get all our destinations (and the maps for them) in order. This has been the essence of our trip-late night planning and early morning organizing.
We stopped at a grocery store for the things we needed for the day and then we headed to Nîmes. I was really excited for this because I have a mission friend who lives there. Emmanuel Prunin served in Geneva with me for four transfers (nearly 6 months) as an office Elder. When we had problems with our apartments we called Elder Prunin. My companion and I needed to replace our shower-head and we prepared a halloween prank on him when he came to fix it. Elder Prunin was on the train with me when I left Geneva to go to Lyon, and THEN when I finished my mission and left Lyon to go to the mission home in Geneva, quess who was on the same train.
We met up with Emmanuel at the church. Its always funny for missionaries to meet after the mission because even though we know eachother well, we still have to ask about names. I knew his name was Emmanuel but I asked if that was what he goes by. He said his friends call him Manu. My parents cracked up. One (yes, one of many) of my nicknames is Nanu. Manu and Nanu hitt'n the town.
Manu learned quite a bit of English during his mission but he still does not speak it fluently. So it was fun for me to speak mostly french and also fun for my parents to make sense of the little english that Manu shared in telling some of the history that he knows about Nîmes. Although- they were probably surprised to discover something I already knew. Manu is a joker. He would tell them something that was totally made up- but not always far off. Nîmes has a symbol engraved and otherwise represented EVERYWHERE- it is of a crocodile tied up to a palm tree. You can look it up on google if you want the explanation because I don't remember it right now. But I think I remember Manu saying the crocodile was a gift to Cleopatra from her lover- he said it so convincingly.
We walked through the old town with Manu and went to Les Arènes de Nîmes, an enormous roman arena- still used for concerts and even bull fighting.
We visited a couple other old roman buildings in Nîmes before we found a kebab shop and ate lunch. Then Manu walked back to get his car while we walked to the Jardin de la Fontaine (Fountain Garden) and up the huge hill to the Tour Magne (Great tower). All of it was very beautiful. Manu met us at the top and drove us back to our car at the church. We said goodbye and drove back to Avignon to see their fortress-well, the Papal Palace- and the Pont d'Avignon- a bridge that doesn't extend all the way across the water.
Before we lost the sunlight we wanted to make it out to Pont du Gard- a Roman aquaduct outside of Remoulins. Its enormous and quite impressive.
I don't know what to say about the things we saw today- we got some great pictures, and I mostly just enjoyed catching up with Manu. It was a great day.
Day 19: Milan-to-Provence
Our plans in Milan didn't include sight seeing because we couldn't get tickets in to see the painting of the Last Supper but Paulo called to say that he would take us on a quick drive to see a little bit of Milan. He tried to flatter his way inside to see the painting but that didn't work. So instead we found parking on the quiet Sunday morning and walked to go see the Duomo cathedral. It is the fourth largest cathedral in Europe, if I remember correctly. The square vas very empty because it was early but there were a few other tourists and some African men trying to get money out of them. They would put bird feed right in your hand so the pigeons come and land on your arm. I was taking pictures of this happening and then a man gave me some too. Unfortunately I had the camera and I think my mom was the only one who saw before the grains, and therefore the pigeons, were gone. Then the guy started tying a bracelet on my wrist, "where are you from? This is from Nigeria, like me." I told him that I didn't have any money but he insisted it was fine. It is a friendship bracelet. I kept saying that I didn't have money but then the bracelet was tied on my wrist. "This means you are my friend!"
Of course as I was walking away he asked for 2 euros.
I said I don't have it. He asked to see my money.
I said no.
This repeated a couple of times until he walked away, obviously disappointed that I wasn't a dumb tourist he can get money out of. Well too bad for him. He should learn NOT to approach every girl he sees and expect them to pay him for flattering words and a cheap bracelet. Honestly, of he had just offered nicely some of the grains to feed the birds (Mary Poppins style) for a little money I probably would have said yes. I'll do a lot of things for a good picture.
We also walked to see the Opera house, La Scala, which is across the street from a monument to Leonardo Da Vinci.
Walking back to the car through the downtown area, I noticed the cafés getting ready for the day and you can't miss the impressively large buckets of delicious gelato flavors, so colorful and SO tempting.
One more stop at the Castillo Sforzesco, an old castle fort. I was taking pictures of the fountain and the building while Dad walked went through the arch to get some pictures of his own. So, since I was almost by myself again, maybe you can guess what happened. A SECOND african man came up to me and YES, he put a bracelet on my wrist, even though I insisted that I wasn't going to pay him. This man was even more forward than the last. He claimed that this bracelet was for me because he Loved me. Oh yes. I'm sure he did.
All of the times on this trip that I have gotten similar attention from strange men, I always laugh inwardly at how my parents react. But it always just reminds me of my mission. I'm sure Elders get similar awkward moments, but I just don't think it will ever be the same as what sisters have to go through. I could almost confidently say that it happened every day. So its a good thing I don't get unsettled every time my parents walk away and I'm alone for a few minutes. And hey! Now I have TWO african bracelets for free. Hehe.
After we said goodbye to Paulo and checked out of our hotel we set back on the road out of Italy and into the south of France. For the first time, I finally had a view of the French Riviera, and the sun was shining brilliantly, though there were impressive looking clouds hanging over the land- it actually made for some interesting views. But we hoped to beat the clouds and not get caught in them.
We drove by the Monte Carlo casino and cruised down the small and medium Cornishes before lunch. When we got hungry we found a crêperie and enjoyed some very large and delicious savory crêpes, followed by two DELICIOUS dessert crêpes.
When we were driving on the Middle Cornishe we got some incredible pictures of the beautiful coast but when we started driving on the Grand Cornishe we were not fast enough to beat the clouds. We drove to the top of the ridge and marched through light rain to find an old roman monument, the Trophy of Augustus in La Turbie. Despite the rain, it was a beautiful area. I think the rain interrupted some fun Roman festival on the monument grounds. There were tents and people dressed as Romans galthering up their stuff. It would have been a very fun thing. But luckily, since it was raining, the woman just let us through the gate for free. yay!
We drove through Nice and headed a little north, away from the coast to a small place in Provence, called Avignon, where we are staying for the next 3 nights.
Of course as I was walking away he asked for 2 euros.
I said I don't have it. He asked to see my money.
I said no.
This repeated a couple of times until he walked away, obviously disappointed that I wasn't a dumb tourist he can get money out of. Well too bad for him. He should learn NOT to approach every girl he sees and expect them to pay him for flattering words and a cheap bracelet. Honestly, of he had just offered nicely some of the grains to feed the birds (Mary Poppins style) for a little money I probably would have said yes. I'll do a lot of things for a good picture.
We also walked to see the Opera house, La Scala, which is across the street from a monument to Leonardo Da Vinci.
Walking back to the car through the downtown area, I noticed the cafés getting ready for the day and you can't miss the impressively large buckets of delicious gelato flavors, so colorful and SO tempting.
One more stop at the Castillo Sforzesco, an old castle fort. I was taking pictures of the fountain and the building while Dad walked went through the arch to get some pictures of his own. So, since I was almost by myself again, maybe you can guess what happened. A SECOND african man came up to me and YES, he put a bracelet on my wrist, even though I insisted that I wasn't going to pay him. This man was even more forward than the last. He claimed that this bracelet was for me because he Loved me. Oh yes. I'm sure he did.
All of the times on this trip that I have gotten similar attention from strange men, I always laugh inwardly at how my parents react. But it always just reminds me of my mission. I'm sure Elders get similar awkward moments, but I just don't think it will ever be the same as what sisters have to go through. I could almost confidently say that it happened every day. So its a good thing I don't get unsettled every time my parents walk away and I'm alone for a few minutes. And hey! Now I have TWO african bracelets for free. Hehe.
After we said goodbye to Paulo and checked out of our hotel we set back on the road out of Italy and into the south of France. For the first time, I finally had a view of the French Riviera, and the sun was shining brilliantly, though there were impressive looking clouds hanging over the land- it actually made for some interesting views. But we hoped to beat the clouds and not get caught in them.
We drove by the Monte Carlo casino and cruised down the small and medium Cornishes before lunch. When we got hungry we found a crêperie and enjoyed some very large and delicious savory crêpes, followed by two DELICIOUS dessert crêpes.
When we were driving on the Middle Cornishe we got some incredible pictures of the beautiful coast but when we started driving on the Grand Cornishe we were not fast enough to beat the clouds. We drove to the top of the ridge and marched through light rain to find an old roman monument, the Trophy of Augustus in La Turbie. Despite the rain, it was a beautiful area. I think the rain interrupted some fun Roman festival on the monument grounds. There were tents and people dressed as Romans galthering up their stuff. It would have been a very fun thing. But luckily, since it was raining, the woman just let us through the gate for free. yay!
We drove through Nice and headed a little north, away from the coast to a small place in Provence, called Avignon, where we are staying for the next 3 nights.
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