travels abroad

In July, my husband and I visited Switzerland and Italy.  Italy was much as I had expected - beautiful architecture, but bleak countryside (at least what I could see from the train.)  But Switzerland was green, mountainous, and full of beautiful plants.  Here are some pictures to prove it:

Zurich has a river running through the middle of the city, which drains into Lake Lucerne.  You can walk for miles in the shade of big plane trees.  The many churches all have clock towers.  The cobbled streets hold many beautiful fountains, with water cold and clean enough to drink. 

An edible garden in Lucerne.  Sage around the outside, swiss chard, mint,  peppers, and fennel in the middle.  These veggie gardens are every bit as pretty as flowers.

After visiting Castle Chillon, we walked 45 minutes along the shores of Lake Geneva to Montreaux.  Along the way were stuning flower beds, beautiful mansions, and mountains in the distance. 



Another view of the walking path to Montreaux.



A huge fountain in Geneva



Pollarded plane trees on the streets of Geneva.  The branches are cut to prevent the trees from reaching their full height.  In the summer when they leaf out, they form perfect balls of green leaves.  I'm sure they are not as pretty in the winter, when those monstrous knobby branches are revealed.