As I prepare for another summer in Switzerland, I am feeling motivated to finish writing about the adventures of summer 2020. I took a week off to go adventuring in the Jungfrau Region, using Interlaken as home base. It would be too overwhelming to share a week’s worth of outdoor adventures in one post, so I’ll split them up by day.
I left Montreux early on a Saturday morning and headed straight for the train station in Wilderswil. The railway from Wilderswil to Schynige Platte was built in the 19th century. The train cars have wooden benches and all of the windows down gives it an open-air feel. The ride to the top is just under an hour.
As we climbed higher, we started to enter the clouds…
…until we couldn’t see anything at all!
In true Swiss fashion, alphorn players in traditional dress were ready to greet us when we arrived at the top!
I ate some lunch at one of the restaurants at the top hoping for the clouds to clear a bit before beginning my hike. It was REALLY cold while I ate, since I was basically sitting in a cloud. Thankfully, they began to pass as I finished.
I chose to do the Panoramaweg, which is a roundtrip hike that takes approximately two hours. The views are amazing the whole way, and it’s not particularly difficult – my ideal combination!
Looking down on Interlaken! Interlaken has a lake on either side of the town. Here, you can see Lake Thun…
…and here you see Lake Brienz, which is the most magnificent turquoise color!
Small versions of these wooden cows are sold in many places in Switzerland. The playground had several giant ones. I can never get enough of Swiss cows – wooden or otherwise!
This beautiful walk was a wonderful way to start a week of Swiss summer holidays! Definitely recommend for a day with good weather!
Zermatt is “only” 2-2.5 hours away from where I live, but somehow, I’ve only been once. My mom and I rang in the New Year there in 2014. The weather was gorgeous (perfect conditions for seeing the Matterhorn), but boy, was it cold! I always wanted to go back in warmer weather, but with a never-ending list of new places to visit, repeat destinations seem to get bumped to the bottom of the list.
In May and June 2020, Switzerland started to re-open things like mountain lifts, restaurants, hotels, etc., making it possible to plan an adventure! I decided I would try to get away once per month to another part of Switzerland during the summer. Zermatt was the first stop! Finally, I would get to visit in the summertime! I took a Friday off to make it a three day weekend, and it was GLORIOUS! Anyone who’s followed this blog for any length of time knows how often I was adventuring pre-COVID. It was strange to have three months of no travel, and I was excited for a change of scenery.
Zermatt is a carless town, so I drove to nearby Tasch and parked my car. I chose to splurge on a beautiful hotel, and they offered a car service to drive me into Zermatt on the “locals only” road, instead of taking the train. Once we arrived at the outskirts of town, the hotel sent their little battery-operated golf cart trolley vehicle to pick me up. It seriously looked like something out of The Land of Make Believe from Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood! Lots of hotels have these little electric carts / taxis, but this is the cutest one I saw!
The Omnia sits up the mountain above the town of Zermatt. To access the hotel, this little trolly drives you into a tunnel in the rock and then you take an elevator through the rock up to the lobby.
The day I arrived was the first weekend the hotel was open in months. They were SO excited to greet me! I literally felt like a celebrity for how much they were gushing over me. It was almost comical. They gave me a full tour of the property (which is beautiful!) before taking me to my room. I am not exaggerating when I tell you I almost cried when I entered the room. I was so happy for a change of scenery and for someone else to take care of me for the weekend!
After dropping my luggage, I headed out to walk around town and find some lunch. I enjoyed a delicious meal at Z’Art, a Mediterranean restaurant.
Somehow I lost my rain jacket when we were in New Zealand, so I was on the hunt for a new one. Ski towns are full of outdoor stores, so I visited most of them in the afternoon until I found a winner! Then, it was back to the hotel for a rest, a massage (which was one of the best I’ve ever had!), and a swim.
One of the things I was missing with restaurants closed was pizza, so I was happy to go to Grampi’s, a casual place in town, for pizza on Friday night!
In the morning, I had breakfast at the hotel before heading out for a day of hiking. I had an ambitious plan:
Take the funicular up to Sunnegga and then the cable car to Blauherd
Sadly, my plan fell apart, because immediately upon arrival at Blauherd, I missed the signs for the start of the Five Lakes Walk and hiked at least 30 minutes up the mountain the wrong way. I was sweating so much and angry that the hike was described as “flat to descending” when I was working so hard. I don’t know when I will learn to stop and double-check directions!
The two positives of my detour were some amazing photos with the Matterhorn taken by a couple who was also admiring the view…
…and seeing marmots! I don’t know if I would’ve noticed these little guys on my own, but the couple who took my picture was watching them.
Due to my detour, I had to skip one of the hikes. I had a lunch reservation, and Switzerland isn’t very flexible about changing those kind of things. When I finally made it back to the cable car, I had probably lost an hour or so. (For the record, I did see the signs I missed the first time, but partly because there were more people at that time and the crowd was heading off to see the Five Lakes.) I would’ve loved to do the Five Lakes Walk, but it would’ve taken me too long to get to the restaurant. I opted instead to just do the Flower Trail.
Clearly, I haven’t spent much time in the mountains in summer, because the smell of alpine wildflowers was new to me throughout the weekend. I loved it! I was amazed by all of the different colors. My photos don’t do it justice, but I tried to capture as many different flowers as I could – particularly those that had a view of the Matterhorn in the background. As you can see from the photos below, there are views of the Matterhorn throughout the Flower Trail!
Along the Flower Trail, there are signs introducing many of the different kinds that grow in this area. One said:
Snow gentian
This delicate plant also has delicate seeds: they are extremely lightweight – a single seed weighs only 0.000015 grams and is able to float. The flowers react strongly to temperature differences and changing solar radiation. Depending on cloud conditions, they may open and close several times during an hour.
After my detour and all of the flowers, I was only about 15 minutes late for my lunch reservation. (Phew!) The setting of Chez Vrony is absolutely stunning! And the owners are a delightful older couple who were so friendly! The place was completely full and a literal breath of fresh air after months at home. I opted for a local charcuterie board as a starter, but it was so big that I cancelled my main!
I stayed at the restaurant a long time enjoying the hustle and bustle, the sunshine, and the food. I knew there wasn’t time to do the Five Lakes Walk before the funicular stopped running for the day, so I opted to walk the hour downhill to Zermatt from the restaurant. I’m sure it wasn’t as enjoyable as the Five Lakes Walk, but at least I got a few more steps and enjoyed being outside. What I didn’t know was how much downhill walking would destroy my quads. I was definitely hobbling around the next day!
Back at the hotel, I sat outside on the terrace reading and enjoying the view of the Matterhorn.
On Saturday night, I had dinner at the hotel restaurant, which boasts one Michelin star. I had the tasting menu, and it was delicious!
On Sunday, I planned another ambitious day. Since Zermatt is one of the places many of my visitors go, I wanted to see the Matterhorn view from the other two lookouts, but it meant coordinating all of the trains and lifts to make sure I could do both. (It was too early in the season to take the lift between the two points. Otherwise, it would’ve been much easier to visit both Gornergrat and Matterhorn Glaicer Paradise in a day.)
(On my first visit to Zermatt with my mom, we saw the Matterhorn from Rothorn. Spoiler alert: it’s still my favorite of the three lookouts.)
I caught one of the early trains to Gornergrat – sitting on the right side for all of the good views! It wasn’t very warm in town, even in mid-June, and it definitely felt like winter as we climbed up into a world of snow, glaciers, and cold.
I only stayed at the top for roughly half an hour to take pictures. On the way down, I stopped at Rotenboden. Lake Riffelsee is a short walk from the train stop, and it’s positioned perfectly for a picture with the Matterhorn’s reflection in the water. Sadly, the clouds were covering the Matterhorn the whole time I was there. I waited and waited and waited until it was time to run back for the train, but the clouds wouldn’t move enough to get the reflection shot.
Back in town, I walked the 20 minutes from the train station to the cable car station to visit Matterhorn Glacier Paradise – the highest ski station in Europe (3,883 meters / 12,740 feet). It takes about 45 minutes to ride all of the lifts to the top! It was cool to have the Matterhorn appear while riding up!
At the top, there is an ice palace, which was FREEZING (as you can probably imagine)!
This ski station is open year-round, since it’s so high. I was amazed at how many were skiing and snowboarding! There is also an outdoor viewing platform, which was crazy cold (even with the addition of gloves, hat, and neckwarmer)! The clouds weren’t cooperating again, but it was still beautiful – for the few minutes I could stand the cold! I loved this plaque celebrating the magnificence of God’s creation. It truly is remarkable!
From this view, you are closest to the Matterhorn, but you can’t see the unusual shape as clearly. I think that’s why I love Rothorn best; it has the most iconic view.
Similar to when I took the lift up to Aguille du Midi in Chamonix, France, I felt pretty woozy while I was the top. I don’t think I do very well at these high elevations.
The views from the cable cars on the way down were amazing, too!
Rather than go all the way back down to Zermatt, I got off at Furi and walked down to Restaurant Blatten for lunch. One of the women at the front desk of my hotel said it was her favorite mountain restaurant in the area, and it did not disappoint! The 20 minute walk from the cable car to the restaurant was amazing. SO many alpine wildflowers smelling oh-so-lovely!
After lunch, I peaked into the nearby gorge and then walked the rest of the way back down into town.
Back in town, I took one last picture of the Matterhorn (with this amazing alphorn sculpture), picked up my luggage, and took the Mr. Rogers trolley back to my car.
Beautiful nature coupled with someone else making my bed and preparing my food for a weekend was amazing! Writing this brought me so much joy as I remembered the warm welcome I felt and the scents, tastes, and views I experienced (and the very sore quads, too – ha!). I hope to make it back one day to finally do the Five Lakes Walk, but in the meantime, I leave you with a rave review of The Omnia and these restaurants I enjoyed.
While I am surrounded by mountains, I don’t often plan whole weekends away to enjoy them. My mom’s visit was the perfect excuse to plan an excursion. It would mark the end of her visit, would give her an opportunity to break in her hiking boots, and would be a chance for both of us to enjoy the beauty of the Swiss Alps.
I decided to book a room for us at a chalet in Wengen (pronounced Ven-gen), which is located above Lauterbrunnen. On the way, I surprised my mom with a quick stop in Gruyères (her favorite)…
From there, we drove to Lauterbrunnen, where we parked our car and boarded the train to go up the mountain to Wengen. The views from the train were spectacular!
Outside of some golf carts and vans transporting people and luggage to/from their hotels, there are no cars in Wengen. We made our way to Hotel Edelweiss, which was simple, but adorable.
[Someone was VERY excited about the water fountains throughout Switzerland]
Before dinner we went for a walk. Despite being a bit cloudy, there were lovely views, and of course, cowbells.
On Saturday, we spent the whole day outside…taking the lift from Wengen to Mannlichen, hiking Mannlichen to Kleine-Scheideg (which was an easy 1.5 hour hike with panoramic views of the Monch, Eiger, and Jungfrau), taking the train from Kleine-Scheideg to Lauterbrunnen, lunching on the terrace at Hotel Oberland, and walking through the Lauterbrunnen Valley to Trummelbach Falls. As pictures are a better way to share the beauty we experienced throughout the day, I’ll stop gabbing and let them do the talking. I don’t think these views will ever get old. Hope you enjoy!
[Quite possibly one of the most scenic playgrounds in the world]
Last week, I took the train to Milan for a work trip. (As an aside, there is a direct train from Montreux to Milan, which is amazing!) We chose the earliest one (6:37am!) in order to have a full day with the team. Partway through our journey, the train stopped and made an announcement that a train in front of us had a technical problem. Long story short, we were two hours late to Milan, because of these problems.
Over dinner, I told my colleagues about the last time I took the train to Milan five years ago. I was taking the train to Munich after that trip, and my train stopped in Verona where we were told to get off and get on a bus instead. Of course, all of the announcements were in Italian, so I had to follow the crowd and find someone who could try to explain what was happening. They bused us to Innsbruck, Austria where we caught a different train to Munich. I still don’t know why.
After telling this story, my colleague said I had bad train karma. We joked about it the next day, but it came true again on the way home! Partway back to Switzerland, our train inexplicably stopped in Brig. The announcement said we had to get off and catch a different train to our final destination. In the end, we had to stand outside in the freezing cold for 15 minutes before catching a train to Montreux. In total, we were more than an hour late.
This week, I’m headed to Paris by train. Here’s hoping my bad train karma only applies to Milan!
I recently had to take an early morning train to the airport to catch a flight. Per usual, I didn’t check the weather to see what it would be like at 5:55am when I left my house to walk to the train station. It turns out, it was snowing like crazy.
Believe it or not, it doesn’t snow much in Montreux. When it does, it’s been flurries. Of course, this day when I needed to be somewhere and when I couldn’t wear my snow boots, there were INCHES on the ground.
I had to use my umbrella, because it was snowing so much. Plus, I was dragging my rolling suitcase, which was basically like dragging a snow shovel. I kept creating piles of snow behind me.
After approximately two minutes of walking, I tried to call a taxi realizing I wouldn’t make it to the train station in time for my 6:16am train. I tried three numbers, and none of the taxi companies answered the phone. I guess you have to call and book one the night before.
I moved as quickly as I could down the sidewalk praying that I wouldn’t fall, that I wouldn’t destroy my favorite leather booties, and that I wouldn’t miss my train. I was also panicking from the start, because there is a steep, cobblestone path between my street and the train station, and I didn’t know how I would get down it in the snow with luggage.
Sure enough, I got to the cobblestone path, and it wasn’t plowed. I panicked like I did several years ago standing at the top of a steep ski slope. I decided I couldn’t risk trying to get down it and would have to go the long way down the main road. Unfortunately, the main road has no sidewalk at this point, so I was walking in the middle of a car lane carrying my umbrella, dragging my suitcase, and slip sliding along. I knew I was probably missing my train, which was making me anxious.
Multiple cars drove by throughout this journey, and no one stopped to help, even though I’m sure I looked utterly ridiculous.
While this road wasn’t quite as steep as the cobblestone road, it was still pretty steep at the last stretch. I was nearly crying trying to finish the walk without falling. It was super icy at the steepest part. And by this time, I was sweating like crazy from dragging my luggage in the snow. I had to climb down several flights of stairs to get to the train station, which was hard to do while carrying luggage, an umbrella, and trying to hold the handrail to keep from falling down the snowy, icy steps.
I rushed to the platform to see if by some miracle I could catch my train. Would you believe that the train was SIX minutes late (unheard of in Switzerland)?! It pulled up just as I got to the platform. What usually takes me 10 minutes to walk from my apartment took me almost 30 minutes.
Once on the train, it took ages to stop sweating. I was so relieved that I made it!
A fellow US expat posted a picture online that morning showing how much snow we got. She lives only a short walk from my place. I had no time for taking pictures, but thought this would give you an idea of what I was facing.
So much snow!
Hopefully, I will do a better job of checking the weather for snow in the future before venturing out to catch a train so early in the morning. Braving the elements before 6:00am is not for the faint of heart! It almost did me in!
For the first time in my life, I have a commute that takes more than 10-15 minutes. At the moment, it’s nearly one hour door-to-door (though this will improve dramatically when the office moves in the spring). It’s long, but since it doesn’t involve sitting in traffic, it doesn’t feel as bad. Until the end of the week when I realize I’m exhausted!
I took some pictures on my way to work the other day, so you could see what my commute is like. I’ve yet to have to do it on a day when it’s pouring, snowing, or greater than 85*F, so I may have different things to say after experiencing extreme weather conditions. For now, I’m trying to take in the scenery and not be upset when someone sits next to me on the train after smoking a full pack of cigarettes prior to boarding (or however many cigarettes it takes to REEK of smoke).
Heading down my street past the neighboring building, which is beautiful…
…and has a palm tree in the yard!
After the pretty building, there is a pedestrian path / staircase that descends all the way to the lake…
…there are a lot of stairs…
…and then a bridge over the train tracks…
…and then more stairs! 153 in total!
Then I walk approximately 0.25 mile to the Montreux train station. There are several beautiful buildings along the way, and I especially love this roundabout!
It usually takes me 12-15 minutes to walk from my house to the train station. I realize I neglected to take any pictures at the Montreux train station or on the train. The trains are pretty full in the morning, so I was probably rushing to get a seat. My train ride is 30-35 minutes long. I know it’s only been a couple of weeks, but it is still weird to not get off when the train stops in Vevey!
When I arrive in Lausanne, I walk from the train platform to the Metro station across the street…
I take the Metro two stops. This line runs up and down the hill, and I’m very thankful. The hill is a beast, and I would be sweating, if I had to climb it every day. (Though I hear it’s a great weight loss program.)
It’s almost always standing room only in the morning. (Also, it’s really challenging to be discrete while taking pictures in crowded spaces.)
Then I ride the escalator out of the Metro…
…and walk a couple more minutes to the office – the green & glass building on the left side of the street.
I will be happy when my commute changes to be only 25 minutes (made up of a 10 minute walk and a 15 minute bus ride), but for now, I’m soaking in the views and trying to learn how to be somewhat productive on the train.
On our second day in Seville, we took a quick 45-minute train ride to Cordoba to see Mezquita – a former mosque turned cathedral. I know Alhambra is tough to beat, but this may have been my favorite. (Though, how do you really pick a favorite when you see so much incredible architecture over the course of a few days?!)
The Grand Mosque was built on this site sometime after 784 A.D. It lasted until the Reconquista (when Cordoba returned to Christian rule) in 1236 A.D. At that time, the building was converted to a Roman Catholic church, and in the 16th century, an ENORMOUS nave was inserted in the middle of the mosque. It is so strange to see the combination, but I was so obsessed with the arches and the stripes from the original mosque that I’m glad they kept the original architecture.
[This is part of the enormous nave built in the middle of the original Grand Mosque.]
After spending time in the Mezquita, we roamed around the small, winding, colorful streets of the old town before taking the train back to Seville. This was a very worthwhile day trip from Seville, and as you can imagine by now, my mama LOVED the train ride!
Andalusia is a region in the south of Spain. There’s a number of places to visit in the area, which is not conducive to a 36-hour weekend trip. This is why I proposed it to my mom as an option between Christmas & New Years. Taking 5-6 days to explore the area seemed like a more enjoyable pace. A trip to the airport also meant that she could ride the train again, which she LOVED!
Literally everyone I spoke with prior to this trip told me something about how beautiful it was or how it was their favorite part of Spain. I am often nervous to go into a trip where people are speaking so highly about the place, because it can set expectations too high. But, in this case, I wasn’t disappointed. In fact, I was still surprised by all of the ornate architecture!
Similar to our Christmas Market Roadtrip Extravaganza, we weren’t staying in one place. We planned to visit Granada, the white hilltop towns, Seville, and Cordoba. We flew into Malaga (thank you, easyJet, for the direct flight) and then drove nearly two hours to Granada. It was late (and dark) when we arrived to the city, and the instructions from our hotel were really confusing when we got to a roundabout with about a dozen entry/exit points! We lost our way more than once in the midst of some pretty crazy traffic, but I managed not to lose my Christmas joy! Once we arrived, we found Hotel Casa 1800 Granada to be really charming.
One of the benefits of early mornings (even after late nights) are views like this:
We had a 9:00am time slot to visit Alhambra. I’ve heard about this site from a number of friends who previously visited over the past decade or so, but I still didn’t really know what to expect. A couple of points before I show you some pictures (none of which do it justice):
Alhambra is HUGE!! There is a an old fortress, an ancient palace, exquisite gardens & summer palace, and a monstrosity called Charles V Palace that was later built in the midst of all of this. I think we spent close to four hours exploring all of it!
Alhambra began as a fortress in 889 A.D. SUCH a long time ago!! It was renovated in the mid-13th century, and then made into a royal palace in 1333. The work was completed by the Moors, who were ruling at that time. They were Muslim, and Alhambra is full of some beautiful Islamic art – the carvings and stucco work are truly magnificent.
The Moors were driven out in 1492 by King Ferdinand & Queen Isabella. (For Americans, 1492 might sound like a familiar year to you, and it should. It’s the year this same Queen Isabella granted the funding to Christopher Columbus to set sail for the voyage where he would discover the new world. And guess where that transaction took place…in Granada!)
Okay, okay…I’ll stop talking and let the photos speak for themselves…
We also visited the gardens, which are called, Generalife. If you’re an American, you may also pronounce that word like general-life (which I did all morning). But in Spanish, it’s actually pronounced xe.ne.ra.li.fe. I wasn’t even close.
After a tapas lunch, we explored Granada…an enormous cathedral (the second largest in Spain), some monuments, and the Royal Chapel where King Ferdinand & Queen Isabella are buried…
Our hotel had complimentary afternoon tea in the courtyard, which was a good excuse to take a siesta before meeting friends for dinner. It just so happened that two of my expat friends were also on holiday in the south of Spain. We met up with them for dinner at Restaurante Estrellas de San Nicolas for a nighttime view of the Alhambra.
For the record, the south of Spain is not particularly warm in the winter. I packed so poorly for this trip. An average high in the mid-60’s/low-70’s (*F) on The Weather Channel App does not mean “don’t pack a coat because you might be sweating in the afternoon.” (Which was exactly my rationale for leaving a perfectly good coat at home.) I completely ignored the low, which was 48*F. My packing fail resulted in me breaking down and buying yet another winter coat, which I promptly went without on one of our day trips to Cordoba (a day that turned out to be FREEZING)…when will I learn?!
[Sorry for the blogging hiatus. I am attempting to catch up over the next week. As you read about my most recent shenanigans, you’ll understand why I’ve been quiet for so long…]
Traveling so many weekends means that I don’t really have a “normal” Saturday routine. However, I like to think that if I did, it would always include a visit to the market. I’ve walked down to the one in Vevey a lot…sometimes to purchase produce, something just to enjoy a pain au raisin and wonder around enjoying the hustle and bustle. Once, I visited the Lausanne market. It’s SO much bigger than Vevey – literally spilling out of Place de Riponne into the adjacent streets. It takes place every Saturday.
I knew my mom would enjoy the market, and since she hasn’t spent any time in Lausanne other than coming to church with me two years ago, I thought it would be fun to take her there instead of down into the Vevey market. Plus, it meant she could ride the train (which she may have enjoyed even more than the market).
[How perfect that an accordion player is one of the first things we saw after exiting the Metro! A staple on the streets of Europe, but pretty rare in the U.S.]
[She just LOVED the kids who were enamoured by this dancing Santa Claus!]
[Have I mentioned that my mama is OBSESSED with pain au chocolat?! She was on a mission to find it at the market, and she was successful!]
[Gingerbread men are one of my mom’s staple Christmas cookies, and these giant ones in the Manor department stores made her very excited! A few days later, we were in the same store in Vevey, and they were selling these giant gingerbread men for less than $100 USD! If there was a way for her to get it to Nashville, I think she would’ve purchased it!]
[We took a break from the market and shopping to meet one of my friends for a coffee (well, hot chocolate for my mama). She was excited to be in Switzerland!]
The market was a hit! It’s fun to be in town on a Saturday every once in a while!
In 2010, I went on a South American adventure with two of my college friends. On that trip, I was reading the book, The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson. The book is set in Chicago during the 1893 World’s Fair. It’s a parallel true story – one storyline about the architects who created the World’s Fair and another storyline about a serial killer who preyed on women who came to the fair. My friends got a play-by-play while we were traveling, because I was at the good part…reading about all of the inventions that were introduced at the fair (namely, the ferris wheel, the dishwasher, the zipper, Aunt Jemima pancake mix, and Cracker Jacks), and all of the famous people who attended. The Chicago World’s Fair was the first exposition to have national pavilions, and nearly 50 countries were represented.
One of the fun facts I learned when I read this book is that the same landscape architect who designed the Chicago World’s Fair, also designed Central Park in New York City, Forest Park in St. Louis, and the Vanderbilts’ Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. His name was Frederick Law Olmsted. I’ve shared this fun fact over and over again for the last five years. He has many, many more projects that may be of interest to you, but these were the most noteworthy to me. Anyway…I digress…
When I learned that Milan was hosting the EXPO this year, I knew I had to go. After so much talk about the Fair over the past five years, I would finally be able to experience the modern-day version for myself! Milan is close enough for us to easily take a train, so we made a day trip out of it last Saturday (even though it meant waking up WAY too early).
Truthfully, if I knew just how many people would be there, I probably wouldn’t have gone. While I’m glad I got to see it, the crowds really ruined the event for me. 130 countries have pavilions, but the waiting times to enter the big ones were so long. It would’ve taken weeks to make it into all of them! (We heard that Japan requires a minimum of 3 hours waiting time!)
[This is the view of the long, long road lined with pavilions from countries all over the world.]
[“Food” was the theme of the EXPO. While many countries had their own large pavilions, some others were clustered together based on the crops they produce…rice, coffee, cocoa, etc.]
[Cambodia! One of my friends is showing off her EXPO Passport. I bought one, too. Each pavilion had a stamp, so we tried to pop into as many as possible looking for stamps for our passport. In my opinion, Guatemala had the best stamp.]
[So many decorative chocolates in the chocolate ‘neighborhood.’]
[Who isn’t looking for chocolate dentures?? Yikes!]
[Guatemala encouraged visitors to make a wish!]
[There were loads of booths showcasing lots of Italian brands. For those of you who don’t know, Nestlé owns San Pellegrino, and yes, I’ve become partial to it since living in Europe. Not all sparkling water is created equal.]
[Sampling some Italian beers while waiting for the restaurant to open for lunch.]
[I spy Corona, which means we found Mexico (our destination for lunch)! I’m particularly excited in this photo, because the bartender told us we didn’t have to wait in the long line, but could reach the rooftop restaurant by accessing an elevator at the back of the pavilion! A huge WIN!]
[Hooray for Mexican food!!!]
[I tried the tasting menu, and it was amazing!!! Scallops to start, followed by pink mole!]
[My favorite exterior of any of the pavilions! Can you tell that it’s made up of colorful chain links?]
[SO MANY PEOPLE!!! I was nearly having a meltdown by this point.]
[I didn’t plan it this way, but the only big pavilion we waited to enter was the US. And in typical American fashion, their line was structured, so you only waited a maximum of 15 minutes – WAY better than the multi-hour wait times of some of the other pavilions!]
[Feeling right at home!]
[These ladies made the day more fun!]
[One side of the US pavilion was a vertical farm]
[Below, they were showing several films showcasing food culture in America…the two that resonated most with me were the films about Barbeque and Thanksgiving – two of my favorite things!]
[The final part of the US display was a showcase of foods by region. I particularly loved this display of welcome signs. So many of these have greeted me on my roadtrips across the country!]
[The sprawling EXPO – covering 272 acres!]
[Aside from the US and some of the smaller pavilions, we didn’t brave the lines to enter any others. We walked the entire thing taking in the exteriors of the various pavilions, which were pretty impressive.]
[Our reward for surviving the madness was a waffle and fries at Belgium. They were so good!]
While I can’t say I would recommend this event to a friend, it was definitely a memorable experience. In any case, I’m sure I will add commentary about the Milan EXPO when I share fun facts about the Fair in the future.