4,600 Miles From Rocky Top: May 2013

One day last week the weather was amazing so BJ and I hiked up to park on top of a hill to get some pretty pictures of Torino.

Me!

BJ pondering life

BJ and I

Panorama of the city

The mighty Alps

This past weekend, BJ and I took a trip to Switzerland with some students from our dorm. The Italians organized a chartered bus and housing for all of us to stay overnight in Geneva, Switzerland and then spend a day in Montreux, Switzerland. The drive from Torino to Geneva was amazing. We passed through the Aosta Valley which is on the Italian side of the Alps. While driving though here we saw some amazing waterfalls coming down the side of the mountains where the snowy peaks were melting. After passing though the valley we started heading up a super curvy road up Mont Blanc, which is the highest mountain in the Alps. Instead of heading over the rocky peak of the mountain though, we went into a tunnel which is 7.2 miles long! When we came out the other side of the tunnel snow was falling all around us. I never in my life thought I would see a snow fall like that during the last week of May! Then, after passing through France, we arrived in Geneva.

The Swiss Alps hovering over Geneva

Me with the massive fountain in Lake Geneva

BJ crossing the bridge over lake Geneva

A super awesome functioning clock made of flowers

The Brunswick Monument

A rainbow made from the fountain

Another view of the Swiss Alps across the lake

Me with a lighthouse out in the middle of the Lake

There were swans and baby swans everywhere!

BJ and I found a free boat taxi across the lake. You can tell he was SUPER EXCITED.

Unfortunately it was a cloudy and rainy day, but if you look closely those are part of the Swiss Alps behind us.

I absolutely loved this gazebo!

A beautiful picture of us on a rock peninsula jutting out into the lake

Around mid day on Sunday, we departed by bus to Montreux which is a small Swiss town on the opposite side of Lake Geneva. The bus ride followed Lake Geneva and the Alps almost touch the lake near Montreux so it provided for a beautiful ride!

Geneva to Montreux

An amazing view of the Swiss Alps across lake Geneva as we were arriving in Montreux

Once in Montreux, we immediately began trying to figure out how to get to Château de Chillon, which is a mid-evil castle that was built right on the banks of the lake and is thought to be from either the 11th or 12th century. The castle was absolutely amazing! Once you pay for entrance, they allow you to take a self guided tour through the entire castle. In the dungeons, you are able to see the rocky cliff the castle was built on. Starting in the mid 12th century, the castle was occupied by the Counts of Savoy, which is actually the same royal family that one ruled Italy and resided in Torino.

We saw this right after we got off the bus in Montreux... I've seen things like this in the South, but never imagined it being in the heart of a European town!

The foundation of the castle

The dungeons!

BJ sitting in a window in the banquet room of the castle. There is a beautiful view of the mountains and lake out this window.

One of the many huge elaborate fire places in the castle (sorry for the blurriness!)

I loved these windows!

A view from the main courtyard of the castle

Super cool armor!

A view from the top of the keep of the castle

Us on a dock beside the castle

A breathtaking view of the castle and the mountains

BJ and I with the castle

We took a different route back to Torino, but it proved to be just as pretty as our drive to Geneva. We took a few photos on the way back.

This past weekend, we decided to take a short little weekend trip to see some more of Italy. And what better place to tour in the spring than the infamous Tuscany region of Italy? The first destination was Florence - birthplace of the Renaissance. Here, the weather was perfect and we were able to see a beautiful cathedral (although Anna's shorts were deemed unworthy, and we weren't allowed to go in), nice bridges over the river, and some world-class art museums. The first museum we went to was the Uffizi, which is the largest of the two. Here there were paintings and sculptures from many famous Florentine artists. The Uffizi also had an amazing collection devoted to the birth of Venus which was truly beautiful. Before going to the museum, we found the Rick Steves Audio-guide for a free download online. Having that tour guide made the museum much better because he focused in on many comedic aspects of the masterpieces (he even made fun of a few!). The second museum we went to was the accademia which houses the statue of David, an amazing musical instrument collection with pieces dating back to as early as the 1100s and then many similar paintings as the Uffizi. As the sun set, we climbed to a plaza that overlooked the city to take in the colors of the city, just as Dante, da Vinci, and Michelangelo had over the years. Once the sun set, we had some fine Tuscan cuisine - BJ even decided to try some Florentine tripe.

The baptistery and cathedral behind

Another church near the river

Beautiful buildings on the river

The old bridge. This was the only one not destroyed during World War II. It currently has what seems like hundreds of jewelry shops on it

Gelato on the Old Bridge

BJ in a super skinny tunnel that lead up to a curvy narrow street

Heading up to Piazzale Michelangelo. I'm pretty sure these used to be waterfalls and would have been beautiful!

The Rose Garden

Tuscan Country Side outside of Florence. You can see part of the old wall that used to surround the city.

Overview of the main part of the city

BJ and I at sunset

BJ with a great view of the city at sunset behind him

The old bridge at sunset

Once our stomachs were full of stomach, we headed out of Florence and visited Lucca, a small town located in the middle of the beautiful country landscape of Tuscan. Interestingly, the medieval walls which surrounded this village for protection have been preserved and remain fully in tact, creating a wonderfully charming atmosphere. Our time here was short, but we were able to walk along the entire length of the top of the wall, seeing both the city on the inside and the rolling green and purple hills on the outside. After making a short detour to wander around the city and take in the culture, we hopped on the train and continued on to the next destination.

BJ on the wall near a church in Lucca.

A pretty little pod in the city with lily pads and bullfrogs.

BJ chilling on the wall.

Me standing on the wall.

Frolicking through a field of flowers =)

Mountains and city behind me.

View of the church as we were walking down off the wall.

Pretty garden inside the city.

The mountains.

BJ and I relaxing on the wall with the mountains behind us.

The main "square" for this city... only it was round.

As a whole, Pisa seemed to be a nice city; however, it rained almost the entire time we were there. There weren't as many attractions in Pisa, yet the leaning tower and the surrounding plaza it was in were beautiful. With a huge baptistery, a cathedral which we toured during a mass service, and fields of untouched green grass surrounding it, the leaning tower made the stop in Pisa very pleasant. We toured around and saw some of the ancient ruins of their walls before we left as well.

Overall, the trip was rewarding and allowed us to see that Tuscany's reputation as a beautiful region is well-deserved.