So yesterday, Saturday, it hit me again that I am actually here, this incredible dream of mine that I've had since I was five has finally come true for me, it was this surreal, cathartic moment, and it happened as we sailed across Lac Léman and saw the Swiss Alps meeting the French Alps, and the small villages at the bases thereof. It was immensely beautiful. The mountaints reached up to the clouds, and surrounding us was the azure water of the lake. It couldn't have been a more perfect day. I had gotten up at 8 as a result of going to my friend's place, forgetting my key, going out (until 3 am), staying over there, and then needing to come back and get let in by my roommate. Great. My time-compulsiveness then led me to leave the dorm by 9:45 JUST IN CASE we missed the tram heading toward the train station. We all met up in front of a small pharmacie and headed to the queue. Also, just so you know, the train stations here are as nice as airports in the US with bakeries and shops (we found a lot of shoe stores and got a TEENCY bit distracted), but ultimately made it to the train with plenty of time. We had seats reserved for our group on the train, and we sat back and enjoyed the 40 minute ride to Lausanne. The country side, of what I saw of it when I wasn't dozing, was stunning. We arrived in Lausanne and realized that it's a lot less of an intimidating place than Geneva is, because not everyone is dressed to the 9's in Gucci and Chanel. Also, crépes there were only 5 CHF as opposed to 11.... that's my kind of place. From there, we loaded onto "La Suisse", a 19th century, beautiful steamboat, that would take us from Lausanne, across Lac Léman (lake Geneva) to the château we were going to visit. It was on this boat that we saw the breathtaking immensity of the Alps, as well as my professor's town that she grew up in... right on the water at the base of the mountains. We could see her house, and she said that she had a perfect view of the Alps, all around. These mountains were so beautiful, but, unfortunately, I feel like my photos don't do them justice. But maybe you'll get the idea. THat's when it hit me, how lucky I am to be here, how I've been waiting my whole life to get here, and I fear that only four months won't be long enough. We'll see. Anyway, we sat outside on the deck and ate our lunches that we'd packed, taking in the view. The boat stopped at two ports in France, and then took us to the town we were going to. (The Swiss Alps and the French Alps are right next to each other... France is literally right across the lake.) We got off the boat in whatever small town it was we were going to, I forget the name, and headed toward the 12th century castle of Chillon (which is named from the old french word meaning rock, so it is literally "castle on a rock"). It was huge and filled with history (obviously). It was RIGHT at the base of the mountains, with a wide-open view of the French Alps and the lake. It was owned by the Savoie family for centuries. It's prison is where Byron drew his inspiration for the poem "The Prisoner of Chillon". Apparently everyone was tiny back then, and could cram 6 people into the tiniest bed I've ever seen. It was luxurious to have toilets of which the Savoie's had 4 (maybe?) so yay! Good for them. The castle has been producing wine for hundreds of years, and so naturally, after the tour, we hit up the gift shop and got some... becaus this expertly produced wine MUST be better than the 1 euro wine I've been suffering through. The money procured from selling the wine goes toward the castle's restoration fund, so I was actually helping out. THere was also this adorble glittery pop-up fairy book that I was definitely going to buy if it was in French of English, but alas, it was only in German. What a let down.
After our visit, we took an hour long walk by the lake to the village of Montre where we caught the train back to Geneva. I chatted with Mme. Rochat and her husband (who is the nicest, cutest man I've ever met.... aside from Grandpa) and we made it back by 6. Unfortunately that meant I couldn't go buy groceries, but fortunately it meant that I could take a two hour nap. When I woke up, I tried to rally to go out, but couldn't, so curled up with some warm milk during the thunderstorm and read some of my thesis book. It was one of the most rewarding days so far.
xx Edie