Appart Hotel Hemizeus Zermatt

... control recently has broken down, this was the perfect sign to follow, where I planed to cross the border to Switzerland.<br><br>Just arrived in late afternoon to Aosta, I was not only already entered to the italian part of the alps but also to the point of good bye. Here I decided not to spend another night in Italy and crossed the border to my homecountry Switzerland a hour later at Calle del Gran San Bernardo. <br><br>BIENVENUE EN SUISSE - WELCOME TO SWITZERLAND

I am only stayin the night just to see the Matterhorn. The sun is out and I took a hike up nearby hill. It was about an hour and a half uphill walk with regular short stops to catch my breath. I think I have had enough of hiking now, I did 4 hours of it at Montreux as well, I must have the best **** at the moment. Spectacular view of the mountain at the hilltop though. It's less of a mountain and more of a giant pinnacle of rock. It looks menacing, to prove it there is a nearby graveyard full ...

... was apparently very beautiful with constant views of the Matterhorn, but away from the tourist trails a bit. He also told us it was very flat and easy &#8211; ideal for us given that Witek wasn&#8217;t 100% well!<br><br>We had to catch a sort of cog wheel rail for the first bit, followed by a cable car to the beginning of our walk. I have been getting a lot braver with cable cars and chair lifts and managed this one without any problems.<br><br>Once at the top we found ...

... to the Gonergrat, another lookout point. While there we spoke to the guy who takes the photos with the dogs... he suggested we stay at the Gonergrat for a night as then we could see the sunrise and get good photos... using the train we couldnt get to the Gonergrat before about 8. Thought this was a great idea and booked for the Monday night. <br><br>Monday<br><br>Tom's Big Jump! <br><br>On Monday morning we met Phil at 9 and headed back to the Klein Matterhorn... Me to take photos ...

... So I was keeping an eye open for a policeman, and spotted a whole police station( or should I say Carabinieri)!! There must be one in there, we thought. And it's definitely worth stopping. We got a place to park (probably not very legal, but we were following the Italian rules of the road by now), grabbed our Landy Rally T shirts, and went on the hunt for points. It lookead bit locked up, but as we poked around the gate, a couple of people came ...

We woke "late" (8am) and were the last to leave our bunk. Skipping breakfast, we began our 5 hour journey back to Zermatt. We chose a route that would give us a different view of the valley, but involved 1800m of decent. We paid for it for the next few days. We arrived at our apartment and ...

... exciting stories about those who have summated the Matterhorn. The summits seem to take place in July which seems so late in the year for a mountain that is 4,478 meters. It guess it is location, location.<br><br>In town we visit the church and look at the museum and Goat and Marmot statues as we go by. It sure is a pretty town right now, and will be even prettier when they put all their flower boxes out. In the Mammut clothing store the clerk tells ...

... day then skid Riffelberg to the Fury Gondola and back into Zermatt. Went to the spa at the Parkhotel Beau and had a nice relaxing swim and sauna then to the local outside pub Pepperda Pub ...

... September -Bergamo to Bellagio on Lake Como (Wayne gives Misty yet another war wound) Well we had a lovely sleep in this morning, but then we were woken up by men cutting the grass in the olive grove we were parked in... so we thought we had better move. We spent the morning enjoying the area and reading our books on the water front. Then off to Bergamo which was another gorgeous Italian town that is divided into two parts... the upper and lower city. Gem decided that Misty could take ...

www.elodie50a.com<br><br>Here is a video (sorry for the very bad quality)<br>http://www.youtube.com/watc h?v=R5_9hODsqgs<br><br><br>