Posted by Andy on Feb 27, 2006 in
Travel We never knew we had a tour guide in the family until today. Stephen was our personal tour guide for Geneva today, showing us all the sites and giving us the detailed information only a tour guide would know. We took a quick tour of the town and saw places like the first protestant cathedral in the world where John Calvin (the man who made the reformation popular) used to preach in the 1500’s and an apartment where two men in the 1800’s lived while they were trying to sell this new drink they created that was fizzy. The drink didn’t go over very well in Geneva, so they moved to Great Britain to try and sell it there and it turns out the last name of one of the men was Schweppes. For Dinner tonight Sarah and Stephen made a traditional Swiss dinner called Rocklette, named after the type of cheese used as the main dish. The dinner consists of the Rocklette cheese, potatoes, and a heater that heats from the top. A piece of cheese is placed in a small pan (about 3″ in diameter) and placed under the heater until the cheese is melted. Then the cheese is scraped out of the pan and onto the potatoes. It was very good. One last bit of knowledge you may all like to know is that cheese is very cheap there.! 2 pounds of Gruyeres cheese is only about $1.! Here in the states it is $17 a pound!
Posted by Andy on Feb 25, 2006 in
Travel Following our invigorating morning of souvenir� shopping we went snipe hunting in the� bush near Lake Geneva 
� Well not exactly.� We went to a medieval town 30 min north of Geneva and then visited some Castle ruins.� The Castles actually belonged to two feuding families who shot cannon fodder and rude insults back and fourth to each other for over 80 years.� We could just feel the love when we arrived at the ruins.� The trip back was quick and painless and just in time for a quick dinner and a couple of games of Skip Bo.� Each team won.�
Posted by Andy on Feb 24, 2006 in
Travel We were all excited today for our sightseeing.� We had so much to do so we got up 7:30am.� First we were going to take a tour of� a Nestle Chocolate Factory 1.5 hrs away but when we got there, it was closed to tours for the winter.� Luckily it wasn’t the only thing we were going to see in that area so it only shortened our list of things to do.� Next on the agenda was to tour a cheese making factory.� That was very interesting.� The type of cheese they make takes 410 L or 108 gallons of milk to make 35kg or 77lbs of Cheese.� After the cheese factory we took a tour of a nearby castle which was also very cool.� Even though I know that the rich were always in castles I always thought of them as being very dungeon like and as I found out, they are not.� Rooms can be very ornate and beautiful.� Lunch for today was not very special but very expensive McDonalds.� Miriam and I got a big mac combo and an extra cheese burger and it cost us 14.4 Swiss Franks or $10.93 dollars.� It’s only McDonalds…that’s highway robbery!� We finished the day with Stephen playing the guitar and us singing some folk tunes and then a game of zilch, which Miriam won.
Posted by Andy on Feb 23, 2006 in
Travel We woke up at 9:30 this morning, which was very late for us this trip.� Usually we wake up around 7am or so.� We had a leisurely breakfast and then left to go visit Sarah and Stephen at work.� For those who don’t know, Sarah works for the Lutheran World Federation and deals with many different countries accounting items and Stephen works for Action by Churches together where he writes stories on different world disasters for financial aid.� After seeing Sarah and Stephen we walked down the street and toured the national Red Cross Headquarters.� It was very interesting; one man started the Red Cross back in 1864 by expressing an interest in helping soldiers in war.� After the Red Cross Tour we walked across the street and toured the UN.� That was fairly interesting but very short.� The whole tour was only 30 minutes long and we only saw one room of the complex but none the less it was interesting.� The UN tour ended our tours for the day and we went back to the apartment anticipating our Fondue dinner planned for the night.� The restaurant we went to was styled after the chateau’s of the Swiss Alps including the yodelers.� All in all it was a great day.�
Posted by Andy on Feb 22, 2006 in
Travel Today we went to Notre Dame.� We walked from our Hostel to the Cathedral instead of taking the Subway, which ended up being a very good choice as we came up to the cathedral from the backside which gave us an excellent view of the flying buttresses and rose windows.� Talk about a magnificent structure.� When I get the pictures put on the site take the time to look at them.� It is phenomenal.� It took them over 200 years to build it!� After Notre Dame we took the subway back to the Hostel to pick up our luggage and take a train to Geneva.� The trip takes about 3 hrs and goes through some beautiful country side.
Posted by Andy on Feb 22, 2006 in
Travel The sewer tour was next on our list.� I know….it sounds gross but it was very interesting.� Paris had one of the first sewer systems in the world and is one of the most sophisticated.� They had a very good museum with tons of information and it didn’t stink!� After the tour we went to the Arc de Triumph, one of the most well known attractions in Paris.� We decided to walk from the Sewer tour to the Arch and on the way we ate lunch in one of the wealthiest areas of Paris and were given 500 euros or $600 by a Chinese man to buy some little bags at Louis Vitton because he couldn’t by more than two.� We took the money initially but then declined as it seemed a little weird.� The Arch was very cool and large and was built by Napoleon to commemorate his many victories.� It also happens to be the largest triumphal arch in the world.� After this we headed back to the hotel for a quick nap.� While I was in Paris there were a couple of things I wanted to experience, one of them being a true French Dinner.� I made a big deal of this and it came back to bite me.� Miriam and I went to dinner and we had to have the menu interpreted to us.� Well…there was something missing in the translation because when I received my dinner I was served Cow Tongue.� I ate part of it but couldn’t finish it, they hadn’t skinned it and it still had taste buds.� It was gross but I guess I had it coming for creating such a fuss.�
Posted by Andy on Feb 22, 2006 in
Travel Up for today were the Eifel tower, Arc de Triumph, and a sewer tour.� When we woke up this morning it was raining.� Unfortunately we couldn’t reschedule a lot of our sightseeing due to closings and all, so we had to see the tower today rain or shine.� By the time we arrived at the Eifel tower we were a little damp, cold, and my feet were soaked.� It was a great thing to get in a warm elevator to ride to the top.� The first elevator takes you up two floors.� The First Stop is 57m or 187ft high and offers decent views of Paris.� The second stop is 115m or 377ft high and offers much better views of Paris; however the last level is the best at 276m or 955ft.� On a clear day visibility from the top of the Eifel Tower is 65km or 39 miles.� The ride to the top is a bit scary as the elevator is mostly glass and we were rising 578ft but we managed and it was quite cool.� The top level is all enclosed, thank goodness, and has maps all the way around that point out what the sights around Paris.� It also has countries listed and what the distance to those countries are that direction.� From the tower it was 5100km to New York and 9100km to LA.� Read the next listing for the rest of the trip.�
Posted by Andy on Feb 22, 2006 in
Travel We got up at 4:40am for our 6:25 flight to Paris, still sleeping and unaware of our surroundings or what we were doing, we got on the flight.� They have a cheap airline here called Easyjet.� It is truly a no frills flight, snacks and drinks are available for� a charge.� We arrived in Paris around 7:30am and made our way to the Gare De Lyon train station and finally to our Hostel.� Miriam’s parents weren’t coming in until 11:30am or so, so we bummed around and took in the culture of Paris.� We stopped at a couple of pastry shops and had a light breakfast.� Miriam’s Parents came in around noon at which time we dropped off our luggage and went to the Louvre.� What an amazing Museum.� Being the largest in the world, I really couldn’t expect much less but it was breathtaking.� We saw the Mona Lisa, Venus De Milo, and many others.� My mind was worn out after an hour and a half, there’s just so much to see.�
Posted by Andy on Feb 22, 2006 in
Travel The day started off easy and relaxing.� The Hockey event between Germany and Switzerland we� went to started at noon sharp and so we needed to get there in plenty of time to see the opening.� Just as we left the parking ramp it started to sprinkle a bit but we didn’t think anything of it.� We got to the event 30 mins early and found were amongst a sea of Swiss.� The game was pretty good.� Not as exciting as the speed skating but it was good.� The game ended with a tie which was disappointing because there was no closure but we couldn’t really complain as we were at the Olympics.� After the game it started to rain and of course we didn’t bring any umbrellas and we were off to buy souvenirs’ at the Olympic superstore.� The line to enter the store was half way around the outside of the building so we were ready to get wet.� After leaving the store we headed to the car and by the time we arrived, we were soaked head to toe.� The car never looked more appealing.� One of the highlights of the trip from Torino to Geneva was a tunnel through the tallest mountain in Europe, Mount Blanche.� I was given the opportunity to drive through the 11km tunnel which was exciting (thank you Stephen and Sarah).�
Posted by Andy on Feb 19, 2006 in
Travel After a pretty good nights sleep, Miriam, Sarah (Miriam’s Sister), Stephen (Sarah’s Husband) and I had a great breakfast at the hotel, which is located 1 hr north of Torino in a town called Aosta.� Our main event for the day was to go see all the sites, the medal plaza, the Shroud of Turin, and the Men’s 1000m Speed Skating Medal event.� The city is old and beautiful (pictures available soon) and very busy.� The shroud of Turin was very interesting and the rest was just cool.� As the Olympic event, we saw Shauni Davis win the gold and Joey Cheek win the silver for the USA.� There were tons of Dutch there; Speed Skating is their countries main event, which made the event more exciting.�