Sheabilly's Weblog

Finishing Up In Switzerland

sheabilly — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 16:28:35 +0000

The trip is just about over. The last few days have been spent traveling around Switzerland, enjoying the beauty of the country. We’ve been to Zermatt, Gstadd, Lucerne, Gruyere, Fribourg and other places whose names I can’t remember. Tomorrow is our last day which we’ll spend in Interlakken, a town on a lake. We’ve also been visiting friends, eating out, eating in, drinking wine, drinking coffee, and devouring lots of great pastry and bread. Meals here are quite the production. They usually last several hours.

Running has been pretty sketchy and I’m really nervous about my lack of training for the Chicago Marathon. Hopefully, I can catch up a bit when I get back. Weather here has been very good. We’ve only had rain twice the last three weeks and both times it was on days of transit.

It’s been a great trip, but am now looking forward to getting back home into my regular routine. So….this will be the final post. Hopefully, I’ll get to share some of the 2600 photos I’ve taken so far.

See you soon.

Paris

sheabilly — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 07:14:33 +0000

Paris is fabulous. Need to be very brief here. Lots of people at hotel waiting to use the computer. Plus, this is the most confusing keyboard yet. Arrived by train on Wed. We are leaving here to go back to Switzerland at 4pm; Today is Friday. We have seen Champs Elysees, Arc de Triomphe, Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, and Hotel des Invalides where we saw the president of France at the ceremony for the ten French soldiers killed in Afghanistan this past week. Last night we did a night cruise down the Seine. Everyone has been very friendly here to us. They really put us to shame by how well dressed they all are. Extremely fashion conscious. Our first day of rain the whole trip today. We will be going to the Museum de Orsee to keep dry before catching the train to go back to Switzerland. Paris is a must see city. I highly recommend it. Until the next time, au revoir.

Gstaad – Aug. 19

sheabilly — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 17:17:21 +0000

A quicky today. Visited Gruyere (famous for its cheese and heavy cream) and Gstaad (famous ski spot of the celebrities). Coming home from Gstaad we rode through the Jungpass. Remember, we are riding on a bus (standard transmission) through the narrow rodes of the Alps. The scenery is breathtaking, but the ride reminded me too much of my recent drive up Mt. Washington (times 5). At least I wasn’t driving this time!

Need to pack tonight for our 3 day trip to Paris tomorrow. We’ll be traveling by high speed train. I guess it takes about 3 hours. We are scheduled to visit the Louvre tomorrow night, and we have reservations for a night cruise down the Seine the following night. On Friday we return back here to Switzerland where we stay until Aug. 28.

Good luck to everyone running the Lynn Woods Relay tomorrow night. Sorry I can’t do it this year.

Time for dinner. Will write again when I can.

Roger, I want to see you riding that bike when I get home.

Sue and Cindy, thanks for taking such good care of the cat.

Cindy Estella, sorry to hear that you got a dousing from my window boxes.

Zermatt – Aug. 18 (I think)

sheabilly — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 19:06:41 +0000

Well, we arrived here in Switzerland yesterday. We left Tuscay on Saturday and drove several hours to Como, which is on the border of Italy and Switzerland. We then took a train to Lugano, Switzerland where we spent the afternoon and overnight. It is a beautiful city, tucked away in the mountains, with a huge lake in the middle. On Sunday we drove about 7 hours to Bert’s sister’s house in the Swiss countryside. They had a big family meal waiting for us. It was nice. This morning after an early morning run through the cow pastures, I joined the extended family of 10 in a 15 seat special bus for a 3 hour ride to Zermatt, home of the Mattehorn. Typical of Swiss families, we stopped about every hour, first for a pastry and espresso, then for a white wine (still the morning). Once arriving in Zermatt, we had a good lunch. One thing about the autostops here in Europe. They’re fantastic. Like going to a fancy restaurant.

Riding through the Alps was breathtaking. We actually drove the bus onto a train for a ride through the middle of the Alps. Italy was pretty but Switzerland’s beauty is unsurpassed. We walked the town of Zermatt. You actually have to take a train up to the town. No cars allowed. Had our pictures taken at the Matterhorn. When I was here 23 years ago, we actually traveled up the mountain. Not this time, though. Switzerland is extremely expensive, much more so than Italy.

I’m missing supper right now. The family is all gathered for a meal. All I hear is French, French, French. I met a guy from Canada today and it was so good to hear English again. Weather was and has been spectacular. Much cooler and fresher here than in Italy. Going to Gruyere tomorrow (famous for cheese and cream). Wed. and Thurs. we’ll be in Paris. Have never been there. Looking forward to it. After that another week in Switzerland and then home.

Tomorrow I will have been here two weeks. Seems like forever to me. Miss much of home, but grateful for this wonderful opportunity. My training for the Chicago Marathon in October is pretty much short. Going to be a tough run (or walk).

My best to everybody. Au revoir.

Fri. – Aug. 15 – Last Day in Tuscany

sheabilly — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 09:07:17 +0000

This is our last full day in Tuscany. It is a holiday here–Feast of the Assumption so lots of things are closed. This may be a day of relaxation (much needed!). It is also the first day that looks like we may get some rain.

Since I last wrote we have visited Florence and Assisi, City of St. Francis–two very different experiences. We took the train to Florence to visit the most significant cultural center in Italy (and perhaps the world). It is a huge city, like Rome, filled with museums, shops, the Ponte Vecchio, etc. It was extremely crowded and hot (what else is new!) It’s hard to see much with these conditions as well as the long lines at everything, but we did our best. We did see Michaelangelo’s statue of David as well as many other masterpieces The heat and crowds really took a toll on us, though, and we were all dying of thirst once we got off the train back home and ran into a store to get water (and Coke Light). To really appreciate Florence, you need to spend a few days. At least we got a glimpse.

Yesterday was a very different experience. We visited Assisi, home of St. Francis. It is a very quaint city with lots of nuns and monks walking around. We visited several Churches as well as the Basilica of St. Francis and saw his tomb. Luckily there were no gory sites (body parts on display) like we’ve seen with some of the other saints.

I have taken 1,220 pictures so far! (Chip, that 8 gig card keeps going and going. I have he file size set to medium). Someone asked yesterday if I could live here. Well, I don’t think I could. It is just too isolated. It is beautiful though.

Tomorrow we leave at 6:00 AM to drive to Como (near Milan) where we’ll drop off the rental car and take the train over the border to Switzerland. We’ll spend the night in Lugano (which is the Italian section of Switzerland–the other two sections are the French and German speaking ones). On Sunday we drive to Bert’s sister’s house where we’ll spend the week in Switzerland (and also take the train to Paris for two nights).

It’s so nice to be able this morning to write without feeling like I’m being rushed. It’s amazing how fast those emails pile up after not checking for a couple days.

So long from Italy. My next post will most likely be from Switzerland. Take care, everybody.

Sue, how is Tinkerbell?

Steve T., I will have an affadavit for that award

Jay, I will consider taking you next year. You would love the cycling here. Tons of people doing it.

Susie, my wounds are healing nicely

Chip and Steph, Get that cookout organized!

Sarge, I hope you’re still cracking that whip!!!!

Greetings from Siena, Italy – Tues. Aug. 12

sheabilly — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 13:21:08 +0000

This is our third full day in Tuscany. Yesterday we visited Pienza and Montepulchiano. Amazing that towns build in the 11th and 12th centuries are still standing. All share large fortress walls around them and they are located at the tops of hills, thus there is a LOT of walking up steel narrow roadways. The weather continues to be beautiful. Very hot, but sunny.

Right now I am in an Internet Cafe in Siena. We just had lunch at a nice Italian restaurant. I’m sure I’m putting on lots of weight with all the pasta, bread, wine (cheap!), and gelato. Siena is home to the Cathedral of St. Catherine, patron saint of Siena. It was so pleasant to walk into the Church and see her thumb encased in the wall. Further up, we were confronted with her HEAD encased in glass, staring out at us. Very weird.

Got the link up to where we’re staying. Check it out. Casa Porta. I’m in the Castelli room.

Novelties of Italy (and probably most of Europe)– finding out how to flush the toilet, getting into a store before they close for two hours at lunch, avoiding getting killed in the streets, no pedestrian right of way here.

Starting to fall into a rhythm here. Breakfast, visit a village, back to pool, wine and cheese at night. Have started to run in the mornings. I was cautioned against Wild Boars. I have had several dogs chasing me, but so far, no attacks.

Tomorrow we take the train to Florence, which will be a huge city like Rome. Sweating like crazy as I write this. We are all packed together in a small, stuffy place. I feel like I am in India!

Beautiful here, though. So much to see and experience. Will write later. Hope all is well with you. And, yes, Susie, I did need you to nurse my wounds. Took the band aid off last night, and woke up to blood all over the sheets. Got busy with my Tide and all is well. Caio.

Sunday, Aug. 10 – Cortona (Tuscany)

sheabilly — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 11:27:12 +0000

Well, we managed the car ride from Rome to Tuscany with minimal problems. The place we are staying at Casa Porta ( had trouble with link, will try to fix later) is really beautiful, nestled in an idyllic setting. Feeling adventurous, we got in the car last night to check around. This lasted about a half hour when we made the decision to save our lives and go home. Long narrow steep winding roads, no lights, few signs, a standard transmission, and crazy Italian drivers all contributed to shooting our nerves. After almost killing two pedestrians, we thought it wise to head back home.

This morning we had a nice breakfast at the B and B, and headed here to Cortona, site of the movie Under The Tuscan Sun. It is truly beautiful here. The village is like something out of a fairy tale. I’m anticipating that we’ll be encountering many of these during the coming days. A big festival is going on and Robert Redford is here. We haven’t seen him, but others at the B and B have seen him.

Weather is much cooler here, probably around 85 with less humididy. I understand back home there has been lots of rain. Sorry about that.

No bad effects from my fall the other day. Off now to get a Gelato. Take care, everybody.

Hot and Humid in Rome = Fri. Aug. 8

sheabilly — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 12:32:41 +0000

Hello everybody. Sorry so late here. It has been very difficult to find a computer i can use. This keyboard is totally different from the ones back home. I cannot find the apostrophe so bear with me here. Well, we arrived safely with minimal problems. The hotel is absolutely beautiful. It is the Hotel Cavaliere in Rome pretty opulent and luxurious. Yesterday was our first full day and we spent most of it being good Catholics, touring around Vatican City. Saw St. Peters, Vatican Museum, an archeological tour underneath St. Peters where the ancient Roman cemetary was, as well as St. Peters tomb and bones. We also toured the Sistine Chapel in which Michaelangelo painted the entire ceiling. It is hard to describe how magnificent everything is. I have taken lots of pictures though.

Today, we spent the morning touring the Coliseum, the Forum, Circus Maximus, and the Pallantine Hills. Talk about being part of ancient history. We just finished lunch in McDonalds (how adventurous of us) and am now in an internet cafe with Alexandra.

I do not think we have ever experienced such heat and humidity before. It makes the touring a bit difficult, to say the least. Today it is about 100 degress. Yesterday was 97. We are doing our best to be good troopers.

The catastrophe of the trip so far was my recent fall down a stone set of steps at the Forum leading to the toilet. I had camera (the big one) with flash attached in hand and managed to hold it upright as I tumbled down the steps. Camera comes first, not me. Steve Touchette, where are you when I need you.? I reopened my recent elbow wound and blood was streaming everywhere. I claim once again the There Will Be Blood award, even though technically I was not running. Speaking of which, I have yet to do……. I sprang up, dignity somewhat intact, and really did not feel bad, although the leg is starting to hurt.

Alexandra says hello to her peeps. Hi Emily, Richard, Katie, and Alicia. She says she is dying. Has never walked so much in her life. The highlight of the trip so far is getting back to the hotel to the cool air conditioned room with the big comfy bed.

Tomorrow, we leave for Tuscanny. I believe they have a computer at the B and B, so I will report from there. We are all anticipating a less hectic pace. Rome has really wiped us out. It is very beautiful though.

Caio..

Day of Departure

sheabilly — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 21:16:56 +0000

After almost a year of planning, the day of departure has arrived. Our flight leaves tonight at 7:50 PM. We’ll be landing in Munich tomorrow and flying over to Rome. We’ll spend 3 nights there before heading down to Tuscany for a week. From there we’ll drive to Switzerland for another week, with a side trip by train to Paris for two nights. The whole trip encompasses Aug. 5 – Aug. 28. I’m not sure what my access will be to a computer or how easily I’ll be able to upload pictures, but I’ll try my best.

Time to get off here now for final preparations. Got my 5:30 AM run in this morning which was good. I’m a little worried about my training schedule for Chicago Marathon in October. I doubt I’ll be able to train over there the way I should. But, who knows! Hopefully, you’ll be hearing from me from Rome soon. Caio.