lausanne
Day 9 - Tuesday - June 7, 2016
Today we travel to Lausanne tracing a route so spectacular it has been given the name "Golden Pass". Along the route we made a lunch stop in Gruyeres to taste the famous cheese. We also made a stop at the famous Swiss Cailler Chocolate Factory for some chocolate tasting.
Gruyeres was the first stop of the day. It has a population of 2,200 people. It is a beautiful Swiss town and known for Gruyere cheese. The cheese is an A.O.C. (appellation d'origine controlee) product, meaning it must be made here to be called Gruyere. We walked around the beautiful town and then had lunch. Of course my lunch was a plate of Gruyere cheese. Wonderful! See some pictures below.
After leaving Gruyeres, we headed to the Cailler Chocolate Factory for chocolate tasting. It was very good. I never tasted so much chocolate! They had every type of chocolate you could imagine - and of course I had to try it all.
Later in the day, we finally arrived in Lausanne. Lausanne proudly calls itself the "Olympic Capital" since it has been home to the International Olympic Committee since 1915. Lausanne was founded by the Romans about 1,500 years ago. The population is about 137,000 people. It has two main parts. The lakefront is called "Ouchy" with the beautiful lakefront and Olympic Museum. Then there is the "Old Town" with fine museums and a cathedral.
We settled into our hotel - the Hotel des Voyageurs and then headed out for a tour with our local guide. We first toured the Ouchy area and finished touring in the Old Town area. Here are some pictures from our walk.
After our tour we had a group dinner. Our dinner for the night was a Swiss cheese fondue. Even though it was only OK for me, I'm glad we had the opportunity to experience this Swiss traditional meal.
Day 10 - Wednesday - June 8, 2016
Our agenda for the day was a cruise on Lake Geneva (the largest lake in Switzerland) to the Chateau de Chillon. We would then board our bus and head back to Lausanne with a stop at a local winery.
Before boarding our ship for the cruise to Chateau de Chillon, we had some time to explore the Ouchy area including the outside of the Olympic Museum. Below are a few pictures.
We then boarded our ship and set our course for Chateau de Chillon. We made a few stops along the way to pick up passengers. The scenery was very nice with the hills filled with vineyards and Chalets. Below are some pictures of our cruise to Chateau de Chillon.
We finally arrived at the Chateau de Chillon for a tour with a local guide. Chateau de Chillon is a medieval castle built on a rocky island in Lake Geneva. It is about 800 years old and has always been inhabited. It has never been damaged or destroyed. Today it is Switzerland's best castle experience. Below are some pictures of our tour.
On the way back to Lausanne by bus, we stopped at the Les Freres Dubois winery in Cully, Switzerland for some wine tasting. We visited the cellar and learned all about making wine. The best part however, was the wine tasting. A couple of pictures are below.
After returning from the Chateau de Chillon and the Les Freres Dubois winery, we had a little time to explore Lausanne. Some of those pictures are below.
Tomorrow we leave Lausanne and travel to Bern.