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.
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| Me! |
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| BJ pondering life |
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| BJ and I |
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| Panorama of the city |
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| 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.
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| The Swiss Alps hovering over Geneva |
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| Me with the massive fountain in Lake Geneva |
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| BJ crossing the bridge over lake Geneva |
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| A super awesome functioning clock made of flowers |
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| The Brunswick Monument |
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| A rainbow made from the fountain |
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| Another view of the Swiss Alps across the lake |
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| Me with a lighthouse out in the middle of the Lake |
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| There were swans and baby swans everywhere! |
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| BJ and I found a free boat taxi across the lake. You can tell he was SUPER EXCITED. |
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| Unfortunately it was a cloudy and rainy day, but if you look closely those are part of the Swiss Alps behind us. |
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| I absolutely loved this gazebo! |
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| 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!
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| Geneva to Montreux |
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| 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.
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| 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! |
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| The foundation of the castle |
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| The dungeons! |
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| 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. |
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| One of the many huge elaborate fire places in the castle (sorry for the blurriness!) |
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| I loved these windows! |
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| A view from the main courtyard of the castle |
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| Super cool armor! |
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| A view from the top of the keep of the castle |
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| Us on a dock beside the castle |
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| A breathtaking view of the castle and the mountains |
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| 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.
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