Saturday in Switzerland

Saturday we left Zermatt, the town of no cars, and headed northwest to Lake Geneva. We toured a medieval castle there, the Chillon Castle. It was an informative tour and let me just say that I am so glad I do not live in the medieval times.And so glad we learned about hygiene and don't have to go to the bathroom in a hole in the floor. But the castle was beautiful. Right on the lake built directly into the rocky little island with a beautiful view of the mountains.

Then we drove to Cailler's Chocolate factory in Broc. Yummy! When we started the tour there, it was along the lines of Willy Wonka - I was just waiting for him to pop out from somewhere. Unfortunately he didn't. But it was still really cool to see the machines and hear the story of the company. Switzerland got all the credit for making chocolate such a yummy treat by making milk a key ingrediant. At first, coco was just a drink. And during the Depression, this company merged with Nestle (also a Swiss company) and it saved them from going bankrupt. They are still partners. We got to see the general process of making their famous little chocolates - really cool! And then we ended in everyone's favorite room, the taste testing room.

After there, we drove back to Zurich. Time with the family was fun. We had to say good bye on Saturday night to Aunt Karen, Oma, Travis and his wife, Natalie. They unfortunately couldn't accompany us the rest of the trip. More good byes that I hate to say. But it was so great to have them here! I loved sharing this with everyone and we had such a good time together and made more wonderful memories :) So now it is down to Aunt Cindy, Aunt Kathy, Aunt Carol, Katy, Courtney, Melinda, Reed, and myself touring Venice and Paris!

Today we made it to Venice - after nearly 12 hours of traveling with 6 train transfers, 1 bus ride, and 1 water taxi... Seriously... And we never even were lost. It was a crazy day, but we are here finally and loving the first impressions of the city.