Switzerlandโs official name is Swiss Confederation (Confoederatio Helvetica in Latin) hence explaining its official abbreviation CH.
Switzerland is a land-locked country in Western Europe bordered by Germany to the north, France to the west, Italy to the south, and Austria & Liechtenstein to the east.
The capital of Switzerland is Bern, not Zurich. Bern is the seat of the federal government, which makes it the de facto capital. The largest city is Zurich.
The President of Switzerland is elected once every year.
Switzerland is not part of the EU, and they use their own currency and legal tender โ the Swiss Franc.
There are four official languages in Switzerland, namely German, French, Italian and Romansh.
Switzerland has no official state religion. Most of the Swiss are either Roman Catholics or Protestants.
Brietling, Cartier, Chopard, Franck Muller, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Omega, Patek Philippe, Rolex and TAG Heuer are some of the renowned Swiss watches.
Headquarters of the International Red Cross is situated in Geneva while the Headquarters of International Olympic Committee in Lausanne.
The Swiss has the 2nd highest life expectancy, after Sweden.
The Europe Honeymoon was our first trip taken together that lasted beyond a week. In more ways than one, it was a special vacation. Logistically, especially. We thought hard over how we should pack so that moving around would be easiest. The mister, being the doting husband that he is, didn’t want to tax me over lugging heavy luggage. Eventually, we bought a large hard shell Samsonite luggage (could have been the largest available in the retail shop) and packed our clothes and stuff together. We also each carried a duffle bag to serve as our carry-on.
While our other group mates were struggling with their two to-be checked-in luggage (the husbands had to help their wives) at the airport we were flying out of, I watched on and marvelled at the pure genius of the mister. I will go as far as to admit that I even sniggered a little.
It was their turn to snigger when it was time for us to return from London Heathrow, after a long 16-day of holidaying, amassing many souvenirs while on the go. Our luggage was about 1-2 kg over 32 kg, which is the legal limit for luggage weight. Be careful not to mix this up with the baggage allowance (which differs from airline to airline). If one’s luggage exceeds the baggage allowance, one might be requested to repack and transfer some of the items into another bag, or to pay for extra baggage allowance. 32 kg (or 70 lbs) is the limit. The airline counter staff will not allow it even if one is willing to pay through the nose for extra baggage allowance. And there is a very good reason for this – anything weighing beyond 32 kg is deemed too heavy for the baggage handlers to lift.
We had to, on the spot at the counter, open up our luggage, and transfer some items into our carry-on (which were already bursting at the seams). It was very, and needlessly, embarrassing for us because it being London Heathrow, the queue was long behind us. With nothing else to do while queueing, most people just looked at what we were doing while scrutinising our luggage contents. I’ve had many embarrassing moments my entire life (including walking up a bus with my pants’ zip undone as a teenager) but this experience easily topped it all. Nobody should be made to go through this harrowing experience, and we needn’t have, if we had read up (or had someone advise us accordingly).
After we emptied the contents in the luggage when we got home, we weighed the luggage empty. It weighed a freaking 13 kg on empty! Naturally it was banished to a dark corner in our storage room. All these years, the luggage has been left there and never used again. We know it is a white elephant but we just can’t bear to throw it out.
I daren’t say we are very seasoned travellers, but we have left home often enough to know what works for us. In essence, I have summarised some useful tips:
Black and Navy Blue are passรฉ, at least for luggage, they are. Opt for brighter, unique colours if you could, to easily identify your luggage on the belt. It also cuts down on the risks of someone mistakenly taking your luggage for their own (it has happened to my family twice, both times with the same generic Samsonite Black cabin luggage). That is unless you are making business trips and cannot afford being seen in the company of luggage in a ‘zany’ colour.
A luggage on empty should not weigh anything more than 8 kg, and most definitely should not weight 13 kg! One of the lightest luggage available commercially must be Rimowa. We bought a 31-inch Salsa Air in Germany and it weighed merely 4 kg. Cost an arm and a leg too. But with that weight cut, we are not complaining!
Invest in a portable luggage scale; they are generally inexpensive. Unless you are a light traveller and is very certain you will never have a problem with the weight of your luggage, investing in one such scale will save you a lot of guesswork and headache. This item is a necessity for us because we tend to take long trips (almost 3 weeks) in winter, complete with our very weighty electronic gadgets.
A very trusty scale we bought in Tokyo’s Tokyu Hands.
Expectations were feverishly high because it was after all (pricey!) Europe and wellโฆ our honeymoon. The honeymoon. One may travel to many places in his entire lifetime and promptly forget about some of these places several moons later, but nobody forgets the honeymoon.
As luck would have it, our honeymoon turned out to be nothing short of perfect. The itinerary was unsurpassed, the tour leader unrivalled, and the company unparalleled. Our group was manageably small with only 19 adults including 3 other pairs of honeymoon-ers like us, and everyone was pleasant, jovial and considerate.
If anything, I only have two minor grouses โ we didnโt get to see much of Rome and totally missed out on Vatican City because of late Pope John Paul IIโs funeral. I also didnโt particularly enjoy the incessant rain, in which we were told was not in congruence with Europeโs usual climate in April. I didnโt remember this, but the mister recalled that the rain started shortly after we landed in Rome, and only stopped after our day trip to Volendam in The Netherlands. He knew it for a fact that it wasnโt raining prior to 8 Apr 2005 because of a colleague who left Rome the day we arrived โ apparently it was the only day which rained in the week she was there.
We were in Volendam on 19 Apr 2005 having our dinner of fish & chips when our Italian coach driver (who is a Roman Catholic) announced that the new Pope had been elected. It was raining bucketfuls of cats and dogs prior to dinner, but reduced to a drizzle when we were done with our scrumptious dinner. By the time we arrived at our hotel, the rain had completely stopped.
Was it a coincidence, or was there divine โinterventionโ? The oddity of the rainy season occurring within the period of sede vacante (Latin for โthe seat being vacantโ) of the Holy See, which promptly ended with the cessation of sede vacante โ seemed to suggest that it was more than mere coincidence. We are not deeply pious people, butโฆ it was some food for thought.
Our honeymoon coincided with the funerals of late Pope John Paul II and Prince Rainier III of Monaco, and the wedding of Prince Charles & Camilla Bowles. As you could see, we visited Europe during a very, for lack of a better word, interesting time. The trip was quite the eye-opener โ we learnt how and why a papal conclave is convened, the difference between white smoke versus black smoke, Grace Kelly (not the bag!) and the House of Grimaldi from the Principality of Monaco. Speculations on the identity of the next Pope and expostulations on the sovereignty of Monaco considering Prince Albert IIโs lack of a lawful heir totally preponderated the European, if not the worldโs, prime time news. The media were having a series of field days.
We thought that Jeffrey Hoh, our tour leader, is the very epitome of an exceptional tour leader. He totally blew our minds with his experience, general knowledge, even temper and high level of service orientation. Following Jeffreyโs tradition of bestowing every tour group with a specific name (to distinguish all the groups heโd ever led), our group was aptly titled โ2 Funerals & a Weddingโ. He professed that it would be difficult to forget our group given the unusual events facing Europe during our travel. He held true to his words, because several years later, he found and added the both of us as his friends on Facebook.
Regrettably, weโd lost contact with almost everyone in the group, with the exception of Kenneth and Sharon. If you are, or know any of our group-mates from the picture above, please email us at tenodddays[at]gmail[dot]com. Weโd love to re-connect!
โOf all the countries you visited, which is your favourite?โ
We got asked this question umpteen times, by friends and family alike, following our return to reality. Not trying to play favourites hereโฆ but we have to concede that we enjoyed Italy the most. Something about the Italiansโ honest charm, warmth and gregariousness tugged at my heartstrings โ possibly because being reticent and bashful by nature, I couldnโt be more different than they are. The mister readily agreed with me, for an entirely different reason, I suspect โ he had been raving incessantly about the unlimited potently flavoursome shots of espresso he got to enjoy at breakfasts in Italy.
Check out CTC Travel if you would like to trace our footsteps. While we do not sanction a package tour for seasoned travellers, we highly recommend it for virgin travellers (to Europe) who have no inkling of their travel likes and peeves, as a starting point.
Not that Lake Maggiore in Italy, Brussels in Belgium and London in England are any less important, but they have been lumped together simply for convenience’s sake since we spent very little time in these cities and it seemed appropriate to put them together in a post (rather than completely omitting them).
Took a couple pic at the dock of Isola Bella.
While on the way from the French Riviera to Lucerne, our coach made a stop at Lake Maggiore (Italian: Lago Maggiore). For this detour, we have our experienced tour leader to thank. I’d been to England’s Lake District years back, and I loved it there. Italy’s Lago Maggiore and its vicinity was equally charming.
A boat hire was necessary to bring us across the lake to Isola Bella, one of the Borromean islands of Lago Maggiore. We both liked Isola Bella a lot. For starters, this quiet little island was not swarmed with tourists. It was also a good break for us all, to be amidst Mother Nature instead of built-up cities. We didn’t have a lot of time to fully explore the island, but I do remember that a small trattoria on the island served about the best fare we had on the whole trip. We had nothing fancy for lunch, just simple pasta (the mister had aglio e olio). It was mind-blowingly delicious!
Our boat captain.
Before we knew it, it was time to leave the island. We did after all have quite a distance more to travel. Here is a parting shot of the friendly boat captain who traversed us across the lake to and from Isola Bella.
Brussels in Belgium was another day tour we made while travelling via coach from Paris to Amsterdam. We were supposed to come by many sites including the Atomium, the Chinese and Japanese pavilions etc. but it was raining incessantly. Rain… a definite mood dampener for me. Because of it, we never got off the coach till we arrived at Grote Markt (the central square of Brussels). We saw Manneken Pis who, unfortunately was buck-naked, and not dressed up in any costume. The 61cm tall bronze statue that we saw was of course a mere copy from 1965 and not the original. We were told that the original statue was kept locked up in at Maison du Roi on Grote Markt itself, presumably to foil any future plans of stealing it.
Was rather disappointed to see buck-naked Manneken Pis, not dressed in any costume.
And we came across numerous shops selling Belgium chocolates. It was where we went quite crazy shopping for chocolates to bring home to family and friends since we were only left with Amsterdam and London before headed for home. Here, on the historical square of Brussels, I first heard about the folklore of Lady Godiva and the origins of the term “Peeping Tom”. It was also here that I finally decided that I do not fancy Belgium chocolates. Too bitter for my tastebuds.
We had a good couple of hours to ourselves, and thoroughly explored the historical centre of Brussels. With it being a rainy and gloomy day, we hardly took out the DSLR to take pictures. There is really nothing I hate more than rain when travelling.
London needs no introduction. Please don’t be offended if you are a Londoner or is a fan of London, but if there is any city I’ve come across that I felt is grossly over-rated, it is London. Considering that I made up my mind about this metropolitan city at the age of 17 (and felt strongly about it) it had to count for something, because at that impressionable age, I was greatly undecided about most things.
Since we had very little time in London after flying in from Schiphol Airport Amsterdam, we broke from the group after checking into our hotel in Knightsbridge. While the group went visiting the usual touristy places like Trafalgar Square, London Bridge, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey and the likes, we headed straight for Old Bond Street and Oxford Street. If these two streets reek of a shopping haven to you, you are quite right. I was however, not there to shop for the usual stuff women shop for: I was there for the old-style bookstores and bookbinders. 12 years ago, they were all over Oxford Street. Alas, 12 years later, I had serious trouble locating even one of them. Must have given way to the more commercialised and profitable shopping trade in the name of ‘progress’. ๐ฆ
We took the least amount of pictures in London since we were busy soaking in the commercialised aspect of the city. On hindsight, it was a rather self-serving decision on my part not to revisit the usual sights in London. After all it was the mister’s first visit to London. Although he was very agreeable to break from the group, he wouldn’t know what he was missing since he’d never been. My conscience has been weighing heavily on me these years because of what he missed as a result of my wilfulness. I promised to make it up to him; one day we would do an extensive fly-drive tour of England, including a visit to the mecca of every Manchester United fan – Old Trafford. It is my dream to watch a live match between the red devils and the reds but the mister fears my safety because well… football hooliganism is very real. We have not sorted this out yet, but will. Soon.
Contrary to popular belief, not all women are partial to flowers. I am one such exception. Apart from two white flowers โ tiger lilies and white cymbidiums โ no other flower, however resplendently packaged in a bouquet, catches my eyes. We were therefore expectedly not looking forward to visit The Keukenhof despite much hype amongst our group mates. Little did we expect ourselves to be in for a pleasant surprise.
The Keukenhof, the worldโs largest flower garden located near Lisse in Netherlands, opens annually between the last week of March and mid-May. During its opening, stunning displays of blooming tulips and horticultural mastery greets hundreds of thousands of visitors from all over the world. It is sometimes also aptly called the Garden of Europe.
We started the day insanely early โ at least it was so for me โ hoping to be one of the earliest groups to reach The Keukenhof. Granted, we were one of the earliest, but there were already another 10 or so tour groups ahead of us, judging from the number of coaches at the parking bays. I wondered how early they woke up and set off to reach this early? Encouraged instead of being disheartened, we joined the rather long queue with much gutso.
Some lovely tulips in hues of bright pink.
I was barely awake when we finally got through the barricades and stepped foot onto the legendary garden park. Borrowing lyrics from one of Bryan Adamโs songs โ I thought Iโd died and gone to Heaven, for Keukenhof is what I would envisage Heaven to be, blasphemous as it may sound. We were blessed in many ways: the weather was rather good, with only slight manageable drizzles, if anything; the park was still not overwhelmed with crowds early in the morning; we were enchanted by the carefully preened florae; and oh, how could I forget the captivating tulip bulbs in every imaginable hue in the vast fields adjacent to the park.
Such a beautiful sight to behold!
Iโm a convert, but only for tulip bulb fields.
The park is huge by any standard, and as we were slowly making our way back to the entrance cum exit of the park, our attention was captured by an enthralling act of a peacock courting a peahen. And a rather rare species of a white peacock, to boot!
Peacock snubbed by peahen.
Alas, the peacockโs advances was snubbed by the arrogant peahen, which chose to ignore him throughout the courtship ritual that dated back to ancient times. Alright, I have to admit we donโt know much about peacocks and the likes. Perhaps the pair adjourned somewhere else to continue their rendezvous, away from prying eyes. We left not knowing what happened next.
If you intend to make a trip to The Keukenhof, time it earlier rather than later during the season. We were there in mid-April and it was perfetto: the flowers, while not in their full glory, were showing the first signs of blooming. Do take into account the general climate in Europe when deciding. For example, if it was a warm winter, then spring would likely be warmer too, resulting in the blooming occurring earlier than usual.
Following lunch in Amsterdam, we proceeded for our canal cruise. Barring my need to visit the restroom (but refusing to use the one on the boat!) and feeling rather motion-sick after a full lunch, it was an enjoyable and leisurely tour of Amsterdam. We sighted some really delightful self-contained houseboats along the way, and wondered what it would be like to live in one.
A typical drawbridge found in Amsterdam.
Several drawbridges were also sighted during our canal tour. A pity there werenโt many tall vessels requiring the bridges to be drawn, for designing bridges was decidedly one of my favourite modules in college.
The Netherlands, also mistakenly referred to but widely accepted as Holland, is the worldโs first producer and exporter of tulips although they were first imported from the Ottoman Empire (now known as Republic of Turkey). Amsterdam is the capital of the country, and the large number of canals found in the capital has led it to be called โVenice of the Northโ. With almost 25% of their land lying below sea level, itโs little wonder that the Dutch are famous for their bridge-building and technical know-how in water management. They have honed these skills to perfection for survival, more than anything else.
Soft drugs like cannabis are legal in The Netherlands, and only licensed โcoffee shopsโ are allowed to sell these drugs. If you are a Singaporean and is thinking of trying out these drugs while visiting The Netherlands (or anywhere in the world, for that matter), I beg you to think twice. Singapore takes an unwavering firm stance where drugs are concerned โ be it for trafficking or for personal consumption. But of course, the penalty for the former is much more severe than the latter. Even cannabis tested in a random urine test could get you imprisoned, and it is common knowledge that it takes a while for drugs to be totally cleared from your system.
The infamous Amsterdam Red Light District has also somewhat become a major tourist attraction. One contributing factor, I conclude, is its close proximity to Amsterdamโs Centraal Station (10 minutes walk, and no spelling error there). The later it is, the busier the area gets. If you so wish to see the prostitutes plying their trade in the famous little windows, otherwise known as โwindow-shoppingโ, you know to be later rather than earlier. However, we were warned that we should not attempt to reach for our cameras for it is forbidden to take photos in the district. Apparently anyone spotted to be doing so by any of the girlsโ bouncers would be escorted out of the area, with the expensive toy thrown into the canal. Ouch!
After a unanimous vote of confidence from the whole group, we proceeded to Volendam for our dinner of Fish & Chips. I have little recollection of the quaint little town as it was raining so heavily we thought a flood was impending. I was also nursing an extremely bad cold. Bad weather with a cold combined: a sure-proof formula to bring on my surliness. I was the most disagreeable person to walk the surface of earth, if you had asked the mister that evening.
Needless to say, I was dreadfully grateful to have finally reached our hotel for the night. We were flying off to London the next day, but I left all the outstanding packing in the trusty hands of the mister since I was in no state to be of any help.
The last time I saw Paris Her heart was warm and gay, I heard the laughter of her heart in every street cafรฉ.
– Oscar Hammerstein II
Paris, the City of Lights. Certainly every die-hard romanticโs dream honeymoon destination. And since we were on our honeymoon, we envisaged Paris to be the highlight of our tour. Of course, it ended up that almost all destinations during our honeymoon turned out to be highlights in their own right.
It was a long way to travel from Lucerne to Paris; we ended up spending better half of the day in the coach. The moment we arrived, we engaged in the most touristy activity possible โ a boat tour along River Seine, the river which divides Paris into the Left Bank and Right Bank. The Left Bank (French: La Rive Gauche) is situated on the southern side of the Seine and is by far the smaller section of Paris. It is also known for its artistic and intellectual life. The Right Bank (French: La Rive Droit) to the north of the river, on the other hand, represents the aristocratic privileged class and their expensive districts. While the distinction between the two banks is less applicable nowadays, most of Parisโ big businesses, banks and tourist attractions are located on this larger section. But I digressed.
The Musรฉe d’Orsay from our cruise on River Seine.
As night fell, we froze out in the open (it was early spring after all) on the upper deck of the river boat, all for the hope of having a glimpse of the global icon of France โ the Eiffel Tower. We were told we would only have a short few seconds of capturing both the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty near Pont de Grenelle together, and so I tried to warm my stiff hands and prepare for the big moment. Only to have the DSLR fail me. Or rather, to have my photo-taking skills fail me: a Point-and-Shoot, an entry-level DSLR, or a professional camera, will take photographs only as good as the photographer’s skills, to a large extent.
So we couldn’t get any decent shots of the Eiffel Tower together with the Statue of Liberty. Or any shots of the tower during the light show on the hour. Night photography and a moving river boat? Worst combination ever for most amateur photographers, myself included. My advice is, be on solid ground when you attempt to take pictures of the tower, and if shooting from afar, use a tripod or at least prop on some sort of support. It would save you a lot of heartache. In short, just relax and enjoy the river cruise without the burden of trying to take pictures because it is indeed to best way to see Paris. One of these Seine river cruises takes about an hour to complete, and costs about 13,00โฌ for an adult ticket.
We had a crazy schedule the following day. Somehow within the waking hours, we covered most of the famous sights in Paris and then some: we saw the Luxor Obelisk at Place de la Concorde, took pictures in front of Ritz Paris, came up close and personal with Arc de Triomphe, strolled along Avenue des Champs-รlysรฉes and scaled The Eiffel Tower. On top of that, we somehow till found time to visit Chรขteau de Versailles, Musรฉe du Louvre and sit through a 10-course French dinner. How we managed to achieve all that is now quite beyond my comprehension.
As a result of this whirlwind sightseeing schedule, we didn’t have the luxury of time to scale Arc de Triomphe for the awesome overview of Avenue des Champs-รlysรฉes. More importantly, I didn’t get to explore Musรฉe du Louvre, or visit Notre Dame Cathedral. To say that I left Paris laden with a heart heavy of regrets would be a gross understatement.
Mid-April is a wonderful time to visit Paris. Although still a magnet for multitude of tourists, it is considerably less crowded than the more popular summer months.
Throughout our tour, we were warned of gypsy ladies who would, on the surface be begging for money as a ruse while on the sly, have a partner pickpocket the valuables when the unsuspecting victim was distracted. I must say we were quite fortunate not to have met many of them along the way. That was till our stay in Paris. Along Avenue des Champs-รlysรฉes near Arc de Triomphe, we were suddenly swarmed by unkempt, dark-skinned women dressing like gypsies while we were taking pictures. We could barely understand their speech, and tried our best to ignore them while concentrating on photographing the famous monument. Our tour leader was on an exceptionally alert mode as a result. Because there were so many of us in the group, he decided to play safe by chasing the gypsy ladies away instead of trying to watch all of them like a hawk. Strangely enough, his single Italian word ‘Via!’ was sufficient to convey his message. Seeing how they were not going to make any headway with our group, they moved on to another group of tourists. I hope none of them had fallen prey.
TRIVIA: The Eiffel Tower, nicknamed the Iron Lady, is named after engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower. Standing at 320m, the tower’s design was met with widespread disdain and it was even criticised to be an eyesore that ruined the beautiful skyline of the city. Today, many recognise the romantic icon of Paris, but lesser know that it was never meant to be a permanent fixture. The emerging field of radio telegraphy saved it from dismantlement in 1909 and as the clichรฉ goes, the rest is history.
Though sharing the Alps mountain range with France, Italy, Austria and Liechtenstein, land-locked Switzerland is undoubtedly regarded as heart of the Alps. The Alps occupy about 65% of Switzerlandโs surface area, making it one of most alpine countries in the world. Notably, Switzerland is not a member of the European Union. Therefore, Euros are not widely accepted in the alpine country as they still use their own currency and legal tender โ the Swiss Franc or CHF. So does Liechtenstein.
A few entities are synonymous with the Swiss โ traditional Swiss cottages, cheese fondue, milk chocolates, banks, the Swiss army and watches. In a nutshell, anything associated with Switzerland is almost guaranteed to be of high quality.
After a half-day trip to Lake Maggiore in Italy, our coach entered Switzerland from the south. By the time we arrived in Lucerne, it was already early evening. We wasted no time in setting down our luggage in our room, for we wanted to be out and about roaming the streets of Lucerne before night fell.
The landmark Chapel Bridge during Blue Hour.
The Chapel Bridge crossing the Reuss River, a short jaunt from our hotel, is the oldest wooden-covered bridge in Europe. The current bridge standing in Lucerne is however, not the original constructed in 1333 as much of the bridge was destroyed in a fire in 1993. The Swiss wasted no time in rebuilding the bridge since it is a major tourist attraction and is easily the most photographed monument in the country.
Tomorrow we would be scaling Mount Titlis, wellโฆ not in the traditional sense. Exhilarated to finally get to meet the Alps at close range.
Mount Titlis is reputed as having the worldโs first revolving cable car that delivers a 360-degree panoramic view of the glaciers, valleys, rivers etc. One has to take a total of 3 cable cars to reach the summit, and the reward for the chore of changing cable cars several times โ a breathtaking view of the Alps above the clouds. No photograph in the world would do justice to the spectacular sight which greeted us โ you would really quite have to see it for yourself.
At the summit of Mount Titlis. I think we managed to make it look much less colder than it actually was.
We were blessed with clear blue skies and good weather when we โmountedโ the summit with the assistance of the cable cars. However, we suffered the repercussions of our wilfulness. In a bid to lighten our luggage, we omitted our winter overcoats and the full works as we saw no point in packing them just for half a dayโs worth of visit. Our group mates were much more prepared, and we finally understood why they needed luggage space double of ours โ they were warm and snug in their bulky winter wear while we were seriously freezing our asses off. Silly usโฆ
At a height 3,028m above mean sea level, the ambient temperature out in the open was easily in the range of minus 10ยฐC. We couldnโt bear to stay out longer than necessary and were frequently dashing into the comforting warmth of the indoors. Even our trusty DSLR died on us intermittently, as if protesting against the biting cold.
Seeing that the tourist crowd was reaching the summit in throngs, we decided it was time to quickly settle our lunch at the cafeteria ahead of lunch hour to avoid the crowd. If you ever have the opportunity to visit Mount Titlis, you must try the delicious grape drink Grapillon. Weโre quite certain this drink must also be widely available throughout Switzerland though. Look out for it if you are a grape drink lover like us.
Squinting from the glare… the struggle is real.
The Lion lies in his lair in the perpendicular face of a low cliff โ for he is carved from the living rock of the cliff. His size is colossal, his attitude is noble. His head is bowed, the broken spear is sticking in his shoulder, his protecting paw rests upon the lilies of France. Vines hang down the cliff and wave in the wind, and a clear stream trickles from above and empties into a pond at the base, and in the smooth surface of the pond the lion is mirrored, among the water-lilies.
Around about are green trees and grass. The place is a sheltered, reposeful woodland nook, remote from noise and stir and confusion โ and all this is fitting, for lions do die in such places, and not on granite pedestals in public squares fenced with fancy iron railings. The Lion of Lucerne would be impressive anywhere, but nowhere so impressive as where he is.
– Mark Twain, A Tramp Abroad, 1880
A befitting tribute to the Lion Monument in Lucerne, which commemorates the Swiss Guards who served the French King Louis XVI and were massacred during the French Revolution in 1792. That sentimental Swiss monument was our next stop after Mount Titlis.
After visiting the Lion Monument, we were sent back to the vicinity of our hotel and left to our own devices. We went shopping at Bucherer and the neighbouring shops. In particular, we were looking to buy some Swiss chocolate home but were advised against it as the climate was getting warmer and there was no telling if the chocolates would hold for another 5-6 more days before we arrived back in Singapore.
Our next destination brought us to the French Riviera (French: Cรดte dโAzur), the southeast Mediterranean coastline off France. Due to its hot summers and mild winters, the French Riviera started out as a playground and vacation spot for European aristocrats who would temporarily move southwards to eschew the cold, bitter winters in the north. Now, the region has become a fashionable tourist destination, especially for the rich and famous. It is said that many celebrities own houses in the region.
The first stop โ Parfumerie Fragonard at Grasse. Fragonard started out as โa novel concept of selling perfumery products directly to tourists who were beginning to discover the French Rivieraโs charmsโ and has remained remarkably true to its initial business concept since almost 80 years ago.
We were walked around the historic perfume factory by an English-speaking guide. The complementary tour was brief but most informative โ we learnt a fair bit about the perfume production process, the three notes and how eau de toilette differs from eau de parfume. Our tour ended at the store, and being typical tourists, we bought quite a few items after perusing the merchandise.
What a lovely panoramic view of Nice!
The drive along the narrow, curvy and hilly roads flanking the Mediterranean Sea continued till we reached a pseudo pit stop which gave us an awesome vantage view of Nice (pronounced as โnieceโ, not nice). Reluctantly we returned to the coach when our tour leader reminded us that time was running out and that our driver would like to arrive at Nice before the evening rush hour drove drones of cars up the hilly roads. As it is, the roads are difficult enough to navigate without impatient drivers. Little wonder it is said that driving on the Riviera is reserved only for the very brave.
Our coach driverโs wish was granted โ we arrived at Nice safe and sound well ahead of the evening rush hour. After checking into what we would deem to be the worst accommodation throughout the tour, we were back at the lobby in a jiffy. The room was dark, small and came complete with a musty smell; we couldnโt wait to get out. It was so bad we were most disinclined to return after dinner and a night stroll, but we didnโt relish wandering about the whole night and possibly getting rounded up by the authorities for suspicious behaviour. I stayed awake for most part of the night.
We had one full day dedicated to the French Riviera, and the places to cover included Monaco, Saint-Paul de Vence and Cannes (pronounced as โkanโ, not cans). For the first time in days, we saw the sun peeking out of the clouds, and rejoiced. We embraced the respite from the cool, rainy weather in Italy, however short it might be.
Monte Carlo, one of Monacoโs administrative areas, is synonymous with the Monte Carlo Casino and Circuit de Monaco (of the F1 Monaco Grand Prix). Apparently you could in fact drive most part of the Grand Prix Circuit if you choose to drive into Monaco, but do not attempt to race or you could run into some serious trouble with the police.
Casinoย deย Monte-Carlo.
Admittedly, we have very little interest in gambling and casinos, but were suitably impressed with the several Ferrari and Lamborghini sighted outside, and the little park situated across the road from the casino. Playground of the rich and famous indeed.
After a quick lunch, we headed for Saint-Paul de Vence, one of the oldest and best-preserved medieval towns in the French Riviera. This charming hilltop-fortified quaint little town somehow houses an astonishing number of art galleries. Even if you are not quite an art afficionado, it would be as pleasurable an afternoon sitting at a sidewalk cafe sipping coffee or tea.
The cobblestoned roads and streets at Saint-Paul de Vence are so narrow that no cars can pass so be prepared to do some walking, with good sensible walking shoes.
Last but not the least, we dropped by Cannes fully expecting to be blown away by the host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. Well, do not expect Cannes to be โdressed up to the ninesโ as it appeared to be on live telecasts of the renowned film festival, for the Cannes we saw was anything but. In fact, I did a double take and looked to the mister for re-confirmation. Without the red carpet and the bling-blings (from the female guests to the festival) playing with the lights and our eyes, I must say that Cannes was ratherโฆ underwhelming.
The power of Hallyu,ย all the way in Cannes.
That said, all one need to do is to walk around and you would find that Cannes is more than able to hold its own without the festival for city is also about luxury boutiques, restaurants, hotels and more.
I really liked the French Riviera, in part because it reminded me much of Singaporeโs balmy weather, without the unbearably high humidity. The best of both worlds, so to speak.
Venice (Italian: Venezia), a city in northern Italy proverbial for tourism, goes by several other names including โCity of Masksโ, โCity of Bridgesโ and โThe Floating Cityโ. However, none of these monikers befits this Italian stunner more than โThe Romance Capitalโ. Indeed, many who have visited Venice left deeply stirred within, intrigued by romantic charm of this breathtaking city on water. Us included, without a doubt.
We couldnโt have visited Venice in weather more awful: there was a deluge during most parts of the day, so much so that flooding was a very real threat. Not that floods (or โAcqua Altaโ, as known to Venetians) are rare occurrences in Venice. As a matter of fact, it is said that even floods should not deter tourists from visiting Venice; all is required would be a pair of rubber boots and off they go! That said, it was most certainly comforting to know that floods in Venice seldom linger, for they usually recede after 2-3 hours.
Once landed on Venice after a bumpy boat ride on choppy waters, we headed straight down one of the numerous narrow alleys and scanned for a local bistro to satisfy our growling stomachs. Itโs bizarre how Singaporeans like to flock together โ apart from 2 other couples who decided to have sandwiches for lunch, the rest of us all settled for the same restaurant. That must had been one elated restaurant owner!
Waiting for our pasta lunch at our booth.
Following our exceptionally saporous lunch of pasta, we followed our tour leader around as he showed us the must-see famous sights and sounds of Venice including St. Markโs Square and Basilica, Bridge of Sighs and Rialto Bridge. Then we were ushered into a small factory to watch a Murano glass-blowing demonstration. Fascinating, that demonstration was. We were then led into the shop front where beautiful pieces of Murano glass graced the shelves. Although not obliged to purchase any of the pieces, we ended up acquiring two pretty tea glasses which, till this day, we still have not found a use for.
Despite the downpour, several of us agreed upon renting two gondole (Italian: singular – gondola, plural – gondole), complete with two musicians, for a ride along the Grand Canal. We must have been quite a sight, huddling close together and carrying umbrellas on the gondole rides. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience which did not come cheap. Rental for a gondola generally costs about 100โฌ for a 1-hour ride, and does not come with musicians at that price. Such a ride can be a rather delightful experience for first-time visitors to Venice, but only if you could somehow forget the price and ignore the stench at some parts of the canal. Remember โ concentrate on the novelty of the experience and you’ll be fine!
We left Venice with an inexplicably deep sense of regret. Despite being warned of its touristy aspects, the mister and I fell hopelessly in love with the Romance Capital. Tโis a pity that the weather was acting up the whole time during our visit; it vastly limited our activities, and much of the time was spent ducking from shelter to shelter. It is imperative that we revisit.
For the record, we broke 3 brollies during that one day in Venice. The gusts were that strong.
The next morning, we headed for Verona prior to Milan. Verona is a city in Veneto between Venice and Milan which is chiefly known for its Arena and the tourist trap that is Julietโs House & Balcony. Verona is in actuality far more than that. If anything, it being awarded world heritage site status by UNESCO, predominantly for its urban structure and architecture, should count for something.
The rain seemed to fancy us, for it โtailedโ us like hound dogs wherever we went. As a result of getting caught in the rain several days in a row (we were sometimes too indolent to utilise the brolly), I was feeling a little under the weather. The mister, who astutely noticed that I was becoming less chatty and more touchy by the minute, wisely decided upon chilling at a nearby cafe over traipsing about aimlessly.
In no time, we were back in the coach and on our way to Milan. Our first stop was Sforza Castle (Italian: Castello Sforzesco), the symbol of power of the House of Sforza, which reigned in the 15th century after the Ambrosian Republic of Milan collapsed. It now houses several of the cityโs museums and art collections.
Milan (Italian: Milano) is touted to be one of the leading fashion capitals in the world, alongside Paris and New York. According to Wikipedia, New York and Milan are considered the economic and true current media fashion capitals of the world while Paris and London are considered symbolic fashion centres of Europe. None of these makes much sense to me since I do not boast to have an impeccable fashion sense. Rather, I often opt for functionality over fashion. Nevertheless, we all know that Milan is home to many world-famous fashion designers โ including Versace, Armani, D&G, Prada and Trussardi โ who are widely regarded as fashion maestros. And the one place where their boutiques all convene โ Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, reputed to the be worldโs oldest shopping mall.
Within walking distance are the renowned gothic Milan Duomo and La Scala, Milanโs opera house. The Milan Duomo is the seat of the archbishop of Milan and Milanese, like most of the Italian population, are Roman Catholics. This astoundingly beautiful gothic cathedral apparently took 5 centuries to construct. In contrast, the partially completed gothic-styled Sagrada Familia in Barcelona is rumoured to be taking no more than 150 years (construction is still underway). One could only imagine the many vicissitudes the Milan Duomo must have witnessed over the 500 years of construction.
The Milan Duomo is purportedly also the largest gothic cathedral, and second largest Catholic cathedral in the world (the honour of being the largest Catholic cathedral goes to Seville Cathedral; St. Peterโs Basilica at the Vatican City is not considered a cathedral and the reasoning eludes me). Statistics and rankings aside, the cathedral casts an imposing presence as the nerve centre of Milan, for most of Milanโs streets either radiate from or circle around it. If you intend to visit Milan, this Milan Duomo is a must-visit. Accord some time to thoroughly explore the cathedral, and if you could, take the walk up to the roof of the cathedral at a small fee of 3,50โฌ or make use of the elevator for 5,00โฌ.
Tomorrow we would be travelling south-westwards to warmer climate. Canโt wait!
TRIVIA: The Carnival of Venice (Italian: Carnevale di Venezia) is held annually where people wear elaborate costumes and masks, then hang out all over town. This is the reason why one sees masks in all shapes and sizes being sold as souvenirs in Venice throughout the year. The Carnival season lasts for several weeks and culminates on Shrove Tuesday, the day of the Carnival. It is a fun time to visit Venice so as to soak in the Carnival spirit as people costume themselves, drink and make merry.
Italy (Italian: Italia) also often goes by the moniker of โThe Bootโ, ascribed by the physical shape of the country. This endearing nickname is honestly rather befitting for a soccer-crazed nation like Italy, me thinks.
We landed at Rome Fiumicino Airport on a special day โ 8 Apr 2005, incidentally late Pope John Paul IIโs day of funeral. Rome (Italian: Roma) was swarmed with multitudes of pilgrims whom, together with numerous heads of state and dignitaries, were making their way to Vatican City to pay their last respects to a much-loved and well-respected leader of the worldwide Catholic Church. While I am not entirely certain if that day was declared a public holiday in Rome, it was a futile effort trying to proceed with our tour itinerary (for Rome itself) since several iconic landmarks including The Colosseum and The Pantheon were closed as out of respect. Vatican City, where the funeral was taking place, was also out of bounds to commoners like us.
It almost seemed like everyone in Rome that morning decided to go outdoors to follow the funeral mass proceedings together.
Pilgrims and locals alike were watching the funeral mass on many of the mobile TV screens we saw set up all over Rome. As a result, it became exceedingly inconvenient for the coach to move around in the city due to the crowdedness. That was when our tour leader opted for us to travel on foot instead. I werenโt upset with the sudden turn of events (not that anything would change if I were), for how many people could actually boast that they were in Rome on such a day of significance? To witness the populace being moved and touched by the passing of a great spiritual leader wasโฆ a very sobering reminder that we all could, and should endeavour to continue doing good in our lives.
The Colosseum was closed, so we took a shot of it across the street.
The Pantheon was also closed for the day.
After the obligatory photo stops at the few famous landmarks including The Colosseum, Trevi Fountain and The Pantheon, we were very much left to our own devices in the vicinity of Spanish Steps. It started raining intermittently, which dampened our moods considerably. The mister and I explored the area a little, and after throwing perfunctory glances at the upmarket designer stores and restaurants, we decided to seek refuge (from the rain and the maddening crowd who were out and about in throngs after the funeral mass ended) at the McDonaldโs outlet near the steps till it was time for the group to reassemble.
The rest of the day spent in Rome was rather nondescript and uneventful. We were still rather jet-lagged and sleepy (no thanks to the great selection of movies available on Singapore Airlines, I hardly slept on the red-eye flight) hence the decision to have an early night.
The second day started early (and this is to be expected for most package tours) as we were leaving Rome for Florence (Italian: Firenze). After a forgettable breakfast at the hotel, we were all raring to go.
On the way to Florence, we made a short 3-hour stop at Pisa. Ah, Pisaโฆ who isnโt fascinated with the leaning tower located at Square of Miracles (Italian: Piazza dei Miracoli)? The evil Superman in the 3rd installation of the same-titled series of movies introduced me to the Leaning Tower of Pisa when I was but a young lass barely of schooling age. I remember being extremely puzzled by the existence of a tilting building in the world, following my parents around and questioning them incessantly in an attempt to satisfy my inquisitive young mind. โDoes it really exist? Why didnโt it topple over? Why didnโt they tear it down and rebuild it? Is anyone living in the building?โ I swear I went on and on about it, but back then the parents were not equipped with the requisite knowledge to explain things adequately to appease me. I too, moved on to obsess over other stuff.
Later on in life, I went to college, majored in civil & structural engineering, and learnt all about foundation and soil consolidation. Admittedly, foundation engineering was not one of my favourite topics, but it sure did answer my questions, albeit almost 2 decades late.
The truly beautiful Piazza dei Miracoli.
Unlike the other tourists who were attempting to take shots with the tower in all poses conceivable, I was busy reading about the ongoing restoration works, which demanded my assiduous concentration. My professors at college would have been proud of me, for I was about the only person in the vicinity who was interested! The mister was understandably more than pleased to accompany me in my pursuit to satisfy my insatiable thirst for knowledge; he is as camera-shy as I am otherwise shutter-happy.
The sun was setting and the park was becoming quite chilly. The panoramic view of Florence totally made up for the cold.
It was slightly past mid-afternoon by the time we finally arrived in Florence. Florence, arguably the grand old dame of the Renaissance movement, is one classy lady. We were whisked off the coach at Michelangelo Park located up on a hill where we saw a replica of โDavidโ and a magnificent panoramic view of Florence. The view which greeted us was breathtaking, both literally and figuratively โ the ambient temperature of the square had noticeably dropped with the drizzle and setting sun, which resulted in my nose turning numb from the cold. Each breath I took was becoming a rather laborious effort and though I enjoyed the view, I couldn’t wait to hide out in the coach.
Piazza del Duomo, where Duomo of Florence (Italian: Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore) is sited, is a must-visit and was where we found ourselves next. The square, located in the heart of the historical centre of Florence, is one of most visited places in Europe. With exterior facade of the basilica lined with marble panels in various shades of green and pink bordered by white, it resulted in a very, for lack of a better word, attractive neo-gothic exterior. Not everyone thought the same though โ to some, the facade appeared to have been excessively decorated.
Gates of Paradise in the background.
Opposite, we saw the great east gates of the Florence Baptistery, more commonly referred to as the Gates of Paradise, a term coined by Michelangelo the maestro himself, comprising 10 panels depicting scenes from the Old Testament. Lorenzo Ghiberti, the sculptor of the 10 panels himself admitted that they were โthe most singular work that I have ever madeโ. Although the panels that are mounted on the east doors now are mere copies (the originals are carefully restored and kept in a dry environment), the remarkable beauty and grandeur of the original works shone even through their replicas.
After a long day on the roads, we again turned in early after yet another nondescript dinner.
Wayfaring: Still 