Day 13- 17… This is what happens when we have too much fun!!

Switzerland

Friday morning we took the train from Brussles to Laussane. Before arriving in Laussane we realized that we had forgotten to write down Melissa Marquardt’s phone number. Allyson blamed Andrew completely. We wandered around the Laussane train station looking for a place to get internet access to find her phone number, and instead we found Missy waiting for us! The “chance De Clercq” followed us to Switzerland! Missy drove us to their beautiful home on lake Geneva and before we knew it we were in our swim suits heading down to meet the Marquardt boys and some friends on their boat on the lake. We met Will, Nicholas, Piers, Devon, and Megan.. so fun!

The Marquardts invited us to join them on a hike in the Swiss Alps to stay in a cabane overnight. The hike up to Ordonnaz on Saturday took about 3½ hours and included 1,500 meters elevation gain. We had an awesome guide named Cherries whom Andrew worsh
iped (she has biked from Granada, Spain to Verbier, Switzerland; walked from Verbier to the Mediterranean; and biked from Alaska to Montana!). From the cabane we had breathtaking views of much of the rest of the Alps (Mont Blanc, the Matterhorn, Verbier, etc.). The boys went rock climbing and Allyson and Megan stayed behind to look for Ibex. The girls found a group of five, with three adorable baby ibex! The next morning almost everyone got up at 5am to watch the sunrise, but only Andrew and Will managed to stay awake the entire time. After breakfast, we packed up and began the long walk back to our car. We had to make sure and get back to Lausanne because it was August 1^st – Switzerland’s National Day!!

Back in Laussane we enjoyed a very Swiss dinner of cheese fondue, wine, and a meringue-cream dessert. After dinner everyone loaded up into the Marquardt’s boat to watch all of the fireworks from the lake. Nicholas rode on the bow and everyone thought he was going to die as we sped through the choppy water. The fireworks were amazing, but we may have gotten a little too close to the barge-- at least that’s what the Swiss police boat that stopped us thought. Then as we were boating to shore to attend a party in one of the lakeside towns, another police boat decided that we were doing something wrong and pulled us over for the second time. We MAY have been going twice the speed limit. And we also MAY have had too many people in the boat but we got away with it because Allyson and Will hid under the deck as the police were talking to us. Luckily we got away with a warning… we think. Overall, the night was amazing; we were all full of Swiss pride, and a bit of Swiss wine when we returned home. The next morning Missy drove us to the Lausanne train station where we found our way to Chamonix to meet up with Xavier, his family, and Peter.

Chamonix

The whole De Clercq family met us at the Chamonix train station and showed us around the town. Allyson was very excited to find a Rip Curl store, and Andrew enjoyed all of the cheese samples at the local market. We fit in perfectly! That afternoon we enjoyed a rainy walk in the woods and picked wild blueberries and strawberries. Allyson struggled with the walk, and can’t even descend stairs like a normal person because she is very sore from our mountain expedition. We went out to dinner at a family favorite restaurant where we enjoyed some escargot and cooked our own meat at the table. Great night!

Today Andrew drove Allyson, Peter, Alicia, Ysaline, and Matiew to some Turkish hot springs in Switzerland. There we enjoyed all sorts of saunas and pools (Allyson’s favorite was a whirlpool). Andrew enjoyed the Polar Bear Room where there was snow and ice to play with. Marilyn made a delicious fondue for dinner, which we washed down with a local liquor that is said to melt the cheese on its way down (it really packed a punch!)

Culture Shock: We found out tonight at dinner that it is impolite to say “I’m full” at the dinner table in Belgium. Hmm.

Gourmet Moment: Missy Marquardt is a vegetarian, but the rest of her family loves meat. When the table was set for our vegetarian fondue meal, Missy noticed a pack of prosciutto hidden behind the bread. It turns out Will has a secret stash of meat in the house for just such an occasion.