Flims Farewell

Our time in Flims has come to an end and it feels far too soon. Its such a pretty Swiss village and of course the ski field is fantastic. This is the view from our balcony.





As you can see from the picture the apartments are very comfortable. The apartment we have been staying in is the 3rd floor balcony on the left and Tracy and Ethan are in the one on the right. The two apartments are very spacious and well appointed.





Yesterday we walked to a lovely lake called Cauma. Its about an hours walk from Flims and in the summer is a picnic and swimming spot. The colour of the water is a surprising blue.
It was a long walk at the end of a day's skiing but well worth it.





And here is the crew we are farewelling. It has been fun and will feel very quiet next week.

Tonight we are boarding an overnight train to Zagreb. Who knows what sort of access we will have to the Internet when we get there!

Sausage sizzle Swiss style

We treated ourselves to a sausage on the slopes today. All over the ski field there are little bars and restaurants. This one was way out in the middle of nowhere and they had a massive BBQ with beautiful fat European sausages, buns and sauce. Absolutely delicious, especially when you have been skiing all morning.





The BBQ was set up next to a little mountain stream and afterwards we lay down on the mats provided and sunbathed for a while. It was very peaceful.





Every morning we arrive at the base station and get on the gondola to take us up the ski field. It is always very busy and I shot this movie so you could see what it looks like. Luckily at this time of year there aren't many queues for the gondola. We usually stay at the top until the end of the day then ski home on Home Run. It takes about 30 minutes to ski from the top to the bottom with a couple of little rests on the way.

Another fantastic day in Flims.

Such a beautiful view.









Hannah hits the slopes.











Tracy and Linda enjoying the relaxing slopes of Home Run. Tracy Telemark skiing on the right.
Well done Paul for managing to ski and video at the same time.

Exciting! We're in Flims, Switzerland.

Yesterday we boarded a train in Venice and traveled to Milan and then on to a little place called Bellinzona on the border between Switzerland and Italy. We stepped off the train and 5 minutes later we were on a bus heading into the mountains. The scenery was stunning on every side. Booking this part of the trip was very tricky and time consuming on the Internet but it all fitted together seamlessly and was a very easy day.
My sister Tracy and her husband Ethan have a lovely apartment 5 minutes walk from the bottom of the ski field. Its very warm and comfortable. This morning we awoke to a sunny calm day and got out on the slopes.
The field is unbelievably huge, nearly three times the vertical height of Whakapapa. Have a look at the piste map.
http://www.laax.com/flash/index.php?l=en#/de/ski_area/ski_area_slope_map

We spent the day getting to know the field and getting used to the hired skis and boots. This photo is taken at the top of the field. We skied from here down the glacier.
We have a seven day pass so tomorrow morning we will be out early again.

Venice Day 3

First decision of the day was whether or not to go out to the islands. A visit to the Accademia Gallery decided it for us and we stayed in the city.
The Accademia Gallery displays Venetian art from the 1300s to the 1700s. A fascinating progression through the ages but most fascinating of all is that Venice looks the same now as it did then.
We realise that many of these attractions are so crowded in summer that unless you do a reservation you can queue for hours. We have walked straight into all of them.
We spent the afternoon visiting yet another beautiful church and then finished our visit with a gondola ride... as you do. Expensive, but a great end to the Venice holiday.

Venice Day 2

An early start today to walk to St Marks Square before breakfast. We wanted to see the square before the hoardes of bored French school kids arrived. They spend their time eating McDonalds and taking photos of themselves, oblivious to the beautiful buildings around them. Great entertainment for us when our feet are too sore to walk anymore.
We visited the spectacular Doge's Place this morning. You just can't describe the opulence of this residence of the 120 rulers of Venice. It is stuffed with carved marble and wood, gold leaf and enormous works of art by the great masters. It dates from 697 and was added to until 1797 when Napoleon invaded. An overwhelming display of craftsmanship that we will never see repeated again. For obvious reasons no photos were allowed inside the palace.
A vaporetto trip along the Grand Canal provided an interesting perspective of Venice from the water. A chaos of boats and no obvious rules.
The afternoon was a feast of art at the Peggy Guggenheim gallery and then a wee lie down to recover.

Venice Day 1

The alarm went off at 3:15am for the taxi dash to London Stanstead airport. The driver must have been in a hurry... at one point he was traveling at 160km/hr (is that legal?). Flying Ryanair was a budget experience.
We travelled into Venice by bus and were both entranced by our first glimpse of the city from the causeway.
Paul has expertly navigated us around the narrow, confusing alleyways all day keeping a firm grip on his less directionally able wife.
Top sights today include the view from Accademia Bridge (just like the jigsaw at home), St Marks Square, the unbelievably spectacular Basilica and the fantastic views from the 100m high Campanile.
Our hotel, Locandro Art Deco, is a very central place to stay and our room on the 3rd floor is clean and comfortable. Being short is an advantage though.