Ciao! I apologize for the lapse in updates. It was recently brought to my attention just how much work I have to do and how little time I have left! It seems like this first semester has been going by... slowly is not the correct term here, because it's been incredibly fast-paced and busy.. it just seems like the first three months have gone by quickly.. and now all of a sudden I have over 50 pages in essays and projects and finals to prepare (excluding all of the draft work that needs to be done) and I have a month to get all of that done.
However, a silver lining in that dismal abyss of paper-writing is.....
I RETURN TO THE STATES ONE MONTH FROM TODAY!!!
That's right, folks. Thirty days from today I will be somewhere above the Atlantic Ocean on my way to the grey and dreary JFK International Airport!
I cannot wait to see each and every one of you, and am working on some sort of a surprise for y'all... assuming I have enough time to get it done by the time I'm home!!! :]
ANYWAY! BACK TO TRAVEL UPDATES!!! [the point of this blog, after all!]
I left off in St-Luc after the bread making, so that takes us to Day 4, when we departed from St-Luc in route to Lausanne!
I have to say that my favorite overall location, in terms of personal experience, was Lausanne. It wasn't just the city itself, or the sites we saw, it was just a collective experience that left me feeling incredibly satisfied with the city. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
On our way to Lausanne, we headed over to the Gianadda Foundation in Martigny. This was an interesting stop because the museum was hosting an exhibit on Claude Monet! There were over 70 pieces on loan to the Foundation, and it was incredible to see some of the works by Monet in person!
We weren't allowed to take photos, but I tried to sneak a few, but they didn't work!
(shh don't tell anyone, though!)
(that last one looks pretty artsy, huh? no pun intended..... :p )
From the Gianadda Foundation, we made a stop at the Château de Chillon.
The Château de Chillon is Switzerland's most visited historic monument, and it was very interested to see the history of a single building, and how various eras of Swiss history affected the building.
There were three main influences on the castle that we learned about; the Savoy's, the Bernese, and the Vaudois (people of the Swiss canton of Vaud).
We weren't allowed to take photos, but I tried to sneak a few, but they didn't work!
(that last one looks pretty artsy, huh? no pun intended..... :p )
From the Gianadda Foundation, we made a stop at the Château de Chillon.
One interesting fact about the castle is that it consists of over 100 rooms that have been added onto each other one after the other throughout history.
One of the sites we saw in the castle was the dungeon/prison chambers. We learned of Lord Byron, the English writer/poet who made the castle infamous with his long narrative poem "The Prisoner of Chillon." There is a myth that Byron carved his name into one of the prison pillars while there, though there is no supporting evidence and is more than likely a gimmick to attract tourists. It's still fun to think of someone with such standing, like Lord Byron, and how he may have left his mark on the castle, both figuratively through his poem, and literally through a carving!
One of the sites we saw in the castle was the dungeon/prison chambers. We learned of Lord Byron, the English writer/poet who made the castle infamous with his long narrative poem "The Prisoner of Chillon." There is a myth that Byron carved his name into one of the prison pillars while there, though there is no supporting evidence and is more than likely a gimmick to attract tourists. It's still fun to think of someone with such standing, like Lord Byron, and how he may have left his mark on the castle, both figuratively through his poem, and literally through a carving!
The Château de Chillon is located right on Lake Geneva, a strategic advantage that made it easier to defend / more difficult to attack. It also allowed the royalty within to escape through the dungeons onto the lake and sail quickly to France without detection.
I also learned that if you are in Lausanne, or practically anywhere in Switzerland/France that isn't Geneva? You are actually on Lake/Lac Léman!
From Château de Chillon, we finally headed over to Lausanne where I was (finally) able to reunite with my one true love.....
a venti white chocolate mocha with whipped cream in a mug that you could probably use to knock someone out with.... beautiful, beautiful way to end the night...
Oh! and Kaitlin and I got kebabs, which are great! (check out the post about Bellinzona to see a kebab!)
The next day started off with a SCAVENGER HUNT throughout the entire city! SSB (my Travel Leader; Sara Steinert-Borella) split us into groups and gave us clues to various sites around the city, and things that we had to find out about them that were interesting, and not necessarily related to travel writing, but still very interesting things to know.
I was with my RA, Dani, which was a HUGE advantage because she is fluent in French! We were able to communicate with locals and find out where we were going and had so much fun!
One stop we had to make was to a cathedral, and the interesting fact about it was that it had actually be converted to a Protestant church, there is no saint buried or remains there, and it was not even dedicated to anyone as it was no longer Catholic.
One stop we had to make was to a cathedral, and the interesting fact about it was that it had actually be converted to a Protestant church, there is no saint buried or remains there, and it was not even dedicated to anyone as it was no longer Catholic.
We had to take a photo of our favorite window in the church to prove we were there:
The city is just so vibrant and beautiful and I recommend that anyone in Switzerland should visit Lausanne!
(Part of a panorama of Lausanne. I edited the two parts different and didn't splice them together, though)
(Dani reading a French newspaper about Occupy Wall Street / Zurich)
(The Lausanne Harbor)
(Mimi, SSB's daughter who was in our scavenger hunt group, chasing the pigeons!)
(Lake Léman/Geneva. Beautiful.)
(at the Olympic museum.)
(Another view of Lake Geneva. The mountains in the background (very faded) is Evian, France! (Like the water bottles!))
(A beautiful shot of the lake.)
(I like this one because of the seagull in the center!)
Well, that sums up Lausanne, very briefly. My group won the scavenger hunt, which had a little added bonus that I'll talk about in the update about Geneva! I think going on a scavenger hunt is a great way to explore a new city. It was great way to adjust to the culture and figure things out on your own.
Have a great rest of the week! Can't wait to see everyone back home in a month! :]
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