Switzerland + Italy = Switaly.
We're taking the red-eye with fingers crossed that Blondie sleeps well. We'll be staying with the Wife's parents, who are Swiss, in a town called Thun, which is close to the nation's capitol Bern. A week into our trip, we'll be leaving Blondie behind in the land of cave-aged gruyere for a while and sneaking off on a tour of northern Italy like a couple of honeymooners. If you want to get all kissy face, we're going to Venice for four days.
This will be my fourth trip to Europe and these are the things I'm looking forward to:
1. Beer
2. Cheese
3. Cafes
3. No tipping (in cafes)
4. Staring at the Swiss Alps for varying lengths of time
5. Not understanding arbitrary conversations in cafes
We don't have much of an itinerary, but Father-in-law will have plenty of day trips planned, which I fully appreciate. Can you beat traveling through a country with people who speak the language? I don't think so. Some people say it takes away from the feeling of being a real tourist, but I hate feeling like a tourist in the first place so I say it's great. After all, I get to kick back, drink my beer, and let everyone else do the talking.
Here is my Planes, Trains, and Automobiles reading list. I'm taking suggestions, anything from MG to adult.
1. I Am the Messenger, by Markus Zusak (thank you Ben Esch and PMM)
2. Brain Rules, by John Medina (need to finish)
3. Will of the World, by Stephen Greenblatt
4. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, by Mark Haddon (so good I have to read it again and it's an easy paperback to lug around)
5. Insert Your Suggestions here
9 comments: