Trip to Switzerland, part 4: The Lake

The next day, it was time to get out on a boat and take a look around Lake Lugano.

Can you believe that when we were waiting for the boat to arrive, Noah dropped his comic book (that we each took turns reading all week) into the water? And that Uncle Ben somehow found the perfect tool to retrieve it within moments, and saved the day? (Grandma and Aviva later blow-dried it back to life, so it was a real team effort!)

It was pretty cold up on the deck of the boat, so we kids had the sense to stay below (where there was a vending machine) but for some reason the grownups braved the elements to look at the scenery.

It was a cloudy day, but beautiful.

Here's Gandria, where we all agreed we'd like to stay next time.

There were lots of villages lost in the mist and the hills...

...and sometimes solitary houses. 

                       Finally, the boat left us in old Lugano, where we finally got to see the old city....stay tuned!

Trip to Switzerland, part 3: "Rent"!

One of the highlights of our trip was seeing Aviva and Noah perform a production of "Rent" at the house.

The two of them played all 15 roles!

They sang beautifully...

...and played guitar like rock stars!

At intermission Zula and I got to go on stage with the cast.

The audience loved it!

Trip to Switzerland, part 2: Lugano

Buon giorno! Want to hear some more about my trip?

It turned out the easiest way to get down the mountain into the town was via funicular, a little tram that went straight down a steep track. Here we are inside some of the little cars.

At the bottom, we found ourselves a few blocks from the harbor.

Grandpa pointed out some things he remembered from his last trip to Lugano, in 1958.

Right along the lake we found something pretty important -- a playground!

Not such a bad view from the swings, right?

Fun climbing thing, too....

I think even Zev and Mommy had fun, although he was mostly asleep.

I think Switzerland is turning out to be pretty cool!