Day 14

Paris, France ~ Paris is the capital of France and the country's most populated city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region (also known as the "Paris Region"; French: Région parisienne). The city of Paris, within its administrative limits largely unchanged since 1860, has an estimated population of 2,203,817 (January 2006), but the Paris aire urbaine (or metropolitan area) has a population of 11,769,433 (January 2006), and is one of the most populated metropolitan areas in Europe.

An important settlement for more than two millennia, Paris is today one of the world's leading business and cultural centres, and its influence in politics, education, entertainment, media, fashion, science and the arts all contribute to its status as one of the world's major global cities.

Paris and the Paris Region, with €533.6 billion (US$731.3 billion) in 2007, produces more than a quarter of the gross domestic product (GDP) of France; according to 2005 estimates, the Paris Region is Europe's biggest city economy, and is fifth in the world's list of cities by GDP. The Paris Region hosts 38 of the Fortune Global 500 companies in several business districts, notably La Défense, the largest purpose-built business district in Europe. Paris also hosts many international organizations such as UNESCO, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the informal Paris Club.

Paris is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, with 45 million tourists every year in the Paris Region, 60% of whom are foreign visitors.[13] There are numerous iconic landmarks among its many attractions, along with world-famous institutions and popular parks. http://parisfrance.ca/

Eiffel Tower ~ The structure was built between 1887 and 1889 as the entrance arch for the Exposition Universelle, a World's Fair marking the centennial celebration of the French Revolution. Eiffel originally planned to build the tower in Barcelona, for the Universal Exposition of 1888, but those responsible at the Barcelona city hall thought it was a strange and expensive construction, which did not fit into the design of the city. After the refusal of the Consistory of Barcelona, Eiffel submitted his draft to those responsible for the Universal Exhibition in Paris, where he would build his tower a year later, in 1889. The tower was inaugurated on 31 March 1889, and opened on 6 May. Three hundred workers joined together 18,038 pieces of puddled iron (a very pure form of structural iron), using two and a half million rivets, in a structural design by Maurice Koechlin. The risk of accident was great, for unlike modern skyscrapers the tower is an open frame without any intermediate floors except the two platforms. However, because Eiffel took safety precautions, including the use of movable stagings, guard-rails and screens, only one man died.

The tower was met with much criticism from the public when it was built, with many calling it an eyesore. Newspapers of the day were filled with angry letters from the arts community of Paris. One is quoted extensively in William Watson's US Government Printing Office publication of 1892 Paris Universal Exposition: Civil Engineering, Public Works, and Architecture. “And during twenty years we shall see, stretching over the entire city, still thrilling with the genius of so many centuries, we shall see stretching out like a black blot the odious shadow of the odious column built up of riveted iron plates.” Signers of this letter included Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier, Charles Gounod, Charles Garnier, Jean-Léon Gérôme, William-Adolphe Bouguereau, and Alexandre Dumas.

Novelist Guy de Maupassant—who claimed to hate the tower—supposedly ate lunch in the Tower's restaurant every day. When asked why, he answered that it was the one place in Paris where one could not see the structure. Today, the Tower is widely considered to be a striking piece of structural art.

One of the great Hollywood movie clichés is that the view from a Parisian window always includes the tower. In reality, since zoning restrictions limit the height of most buildings in Paris to 7 stories, only a very few of the taller buildings have a clear view of the tower.

Eiffel had a permit for the tower to stand for 20 years, meaning it would have had to be dismantled in 1909, when its ownership would revert to the City of Paris. The City had planned to tear it down (part of the original contest rules for designing a tower was that it could be easily demolished) but as the tower proved valuable for communication purposes, it was allowed to remain after the expiration of the permit. The military used it to dispatch Parisian taxis to the front line during the First Battle of the Marne, and it therefore became a victory statue of that battle.

The co-architects of the Eiffel Tower were Emile Nouguier, Maurice Koechlin and Stephen Sauvestre.

Day 13

Beaune, France ~ The area around Beaune, the Côte de Beaune, is known for its Burgundy wines, with Beaune (although lacking a Grand Cru vineyard within the commune) as the hub of the local wine business. Beaune is renown for its annual charity wine auction on behalf of the Hospices de Beaune.

It is situated on the route des Grands Crus tourist route among the vineyards. The road runs north from Beaune to Gevrey Chambertin and Nuits-Saint-Georges and south to Nolay, Saisy and Autun. http://www.beaune-tourism.com/

Day 12

Lucerne, Switzerland ~ Unquestionably one of Europe's most charming cities, Lucerne also has the added virtue of stunning lakeside and mountain sceneries on its doorstep. Its fame as a tourist resort is kept up from year to year by an incredible choice of attractions and activities. The town has a remarkable site at the northwest end of Lake Lucerne, where the Reuss River resumes its course. The center of Lucerne is a pedestrian area of cobbled streets bordered by houses, shops and hotels painted in medieval style or decorated with displays of flowers. Above the old town is the original city wall from which you can admire the splendor and variety of the scenery.

Lucerne is ideally situated in the historic and scenic heart of what many believe to be the 'true' Switzerland - picture mountains, lakes, cowbells, alpine villages and meadows full of edelweiss. Once a simple fishermen's village, this charming town straddles the Reuss River on the western edge of Lake Lucerne and makes an excellent base for many excursions in Switzerland. One of the main attractions is crossing the Reuss River on the famous Chapel Bridge.

The Lion Monument (German: Löwendenkmal), or the Lion of Lucerne, is a sculpture in Lucerne, Switzerland, designed by Bertel Thorvaldsen. It commemorates the Swiss Guards who were massacred in 1792 during the French Revolution, when revolutionaries stormed the Tuileries Palace in Paris, France. The American writer Mark Twain (1835–1910) praised the sculpture of a mortally-wounded lion as "the most mournful and moving piece of stone in the world".

Wedding Tradition?? ~ a couple was holding their wedding reception at our hotel. We assume the groom has to pull the bride around in this cart....

Day 11

Lugano, Switzerland is the biggest city in Ticino, the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland. However, it is not the cantonal capital. (The capital is Bellinzona).

It lies on Lake Lugano, and is surrounded by mountains, including Monte Brè, Monte San Salvatore and the Sighignola. The Italian border lies about 8 km (5 miles) from the centre of town – the suburb of Gandria, now officially part of the city, stretches right up to the frontier.

In 2003 Lugano merged with its suburbs, creating the much enlarged city of Nuova Lugano. It is now the 8th biggest Swiss city in terms of surface area; it was previously 61st.

Thanks to its surrounding mountains and the lake, and the fact that its situation south of the Alps gives it a milder climate than most of Switzerland, Lugano is a popular holiday destination, and tourism is an important source of income.

The city is Switzerland's third biggest financial centre. All the major Swiss banks, as well as a number of private international banks have offices there. Commerce also plays an important role in the city's economy.

Lugano is the main base for the Università della Svizzera Italiana (the University of Italian-speaking Switzerland), founded in 1996, which also has close links with universities in northern Italy.

It has a small airport at Agno, flying mainly to other Swiss airports. However, a privately run shuttle bus service links it to Milan's international Malpensa airport. Lugano lies on the railway linking northern Switzerland with Italy via the Gotthard. Locally, funicular railways run from the city to nearby Monte San Salvatore and Monte Brè, and another links the station to the lakeside.

Lugano's close links with northern Italy are a reflection of Ticino's membership of the Insubrica euroregion, established in 1995, whose other members are the Italian provinces on the other side of the border.

The name of the city comes from the Latin „lucus", meaning „sacred forest." Archaeological finds have shown that the area was settled by Etruscans and Celts. In the ninth century the town was subject to the bishop of Como, who gradually extended his rights there; during the Middle Ages in the complex struggles between Milan and Como, and later between Milan, France and the Swiss Confederates it changed hands several times and came finally under Swiss rule in 1513.

When the French invaded Switzerland in 1798 they abolished the system of subject areas, and created a canton Lugano, which was renamed Ticino in 1803.

The legend of Wilhem Tell, who originally hailed from Bürglen, was known as an expert marksman with the crossbow. At the time, the Habsburg emperors of Austria were seeking to dominate Uri. Hermann Gessler, the newly appointed Austrian Vogt of Altdorf, raised a pole in the village's central square, hung his hat on top of it, and demanded that all the local townsfolk bow before the hat. When Tell passed by the hat without bowing to it, he was arrested. He received the punishment of being forced to shoot an apple off the head of his son, Walter, or else both would be executed. Tell had been promised freedom if he successfully shot the apple.

On 18 November 1307, Tell split the fruit with a single bolt from his crossbow, without mishap. When Gessler queried him about the purpose of a second bolt in his quiver, Tell answered that if he had killed his son, he would have turned the crossbow on Gessler himself. Gessler became enraged at that comment, and had Tell bound and brought to his ship to be taken to his castle at Küssnacht. But when a storm broke on Lake Lucerne, Tell managed to escape. On land, he went to Küssnacht, and when Gessler arrived, Tell shot him with his crossbow.

Tell's defiance of Gessler sparked a rebellion, in which Tell himself acted out a leading part, leading to the formation of the Swiss Confederation.

Tell fought in the Battle of Morgarten in 1315. He died in 1354 while trying to save a child from drowning in the Schächenbach, an alpine river in Uri.

Day 10

Today Venice, Italy is a popular tourist destination where many vacationers flock during the warmer months to enjoy the picturesque city on water. But present day Venice Italy began as a wealthy merchant colony. Prior to 1860, the Italy that we know today was a collection of self-governing city-states which had distinct cultures, languages and traditions. Venice, being one of the five original Maritime Provinces, was one of the wealthiest and sought to display their wealth with a bragging rite that no other could achieve.

Venetian economy heavily relied on the revenue that it gained from trade and therefore had close contact with the areas of the Arab Empire that extended into present day Northern Africa. Such an overlap in culture can be seen in the Venice’s Church of St. Mark, whose architecture has many Arab architectural characteristic. The church was built as a means of showing Venice’s affluence and prestige and sought to rival Rome as one of the wealthiest areas of Western Europe at the time.

First built in the 9th century out of wood, St. Mark’s was destroyed later that century by a fire. It was rebuilt a second time in the next century, this time out of marble, and was heavily inlaid with mosaic style trims, a characteristic that is distinct to many of the mosques of the Muslim faith. One of the more detailed mosaics of the basilica depicts the transfer of the body of St. Mark from Alexandria, Egypt, to Venice. While cultural differences usually put little strain on the trading relationship between the Arabs and Venetians, there was a time when religious belief allowed the Christians to deceivingly take the body of St. Mark to Venice. A visual of this episode greets guests at the front entrance of the basilica.

St. Mark was buried in Alexandria, Egypt during the first century. As a means of prestige, Venice sought to transport the body of their patron saint to the church that bore his name to use as a sort of bragging rite to rival the prestige of Rome. However, stealing the body from Egypt could prove to be a difficult task. However, the Muslim faith forbade followers to handle any pork products and the Christians decided to use this to their advantage. They smuggled the body of St. Mark across the border of Egypt in a large basket. They covered the body with pieces of pork and when the shipment was checked, none of the Arabs dared touch the tainted meat. The body of St. Mark was then taken to Venice where it is said to remain to this day.

Day 9

Lake Garda, Italy - The northern part of the lake is narrower, surrounded by mountains, the majority of which belong to the Gruppo del Baldo. The shape is typical of a moraine valley, probably having been formed under the action of a Paleolithic glacier. Although traces of the glacier's actions are evident today, in more recent years it has been hypothesized that the glacier occupied a previously existing depression, created by stream erosion 5 to 6 million years ago.


Verona, Italy, or Veronia, was a city of the Euganei, who were obliged to cede it to the Cenomani (550 BC). With the conquest of the Valley of the Po the Veronese territory became Roman (about 300 BC). Verona became a Roman colonia in 89 BC, and then a municipium in 49 BC; Verona had the franchise in 59.

The city derived importance from being at the intersection of many roads. Stilicho defeated Alaric and his Visigoths here in 403. But with the taking of Verona (489 AD) the Gothic domination of Italy began; Theodoric built his palace there, and in Germanic legend the name of Verona is linked with his. This city remained in the power of the Goths all through the Gothic War (535–552), with the exception of a single day in 541, when an Armenian officer effected an entrance. Dissensions which arose among the Byzantine generals in regard to booty enabled the Goths to regain possession. In 552 Valerian vainly endeavoured to gain an entrance, and only the complete overthrow of the Goths brought about its surrender.

In 569 it was taken by Alboin, King of the Lombards, in whose kingdom it was, in a sense, the second city in importance. There Alboin himself was killed by his own wife in 572. The dukes of Treviso often resided there. At Verona Adalgisus, son of Desiderius, in 774 made his last desperate resistance to Charlemagne, who had destroyed the Lombard kingdom. Verona was then the ordinary residence of the kings of Italy, the government of the city becoming hereditary in the family of Count Milo, progenitor of the counts of San Bonifacio. From 880 to 951 the two Berengarii resided there. Otto I ceded to Verona the marquisate dependent on the Duchy of Bavaria.

The splendour of the city in those days, dominated by its forty-eight towers, is described in a Latin ode of which we shall speak later on. The increasing wealth of the burgher families eclipsed the power of the counts, and in 1100 Verona organised itself as a commune. The San Bonifacio could at most hold the office of podestà of the city now and then. Verona, at first undecided, was forced by Vicenza to join the Lombard League. This, however, gave rise to the factions of Guelphs and Ghibellines in Verona. When Ezzelino IV was elected podestà, in 1226, he was able to convert the office into a permanent lordship, and in 1257 he caused the slaughter of 11,000 Paduans on the plain of Verona (Campi di Verona). Upon his death the Great Council elected as podestà Mastino della Scala, and he converted the "signoria" into a family possession, though leaving the burghers a share in the government. Failing to be re-elected podestà in 1262, he effected a coup d'état, and was acclaimed capitano del popolo, with the command of the communal troops. It was not without long internal discord that he succeeded in establishing this new office, to which was attached the function of confirming the podestà. In 1272 Mastino was killed by the faction of the nobles.

The reign of his son Alberto as capitano (1277-1302) was one incessant war against the counts of San Bonifacio, who were aided by the House of Este. Of his sons, Bartolomeo, Alboino and Cangrande I, only the last shared the government (1308); he was great as warrior, prince, and patron of the arts; he protected Dante, Petrarch, and Giotto. By war or treaty he brought under his control the cities of Padua (1328), Treviso (1308) and Vicenza.

Alberto was succeeded by Mastino II (1329-1351) and Alberto, sons of Alboino. Mastino continued his uncle's policy, conquering Brescia in 1332 and carrying his power beyond the Po. He purchased Parma (1335) and Lucca (1339). After the King of France, he was the richest prince of his time. But a powerful league was formed against him in 1337 - Florence, Venice, the Visconti, the Este, and the Gonzaga. After a three years war, the Scaliger dominions were reduced to Verona and Vicenza (Mastino's daughter Regina-Beatrice della Scala married to Barnabò Visconti). Mastino's son Cangrande II (1351–1359) was a cruel, dissolute, and suspicious tyrant; not trusting his own subjects, he surrounded himself with Brandenburg mercenaries. He was killed by his brother Cansignorio (1359-1375), who beautified the city with palaces, provided it with aqueducts and bridges, and founded the state treasury. He also killed his other brother, Paolo Alboino. Fratricide seems to have become a family custom, for Antonio (1375-87), Cansignorio's natural brother, slew his brother Bartolomeo, thereby arousing the indignation of the people, who deserted him when Gian Galeazzo Visconti of Milan made war on him. Having exhausted all his resources, he fled from Verona at midnight (19 October 1387), thus putting an end to the Scaliger domination, which, however, survived in its monuments.

The picture of the balcony was where Romeo supposedly talked to Juliette.

Day 8

The last picture is the hotel we stayed at for two nights in Austria, located just outside of Innsbruck. It was beautiful. http://www.neustifterhof.at/english/index.htm