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Lucerne Switzerland

What an AWESOME day!

Our Motel provided a complimentary breakfast which was delicious…so we were up early… fed and raring to go.

We caught the water Ferry from Lucerne to the base of Mount Pilatus – it was a 90 min insanely scenic.. most postcard worthy trip I've ever done. I swear I wouldn't have been surprised to see Heidi skipping down the mountain.

We lunched at the base of Mt Pilatus and then caught “the worlds steepest Cog Wheel railway” up to the top 2070mts.

The cogwheel first opened in 1889 but I’m guessing its had many upgrades since then.

We spent a few hours at the top… it was the clearest day imaginable so we could see for miles and miles.

We walked to a couple of the lookouts for even greater views. We all commented on the amount of people wandering the mountain…it seems like it may be a favorite pastime of the Swiss.

This evening Donna..Ian and I had the dining experience of a lifetime.

We dined at “The Old Swiss House”

We weren't prepared for just how 'swishy' it was... nor were we prepared for the way our meal was cooked.

This restaurant is famous in Lucerne... built in 1858 and turned into a restaurant in 1931... and now passed down to generation after generation of the same family.

It is apparently stocked with 40000 or so bottles of rare vintage wines and has a gallery wall of photos of famous diners from all over the world... I don't think we made the wall.

So Ian and I ordered their famous schnitzels (and Donna ordered a beautiful pasta dish) .. next thing we know they have brought the frypan and crumbing to the table....and they cooked it right there in front of us.

It was delicious!! ...and yes... it was cooked in almost 500g of butter....eeeeek.

I think we rolled into bed that night.

The following morning we took in the last of the sights before heading to the train stop for Zurich.

Took a walk across the Chapel Bridge with all of its paintings some dating back the 17th century.

The Lion Monument ..commemorating the massacre of Swiss soldiers during the French Revolution in 1792.

What a beautiful place....

Love love love loved it... hope to come back again one day.

16^TH October –

Today we arrived in Venice Italy.

We cruised into Venice at around 1030 am…. It was spectacular.

We had jostled ourselves a spot on the deck and had a birds eye view of Venice as we cruised in through the narrow canal and into the dock. The buildings were literally…as I was expecting…sitting on water. We could see the bridges..canals and church steeples from every angle.

We jumped off the ship and literally wandered like lost sheep for awhile.. finally we clicked into gear and caught the water ferry to St Marks Square.

The St Marks Basilica was breathtaking both inside and out with all the gold tiling…marble and statues.

This basilica was completed in 1093.

Doges Palace – built in the 14^th century.. was home to the “Doge” aka military Leader. The palace was the seat of power and palace of justice. The bridge of Sighs was built to link it to the prison.

The last Doge abdicated in 1797 during conflicts with France….and then there were no more Doges. The Palace is now one of Venices many museums.

The bridge of Sighs connecting the palace with prison was apparently named because the prisoners walking the covered bridge to prison would sigh as they took their last look at Venice through the windows.

The Gondola ride was worth every euro we spent on it. It was magical… we pushed off from the chaotic crowded street and into the canal… it was only a matter of minutes and we were in a canal away from everything.

It was silent other than the paddle dipping the water and the commentary of all the buildings by our Gondolier was very interesting.. We passed under many bridges including the famous Rialto Bridge…and passed by many other gondolas and water taxis.

I was amazed by the restaurants and Motels with water lapping at their doors…imagine arriving by Gondola to your accommodation with luggage in tow.

The worst part of our day was catching the crowded water ferry back to the train stop so we could get back to the Port and our ship. It was jam packed with commuters and it took what seemed forever to get back.