European update 7/16

Hey all,

We're now in Paris and finally able to write again. Or, sadly, only me so far. The Wi-Fi is nice, though.

Let's see, our last day in Venice was lovely, and we walked all over St. Marks Square at a slow pace, ending our day with sitting on the edge of the pier and dipping our feet in the Mediterranean. The breeze was warm, and so was the water, and we didn't want to leave.

But travel called, and so at 5:45am next day, we trudged with our huge backpacks down to the Venice train station. One odd thing about this one was that every time a train came in, it sounded exactly like a Wraith attack. But that wasn't the most interesting piece of travel...let me give you the brief summary of the next two days:

We caught a water taxi from our hotel to Venezia S.L. Station, a short train to Venezia Mestre Station, a long train to Interlocken (Switzerland), a short train to Lauterbrunnen, a bus up to Stechelberg, and then a cable car up to Gimmelwald.

Second day was: a cable car up to Murren, a cable car up and then back down from Schilthorn, back down to Gimmelwald, another cable car to Stechelberg, a bus to Lauterbrunnen, a train to Interlocken, a train to Bern, and then a train to Paris.

Needless to say, we know Swiss transit really well now. But as for what that transit meant...

Switzerland was a bit uncomfortable after getting used to Italy. I hadn't realized until then how much I'd absorbed Italian culture and didn't like it being wrenched from me. But it was neater and more organized, and the landscape was a different kind of gorgeous. Need I say the Alps are magnificent? You ride the train up and up, and they're still taller than the Rockies. And then you go up even further on cable cars (which didn't feel secure for the first couple times) and they're still huge, even at 4700 feet.

And there's nothing like looking out your hotel window and seeing nothing but ginormous mountains. Except in the morning, when you can see only white and the ground under your window. Our hotel people were extremely helpful and nice, and the food was delicious. (Oh, and for the record: I've had two sips of wine in Italy, the red tasted awful, but the white was not bad. And I had a sip of light beer in Switzerland and actually enjoyed that taste straight off.)

The Schilthorn was beyond words, just as amazing as all the pictures, though we had no time to eat in the restaurant. It was about 45 degrees F, though, which was not pleasant.

I was surprisingly not tired of train trips when we got to the 5 1/2 hour one to get to Paris. I finished my second book (First, Speaker For the Dead, a reread that was just as powerful as the first read-through, and then Dune, where the writing was not too fantastic but the story became fascinating by the end.) and slept a little and wrote a little and the time seemed to fly past.

And then we were in Paris, and I was so glad to see euros being used again; trying to calculate Swiss Franks and their conversion was a problem, and I liked going back to a familiar currency. Someone picked us up in a taxi from the Paris train station and took us to our apartment. The owner was wonderful; nice, and also hilarious. The place has three levels, and it's nice to have all the space. Not sure what Paris itself will be like, but we're looking at maps now and about ready to start they day.

Love to all,
Merry K

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Switzerland was amazing! The Alps were so beautiful and the air was clean and fresh. The best part was going up to Schilthourn which is sitting right up in the Alps. I have never been so scared in my life while riding up in the cable car. Haha.

We are now all in Paris in our nice little apartment. (It suddenly just started to pour down rain and hail. I am now back from running around to shut all the windows.) when the owner said that they had unpredictable weather....who knew?!

Today we went to the Notre Dame church, Sainte Chapelle, little shops, and a water cruise. It was nice and hot out (unlike the rain now), but it is not muggy here. Yay!!!

Back in Venice we did send off a package back home. I believe we sent it to the Nowlin's house. We stuck the cd of pictures in there, too. Of course we did not think about how long it would take it to get there. We might beat it back home. Let us know when it arrives. Also let us know if you get postcards, we are curious to know how many are actually getting to their destinations.

Tomorrow we will be going to the Arc de Triomphe, shopping and the Louvre.

Miss you all,

Ladybug

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Our first day in Paris was not bad at all. The atmosphere here is very different. Italy was relaxed, even while moving fast, and there was a sense of history in a nonchalant manner. Switzerland was very exact and serious, but didn't go for more than simplicity. France on the other hand...I get the distinct impression that they think very highly of their history and accomplishments, and think that everyone else should, too.

However, Paris is a very beautiful city. The weather is unsurprisingly more like Seattle when hot--I really do miss the mugginess. We visited Notre Dame today, but the outside was more grand than the inside. The winner of the interior award would definitely be the Sainte Chapelle church with nearly all the walls being stained glass. I may get tired of seeing gorgeous churches eventually, but these ones are still amazing. We even heard part of a French mass at Notre Dame.

Our feet are still not recovered, so the boat tour on the Seine with its seats was a nice break from all the walking. You can see almost all the landmarks from the river, and it was here that we learned that the Louvre has 13 kilometers of exhibits. Ack! We'll be limiting our visit to a few choice items, we think.

Ordering food in Paris is much more difficult; Italian cuisine all had familiar words, but we needed several translations of the French menu. So it was nice that we could buy groceries and use the kitchen in our apartment for dinner. After all the traveling, quiet homely evenings are to be cherished.

Random note: Apparently the French think Americans are loud and obnoxious, so we were all trying to be quiet. So it was quite funny when the apartment owner said on giving us the tour last night that we were "silent--like ninjas"

The last little cultural thing we picked up was from watching early morning French cartoons and commercials. Words cannot describe how familiar, and yet how alien, that experience was. We laughed until tears came.

It'll be easier to like Paris than Rome, I think. Once we get a grip on the atmosphere and a little of the language barrier. Still, I think Italy will be my favorite.

Love to all,
Merry K