Don't worry

Just a quick note to let you all know that we're alive and well. But, we've had very little internet access.

We've arrived back safely in Paris after a quick trip to visit Patrice and his family in St Morillon and a quick dash through Bordeaux.

We hop on a plane back to Sydney tomorrow. I'll post some more photos when we get back.

Yummy meal in Toulouse

We just ate duck cassoulet and creme brulee. Yum!

Getting you up to speed

It's all very relaxing here in Lucerne. It has been snowing, which is just beautiful, as are the surrounding mountains.

You may have heard that we were hoping to go skiing/snowboarding, but due to insurance complications it's not possible. Oh well, we'll just have to wait until June! We've decided to go for cheese fondue instead.

Yesterday, we had a relaxing stroll around the city and saw an impressive carved lion statue.

Dan and I are currently in town making the most of the free Wi-Fi.

Earlier this morning we hunted down the world's largest rolling ball clock. It's fascinating to watch the balls spin and drop. You can check out a website with pics on how it was made here: www.kugelbahn.ch/bucherer.htm

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Before I head off, let me quickly fill you in on what we did in Freiburg.

We spent most of our time catching up with Jarvis. She was a fantastic host. It was great not to have to worry too much about the language barrier. And, she already knew the best places to eat and visit. (We sure did eat! I think I'm still full from the weekend!)

On the Saturday we wandered the local markets and climbed a tower with a fabulous view of the town. On the Sunday we had a massive buffet brekky before catching a train to Titisee. The lake was frozen over, just starting to thaw around the edges for spring. I'd never seen anything like it. Plus, we had our first Black Forest Cake (in the Black Forest!) and our first strudel. Then, we hunted through a few shops to find the most impressively hideous souvenir.

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Tomorrow we're heading back to Lyon in France. I'm kind of glad to be going back to somewhere that speaks French. Swiss-German is a confusing blend of all the languages we've encountered so far, so I'm never really sure what to say! I can't believe that we only have a week and a half left. How time flies!

A really quick message!

I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while. We've been having far too much fun with Jarv in Freiburg.

Now that we're in Switzerland we don't have much of an internet connection. I have two minutes to finish this post!

We're happy and well. Please check out our photos on Facebook.

We're hoping our insurance can be sorted out to go skiing as the snow looks great here in Lucerne.

Will post more details of recent adventures soon!

Milan

This is our third night in Milan. It has been a great opportunity to use some of the Italian that I've picked up over the last decade or so. I'm still nowhere near fluent, although I think I'm just starting to get into the swing of things.

Milan is a bit of a stressful place to be. First up, the guy at hotel reception was generally rude. He had a problem with Dan's Accor card - the card that gives us cheap accommodation at our hotels. Dan has had to arrange letters confirming his employment to validate our discount. Lucky Dan managed to sort it all out - but what a pain!

Secondly, it has been near impossible to wash our clothes, which has had us traipsing across the city in search of a laundromat. We haven't found one yet, but it has forced me to practice slightly more advanced Italian during the hunt, and we did find some awesome focaccia on the way. But, it means that our t-shirts are stinky and we're continuing to wash our undies in bathroom sinks.

Thirdly, everyone here is in a rush. It's difficult to have enough time to work out what I want for lunch without being accosted by the waiter!

It's not a pretty city either, with excrement lining every other street. But, having said that, a handful of buildings are gorgeous, such as the Duomo pictured above. It was initially built between 1387-1805 although there are later additions to the structure. Dan and I spent some time studying the multitude of stories from the bible depicted in its colourful stained-glass windows.

The Galleria Vittorio Emanuelle II, pictured left, is another beauty. It houses some of the most fashionable labels in Milan. There was a huge bookstore where I managed to grab an Italian kids' novel to try to battle through. But, what we were really after was a slab of pizza. It turned out to be the equivalent of AU$12... we decided to go elsewhere.

The supermarket at Zara has been fantastic. We've discovered a world of smoked bocconcini, salami, salads, yoghurts and brioche with chocolatey centres. So many tasty things to try.

Tomorrow it looks like we're off to the science museum, and we might even check out some local design.

an analysis of Louvre art (with pictures)

Thematic trends of the Louvre:

Pointing
He went that way.
No, over that way.
He ran up. Straight up.*note: pointing no longer visible.

People shot through with arrows (and looking unimpressed)

Arrows? How passe!Honestly, more arrows?*Yawn* Let me know when you've finished with the whole arrows thing?

Egyptian Rulers
apologies for the upcoming pun...

Also of note:
This sculpture of Athena(?) depicts the goddess of the hunt with two classic objects of a hunt:
The Deer

and the remote controlAlso, there's a zombie monk...

The End
Fin

From Munich to Milan

We're off to Milan this afternoon, but I realise that we have not said much about our time in Munich. I suppose it's because we haven't done much here except relax!

One highlight - which was most awesome - was the Deutsches Museum. It was so good, that we ended up being kicked out at the end of the day.

We spent most of our time in the astronomy section, where there were an amazing array of instruments on display, including some from the time of Galileo!

I also loved the section on clocks. They were just beautiful. They had pocket watches back to 1500! I had no idea they dated back so far.

We also had a moment to check out telecommunications, weights and measures, agriculture and food technology (i.e. beer and Jagermeister), and maths (with engrossing hands on puzzles). Unfortunately we ran out of time for musical instruments, pharmacy and scientific instruments. Next trip, I guess!