Our Year in Lugano, Switzerland - Fall 2004

Fall colors in the valley between Domodossola and the Simplon Pass We decided to take the route through the Simplon Pass, and to get there we drove to the center of Lake Maggiore and took a ferry boat across the lake. Then we drove up through Domodossola, Italy, and on through the pass. In Switzerland, it's never a straight shot from point A to point B! It was a narrow valley leading up to the pass, and the fall colors were beautiful! And if you can believe this, I took this picture standing at a Shell gas station! At the top of the Simplon Pass The only snow we encountered was at the very top of the pass. It lasted maybe 1/4 of a mile, which was good because we didn't have snow tires on!  It was an awesome sight to drive from the fall colors into winter at the top! After the Simplon Pass, decending into Brig As we were coming down from the pass, the valley opened up looking down onto Brig. You can't tell in this picture, but there were many chalet towns VERY high up in these mountains. I just keep asking myself - "how do they get up there!" View towards the east in the Valais valley We got off the highway to take this picture. We are on the road between Brig and Martigny, looking east. I don't know what the big tube is going across the picture. Castle in the Valais Valley Rick was very patient with me as we spent about 30 minutes trying to find an accessible spot for us to take this picture! Vineyards in the Valais Valley Rick and Terry outside near her apartment Here's a great funny story! On Monday morning of our stay with Terry in Bex it was raining, so Rick offered to drive Terry to her school which is just 5 minutes away, so she wouldn't have to ride her bike. It was a dark, rainy morning and Rick turned left onto a street that had confusing lines because of a trolley car that runs down that road. He asked Terry "Am I on the correct side of the line here?" But since Terry never drove there, she wasn't sure and thought Rick was ok. A minute later Rick drops off Terry near the school, and he was immediately approached by the police. Since he doesn't speak French, he tried calling out for Terry to come back but she didn't hear. Meanwhile, I'm waiting for Rick to come back to Terry's apartment to pick me up since we were going to visit Terry's classes that morning - remember we have a "Smart" car which only seats 2 people. So now Rick has to deal with this and a language problem. More police start arriving, pulling up their cars in front of him and behind him. I'll have to add a picture of this car to the site soon - it's a tiny car which belongs to our Swiss exchange partner, and it has colorful flowers on it along with the words "Grazie per non fumare" and "Non fumare è bello" (Thank you for not smoking and Not smoking is beautiful) Well, this car was already making heads turn in this town of Bex! Now fortunately for Rick, one of the police officers spoke fairly good English. He told Rick "Sir, we drive on the RIGHT side of the road here!" Then he asked for the vehicle registration papers. Rick had no clue where they were and started looking. There is a drawer under the driver's seat, but this car is so small Rick had difficulty opening the drawer while seated in the car. So he opened the door and was about to get out in order to look in this drawer when the police shouted "Sir! Stay in your car!" As Rick tried to bend his body in an awkward way to open the drawer while staying in the car, his foot slipped off the brake (he was in neutral and had not put on the parking brake) and the car began to roll back - almost hitting the police car behind him! Then the officer had to shout "Sir! Stop your car!" After checking the papers and having Rick explain that he was an exchange teacher, the police decided it would be too complicated to deal with him in English and let him go. They seemed to understand the situation about being an exchange teacher, and Terry explained to us later that the police know her well! A while back she had left her backpack at the school and the school was locked up. Her house keys were in there and she thought she'd have to sleep in the hallway of her building! But the police helped her get her keys - so they are familiar with us exchange teachers! View from Terry`s appartment This is looking south towards Mont Blanc. Chalet in the town of Les Plans above Bex View of town of Les Plans Since our "Smart" car only has two seats, the next morning Rick went jogging and I took Terry up into the mountains near her house. She just uses a bike and public transportation, so she was always wondering what was on that road going out of the eastern side of Bex! We drove up to the town of Les Plans - a beautiful, small village of chalets. Fortunately we were blessed yesterday and today with some clear weather! Rick, Terry, and Eva in Montreux at festival On Sunday afternoon we took the train to Montreux, which is on the eastern side of Lake Geneva, 15 minutes from Bex. There we met Eva, another exchange teacher who is from Germany doing an exchange in the French speaking part of Switzerland. She is in the same position as Rick - teaching PE in a language she does not know very well! As we walked up the streets to the historic part of the city, we came upon a fall festival. What a treat! Roman amphitheater in Martigny chalet village of Troistorrents west of Bex It was a rainy Monday. Rick and I decided to go to Martigny, but we didn't stay long because everything was closed - it was All Saints Day. We did enjoy seeing the ancient Roman amphitheater in the town! Then in the afternoon we drove up into the mountains to the west of Bex. It is near the French border. The drive was such a treat. I just loved all the chalets - just what one would imagine Switzerland to look like. We were fortunate to have a few peaks of the mountains. This must truly be spectacular on a clear day! Gail, Carole, Elodie, Emilie, Remy, Rick, and Jean-Erick On Tuesday we drove from Bex to Ballaison, France. I have a pen-pal in that town who I've never met. His family invited us to stay with them. Since it was rainy and cloudy, we decided to take the mountain route (to at least see something) instead of the route along the southern edge of Lake Geneva. We went back up through Troistorrents and then turned off to cross the border at the town of Pas de Morgins. Even in the rain, the roads were good and the chalet towns beautiful. We didn't know if we'd hit snow, and if we ran into too much, we would have to go back down and do the lake route. But there was no snow at our altitude. Just into France we passed through the towns of Chatel and Abondance. Both are ski resort towns - and so charming! I'd love to go back there! When we arrived in the town of Douvaine, near Ballaison, I called Jean-Erick and he met us there and we followed him back to his house. He lives in the countryside in a chalet-type home. Their family was so gracious to us and we are very thankful for their wonderful hospitality. They took us to the nearby town of Yvoire, on Lake Geneva, where I took this picture of the castle (private - been in the family for years). Yvoire is a well preserved medieval town - just what I love! In the evening Jean-Erick and his wife Carole took us to a lovely fish dinner out at a restaurant. The next morning we all drove to Geneva and took a tour of the United Nations together. Very interesting! Wednesday afternoon we went back to their house where Carole had prepared a delicious meal of beef with potatoes au gratin. After lunch, Rick and I continued our trip around the lake, continuing on to Lausanne. Chateau in Yvoire, France, along Lake Geneva (Lac Léman) Street in medieval town of Yvoire, France Gail, Rick, Arlette`s mom, Arlette, Maxime and Aunt Jane For our night in Lausanne, we were invited to stay at the home of Arlette and her mother and aunt. Arlette is the mother of my neighbor back in Comano. She is often in Comano, so when she heard we were taking a trip around the lake she invited us to stay with her. Grandma and Aunt Jane were busy in the kitchen preparing dinner for us all. Those two are just a bundle of smiles and energy, and one is 85 and one is 90 years old! We were so fortunate to meet them and we are thankful for their generous hospitality. On Thursday Arlette and her son Thierry took us on a brief tour of Lausanne and then we all went to the Olympic museum - the only one of it's kind in the world. Rick especially loved this museum! And down along the lakefront in front of the museum is a sculpture by a famous Swiss sculptor - from Comano! We then all had lunch along the lakefront before Rick and I continued our trip. Chateau de Chillon on east side of Lake Geneva (Lac Léman) Going south from Lausanne we stopped at the Chateau de Chillon. It was too late in the day to take a tour of the inside, but at least we had enough light left in the day to get a good look at the castle. Since there is really only one way back home to Comano, we had to pass Bex again, where our American teacher friend Terry had graciously offered for us to stay again on our way home. The Matterhorn from Zermatt On Friday during our return ride home we experienced mostly cloudy or foggy weather.  But as we neared the valley which turns off to go to Zermatt, Rick decided we should take a chance and see if there was clear weather up there. We parked in Tasch, where everyone has to take a little train the final leg to Zermatt. As you can see, we did have sunshine and almost a complete view of the Matterhorn! An interesting part of Zermatt was the cemetery - marking the graves of all who perished in mountain climbs in the area. We just stayed in Zermatt for a quick afternoon tour and then continued on to Brig where we found a nice hotel in which to spend the night in the pedestrian zone of the old city center. Fog on the north side of the Simplon Pass Well, we missed out on the beautiful views on Saturday morning on our ride from Brig back up to the Simplon Pass. Here is a sample of what we saw - fog, but still beautiful in its own way. Fortunately, once we arrived at the very top, the skies were clear. Funny how the fog just hung on the north side of the mountains! On the rest of the ride home we turned off at Domodossola and took the route going through the Centovalli. It's fortunate that we did since heavy rains earlier in the week made Lake Maggiore overflow (no ferry) and the road along the coast to Locarno (see the picture of us by the castle in the water under the section "Visit from Gail's mom and dad") well that road was covered by a landslide during the rainstorms! Gail with sheep during the ride back home through the Centovalli Previous Page                       Next Page