The Three Swiss C's - Chateaus, Cheese & Chocolate!

Tuesday we all took a trip to Gruyeres, Switzerland, which is about a two hour train ride from Geneva. We managed the train quite well, with two different connections, I might add. Another public transportation success. It actually has left us wishing that the U.S. had more trains. It's so easy to get around this way!  As you might imagine the views from the train next to Lake Geneva and though the mountains were quite amazing. I'm not sure our little iPhones could quite capture it at the speed that we were moving...but here's a shot of the station. 

After arriving in Gruyeres, we headed "up" to Chateau de Gruyere, a medieval castle. It was quite a bit of a climb, but the scenery made it all worth it. Here's some pics from our "hike".

Can you see the "hike" behind me? I made it!

At the top of the hill was this charming village - so Swiss!

After a bit more of an uphill climb, we arrived at the chateau.  

More stunning views from the chateau gardens...

A "brocade" ceiling...

The interior was also grand. All the "wallpaper" is actually paint on the walls.  Amazing!

A few more scenic views from the interior...

After the chateau, we headed straight for some fondue, which was completely amazing - as was the Mac & cheese!! Then we made outer way back down the hill to Le Maison de Gruyere (the cheese factory). This visit included a self-guided tour and tasting of Gruyere cheeses aged for different times. Delish!

Our last stop of the day was in the neighboring town of Broc - just a quick 10 min train ride. The Cailler chocolate factory is owned by Nestle & has their factory there. It's such a large facility for the area and is surrounded by mountains & dairy cows. 

The tour was fun - very creative! I'd highly recommend it if you ever find yourself in that part of the world. It started out with the history of chocolate & Cailler.  Then it took you through a portion of production.  

Last but definitely not least, the tour ended with a tasting.  I think we might have even heard angels singing as we walked through the door.  Lol! There was so much chocolate!

Chad was so excited that he kissed a chocolate cow!

All in all it was a very "filling" day! :). So glad we made the trip!! 

Bon Voyage!

After a leisurely Monday morning, Ann Marie (one of Chad's colleague's wives) and I headed out to do a bit of shopping, which turned out to be mostly window shopping. :)  I've decided against spending a crazy amount of money to purchase a designer handbag. I was actually hoping to get a nice watch, since we are actually in the watch capital if the world...but that's not looking so good either. Turns out that since Geneva is so expensive, it's smarter to actually purchase these items back home or in other parts if the world. Don't get me wrong though. There are plenty of shops if you want to drop $10K on a watch...Chopard, Rolex, Bucherer, etc., but you will actually pay more for them here than back in the States. Crazy!  We probably had the best time today in Victorinox looking at all the different Swiss Army knives. Very cool...and reasonably priced! Maybe I'll get myself one of these to defend myself at work. ;)

On a different note, I'm proud to say that we've pretty much mastered the Geneva public transportation system, which is made up of a mix of two different kinds of busses and lots of trams. If you're staying in a hotel, you receive a free transportation pass for your entire stay! This makes getting around quite simple if you don't feel like walking. 

Monday evening, the EUMETSAT group hosted a 2 hour boat ride on Lake Geneva and allowed spouses to come along. It was such a nice evening...hors d'oeuvres, local wine & a gorgeous backdrop! There were several hundred attending, so our boat was quite big...

View of downtown Geneva...

Boat selfie!

Setting sail - view from the stern of the ship.

Bon Voyage!

Old Town, Geneva

Our first day back in Geneva, Sunday, was a fairly leisurely one. Many of Chad's work colleagues arrived from the U.S.  We spent a portion of the day walking around the lake again - always lovely - to help them stay awake for awhile. 

Here's another shot of Jet d'Eau...

While most of them napped in the afternoon, Chad and I checked out Cathedral de Saint Pierre high atop a hill in the Old Town area of Geneva. We walked up the cutest street on our way there. I just love the Old Town area! It reminds me of the streets behind Sacre-Coeur atop Montmatre in Paris.

At the top is a square called Place de Bourg Four. Lots of fountains & cafés! Love!

Selfie!

A bit higher up the hill is Cathedral de Saint Pierre. It's difficult to capture its size and beauty being so close to it...but also impossible to get a good shot from far away.

Cute area around the cathedral...

The cathedral's interior is pretty plain - not as ornate as others - but there's just something about its simplicity that's stunning.

The gorgeous ceiling...

It was free to visit the chapel but cost 5 CHF to go up into the towers. We couldn't resist heading on up, as we'd only heard wonderful things about the view from the top. We chose correctly, as the view was stunning!! But first, the climb up the South Tower...not recommended for claustrophics. Lol! 

Still climbing...

...and climbing. Thank goodness for a few small windows during the climb!

Made it! The top of the South tower..very old school but with a rustic charm.

A few of the views from way up there! Gorg!!

Then it was off to the North tower. Half way up we may or may not have taken some more selfies. :)

A pano shot - love!

At the top!!  Yahoo!! Great views!

Looking up!

Stunning!

So much more lovely than I anticipated! Glad we made the climb!! 

I was even more thankful for the exercise after the amazing dinner we had last night. After attending the EUMETSAT welcome reception and meeting up with more of Chad's colleagues, we opted for Italian again. Everyone's dinner looked crazy good! I had a delicious seafood pasta & Chad had a spicy salami pizza. We ended the night sharing some tiramisu.  Thank goodness we're walking a lot, or I'd be gaining 20 lbs on this trip!! Bon Appetit!