The Wonders of Swiss Air

Now that was one long mama of a day - not quite 24 hrs, but it sure seemed like it.  And I just have one question - why would anybody fly to Europe on United or Delta, when you could fly on Swiss or Lufthansa?  The food was good and the service was better, and when was the last time you said that about an airline?  One quirk about Swiss, it seems, is they won't let you carry on a suitcase weighing more than 8 kilos, about 17 pounds, so I had to check mine, and since we were already in San Francisco, and we weren't giving Alaska a shot at losing it from Seattle, I was OK with that.

But 11 hrs is a long flight, particularly after the five hour mark when you realize you aren't even half way yet.  We both managed to get a little sleep, so it could have been a lot worse.  I had decided that since Lucerne was only a little more than an hour away on the train, and it sounded much more interesting in Zurich, we'd spend our first night there.

It turned out to be a great call - it's a beautiful city and once we found the hotel, only about a 15min walk from the train station, all was right with the world.  Even better than right - as we checked in, the desk clerk told us we'd been traded to the hotel across the square - a beautiful 4 star hotel right on the river.  Well, that certainly worked for us!  We wandered around our little 'old town' neighborhood on a beautiful warm, sunny evening, hoping to find a small restaurant to celebrate the beginning of our great adventure.  What we found were a lot of pretty nice places, but really expensive.  Pizza for two was about $50 in most places, and the fancy places were well beyond that.  Since it was such a fabulous evening we found a store and got some bread, salami, some cheese and grapes and had a wonderful little picnic by the river.  What a fitting end to a very long day.  Good night all.  Tomorrow it's off to Lake Como, a place my friend Thom calls his favorite place in all of Italy.

Sweet Sixteen

Well, here we go again.  Last year it was Paris, and this year it is Italy.  I don't know how we can possibly keep this up as an annual event, but then I guess I don't have to know that just now - only that in three days from now the latest adventure will have begun.  We fly to San Francisco on Wednesday afternoon, and then onto a non stop SwissAir flight to Zurich, which was cheaper by several hundred dollars than anything to Milan or Rome. 

So, Switzerland here we come.  We arrive about 3:30 Thursday afternoon, and since there is a train station right in the airport, decided we would spend the night in Lucerne, about an hour away.  Just seems like a prettier, more interesting place to spend our first night in Europe.  Friday, after a little exploring, we are off to Lake Como, where we hope the weather will be nice, as will our first taste of Italy.

Saturday, it's on to Florence for three nights in a funky little hotel not far from the Duomo, and a couple of days of hunting for early Michelangelo, to say nothing of the shopping bargins. 

Alex turns sixteen on the day we head for the splendour of Rome, so that will be particularly exciting.  Another little hotel on the 'wrong' side of the river but not far from St. Peters and all of the glory of the Vatican. 

Easter weekend in Venice, another tiny hotel - are we sensing a theme here? - this one four bridges from St. Marks, and then down a tiny lane, and just off the piazza.  It certainly sounds intriguing, but then they all do on TripAdvisor. 

We than have two nights to get back to Zurich, and fly home on Tuesday, April 10. 

Certainly sounds like an adventure to me.