Vacation Station

The family and I have been doing a lot of vacation exploration this week. We just want a nice little 4-5 day holiday from life, nothing fancy. We're kind of thinking Myrtle Beach, since I've never been (well, technically I have, but I don't remember it.). If you have any thoughts on this, please share. 

Anyway, planning a vacation always makes me think of past vacations, and I've had some doozies. Hawaii will always be the greatest family vacation we ever take, and the New York/Nantucket vacation of two years ago would've have been wonderful had it not been for extraneous circumstances. But, let's face it, Europe takes the cake on vacations. (Yes, I'm going to talk about Europe AGAIN). I've had it on my mind a lot this week, so much so that I've been reading back through the journal I kept while I was there. I am a master journalist. 

One of my favorite passages is about the few days I spent in Lausanne, Switzerland. I bet many of you have never even heard of it. It's a truly bizarre little town, but it has an exceptional amount of character and natural beauty. Since I love reminiscing about my travels so much, I figured I'd just write up my entry about this town for you. Heck, I'll even include pictures. Read and enjoy....

September 12, 2009

En Lausanne:

At this moment, I am sitting on a bench in a park not far from our hotel in Lausanne. There are children playing and a handful of runners making their rounds. It's sundown. There's a breeze blowing that's starting to give me the chills, and I am physically exhausted from what ended up being a delightful day. 

We started the morning down by Lake Geneva, in a part of town called 'Ouchy,' which I think is a marvelous name. It was so pretty and peaceful; a European version of Cape Cod, if I'm making comparisons. We walked along the lakefront to the Olympic Museum (Lausanne is the Olympic Capital. Who knew?) 

The museum was quite an experience, and I enjoyed it all the more for getting free admission by participating in a video interview. He asked me what I thought about the future of the Olympics. I said I thought we would see higher standards for excellence, given Michael Phelp's success in Beijing. On the fly, it was the best I could do. 

Following a quick lunch at the Swiss equivalent to a hot dog stand, we rode the metro up the hill to the Old Town. We decided to take a walking tour of the city (which I was not properly shoed for), and while we waited for it to start, we bought some chocolate and watched an adorable send off of a couple who'd just been married at the Town Hall. 

The tour was amazing (and free for us, because we're students.) I appreciated the guide's sense of humor. The highlight was the cathedrale. It's at the highest point in the city so there are some terrific views from there.

After the tour, we had an early dinner at an adorable creperie. It looked like the inside of a grandmother's house. Everything was crocheted and lace. We shared 3 crepes: one with tomatoes and some kind of cheese, one with chocolate and bananas, and the last with chocolate and ice cream. There were delectable! It was a very European dining experience, I thought. 

This city is so quiet! It's not as eery as it was last night. I'm actually starting to appreciate the beauty and tranquility of it. I'm definitely glad that we took this trip because I've enjoyed something a little different. I doubt we will have many more experiences like this, as the rest of our destinations will be more commercial. We leave at 1:00 tomorrow, so I think we'll spend the morning on the waterfront. I like it down there.

All the people have gone home, it seems. Now it is especially quiet.

-KC