Saturday, January 21, 2006

Christmas Dinner

With Peter, Jules and myself in Switzerland for Christmas (yes Tamsin I know you are sick of hearing about that), Tamsin and I decided to have a belated Christmas dinner here at our house for everyone.

It was a pretty cool night, we made a delicious roast and I met a few new people which was nice. Even the Ice Cream Christmas Cake that Tamsin made was good (although I was dubious in the beginning).

Plenty of wine was drunk (some more then others) and you will be pleased to know that Peter, Jen and Tamsin won the name that city quiz I made up and Jules, Libby and Carl won the name that song (you would think Tamsin and Jen would know a lot about eighties songs - turns out not as much as Libby, Carl and Jules)!

Oh and we still have some of that ice cream stuff if anyone is interested!

Monday, January 02, 2006

Switzerland, Part Six

The final two days in Switzerland were pretty cool! On New Years Day we headed back out over the frozen lake to the village proper to check it out. It absolutely reeked of money. Ladies wearing Dior Moon Boots and men looking ridiculous wearing fur coats (but apparently you cannot be without one in St. Moritz).

We saw the posh hotels, rode the longest escalator in Switzerland, saw the leaning church tower and ate some pretty nice food before heading back across the lake for a well deserved nap. As we were walking back a helicopter was ferrying stuff to the centre of the lake which was pretty interesting.

After a nap we headed to a restaurant close by for a quick dinner and the waitress asked us if we were heading out to see the fireworks (that's what the helicopter was ferrying out to the lake!). So we headed out for a pretty cool fireworks display (naturally it did not compare with NYE in Sydney) and then headed back to the hotel.

Today had to get back to Zurich for our flight back to London. The Swiss landscape constantly amazes and it was a pretty nice trip from St. Moritz (as you can see from the pictures).

So the final verdict? If you have not been to Switzerland before it is a must see destination!


St. Moritz Village


St. Moritz Village


Jules and Peter on the Lake


Me on the Lake


I think it is over there somewhere?


The Leaning Church Tower


The Town Hall


Apparently THE way to get around the village.


Street Scenes


A Posh Chocolate Shop


Street Scenes


More of the Lake


Badrutt's - The Poshest Hotel in the Village


Quick way across the lake.


The helicopter


Kids Having Fun


Nap Time!


Fireworks!


Views from the Train


Views from the Train


Views from the Train


Postcards to everyone!

Sunday, January 01, 2006

Switzerland, Part Five

Our train was not due to leave Disentis until late this afternoon, so we took a bit of a walk around town. It was a beautiful sunny day and the fresh snowfall last night gave us the perfect opportunity to throw snowballs (although Peter did not appreciate that).

After exhausting all the options in the village we went back to the hotel where they had a games room with a table tennis table. Now here is a quick question, when I have played table tennis in the past (singles) when serving you had to serve diagonally to the opposite quarter on the other side, whereas Peter reckoned you just had to get it across the net. We played by my rules, but it turns out that Peter is right! Who would have thought?

Anyway, after beating the pants off both Jules and Peter we walked down to the train station, had a drink and waited for the train. As usual (for Switzerland) the train arrived on time, so we dumped our bags and headed to the dining car for lunch! The food was pretty average, but they really worked hard to make the experience something special, so it was quite nice.

By the time we got back to our seats it was dark, so we played cards until we arrived to an absolutely freezing St. Moritz. We had booked the cheapest possible place which also happened to be the furthest from the station, so we got a bus over, quickly changed and then hit the town for New Years Eve (or Sylvester as they called it).

We walked back into town across the frozen lake (!!) which was pretty cool, and found a bar called Bobby's (which, it turns out, is where the children of the wealthy tourists hang out). It cost £10 to get in, which was not too bad, and once there we spent the rest of the night (and plenty of the morning) drinking Löwenbräu's with a brief change to champagne for midnight!

HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone!



A Sunny Disentis Morning!


A Sunny Disentis Morning!


A Sunny Disentis Morning!


A hut on the hill.


Got him! Yes!


Our Train Carriage


Views from the GE


Views from the GE


Playing Cards