A romantic weekend in Paris (with the Parents!)

A romantic weekend in Paris (with the Parents!)
Paris has been on my to-do list for a while so I organized a rendezvous with my parents in the city of Love, Jul 15th – 17th.
I Flew with Flybe from Dundee via Birmingham to Charles de Gaulle. Arriving around 22:30. I was meeting Mum and Dad in town so had to catch a train. I thought I would be clever and buy a book of ten tickets to save money and use one of these tickets to get from the airport into the city. I tried fruitlessly to get through the gate. I was beginning to think there was something wrong with my ticket. I asked the ticket officer (In English) and he was very unhelpful (he even suggested that I jump the gate, however I could get punished) in the end I worked out I needed a special Airport-City ticket. What a drama! I met M+D at Denfert Rocherau, they were looking very chilled eating club sandwiches outside a cafe. Then we walked to our accommodation “La Masion”, a B+B in the suburb of Montparnasse. On the way, an organised gang of roller bladers of about 1000 strong wooshed passed us, it was quite the sight. We retired for the evening around 01:00.
We were up for 08:00 and caught breakfast at one of Paris’s many cafes. We had what I guess would be a typical breakfast for Parisians, a Croissant, coffee and Orange Juice. We picked up food supplies for the day from a supermarket over the road and Dad popped into the local corner bakery for some sweet rolls. We had a bit of trouble finding metro station to start our journey. We had help from a friendly American lady. I discovered that my book of tickets I purchased the previous night could be used around the city, so I was pleased about that. We found a metro station (Eton Quinet). This took us to near the Eiffel Tower. We skirted the base of the famous landmark, then crossed the river Seine and got a great elevated view back towards the tower. We took photos with the masses as the weather started to deteriorate. Even the bad weather didn’t seem to deter the street vendors selling their Eiffel towers on their rugs, 5 for a Euro! We walked up to patriotic focal point of the Arc de Triomphe, which had a huge French flag hanging under the arch. We queued for tickets and walked up 284 steps to the terrace. We had a fantastic view of the whole city that seemed to branch in all directions from the Arch. We could pick out all of the major sites from this vantage point. After sandwiches at the base of the Arch we walked down the ritzy Champs-Élysées. Home to famous designer brands such as Louis Vuitton. We poked our heads into various sporting stores and car show rooms. Including the Mercedes Benz showroom, this had the very first Mercedes Benz on display. The Champs-Élysées was still decorated with flags and grandstands from last weekend’s Bastille day celebrations. Bastille day, celebrates the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille fortress-prison, which was seen as a symbol of the uprising of the modern nation, and of the reconciliation of all the French inside the constitutional monarchy which preceded the First Republic, during the French Revolution.
We continued on past various fountains with sail boats and strolled through gardens. There was plenty of time for pictures; Mum got some great pissing pictures! We walked past Louvre Art Gallery; however the queues put us off entering. Our legs were starting to tire so we decided to head to the suburb of Montemarte. It was an interesting bus ride, a drunk was hassling a father and son, I then accidently dozed off and we went a few stops too far. We actually went off the map into a part of Paris that was a wee bit dodgy (Homeless people and textile rubbish all over the footpath). We wandered for 10 minutes until we worked out where we were, by this stage nature was calling for Dad and I, and we dashed into a local cafe go for a leak. Montemarte was a very cultural part of Paris with street artist’s painting portraits of people everywhere. We moved through the crowds of tourists and ended up in an impressive church (Basilique du Sacre Coer) that looked back over the city. We walked down the hill and stopped off in a music bar for a quiet drink. The weather turned again and we decided to catch the Metro to a restaurant recommended by a workmate of Dad’s on the Isle St Louis. It was a great restaurant it had a medieval theme; we went for the all you can eat style banquet of French food, washed down with plenty of French red wine. We had some great banter with a table of American Ladies, I think the red wine, helped lubricate the conversation! Paris was really pretty by night even in the pouring rain. We walked past Notre Dame Cathedral, then we got a mixed up jumping off the metro one stop too early on the way home. But we made it eventually by 12:30 a.m.
It was a slow start on Sunday. We had a much needed coffee in a cafe to get us going. We then decided on a game plan to visit some catacombs near the suburb of Denfert Rocherau. We walked through a cemetery and finally managed to find the entrance however the queue was longer the Nile river, because half of the catacombs were closed due to maintenance. So we abandoned that plan and decided to head to Bastille square for Lunch via the picturesque Jardins du Luxemborg. We wandered through some very crowded markets, before heading to a bakery / cafe for Lunch. Next item on the Agenda was to visit “La Defense”, The business district of Paris. The focal point was the grand arc, however there were impressive fountains, sculptures (Thumb) and the enormous glass and steel high rises which towered above us. That was virtually all we had time for, Mum and Dad had to catch a train back to Geneva, so they left about 4pm. I had a bit more time to kill, so I went back to the centre of town and tried to get into a couple of exhibits, including a renowned cathedral, whose name now escapes me. However Paris was starting to shut down, so I decided to head to the airport. I got onto the airport train, and just as the doors were starting to close, a man with a beard and three fingers stuck his hand through the door. He was carrying a large shopping bag, of bits and pieces. In place of his missing digits nestled a bottle of red wine. He was very loud, yelling and talking to himself the whole journey. But the worst thing of all was how bad he smelled! He caused the whole carriage to evacuate, and I was sitting with one other person, determined to stick it out. It was an interesting journey...
Plane was delayed on the way home and didn’t arrive in to Edinburgh until nearer 11 pm. thankfully good friend Carpes let me doss at his house overnight.

So summing up Paris....
A very expensive city, with oodles of tourists, particularly American’s. Every place we went had a queue. There was a lot of PDA in Paris, I guess that’s why it is known as the city of love. Cafe’s on every corner. And the locals were not always the friendliest bunch toward English speaking people. There was a lot of poverty noticeable in the city as well. But apart from all the negatives it was a great place to visit, and it would be nice to return and scratch more than just the surface of a city which has a lot to offer.

Edinburgh Marathon Weekend

Mum arrived on Thursday the 19th of May on an easyjet flight from Geneva. Her flight was due to touch down in Edinburgh around 4 pm. Kim and I had arranged lunch with her Grandparents Margret-Jean and Lyndsey in Perth. We went to a really nice restaurant by the river called 63 Tay street. We all order the same meal, Rainbow trout, it was absolutely delicious. We carried onto to the Airport and picked Mum up; she wasn’t dressed for Scottish weather! Back in Dundee we checked into Balgowan house, Helen was very hospitable. Next we took Mum and showed her my flat, she recognised a few of my walls she had seen on skype. Next we picked up fish and chips and headed up the Law, we sheltered behind the plinth, admired the view over Dundee as we ate our Fish and Chips, quickly! It was cold up there and Mum was frozen to the bone. On the way home I picked up the Victoria sponge cake which I had made for Mum with Kim’s help ;-). And we enjoyed a couple of slices at Mum’s room.
Friday I had to work so I left Kim and Mum to their own shopping devices. Friday night Mum and I went grocery shopping then she came round and ate at my flat. We had chicken wraps and listened to my Marathon podcast.
Saturday morning we were back on the road to Edinburgh, we timed our run to pick up Dad’s delayed flight from Washington. I had fun negotiating Edinburgh’s bus lanes, and got into a wee bit of trouble with some of the drivers. We parked the car and left our luggage at the office then we went for Lunch. I though a large meal of pasta would be just the ticket, so we went to an Italian restaurant near the race start point, London road. Dad was a wee bit Jet lagged. We decided to walk off our meal around Edinburgh. We walked to the entrance of the castle and down the royal mile, calling into St Giles Cathedral. We checked into our accommodation mid afternoon. We had to negotiate some road works on the street and I got some friendly advice on parking from a local. A few issues with the quality of accommodation but it served its purpose I suppose. Then we went to the local Pub and watched Northampton lose in an exciting game of rugby to the Leinster, the final of the Heinekin Cup. It was game of two halves for sure, Kim was gutted! Saturday night as expected was low key. Beans on toast and game of Quiddler.
Sunday, Race day! I went through my normal pre-race prep. Banana, oaty bar, and porridge for Breakfast; as well as an electrolyte boost from a special racing drink. We planned out meeting points then the support crew started off walking while I finished off some last minute toilet business! I met Kim near the start and realised I had forgot my electrolyte booster gel, so I had to run back to the hotel and grab it. Back at the start line I was warm, and had a quick stretch. Bang we were off. I was targeting 3:45 pace for the duration of the race, and it started off well. I was helped with a good tail wind and some great support from Kim, Jean, Sarah and Mum and Dad. ½ way through the race I was on track for my target time, but I didn’t feel fresh, my energy levels were not where I expected them to be! I carried on until the turn dropping my pace slightly. I hit the turn at the 18 mile mark and I was buggered. The head wind took it out of me as well, and it all turned to custard from there, I just wanted to get to the end! My pace slowed to 4:30 then 4:45 then 5:00, I was pretty much crawling. I saw Mum and Dad when I was at my worst point, the dreaded power station straight into a very gusty head wind. Jon picked me up with about 4 miles to go and he was a great boost, however, I was having every runners nightmare, I was hitting a massive wall. At 25 miles I had to stop, I felt dizzy like I was almost on the verge of collapsing. I had a large sugary drink and this seemed help. A spectator yelling “Come on don’t stop! Only 1 mile to go!” This seemed to spur me on and I got to the end 2:55, glad to finish, but not in the happiest of places. At the finish line I met up with Kim and Alan and Jane. I was starting to cramp, but Kim helped me out with some stretches. We all went for a post race snack at an Italian snack bar near the start line. I had a craving for a chicken sandwich. When the Stone-wiggs departed we went back to our accommodation and Mum and Dad crashed out (they had been great supporters walking probably over 13 miles during the course of the day). I had a bath to rest my legs. Kim had to fill it up with hot water from the kettle, because we had no water out of the tap!! Then Kim and drove to the Cally Sample rooms and caught up with Jon and co to get the post race analysis. I had a couple of beers. Self reflecting on the race I was disappointed because before the race I had felt fitter than the Lochness marathon when I ran 9 minutes faster. I guess things didn’t come together for me on the day. Maybe my diet was slightly wrong because I seemed to be low on energy. At the end of the day I will look back on the race as a learning curve.
I would to openly thank everyone for supporting me on the day. I really did appreciate the support.
The next day it was pouring rain and quite windy. We dropped Kim off at the train station and carried on up to the Falkirk wheel. The weather was starting to now become quite wild. The centre wasn’t opening for another 10 minutes but the staff took pity on us standing in the rain and opened up early. The Falkirk Wheel is a rotating boat lift connecting the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal, it opened in 2002. Replacing the 11 original locks which fell into disrepair. It carries a combined weight of 600 tonnes but because of the balanced counterweight it only takes the power of eight electric kettles to turn the wheel. A truly masterful piece of engineering. We sat down in the cafe to a nice coffee and a muffin as the rain hammered into the windows. Next stop was Stirling castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most important castles, both historically and architecturally, in Scotland. The castle sits atop Castle Hill, an intrusive crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill geological formation. It is surrounded on three sides by steep cliffs, giving it a strong defensive position. Its strategic location, guarding what was, until the 1930s, the farthest downstream crossing of the River Forth, has made it an important fortification from the earliest times. Most of the principal buildings of the castle date from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. A few structures of the fourteenth century remain, while the outer defences fronting the town date from the early eighteenth century. Several Scottish Kings and Queens have been crowned at Stirling, including Mary, Queen of Scots, in 1543. There have been at least eight sieges of Stirling Castle, including several during the Wars of Scottish Independence, with the last being in 1746, when Bonnie Prince Charlie unsuccessfully tried to take the castle. We had an animated guide, a real Scotsman, who hated the English and retold some interesting stories including parties at the great hall, the battle of Stirling, gargoyles on the outside of the buildings. After the guided tour we explored the Museum then as we were leaving we were approached by Castle attendants and told the castle was being closed for H&S reasons, too windy! I agree it was insanely windy. I got a bit of a telling off as well as I tried to walk down a passage way. We got lost trying to get out of Stirling, we refuelled and got some sandwiches and ate them in the car, because it just wasn’t safe outside! We headed toward Loch Lomand, via country roads. This turned out to be not the smartest idea. With extremely large trees falling across the roads and blocking us. Once I got out to check and blockage and something flew into my eye. We had to back track and find a main road. Even these roads were dodgy with a lot of debris on the road. Dad had to take over the driving as my eye was giving me grief. This turned out to our second bad decision of the day, as he missed a turn-off and we ended up on the outskirts of Glasgow, a significantly longer trip. Nevermind, turns out the road we were going to take someone died when a tree crushed their car. After getting lost on the outskirts of Glasgow we finally got back on track driving past the Erskine bridge and the main road up to Loch Lomand. We arrived at Culag guesthouse in the pouring rain however we were warmly invited by a Irishman ‘Patrick’. This guy was hard case, never short of a quip or a joke! He told us about a time when he used to bet with Kiwi’s about which way ducks would turn in the ponds. We asked about a meal in the Pub up the road and whether it would be open and he replied “As long as there is someone there with a pulse, the pub will be open” Unfortunately he was blatantly wrong! Due to the power outage they sent all their guests down to another restaurant with a generator further down the road. We tried this place as well, but perhaps as expected they were full and we didn’t have reservations. So back to the room we went and mum whipped some really nice raw ‘mousetraps’ (cheese and ham on bread). It was nice and relaxed, a little too relaxed for Dad and he started falling asleep so Mum and watched a documentary on the Wolf’s lair before going to bed.
Tuesday, was reportedly going to be a better day weather wise so our spirits were buoyed. We enjoyed a delicious breakfast with Patrick. Mum and Dad had the smoked salmon and I had the kippers. After settling up Patrick and skimming rocks on the lake we carried up around the scenic Loch Lomand. Mum particularly enjoyed the wild blue bells. The waterfalls in the hills were raging and the hillsides were lush and green. We stopped many times to take pictures, we were in cruise mode. Dad received good news from work and I managed to talk with Kim after being out of phone reception last night. Next stop was the quaint riverside village of Killin. The river was raging and the showers were coming through hard and fast so we ducked into the local cafe for a homemade scone and a coffee. Back in the car we started driving along Loch Tay then we cut up the hill to Ben Lawers, where I once went for a hike. We continued over the pass, alongside a Dam and down to a glen (valley). This was back country Scotland and the scenery was amazing, with some grand country houses. Back onto loch Tay and we soon reached the head of the loch, a place called Kenmore. We tried to find a nice cafe but nothing grabbed us so we carried on up to Aberfeldy. It was here Mum and Dad walked through a gallery with a great collection of work, it was here that I found a really nice set of earrings and necklace for Kim. Then we were directed across the road a really nice cafe/bookshop. We had a bite to eat and another coffee. From there it was back to Dundee and I left Mum and Dad to an evening just to relax at the Balgowan.
Wednesday I was back at work so the plan was I would drop my car off to M+D in the morning and bike to work. Unfortunately it didn’t go quite to plan... I managed to drop the car off ok and get my bike out, but that’s when it all turned to custard. I successfully managed to lock my keys in the car boot! So I had to go to work, and hope that Mum and Dad could get help from Richie the owner of the B&B. He had a friend who had a go, but all they managed to do was successfully put dents in my door frame. I returned at lunch time with a work mate Colin. We wedged the door open and tried the boot button, no luck. Next we tried the door lock, no luck. Then as we had to return to work we had a go at fishing the keys out themselves. Dad tracked down a bamboo pole and with a piece wire in an extremely delicate operation we managed to fish the keys out! The crowd cheered, phew! Lesson learned, have a spare set of keys! So Mum and Dad managed to have an afternoon in St Andrews. I met up with them after work and we picked up Kim and all went out for dinner at the recommended Blue Marlin in Montifieth. The seafood was very good and the company even better, a good time was had by all!
So in summary, this holiday had a bit of everything for Mum and Dad; a sporting event, cold showers, hurricane winds, torrential rain, falling trees, lost drivers, crazy Irishmen, power cuts, Locked cars and ash clouds! Who would want to spend a boring holiday on the beach, when you can get this much excitement in Scotland!

Spring time in Switzerland

With the factory shut for a week, I planned a holiday in Switzerland with Kim. We spent time with both of our parents in Lausanne and Zug.
Day 1. On Saturday the 2nd of April we left Dundee at 05:20 to make an 08:45 easyjet flight. Did a wee bit of shopping in duty free we bought gifts for the parents and I bought myself an mp3 player. Kim kindly bought me a chai latte
The 2 hour flight arrived just before noon to French/Swiss Basel. We saw Mum and Dad through the glass doors as we waited for our bags. After introductions we drove to the capital Bern, which was about an hour from Basel. After a few difficulties we found a carpark building in the city centre. As our stomachs were rumbling we stopped in to one of the first restaurants we came across. Kim and I had vegetarian buffet. I found it surprising that they didn’t weigh the bread.
We then wandered the old town of Bern. The old town is built on a peninsula surrounded by a sweeping river. We passed exquisite chocolate shops, shops with cellar stores, cobbled streets with a steady traffic of trams ready to run you over, water fountains (which according to Dad the water was safe to drink), swiss statues (figures on 10 foot poles). We passed under the Zytglogge tower, a landmark medieval tower built in the early 13th century, it has served the city as guard tower, prison, clock tower, centre of urban life and civic memorial. The tower is one of Bern's most recognisable symbols and, with its 15th-century astronomical clock, a major tourist attraction. At the end of the old town we crossed a bridge and peered into the famous bear pit on the opposite bank. One bear was particularly active, charging up and down the bank and splashing around in its pool. I took about a thousand photo’s of this bear. Near the bear pit we also watched three guys playing the big swiss horns. We wandered back along the edge of the old town, passed the cathedral and had some great views looking back towards the mountains and over the river. We also stopped and watched some of the locals play the large open air board games. We crossed over parliament square where there was a large contingent of Indians gathered for what we believed was the cricket world cup final celebrations.
We really enjoyed wandering around Bern on a glorious spring day. Lausanne was a further 1 hour drive south.
After showing Kim around Mum and Dad’s place I strapped my running shoes on and went for a 15k tempo run. Kim came with me on Mum’s bike. I ran along the lake shore through Ouchy towards Geneve. It seemed like everyone in Lausanne was out enjoying the evening sun, I had to dodge my way through the crowds. I got home and happy hour was well under way. Mum cooked a really nice chicken casserole for dinner.

Day 2. Unfortunately a break from work didn’t necessarily mean a break from running and Sunday was big run day. So after a light breakfast Mum, Dad and Kim dropped me off at one end of Lake Geneva at Villineuve near Chillon castle and I ran home. It was a scorcher of a day, but the run was really good, particularly the section between Villineuve and Montreaux. After a bit of a recovery and lunch we ventured off to France to Le Saleve. We weren’t quite sure how to get there so I went on to google maps and printed off a map. I then stupidly left the map at home on the bed. We did manage to find it ok though. It was a steep windy drive up the mountain and we caught great views over Geneve, the French alpes and lake Annecy. Up the top were model plane enthusiasts and paragliders who were both taking advantage of the updrafts off the cliffs. On the way home we passed through Geneva checking out the International Red Cross building, the United Nations and a chair with a missing leg, which is a memorial to victims of Land mines. Home for happy hour, dinner and quiddler.

Day 3. Woke up to Dad’s alarm as he was leaving early to catch a flight to Argentina. I went for a short run with Kim on the bike along the lake again. Unfortunately it was persisting down with rain. After lunch we went to the Olympic Museum then afterwards we caught the bus up town to the wooden tower overlooking Lausanne. We walked back through the old town, popping into the cathedral on the way through. By this stage Kim was starting to lose energy, so we dropped into a co-op and picked up a few snacks and sat in a nearby park which was full of flowers. Once at home we launched into a game of quiddler during happy hour. Unfortunately Mum took it out (she must have cheated!) We had late dinner, delicious lamb casserole.

Day 4. Travel day. Mum had a dental appointment so we opted for an early train. We narrowly missed the opportunity of jumping on an even earlier train, but caught the next one no problem. The train travelled up past lake Neuchetal to Zurich. We then caught a connecting train back to Zug. It was a beautiful day in Zug and I was very impressed with the modern clean railway station. It was a short walk to Alan and Jane’s apartment. Jane was home and after a tour and quick unpack we sat down to ham and cheese encompassed by a baguette for lunch. The tickets that we used to travel up to Zug were Switzerland day passes. So virtually any public transport in the whole of Switzerland was covered by this single ticket. So we decided to make the most of it and catch a train to Arth Goldau at the foot of lake Zug and catch a mountain tram up to Rigi Klum. Our timing for the mountain tram was not good so with 45 minutes to wait we indulged in icecream from the train station kiosk. The car travelled up the 1400m mountain, through tunnels and past waterfalls. We had amazing views from the top of Lake Zug. We even managed to zoom with Kim’s camera on her parents apartment. From Rigi Klum we walked along the ridge line to Rigi Kaltbad. It was one of the most amazing mountain walks I have ever done, definitely a wow moment. We took our time and we nearly missed our train down to Vitznau. From Vitznau we caught a ferry to Lucerne, the lake was calm and it was a pleasant trip. We only caught a glimpse of Lucerne but from what we saw it looked really nice. Our final train trip of the day was Lucerne back to Zug.

Day 5. Today Kim, Alan, Jane and I planned a day on the slopes skiing. We travelled just under an hour from Zug to Englebert. We went to the ski shop and hired our equipment. Wearing the boots definitely took a bit of practice. Then the four of us took a 2 staged gondola up the steep slopes to the top tier of the ski fields. Because it was April, there was no snow on the lower fields. Only Kim and myself were skiing that day as Alan had a conference call and Jane preferred to watch our antics from the restaurant. Our 2 hour lesson was booked with a young guy named Elias. The sun was beaming down and up, and I had soon ditched my ski jacket because I was sweating so much. On the beginners slopes he started taking us through the following drills. 1) Wedge stopping 2) Wedge stopping and turning 3) Turning with extended arms 4) Turning with no arms 5) Lifting one leg. Having had a bit of experience on the snow I seemed to pick it up quite quick. One thing I had to remember was keeping my knees slightly bent, leaning forward and coming up out of the corners. Kim worked hard on her stopping and had mastered it by the end of the day. We stopped for lunch and we were both famished and quite thirsty. We had swiss style pizza and apple juice. I did a bit more practice around the beginner slopes after lunch then I felt confident enough to go higher up the slopes on some of the red runs. I was maybe a bit too confident because on my first run I fell about 6 or 8 times and it was a pain when I temporarily lost my ski. The next run was a lot better and I only fell over twice. The others went sight seeing up the top of the mountain as I bundled my way down it. By 5.00pm it was time to call it a day, my feet were killing me and my back was aching a bit, but I had a great time.

Day 6. Today was my challenge to run around lake Zug. According to rumours lake Zug was approximately 44 km to circumnavigate it. So with Kim on her Dad’s bike as support crew I set off around 10.30 am. I ran at tempo pace for the first seven miles then I picked up the stitch and struggled the last few miles until lunch. At about the 12 mile mark we stopped for lunch at Imanscee. I had a salad with some tiny meat pieces scattered in it and Kim had mince and pasta. It was tough getting going after lunch and the sun was beating down. We went passed an industrial area away from the lake then over the rolling pastures until we stopped again at a park by the lakeside. I continued on for the last leg past Cham. At Cham I came across another runner who passed me. I suddenly found an extra burst of speed and started matching his pace. I passed him up a hill and then he came back at me. It was suddenly all on! Unfortunately he pulled out before Zug. But he was exactly what I needed at that stage of the run. Back to the apartment for a bit of recovery, Kim came up with an ingenious way to ice my feet using wine coolers! As mentioned it was another gorgeous day so Alan finished early from work and we hired a little run-about boat and took it out on the lake. We took our togs so crazily decided to go for a swim (Kim and I), although Kim took a bit of coaxing. The water was like ice! And we didn’t stay in long! We enjoyed drinks and crisps in the late evening sun. For dinner we drove up the hills at the back of Zug to a restaurant that specialised in one dish. Capons, or more commonly known as testicleless chickens. It was very succulent and went well with risotto. We shared ice cream for dessert. The restaurant was in a traditional style wooden house. Outside there were superb views over Zug and the lake. If only I had not forgotten the camera!

Day 7. I went for an early hill run up to near where we had dinner last night. During my run Kim visited a Swiss dental practice to get an idea of what it involved. Next we decided to take a train to Zurich, the world banking capital. The train arrived early afternoon. We picked up a city map of the old town and started to wander. The traffic was very busy in Zurich, but it was a pretty place with lots of buildings, fountains, trams and hanging flags. Our stomachs were rumbling so we popped into a bakery/cafe. I had a tuna baguette and Kim had a meat sandwich which didn’t sit too well with her. I also ordered a passionfruit milkshake which somehow turned into a 10 swiss franc banana frappe!
After lunch we wandered next to the river, up to an old roman fort and down to a church with unique stained glass windows. It was a hot day and there were a lot of people milling near the lake front. Then we decided to depart from the tourist trail and go on a little adventure to the Dolder Grand. It was basically a hotel on a hill. But first we had to find the cable car start point. I found the entrance whilst Kim had fun with the public toilets. To buy the tickets I just pushed the yellow button, unfortunately this only gave us 30 mins of travel so our trip to the top was rather brief, the view of zurich was just ok. Back down and we hopped on a tram that dropped us back on the trail. I found a fountain to dunk my head in and cool off, then we found some benches in the shade of the buildings to rest our weary legs and sip on diet coke. Back at the train station I picked up a cinnamon scroll whilst Kim found our train back to Zug. The station was bustling and there were a lot of young men dressed in army apparel, with big guns hanging over their shoulders. We had to get the slow train which stopped at Thalwil. Next mission was to find the Lindt chocolate shop, a local had to point us in the right direction. I found it tough being in probably one of the world nicest chocolate shops without being able to eat the chocolate (I was on lent), so when Alan and Jane joined us I sat in the car and edited the photo’s from the trip. Back in Zug, we packed, showered then went for dinner at a Mexican restaurant on the lake side. It was a beautiful setting with the sun sinking into the hills behind the lake, and the fahitas were delicious. A great way to end the trip!

Day 8. A very very early start. We woke up at 4 am for a 4.30 am taxi. The taxi arrived at 6.00 am at Basel. No problems getting through to Edinburgh. Here endeth our trip.