Lausanne - 30 degrees in the shade and lots of hills to climb

Today was another long day of walking. After taking the train from Geneva to Lausanne, we dropped our luggage off at the hotel and walked down the hill to Lac Lemans. Lausanne is a beautiful city from which you can see Lac Lemans and mountains on all sides. We spent the last part of the morning and the early afternoon at the Olympic Museum. It was a very interesting visit. They had souvenirs from many of the modern Olympic Games. There was an exhibit on the founding of the Olympic movement, and several short films.

From the Olympic museum we started our long walk up the hill to the Cathedral and the old part of town, but not before exploring part of one of the beautiful parks along Lac Lemans. Most of the kids chose to enjoy at least one BOULE DE GLACE. After looking around for a while, we started off for the old part of town, the so-called Vieille Ville. Half way up the hill, we convinced that it was a better idea to take the bus. At 30 degrees C in the shade, the hills get old fast. The bus we took brought us most of the way up the hill. We walked the rest of the way to the Cathedral, a beautiful example of gothic architecture with modern stained glass windows featuring scenes from the reformation and stories and themes from the bible. We even climbed the tower. At the top, we were greeted with the ringing of the bells and a breathtaking views of the city of Lausanne.

After a brief pause to explore Lausanne, we regrouped for dinner. Dinner was at a nice little restaurant that featured local foods. We had a nice green salad, cheese fondue and a slice of cinnamon and strawberry ice cream.

M. Swanson