Category Archives: UNESCO sites

The romantic village of Saint-Émilion

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When we went to Bordeaux, we stayed in the town of Saint-Émilion.

Saint Emilion is an old wine town.   History dates vineyards there back to the second century.  Can you imagine?

Our hotel was Auberge de la Commanderie. We’d recommend it. The building was from the 12th Century.

The town is a UNESCO site.   Romanesque architecture and roman ruins are sprinkled throughout the entire village.

Church in Saint-Émilion

A street in Saint Émilion

 

 

Rock integrated into architecture

View from the steeple

 

I really loved the architecture of this hill town

The town seamlessly blended into the vineyards, and vice-versa

Small church on the hill, overlooking the vineyards

What a romantic city. Too bad the hubbies weren’t with us.

 

 

 

Venice, Italy

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I went to Venice for my first time with R, back in 2007.   We were only there 24 hours, but definitely was glad we made a stop to see the elegant architecture falling into the canals.

My mom had wanted to go to Venice, so we added it to our list of things to do when they were visiting us.  It was Gabe’s first time as well.

I wanted to share some of our favorite photographs from the weekend:

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The Little Train That Could….Drink Wine.

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We love the Lavaux region.   The wine terraces are magical.   Twin had read my blog before their visit and had really wanted to stop in because of our rave reviews.

There are many options for seeing Lavaux.    If you have a car, you can drive through leisurely.   I do warn you that it is difficult.  S may have accidentally driven on a wine road not meant for cars.   Gabe found it challenging when we drove from Chexbres down to Rivaz with Couch Surfer.

You can also take a train.  I knew of two tasting spots accessible by train.  One is Vinorama nearby the Rivaz stop (bottom of the hill).  It has a lovely tasting room featuring hundreds of Lavaux wines and also a really well-done video which gives you more information about the UNESCO World Heritage Site.   The other is called Le Deck.  We haven’t been there but A & A raved about the magnificent terrace.   You can reach it by car, or by train via Vevey at the Chexbres-Village stop (top of the hill).

You can also hike the region.  The women’s club hosts a magnificent hike every fall during harvest.   I did it and enjoyed it, but it was 5 hours from St. Saphorin to Lutry, which is a little challenging for me.  You can design your own hikes by researching distance and picking a starting and stopping train station.

Lastly, I had recently heard about the Lavaux Express touristic train.   Before E-dawg came, I had listed it as an option since my feet were still recovering and I can’t drive our car, Frau Hilda.   However, we ran out of time.   I had honestly forgotten about it until I read Swiss Wife’s blog and saw her pictures.

So, Twin, Solid and I decided to try it out.   The little train schedule can be found online.   It only goes at certain times and actually on differing days it switches between Lutry and Cully.   Since we did it on a Wednesday, we left from Lutry, which was adorable in itself.

Port at little town of Lutry

Driving through Lutry’s cute streets on the Lavaux Express

Starting our ascent

The terraces are what Lavaux is known for

Rolling vineyards into Lake Geneva

The Swiss Wife had warned us that the daytime trains didn’t serve wine.  There is a 6:30pm weekend one that includes a taste, but we were going during the week.  So, we were prepared so that we wouldn’t be disappointed.

However, surprise, surprise….halfway through, the driver pulled off and their was a little hut with a lady offering tastes for 3 CHF.  So, we decided to partake.

Twin tasting Lavaux Pinot Noir

Solid exploring the vineyards with his glass of wine

The train was 13 CHF for adults.  We considered it a great value in order to get to see the vineyards without a car (and if you aren’t up for hiking super steep terrain).

Related Links:

The Swiss Watch Blog:  Lavaux Wine Tasting

The Swiss Watch Blog:  Gratitude Friday: My French teacher.

Swiss Wife Style:  All Aboard The Lavaux Express

Schwingen In Switzerland:  Stopping at Lavaux

Schwingen In Switzerland:  St. Saphorin

Schwingen In Switzerland:  Lavaux

Natural Beauty in the Bernese Oberland

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Bernese Oberland is a region surrounding Switzerland’s capital, Bern.   It is a large region, and in my personal opinion, contains some of Switzerland’s most beautiful landscapes.   Although, I’ll admit, its hard to find parts of Switzerland that aren’t breathtaking.

As we were driving, we pulled over to find this valley.

Approaching Interlacken on the way from Luzern

One of my new favorite Swiss photos.

Loving the beauty of Bernese Oberland

It was a great warm-up view for us as we continued on through Interlacken, and into the Lauterbrunnen Valley to park our car.   From there, we took a little train up to Wengen, where we planned to spend the night at 1400m.

Lauterbrunnen Valley and its waterfall

Wengen, like other car-free towns we stayed in…. Saas-Fee, Zermatt, and Murren, was peaceful without the roar of motors.   A ten minute walk had us at Hotel Edelweiss.   The little chalet was family run and we couldn’t have felt more welcome.  A very pleasant gentleman personally walked us to our rooms to make sure all was okay.

Hotel Edelweiss in Wengen – we’d highly recommend it

After checking in, Mom ran into a lady whose job it was to prepare fresh bouquets for the hotel.   She had gathered Edelweiss as well as some florals from her personal garden to prepare the tables for the evening dinner service and the next day’s breakfast.   It’s all about the personal touch, isn’t it?

View from our balcony at Hotel Edelweiss

While relaxing on our terrace, Gabe & I did some quick research into what to do in Wengen.   We found a few spots that were well recommended and then headed to meet Twin & Solid.

Checking out the view

Our second trip to Bernese Oberland. Last time was in the distant mountain, in Murren.

Twin and Solid on their first Bernese adventure

The first recommendation, Hotel Caprice, didn’t disappoint.  We enjoyed beers and wine with this view in the background:

Drinks on the terrace at Hotel Caprice

After a few rounds, we headed to Hotel Bernerhof for some traditional Bernese fare.  Gabe and I ordered raclette so that they could get a taste.   Twin ordered veal sausage & rosti, another famous mountain dish.  Solid went with spaghetti.   The waiter was super hard working guy, running the entire place single-handedly.   We really enjoyed our meal there.

We are convinced that the folks in Wengen are some of the nicest we’ve met.

Who couldn’t enjoy life with a view like this?

Dusk falls on Jungfrau

Related Posts:

The Swiss Watch Blog:   Gratitude Friday:  Travel  (our adventures in Murren with T)

The Swiss Watch Blog:  Rostigraben

The Swiss Watch Blog:  Famous Swiss Foods – Cheese

Gratitude Friday: Sunburns in Dublin

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We just returned from a fabulous long weekend in Ireland.  In preparation for our trip, we knew to expect rain.  My friend K told me her grandma says, “You don’t go to Ireland for the weather”.  We had heard stories of friends who never saw blue sky the entire time.

When the weather forecast included a sun, I refused to accept it.  After all, you know Murphy’s law.   So, I prepared my warmest sweaters and scarves to take.  A raincoat.  And an umbrella.

We were greeted with sun.   And it stayed.  We know this was unusual based on the research we did.  It was also accentuated by the Irish.  Every time we saw locals greet each other, they quipped about the unbelievable weather.   It was all the radio stations talked about.

We dripped with sweat in our jeans and long sleeves.  We were burned slightly.  We couldn’t be happier.

The city was so alive with people appreciating the turn of good luck.

Crowds filling the streets for happy hour

Loving the sun

Some sought the shadows

It was warm enough for street dancing in the evening

Even forgetting about the sunshine it donned on us, we loved the city of Dublin.   It was evident that it didn’t need the sun to have warmth….in the colors, the personality of the people, the liveliness of the local joints.

This guy might have had a little too much gratitude for the sun

And I am not just saying it.  The people were some of the nicest we have come by so far in our travels.  Sure, the English not being a barrier helps.  Two examples to further illustrate:

#1 – Gabe and I were debating where to go for lunch.  We had the map out and we knew where we were, just more bantering about when and where.  A businessman walked up to us and inquired, “Can I help you find your way?”.  Out of the blue he wanted to help us.

#2 – I had a little bit of a red eye the second morning (no, not the Guinness!) and we inquired about the nearest pharmacy so I could get some Visine.  As soon as we asked, the receptionist at the hotel came over, worried, and said, “now what’s wrong, what can I do?”  We told her the simple answer and she embraced me and gave my shoulders a rub, empathizing with me.  Even though my little malady wasn’t a big deal, it was really nice of her.

We knew the Irish people were great as we have a friend in Geneva who has set a first example.  We love her bubbling personality and art for conversation.  We really appreciated seeing the city in which she lived, colorful and fun, along with more friendly folks, just like her!

Luckily, she and her partner had given us lots of good tips for what to do and see…and most importantly, where to eat and have a Guinness.   So, we did just that.  I thought I’d share the list for those traveling to Dublin soon:

Elephant & Castle, recommended by T, this was a delicious lunch spot in Temple Bar.  They have great burgers, salads, and wings.  Loved the duck salad.

Stag’s Head – we went there for an early drink one night and for music the other night. Great Guinness and service.

Gabe enjoying Stag’s Head music

Me enjoying a glass of Guinness at Stag’s Head. Just my size.

Temple Bar – we walked by this when exploring the historical area and it was also a fun place for a drink with live Irish music

O’Neill’s. They have a hearty Irish buffet served all day. Also great Guinness and a very traditional atmosphere.

We stayed in the Mercantile Hotel. It was an awesome location with friendly staff. They also had a sweet bar below.

In addition, we really enjoyed outdoor lunch at Kitchen, and our pre-theatre dinner at La Stampa.  Sorry no pictures there.

We did one of the Hop On, Hop Off Buses.  I’d like to say we only did it to save my feet, but we really like these sometimes to scope out the area and it provides cheaper and direct transportation.  It did additionally help with the feet though.  We loved seeing Trinity College, St Stephens Green, Christchurch, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and our stops at Guinness Storehouse and Jameson.

So, Dublin gets an A+ in our books.  Very grateful for our sunny experience.

Bon weekend, everyone!

Bellinzona, Switzerland

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Bellinzona, located in the Ticino part of Switzerland, is an quaint medieval town.   It is best known for the three castles that dominate the landscape.  The castles were awarded the UNESCO world heritage designation, based on their key role in protection of an Alpine pass in medieval times.

In my recent Castles in the Sky post, I explained that castles were built at elevations for defense.

In Bellinzona, there are three:   Castelgrande, Montebello, and Sasso Corbaro.

We were limited on time so just explored Castelgrande.   Luckily for me, there is an elevator that shoots you straight up through the castle to the inner courtyard.  This is a godsend since my feet aren’t in hiking condition yet.  Visiting the other two is a much more significant effort in walking / climbing.

The town of Bellinzona was quiet on the rainy Sunday we stopped in

View from below at Castelgrande

A first look on the upper courtyard of the castle

Yup, its pretty securely built on this rock.

We admired the view to the other castles.

We were hungry and it was starting to drizzle.  We decided to dine inside the castle where we had read that there was a great restaurant offering Ticino style meals.

Since it was Italian style, we decided to continue the trend of ordering two courses, a primi pasta course and a secondi meat course.   This was a mistake, at least for me.    The first courses came out huge.  Oops.   However, it was so delicious, I finished every bit of my taglietelle with Ticino ragu.  And Gabe finished his gorgonzola gnocchi.    Sorry that I didn’t get a picture before we ate it.

Eating inside of a UNESCO castle.  The sauce that once contained gnocchi.

The meat courses were equally as good.  Gabe almost finished his veal piccata.   I didn’t come close on my beef.   I vowed that I wasn’t going to order Italian style anymore.  I would have been just as content with only a pasta course.  The ride home we were stuffed.

However, all in all, we were impressed with the Italian Switzerland cooking.  It was just as good as Italy.

It was already 2pm, so we decided we better head home.  Especially since we weren’t 100% sure how to get there.

 

Swiss San Francisco

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When we were out on Neuchâtel Fun Day, we made a stop in La Chaux des Fonds as S was hosting two architecture students for the week, just prior to them returning from their studies abroad.   She wanted to show them another side of Switzerland and figured they’d like to see a few of Le Corbusier’s early designs.  Le Corbusier is a famous Swiss architect (I didn’t know either).    He happened to grow up in this city which is also a UNESCO world heritage city, for mechanical watch-making.

We visited both houses and drove around the city.

What was far more interesting to me in this Swiss city was the grid system.  S had noted that in addition to Le Corbusier and watch-making, that it was notorious for its checkerboard grid plan.

This is very uncommon in Switzerland.  Usually the roads cling to the shape of mountains, creating lots of curvy roads.  This makes it hard to drive in Swiss cities, with crazy intersections.  Especially when you add trams.  And bikes.  At angles.  Not that I know (since I can’t drive a stick), I just observe Gabe and my friends struggle with the traffic pattern.   If you haven’t read A’s Driving Handbook, you should.

Typical Swiss cities, like Neuchâtel, which we saw earlier in the day have more windy roads

However, La Chaux de Fonds is perfectly gridded and linear.  And, it is not flat all all.

Look at how the streets resemble San Francisco*!   As I mentioned, you don’t get these views in other Swiss cities because of the curve factor.

The hills

The next week, I told my physio that we went to La Chaux des Fonds with a group of friends.  He understood better when I mentioned the architecture thing.  He chuckled when I said I now called it “Swiss San Francisco”.

*In no way did the city & people resemble San Francisco except for the streets.   No bohemian vibe.  No bowls of chowder.     No adorable noisy seals.   And probably no nightlife.   Although I bet La Chaux des Fonds might rival Ghiradelli on chocolate….

Gratitude Friday: Stepping into a Van Gogh Painting

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Post by Lauren

We added Arles to our list because we knew The Gladiator would like its Roman history.  Arles has a Roman arena in marvelous shape.

However, I also was jazzed about hitting this UNESCO world heritage city because my favorite artist spent a stint of time here and credited it to be the most inspiring place of his career.  Thus, I am making our visit this weeks’ gratitude post.

Upon arrival, we stopped at Hotel Dieu, the hospital where Van Gogh recuperated after he cut off his ear.  We had learned in the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam that this incident was likely out of anger during a fight with fellow artist and object of his obsession, Gauguin.  Some say it was actually Gauguin who mistakenly cut off the ear in a sword fight and Van Gogh covered it up to protect Gauguin.  Only the dark streets of Arles can be sure.

Nonetheless, after the ear was no more, Van Gogh ended up at Hotel Dieu.  It was really neat for me to see this courtyard.  I instantly recognized it from a few paintings he did during his stay.

Espace Van Gogh, site of the Hotel Dieu, hospital where Van Gogh recovered

Later, we enjoyed an amazing dinner al fresco at Café Apostrophe in the Place du Forum.  I  say it was amazing because Gabe and I each both ordered a marvelous bone-in steak. We aren’t used to good quality beef in Switzerland.  It is typically small, expensive, and underwhelming.    We tend to get excited for eating out in other countries and Arles didn’t disappoint.

A highlight for me beyond the steak was sitting in sight of the café in the scene of the Café Terrace on the Place du Forum, Arles, at Night. About the night cafe, Van Gogh said, “”I have tried to express the idea that the café is a place where one can ruin oneself, go mad, or commit a crime.” (source: Wikipedia)

Recognize this scene? The Café - taken with my own camera - the source of my goosebumps!

When I was learning to paint in college, this was the second Van Gogh that I imitated, trying to recreate his brushstrokes in effort to learn the impressionistic style.  I have been lucky enough to travel to other cities that have been the scenes to famous paintings.  However, standing in sight of this little café in Arles sent chills up my spine.

The cafe one that I speak about is in the top left, but also included below are some additional paintings that Van Gogh did while in Arles:

Images courtesy of Wikipedia Commons

 

In addition to the Van Gogh sights, Mama Mia, The Gladiator, Gabe and I visited Les Arènes, the ancient Roman amphitheater.   Arles thrived during Roman times.  So much so that they needed a stadium to hold 20,000.  In this stadium were executions, bullfights and other gory events of which the Romans were enamored.

 

Les Arènes

After the fall of Rome, Les Arènes remained but transitioned into a fortress and then later an entire town fit within it’s protection.

Les Arènes, circa 18th century. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia Commons.

Les Arènes is still used today for shows and bullfights.

Throughout the trip, we also enjoyed strolling down Arles beautiful streets and window shopping.    Mama Mia and I picked up some provençal goods…linens for me, and some souvenirs and gifts for her.   However, we all just enjoyed walking along taking in Arles. To me, the buildings were so gorgeous…

Streets of Arles

Arles is said to be the most creative portion of Van Gogh’s career.   Now, I see why Van Gogh liked it so much.  I am grateful to have experienced it myself.

Bon weekend, everyone!

Pont du Gard

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Post by Lauren

Part of our group left after a week, leaving behind Mama Mia and The Gladiator.  The Gladiator had said he wanted to see the South of France so we took a road trip: SOF style.

This is the route we took; a big loop through 4 countries...if you count Monaco as its own country

Gabe and I tried to tailor the trip to:

-see a variety of geography

-see what was most interesting to all of us personally

-stay in financially efficient hotels. The South of France ain’t cheap.

Our first stop was at the Pont du Gard, an ancient Roman aqueduct  near Nîmes.  We knew that The Gladiator would like it because he enjoys history, particularly of ancient cultures.

The Pont du Gard was built in 19 B.C.    It is 50 km long and has three tiers.  It is remarkable site to witness and thus is designated a UNESCO world heritage site.  By the way, we hit 5 UNESCO sites during the family’s time here.  Gabe and I increased our total number by 3 during the family visit!  Woo hoo.

The Pont du Gard was designed to carry water to the fountains and baths of Nîmes, estimated 44 million gallons/day.  It is noted that Augustus’s son-in-law, Agrippa, was likely in charge of the design and execution as his aide and magistrate of water supply.

We had a sunny day.  However, it was incredibly windy.   We had brought a picnic to enjoy in view of Pont du Gard and had a hard time tying everything down while we ate.  Being the only one without sunglasses, I accumulated lots of Roman dust in my eyes which I had to flush out in the restroom of the tourist office.

My french tutor attributed the wind to “le mistral” the wind current along the Rhone river.

If you are touring Provence, this is a worthwhile stop.  Just be prepared for le mistral!

Milano

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Post by Lauren

Italy was high on the list for the family to see while they were here.   We considered going to Venice but our schedule was already packed as it was.  With Venice being 7 hours on the train, we opted for going to Milan instead as it is only 4 hours from Geneva.  We thought 14 hours would be overkill, especially since we’d done about 20 hours on the train thus far into the trip.

Direct trains leave Geneva twice a day for Milan – 7:42am and 1:42pm.  We picked the early train so that we could maximize our time.

We arrived in Milan just around lunch time and started to figure out how to take the metro and get euros out for the group.  We spent about 2 hours in the Milan train station trying to navigate.  Hello Italy and chaos!  As it turned out, we couldn’t take the metro with the wheelchairs – only steep stairs provided access – so we hopped in two cabs to take us to the city centre.

It took us a little while to find our hotel, but when we did find it we were rewarded greatly.  Gabe had done the research and found apartments nearby the Duomo.  Little did we realize that the view would be this good:

Glamour Apartments in Milan. Mama Mia, Sweet Wine and The French Cougar loved the marble bathrooms.

After marveling over the stately bathrooms and a quick lesson on bidets (see S in S for more), we dropped our bags and headed out for lunch.  We found a nice café directly in front of the Duomo and settled in for some wine and pizza.

Pizza lunch in Milan

Italy's best....gelato!!

The Gladiator's favorite part about Italy

Hanging out in Piazza del Duomo

After lunch, we grabbed some gelato, and Gabe took Sweet Wine, The Gladiator and French Cougar to the tour office to see if we could arrange something for the next day.  We had another small snippet of Italian chaos when some guy passing by stole The Gladiators sunglasses that he had left on the grass.   Mama Mia and I really couldn’t chase him down in our wheelchairs, so Dunkel saved the day by chasing after the guy who gave them back.

After a little bit of free time exploring, we met up for walking to a close-by restaurant, Al Mercante, recommended by a few folks.  It was family owned, cozy and welcoming.  We ordered in the typical Italian way, with a primi and a secondi.  In Italy, this is customary – to start with a pasta and then move onto a meat or fish dish.  Real Italians also add on an antipasti prior, but our tummies weren’t conditioned to this treatment yet so we just left it with the two courses.   However, some of us did participate in dolci, dessert.  Special thanks to Sweet Wine for treating Gabe and I to this marvelous meal.

The next day, after breakfast, we took a guided tour.  The guide, Esther, was quite good.  We’d recommend her for anyone traveling to Milan.  We navigated through the thousands of soccer fans in Milan for the Milano vs. Barcelona match happening later that night.

Dunkel, embracing the soccer spirit

Our first stop was the Duomo.  We learned that it took 500 years to complete, constructed between 1300 and 1800 AD.  The Duomo of Milan  is the world’s 3rd largest church (behind the Vatican and Sevilla).

Waiting to enter the Duomo of Milan after learning that "an Italian 5 minutes" really means 15. Not very Swiss.

The Duomo of Milan was styled after Notre Dame of Paris, built 200 years later.  It can contain 5 times the people however, at 40,000.  It is a Gothic style and has 3000 statues.

Duomo of Milan

There are 91 masses a week.  However, no weddings or funerals with the exception of very important events.  Versace’s funeral took place here in the Duomo of Milan.

One of the Duomo’s most notorious events took place in 1805, Napoleon ordered the Pope to come to Milan and crown him.  No one had ever ordered the Pope to travel before.

The marble used inside and out came from Lake Maggiore, outside of Milan.  Back then, it was quite important that it was a local source because of the difficulties of transportation.  As I mentioned, the marble used outside is the same as inside.  However, inside, the marble is dark.  Because of the current economic crisis in Italy, they cannot afford the expense of cleaning it inside.

The inside of the Duomo, 2012

After learning about the marble, we studied the stained glass.   Esther taught us that before the Catholics who attended the Duomo could read & write, that stained class told stories of the bible.  This particular scene details the life of Jesus Christ.

Some arts don’t improve with technology.  Esther said that today, designers are still not able to recreate the blue color that the talented craftsman achieved in the 15th Century.

Stained glass in Duomo of Milan, circa 1450 AD, telling the story of Jesus Christ's life.

After the Duomo, we continued on through the Galleria, the “living room of Milan”.  Gabe and I had discovered it the day before so enjoyed the second look.  We saw the original Prada, which will celebrate 100 years next year.  Speaking of the devil, our guide had the pleasure of touring Meryl Streep herself when she visited Milan. She said she was a very nice person.

Galleria, Milan

The original Prada store, Galleria, Milan

Next was La Scala, the famous opera house in Milan.  It was finished in 1778.  Esther listed three reasons it was so famous:

-the superior technical / sound accoustics

-the history, particularly Giuseppe Verdi, the talented composer who put the crack-down on the social antics of the Milan well-to-do when attending the opera

-the fact that success in the Scala gives you an international passport for your music career

The final stop was The Last Supper.   This was my favorite stop.  Until recently, I didn’t know that The Last Supper was painted on an actual wall.  It was done in the dining room of the monks in the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie, in a style like a fresco.  During WWII, the church was bombed and the adjacent wall crumbled and so The Last Supper barely escaped.  It is now a UNESCO world heritage site.

They are very protective of the painting, with due cause, so we had to go through three independent air-conditioning chambers before we were let in the dining room.

Last Supper courtesy of Wikipedia Commons

It was simply amazing to witness Da Vinci’s perspective compared to the other art that day. If you stand back in the dining hall of the monks, the scene seems to go on endlessly.  Noticing the other painting opposite the room, which was painted during the same time, the perspective and depth simply wasn’t there.  It was a new concept which made Da Vinci stand out as an artist.

Also of note is Da Vinci’s use of emotion in The Last Supper.  Previous artists had used the same faces for all of the apostles.  In order to differentiate Judas, they put him farthest away from Jesus.

However, in his rendition, Da Vinci focused on the emotion of the men at the moment when Jesus announced that one of those at the table was going to betray him. Disciples are grouped in threes for further examination, each with different reactions.  Judas is now depicted in the middle of all of them, fairly close to Jesus; however, he is in the dark, not the light.

What a treat, especially a week before Maudy Thursday to experience this painting.

Ciao Milan!