1,000 Miles

May 1st was departure day for myself and most of my friends in Flers. Our contracts ended April 30th, but since that was a holiday, we were able to use that Monday, and the weekend before it, to pack up. 

Most of my friends were packing up for good, but I was only packing for a vacation. And on the morning of the 1st, Finn and I set off on a very long road trip, to Switzerland. Of course, with all that ground to cover (roughly 1,000 miles driving, once all was said and done; about the distance driving from Atlanta, Georgia to Montréal, Canada), we weren't going to miss the attractions along the way:

Between dijon mustard chicken and certainly plenty of wine in Dijon (Burgundy), cheese fondue and chocolate in Switzerland, spaetzle and beer in Germany, and tons of pasta, pizza, and gelato in Italy, my trip was also unforgettably delicious. ☺

So, from my home in A = Flers (France) we headed to B = Chartres (France) to see the beautiful, famous cathedral that demonstrates the shifts in gothic architecture over the span of years during which it was constructed:

The two towers on Chartres cathedral illustrate two different styles of gothic architecture.

Then it was on to C = Dijon (France) to have a nice, bourguignon dinner and spend the night, then taste some wine before we headed on, the next day.

Chicken roasted in a dijon mustard and gruyère sauce

Left to right: violet, lavender, and salted caramel ice cream

Sunset and fountain in beautiful Dijon

Sampling wine at Marsannay-la-côte

Then, crossing the border, we came to D = Bern (Switzerland)

Bern is THE city of trams. We were constantly jumping out of the way at the very last minute!

After spending the day in Bern, we took to the road again and headed towards Finn's friends' place, in E = Merenschwand (Switzerland)

Pink sunset over the Alps, and field of golden canola flowers.

In the days that followed, we visited F = Lucerne (Switzerland)

Lake Lucerne

We also headed into the mountains to see G = Engelberg (Switzerland)

Then we took a boat to H = Zurich (Switzerland)

 And, the next day, drove up to I = Schramberg (Germany)

And kept going to take a look at J = The Black Forest (Germany)

Me, plus trees

Then, I said goodbye to Finn and took a train through the Alps

Lake Como

To arrive in K = Genoa (Italy)

Il Palazzo Ducale (The Duke's Palace)

Two towers of the ancient gate to the city.

Inscription marking the home of Christopher Columbus

Home of Christopher Columbus

I also got to see two beach-side towns near Genoa: Nervi:

Pitosforo: the most amazing, captivating, sticky-sweet floral scent all along the coast

Gelato in Nervi: pistachio, almond, and lemon

And Sestri Levante, a bit farther along the coast, towards Tuscany:

I cannot even begin to tell you how amazingly delicious that cheese was. In my notebook I wrote it was a "ball of angel's flesh overflowing with the flavour of the orange flowers that line the Italian coast". I'd had "buffalo mozzarella" in the U.S., but in the States what goes by that name is nothing near as good as what I ate in Italy.

And finally, to L = Bologna (Italy), where I took a flight back to France.

Need I say more? Probably not. But rest assured, I certainly could! 

Danke schön to Iris and Joe in Switzerland. Grazie mille to Monika and Roby in Italy. To Finn, I could speak in three registers, but I'll just say a huge THANKS. ☺