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Grindelwald via Interlaken
We woke up early and checked out of the Marriott to begin our trip to Grindelwald. We didn’t have an exact plan as we weren’t sure about the weather conditions. It looked pretty cloudy and unpleasant on the Grindelwald webcams. The weather seemed better around Interlaken so we decided to take the funicular up to Harder Kulm. It was quite nice! We had lunch by the train station afterwards and then took the next train to Grindelwald. Once there, we took the Eiger Express up to Eigergletscher, which was experiencing light snow. We walked around a bit and then took the train down to Lauterbrunnen. We walked around town briefly before returning to Grindelwald by train to end the day.
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Geneva to Yvoire and Nyon on Lac Léman
After an excellent breakfast at the Marriott, we took the tram to Geneva and walked around where the Rhône starts on the western end of Lac Léman. We then caught the next CGN paddle steamer, the Simplon, to Yvoire, France. We had lunch in the small town and walked around a bit before catching a different CGN boat to Nyon, on the northern Swiss side of the Léman. We walked around town for awhile before heading back to Geneva by train to end the day.
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Annecy
After landing at GVA, we checked into the Marriott, dropped off our bags, and headed to Annecy in France. We walked through the Vieille Ville (Old City) and had lunch. Afterwards, we walked through the Jardins de l’Europe before doing the 1.5 hour Grand Lake Cruise of Lac d’Annecy with Compagnie des Bateaux d’Annecy. The weather was getting worse on our way back to town. After disembarking, we returned to the train station to return to Geneva and to end the day.
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Kauai Sugarloaf Pineapple #2 Harvested
We decided to harvest our 2nd Kauai Sugarloaf Pineapple today. Unfortunately, it wasn’t ripe and may not have ripened even if we left it on for longer, though we don’t know for sure.
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From the Trocadero to the Pont Alexandre III
Our flight wasn’t scheduled to leave until the late afternoon. So, we had a bit of extra time in the morning. We started out at the Trocadéro by the Eiffel Tower and then took the RER over to the Pont Alexandre III. We walked around the area a bit before heading to a Boulangerie for an early lunch to end our trip.
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Château de Versailles
We headed out in the morning to Versailles on the RER. The Château de Versailles is huge. We were easily able to spend the entire day there without seeing everything. We toured the interior of the main palace as well as two smaller buildings at the Estate of Trianon. We also walked through the extensive gardens behind the palace.
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Vincennes and the Pantheon
We headed out in the morning to see the Château de Vincennes, at the eastern end of Metro line 1. After touring the chapel and castle keep, we had a quick lunch before heading back into Paris to visit the Panthéon. We then went to a nearby crêperie for an early dinner. We ended the day with a visit to Galeries Lafayette Haussmann, the largest department store in Europe.
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The Louvre and Three Historic Churches
We headed out in the morning to visit the Louvre, probably the most famous museum in the world and home of the Mona Lisa. After spending the morning there, we had lunch at a boulangerie and visited Saint-Germain-l’Auxerrois, a nearby historic church. We continued on to Saint-Germain-des-Prés, the oldest church in Paris. We visited a third church, Saint-Eustache, a church we saw on our first day in Paris. We ended our day with dinner in a restaurant next to the church.
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Musée d’Orsay and the Tuileries Garden
We headed out a bit early for our timed entry to the Musée d’Orsay to take a very quick walk through the Tuileries Garden. Afterwards, we spent a few hours in the museum before heading out for lunch nearby. We then crossed the Seine to visit the Place de la Concorde before heading back into Tuileries Garden. We ultimately ended the day at Place Vendôme, also nearby.
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Rising Up From the Catacombs to the Eiffel Tower
We started out by heading to the Catacombs of Paris, a series of underground tunnels where human remains were moved after the city’s cemeteries were filled in the 18th century. Afterwards, we had lunch at a restaurant by Rue Daguerre, a pedestrianized street lined with cafes and shops.
After lunch, we took the Metro over to Cité, an island in the middle of the Seine. We visited the Sainte-Chapelle, a former royal chapel. We also saw the exterior of the Notre Dame de Paris, the city’s famous cathedral which is currently being restored after suffering a fire in 2019.
We then made our way to the Eiffel Tower where we took a 1 hour boat sightseeing cruise with Bateaux Parisiens, which we received as a welcome amenity yesterday from the Le Méridien Etoile. Afterwards, we went up to the 2nd and 3rd floors of the Eiffel Tower where we spent the rest of the evening.
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Here and there but not quite everywhere!