On the Rigi

Back in March when we had a lovely sunny and blue skies day I decided to do a day trip with Alessio so we went to the Mt Rigi.

Mt Rigi is in central Switzerland and it sometimes known as "Queen of the Mountains" we got there by way of the mountain cog railway at Arth-Goldau. It has a height of 1,797m and on that day we had really great views all around. You can see around 13 lakes and have views into the Alps, in the distance we saw Lucern and its lake. Right at the summit it was very windy and cold, but we found a sheltered area it was really lovely and warm.

Instead of taking the train all the way back down we decided to walk some of the way. We saw lots of fellow hikers and it certainly was a lovely walk. Eventually Alessio decided he had had enough of walking and wanted to stop for some refreshments, therefore we went to Hotel Klösterli. We were lucky as the next day is was closing for holidays.

As the train station was right there we waited for the next train down, before that we visited the lovely church. I was quite surprised at how decorative it looked.

Instead of going to the Rigi summit there is a cable car that takes you to Rigi- Scheidegg, which is 1,665m. Maybe Alessio and I will do that one too!

Tai O

Tai O is not some form of martial arts but the oldest fishing village on Lantau Island, Hong Kong. After visiting the Big Buddha, we took the bus to Tai O along with lots of other tourist. One of the reasons this small fishing village is a hot spot for tourist is that the houses are built on stilts called Pang uks.  They are all very close together, almost look like they are interconnected, certainly some looked like in need of some major TLC. Back in 2000 there was a fire which destroyed many of the stilted houses and just recently there was another fire about a week ago.

We went on a boat trip around the bay trying to see some Chinese white dolphins (we did not see any), then up and down looking at these amazing houses. Tai O also has the name of Venice of Hong Kong, for people who like eating fish, this paradise.

The specialities in Tai O are salted fish, which you can see hanging in the first photo, then shrimp paste and also salted egg yolks. We walked up and down the small streets looking at all the vendors and their wares, lots of dried fish on offer.

It is definitely worth a visit and combined with the other big attraction the Big Buddha it is a great day out. Lets hope the village houses are rebuilt and the people there can continue their way of life.

Photo of the Week - Zurich Sunset

The week before I headed off to Scotland I was out in Zurich with my friend Natalie, sitting on the promenade enjoying the sun. As the sun started to go down I quickly got my camera and took some shots of the wonderful sunset. Hope you like it too!

Scarecrows Galore!

It has been a while since I last did a post, having just returned from a trip back to Scotland, I thought I would put up a funny post.

On Saturday we went to Anstruther in the East Neuk to meet up with friends of my parents John and Diana Frew. First we had some lunch in a place called The Boathouse and then we had a look around an art exhibition finally we decided to go for a walk on the beach in Elie.

Once there walking only lasted about 5 mins as it was so, so windy and freezing cold that we had to give up and retreat for a coffee.

As you can see the town was having a scarecrow festival, there were around 40 of them all over the place. The idea being you pick the one you liked the best and whomever made it had the chance to win some money.

It certainly was a great idea and there were some great scarecrows to see, we only saw 9 though. Alessio had lots of fun trying to spot them!

Parisian Life Part 1

In Victor Hugo House

Enjoying a quiet moment!

Amazing old door

Getting ready for a performance

Books galore!

Time flies and already is has been a month since I went to Paris with Aimee, it was great weekend. On the Saturday we did lots of walking and after enjoying breakfast in cool cafe we headed to Place des Vosges. It is the oldest planned square in Paris, we walked around the whole square under the arched walkway. There are lots of shops and galleries, it is here that we visited the house and museum of Victor Hugo. It is really a beautiful square to see!

From there we found yourselves heading to the river Seine and to see Notre Dame Cathedral, even though we had both seen this amazing cathedral a few times.

Then we walked in the direction of the book shop Shakespeare & Company, which seems to be quite well know in Paris. It has a selection of used books as well as normal priced ones. it was very busy as you can see in the photo. Apparently there is a sign that says please do not take photos, but everyone was taking photos and it is a great shop, so why not!

We headed up to the Place de la Sorbonne, stopped for food and drink then continued on our way to the wonderful jardin du Luxembourg which I will tell you about in the next post.