Escaping to Switzerland

Last week, my lovely friend Sam invited me and some of our friends to stay in his chalet in Villars, Switzerland. So, very early on a Tuesday morning, we all piled into cars and set off towards the Channel Tunnel - we had a long drive ahead of us, but the beautiful Swiss mountains were waiting at the end of it!

Up until this trip, I had never visited Switzerland in the summer. It was a very different scene to the ski season - the mountains and villages were quiet and wonderfully green! Even better, the air was warm as the sun beat (for the most part) down on us.

Sam took us on the walks he and his family did when they were there, and so we found ourselves firstly jumping aboard a cable car (thankfully unburdened by skis!) and bobbing our way up the mountainside, before starting the surprisingly gruelling hike to lunch.

It was weird seeing the slopes which, on skis you wouldn't think were hard. However, with all the bare earth and rocks showing (and the odd tree stump!) I started to think just how terrifying some of the slopes were....

They were worth the climb though when you got to see views like these!

One mildly terrifying walk saw us balancing along a ridge at the peak of a mountain, sheer drops on either side! Luckily however we all made it across... Just!

My favourite walk however had to be when we found ourselves scrambling up a river, jumping from rock to rock, before deciding to go for a paddle (or in the boys' cases, a dunk) in the icy river.

Greg even had a Lion King moment...

...and I attempted a more of a Tarzan pose.

Part of the reason we'd come to Switzerland was to witness Swiss National Day, a big day of celebration in Switzerland on the 1st August each year. Unluckily, this year it absolutely bucketed it down with rain, and so the celebrations were somewhat dampened, but that didn't stop the Swiss Guard parading in the street, stamping their clog-like shoes as they marched, or a band of people playing the giant Swiss Alpine Horn!

We later watched the flashes of fireworks through the clouds from the chalet's balcony before retiring to a rather furious game of Articulate, Champagne glasses in hand, as the Swiss partied on into the night!

Switzerland in the Summer was just simply wonderful. Everywhere looked stunning, and the fresh mountain air was so welcome after living in polluted London. More so however, it was just great to go away with friends and some good quality time with them. So thank you Sam!

Visiting Italy: Rome

Arriving in Rome saw us landing straight in the middle of the action. Within a few hours, we had stumbled across an amazing church which we later found out to be Basilica di San Giovanni which was the main place of worship for the Pope up until the 14th century! It seemed to be that every place we were to discover in Rome was steeped in history.

One of our first stops was the Colosseum. Over the years I've seen plenty of pictures, in the same way as you see many of the Eiffel Tower or the Statue of Liberty and so seeing it in real life was a bit of a shock but also weirdly underwhelming. Although being rather large, it was smaller than I was expecting. It was also surrounded by roads and pedestrianised walkways which, although obviously practical for a building in the middle of a city, wasn't what I was expecting.

It was only when I went inside that I appreciated just how incredible the Colosseum was. As we walked around, the sheer scale became apparent - we could see right down into some of the uncovered tunnel which wound themselves under the building, where gladiators, convicts and wild animals roamed before their fights. 

A short walk from the Colosseum, there's an impressive array of ruins still in the process of being uncovered. These were the Roman Forum and the Palatino.

Everywhere we walked however, we bumped into something spectacular. There was something to see on every corner!

The Pantheon was incredible on the inside and the surrounding area was fun to wander around. Unfortunately though, the near by Trevi Fountain was being restored and so was covered by scaffolding. 

One day, we hopped on Rome's metro and headed over to the Vatican.  The Vatican Museum itself is amazing although going around, you felt that you were just in one giant queue. The ceilings were incredibly painted and there were stunning statues and paintings everywhere. Eventually, we made it around to the Sistine Chapel which was rather beautiful, but admittedly, just as beautiful as the rest of the building!

However, it was St Peter's Square that was the most striking. Huge statues posed on the roof tops, guarding the square's parameter whilst fountains splashed merrily. 

Close to the Vatican was Castel Sant'Angelo, a castle which was originally built as a mausoleum to Emperor Hadrian and later converted into a papal fortress. We walked around the battlements and down into the belly of the fortress, meeting a very friendly seagull along the way. 

Rome was unlike any city I've ever visited before- everywhere we went, we noticed something that had sprung straight out of a history book. Seeing all the ruins was definitely fascinating and, despite melting under the boiling hot sun as we walked around, an experience not to be missed!