Wedding Bells

The reason for our trip - Nicole and Ahriel's wedding - finally arrived and everything went beautifully. The weather was fantastic, the location was picturesque, and the people were festive...

Nicole and Ahriel chose the B&B (with the yurts) up in Villars for the afternoon outdoor ceremony:















Everything came off without a hitch - I managed to walk Nicole down the stairs from her room to the "altar" without either of us tripping and falling. The groom showed up (always important). And the quick affirmation of their love for each other was a tear jerker.

Swiss Breakfast

Fresh chocolate croissant from the bakery up the street, orange juice, and the Alps. Perfect!

Yurt Dining

Last night Ahriel's parents hosted a fantastic dinner for all of the wedding guests who have traveled from far lands - Hawaii, Italy, Seattle, New York City, Princeton, Germany, Virginia, etc. A local B&B has a yurt that worked great for this event and the pictures will hopefully show you what I mean...

Swiss Dining

Last night we (Ahriel's parents Ron and Deborah, Nicole and Ahriel, Jack, Paula and Jennifer, and (of course) Malibu the wonderdog) went out for dinner at a very traditional Swiss Refuge (cabin up in the mountains) at the end of one of the many narrow and winding roads that climb up the mountainside.

The setting was spectacular with the cabin surrounded by bell clanking cows (the refuge is also an active dairy where they make their own cheese) and Alps piercing the skies on all sides.

The little cabin had a rustic wood-everywhere interior with traditional Swiss decorations (snow shoes, cow bells, unusual multi-sized milk pitchers, etc.). We opted for traditional Swiss fare of course. Around the table we had meat fondue (paper-thin slices of beef that we would cook in a boiling mushroom onion broth) and then dip in one of 6 different sauces, 6 different wild mushrooms in a creme sauce along side a flaky pastry, and raclette "go-go" - melted cheese (they put half of a big wheel of cheese next to the wood stove to melt it and then scrape the melted cheese onto a plate) to be eaten with potatoes, small onions, and pickles, the "go-go" part didn't have anything to do with wearing white boots from the 70s but instead meant that the patron was on the "all you can eat" plan. We started off with salads and had some french fries to go along with the meat fondue.

The food was delicious! The wine flowed! We had a great time!

Montreux

Spent the day in Montreux - a beautiful city down on Lake Geneva famous for its annual jazz festival.

We had an adventure on the train ride home when we got on the train that pulled into the station at 4:04 (our train was scheduled to leave at 4:10). When the train pulled out at 4:06 I said, "We're on the wrong train." Swiss trains never ever leave 4 minutes early (or 4 minute late!).

Sure enough, it was some sort of express and didn't stop at our station (Bex) but flew right on by. There was no conductor or train official around so Paula, who speaks the most French, asked the guy sitting across the aisle where the train was going and he said, "Milan"... Excellent. None of us had our passports for a day by the lake...

Fortunately, the train finally stopped prior to the Italian border at a town called Sion. We immediately pushed our way out and all three of us threw ourselves to the concrete and kissed it. Well, maybe not.

Fifteen minutes later there was a train heading back to Bex and we hopped on without buying $56 worth of tickets (the price of 3 tickets from Sion to Bex). On this train a conductor asked for our tickets and I explained the situation. He chuckled, thought to himself, "Stupid tourists" and punched our tickets. He made a point of telling us that Bex was the second stop up ahead.
We were glad to get off at Bex and hop on the little train with two red and yellow cars that pulls itself up the mountain to Gryon every half hour or so.

We arrived home safe and sound and again the locals were witness to three seemingly deranged tourists throwing themselves to the pavement and kissing it...

Hiking!

And to top off the afternoon a bit of hiking in the Alps...

Jack, Edna and Larry (Ahriel's aunt and uncle), Nicole and Ahriel, Deborah and Ron (Ahriel's mother and father), and (of course!) Malibu

Villars, Switzerland

The town of Villars is the "big" town up here on the mountainside. It's the main ski village and gets lots of tourist traffic both summer and winter. Nicole and Ahriel had to visit with the managers at the Bed and Breakfast where the gala wedding will be held on Saturday.


So Paula, Jennifer and I rode along. We stopped at a bank to use the ATM machine, wandered through town, and then took the forest path back down the mountain to Barboleuse (the part of Gryon where we're living).

There are yellow arrow signs everywhere marking walking/hiking trails (see the photo in my previous post). The one in Villars pointing towards Barboleuse said it was a 30 minute walk. These hikes are timed by clubs of retired people (AARP types) - so the hike takes a 70 year old about 30 minutes to complete. Of course these are 70 year olds that have been hiking the Alps for all of their lives. It took us 50 minutes...

Gryon, Switzerland

Paula and I took Malibu (Nicole's dog) for a walk around town this morning. Here are a few photos...

Gryon, Switzerland

After an uneventful long flight from Seattle to Frankfurt (10 hours) and an equally uneventful short flight from Frankfurt to Geneva (1 hours) we arrived with the plane stopping at the gate 37 seconds prior to our published arrival time! Swiss Punctuality!

Our daughter Nicole drove us up the twisty mountain roads that are almost too narrow for one car but are actually two way thoroughfares! We met cars and trucks along the way and either they or us had to find a convenient pull-off to let the other pass.

We also passed some typical Swiss cows in a pasture. Check out the size of the bell!

Eventually, we reached Gryon, the small ski village that Nicole and Ahriel call home. Their chalet is named Les Crocus (all the chalets here have distinctive names).

We'll be meeting Ahriel's family, recovering from jet lag, and doing some errands this afternoon...

Bound for Europe!

Another trip and another blog – I love doing these things!

This time Paula and I will be going to Europe on August 25th and returning to Seattle on September 16th. During that time we’ll be attending Nicole (our daughter) and Ahriel’s wedding in Gryon, Switzerland, traveling down to Provence (in France for the Geographically Challenged) for a week in Sablet - a village in the Rhone valley, and then have most of a week to travel somewhere else in Europe before having to catch the return flight in Geneva.

We’re looking forward to this trip very much.

I’ll be adding updates here as often as I can (I’ll have to find a computer with an internet connection…) and will be including pictures from the various locations and events. Stay tuned!