Chillon Castle

What better place to go on a milestone birthday than Chillon Castle, which dates back to the 1100's.  It is one of the best preserved castles.  We opted for the audio tour and brought along a splitter so we only needed to purchase one tour.  However, that meant we were literally connected at the hip!  We only had a few zigs when the other zagged and the audio tour is highly recommended.

Kari in the vineyard.  We made one stop on the way to take some pictures.

Looking back up the mountain at the vineyards.

Chillon Castle which is surrounded by water.

In the basement where they were fermenting wine.

This was a drawing of Jesus hanging on the cross etched into wall by a prisoner.

We were there shortly after Halloween and we didn't see anyone else while we were on our tour, especially when we were in the basement.  It was a little creepy, especially when we walked into one room where we saw someone moving and thought we were the only ones down there!  It ended up being projections of people from the middle ages.  I will have to see what they do over Halloween as there were signs that looked like they had some sort of event.  You could have lots of fun giving people a scare!!

There were projection images that moved, which gave us a little scare!

Picture of castle from the inside courtyard.

Courtyard outside the castle.

Sydney had skating that night and the kids surprised me with a little party when I arrived home.  We then made dinner for the kids and then Kari made sushi for us.  She was a pro by the third roll and it tasted great!!  One of the many foods I miss back in the US.  Randy keeps joking that we should open a Chipotle with all the expats that live here.  I don't think I will be tackling that one any time soon!!  We then enjoyed a chocolate cake the girls made with Kari.  It was a great day considering Randy was back in the states!!

Me and my kiddos!!

Wednesday, November 9th was Kari's last full day so after Aaron was on the bus we packed lunch loaded it up in my handy caddy and headed out.  We walked through the market in city center, took in the clock at top of the hour, and then made our way down to the school to pick up the kids at lunch.  Every Wednesday, the kids are off school at noon.  The clock tells a story, in French, every hour and there were tons of children from school eating their morning snack while waiting for the story to begin, it was adorable.

Down at the market with tons of fresh food from the vendors.

School children waiting for the story the clock tells at top of the hour.

The kids at the chess set at school.

One of the buildings at school.  The chapel is on the top floor.

Aaron fell asleep on the way home and I tried to wake him by standing him up. 

We had a great time with Kari and it was a bittersweet day when it was time for her to go home.  I planted many seeds of what we could do when she returns with the boys!!  Hopefully we will see the whole Schneyer family in Switzerland before we return to the states!!!  Oh yeah, and for those of you debating a trip of your own, she gave us a 5 star rating and said "The guest room as the most amazing views!".

Callier Chocolate Factory

We were off to Callier Chocolate factory for some yummy chocolate!  It was a short 5 minute drive from the Gruyere cheese factory. We purchased tickets for the 1 hour tour where you walk through several different rooms that tell the history of Callier chocolate.  Some of the rooms were very dark and a tad scary for Aaron so was carried through most of it, that is until we entered the tasting room!  As much as he wanted to walk and I wanted him to walk, I did not trust him to wander in the room by himself.  He would end up touching far more than he could and should eat and could totally see him taking the entire tray.

Sydney and her Godmother, Kari, at Callier. 

At the playground outside the factory.

Just one of many samples in the tasting room!

Yes, this is a two lane road!!  I waited my turn : )

Monday, November 7th, Kari and I were heading for Annecy for some shopping when the school called to let me know Aaron wasn't feeling well.  So we ended up having to turn back around, but made the best of the day.  We headed to Coop, which is a grocery store, and loaded up on all sort of Swiss food to sample.  We tried this little bread with different varieties, meat pate, and some other things we weren't quite sure of, but you can rest assured nothing smelled like a barn.  I wasn't going to repeat our cow stomach episode when we first arrived!!

Sauvabelin and Gruyere cheese factory

On Saturday, November 5th Sydney had skating and then we did some things around the house until we headed to Sauvabelin so the kids could scooter around and we could enjoy some of the fall colors.  I am slowly expanding my reaches via the buses and prefer taking the bus where possible so I don't have to deal with parking.  It is so much more relaxing!  Randy took the kids to Sauvabelin this summer so they showed us around.

The kids strike a pose.

A picture from the top of the tower.  The lake is covered by the fog.

On Sunday it was off to the Gruyere area to tour the Gruyere cheese factory and then head to the Callier chocolate factory for dessert after our picnic lunch.  It was a short 45 minute drive and we arrived just as they were getting ready to pour the cheese into the molds.  It was a short tour, but very interesting to see the process.

Finished product aging with a machine in the background flipping and treating.

Testing to see if the cheese is ready to be transferred to the molds on the left.

The cheese is ready for the molds.

Labels and lids are added and aged for 4 months before they are ready.

Checking out the smelling posts where we had some interesting reactions!

A quick picture with the cow before lunch.

It was a little chilly, but we enjoyed our picnic lunch before heading to Callier chocolate factory.

Gruyere castle in the background.

I will post Callier chocolate factory in a separate blog so this one doesn't get too big.  We have also hit the 5 month mark and I think we are getting into a groove now that the kids are back in school.  It was a long second week on holiday and the kids were down in the dump and missing everyone back in CR.  If asked what they like about living here they would respond with "NOTHING".  Now that we are back in school, I think everyone has climbed out of their hole and seem to be complaining a little less about school and the language barrier.  Although, they are still complaining about the amount of homework they have, but that may be the same if we were still in the states!  Sydney has just completed her third written report!  I don't think I ever did anything like that in 3rd grade.

Down time...

Papa and Nana left on Sunday, October 23rd and the kids didn't go back to school until November 1st, so we all enjoyed some down time before school started again.  Randy was also getting ready for his first trip back to the states since we moved.  This was all after he ran the 1/2 marathon in Lausanne.  It was a beautiful day for the run and we met up with the Horton's to cheer on both dad's.  Randy had a long list of items to pick up to fill two empty suitcases he brought over with him.  We will see if he can fit them all in!!  While he is in the states for 2 weeks, my friend, Kari, came over to visit for 9 days.  Time to put my travel agent skills to work again : )

Kari arrived on Wednesday and we took a tour of grocery stores on Thursday and then headed to the Olympic Museum on Friday and saw the sights of Lausanne.  The weather was overcast and it rained a little, but that didn't stop us from exploring.

Olympic Flame

Olympic rings clock tower.

Entrance to the Olympic Museum.

The museum was pretty interesting and had the torches and all the medals on display from all the Olympics.  There were also two areas dedicated to the winter and summer games which included the outfits and shoes worn by some of the athletes.  After the Olympic Museum we headed to the cathedral and walked around the old town center.

Flower boxes on hotel next to the lake.

Picture looking down towards the lake gives you some idea of how steep the city is.

Will post the our trip to Gruyere cheese and Callier chocolate factory shortly.  With school and visitors I have fallen a little behind on the blog.