The USA were finally open to vaccinated foreign visitor. After our negative tests, we were ready to fly to Orlando. We had planned 2 nights in Orlando, to allow us to visit some entertainement parks. We settled for Animal Kingdom and Hollywood studio parks, and had a lot of fun trying different rides. The next day we started heading north along the coast to pick up Jessie. We met her in Vero Beach around some catch up drinks and then made our way south to Vero Beach small costal town on the famous A1A to spend the night.
The following day we drove down to the Everglades and enjoyed a fan boat ride to meet aligators. We were lucky to spot a few gators and we really enjoyed the fan boat ride experience. We then headed south towards Islamorada. The next day, we booked a self guided Kayak tour in the mangroves. It was a super nice and relaxing ride and we even spotted a crocodile sunbathing. Back at the hotel we enjoyed the swimming pool for a while. before heading to Dinner and hunting for a dive bar.
After a fun night in Islamorada, we continued our way south to reach Key West and its vacation vibes. The road was magnificent crossing various bridge to get to the next island. We were really impressed with our guest house accommodation. We spent a few days in Key West making the most of the festive atmosphere. I decided to go back in the water for 2 small wreck dives that were long overdue because of Covid while the girls went snorkeling. We learned a lot about the amazing history of spanish gallions and treasure hunts on the wrecks. On a rainy day we visited the house of Hemmingway and made a lots of 6 toes cat friends that are descendants of Hemmingway's cats. We also took advantage of fresh seafood restaurant and tried the famous Key West lime pie.
After about a week it was time to part with Jessie and let her off at the Key West Airport before heading back north towards Fort Lauderdale. We managed to stop on the way and meet Bob and Gay that were also on a road trip to Florida. We spent 2 nights in Fort Lauderdale, a pretty weathy suburb of Miami before flying to Philadelphia where Wendy's mom and her Husband Bobby picked us up. Wendy sister and her husband, joined us for the XMas celebration too. We visited the Amish region in Delaware, attended Wendy's young cousin's wedding, and visited some other family members. Before returning, we took advantage of the close proximity of Washington to meet Teresa and David in their new home and of course Olive, the not that small puppy. I particularly enjoyed the long walk we took to see the capital's monuments. After a little more than 2 weeks, it was time to fly back and pick Alfie up who had spent the holidays in the "Valley de Joux".
Considering the COVID situation and the USA restriction, I wasn't able to join Wendy in Sun Valley for Teresa & David's wedding. I came up with a backup plan to enjoy a few days off with Alfie by booking my brother's appartment in Leurkerbad. This way I managed to enjoy a bit of hiking a few hot pools sessions and a lot of quality time with Alfie. It was also allowing Wendy to join me whenever she could. It turned out to be much better than a backup plan in the end, I also would like to thank David & Cristina for their appartment.
Considering the particular circumstances this year, we decided to design a corona friendly itinerary. First we headed towards the lake of the 4 cantons. We left on saturday morning after a little coffee at my mom's in Sion. Then, we put the car on the train in Loetchberg; this was a first for Wendy. She did not particularly enjoy the rollercoaster ride in the tunnel, but she appreaciated the scenary at the exit. Unfortunately, the rain was heavy on the Bernese side. It was a shame, because the weather did not do justice to the wonderful scenary you typically have on a sunny day. We decided to stop in Interlaken for lunch and found an excellent little Mexican restaurant. After some delicious food and a cold XX, we made our way towards Lucerne. We arrived at our hotel in Hergiswil, booked the restaurant for the evening, and went immediately for a nice dip in the hot tub.
The next day, despite the heavy rain, we made our way to Lucerne. We visited the old chapel bridge and the museum of modern art, which was a very nice surprise. We then had a typical Swiss German lunch, which consisted of some sausage and schnitzel, before making our way back to the hotel. Of course we then hit the hot tub again. The next day, the weather cleared up slightly, and we headed towards Engadine and St-Moritz in the Swiss Alps. On the way we had to stop in Heidiland; it was mandatory to show this to Wendy. Unfortunately, Heidi and Peter were nowhere to be seen, but Wendy still enjoyed making friends with the goats that were hanging around. We continued towards St-Moritz and the scenary kept getting better. The highlight of this part of our voyage was when we drove towards Silvaplana and St-Moritz. We then spent a few days in St. Moritz and enjoyed the magnificent view of the lakes. We went on a short hike in the Swiss National Park and even managed to spot a chamois (a local deer). We also took the opportunity to rent an electric mountain bike to tour around the lakes and we saw an amazing waterfall. We stopped at a lovely lakeside restaurant, where Wendy believes she had the best burger of her life. We obivoulsy also made the most of our hotel spa and the many excellent restaurants arount the village.
After a few days in our beautiful Switzerland, it was time to head towards Italy. We left through one of the most scenic routes I have ever driven. We passed by Pontresina, then went through a pass with breathtaking views of a glacier (we should enjoy those before they disapear). After reaching the italian border, we drove along the lake of Iseo. It was very pretty, and we finally experienced some hot summer weather once again. We went on towards Sirmione, a peninsula on the shores of Lake Garda. Upon arrival at the hotel, our temperature was taken for the first time; Italians are not joking with the Covid safety and it is perfectly understandable. Our hotel was quite luxurious, it offered a private beach on the lake as well as 2 hot pools. Late afternoon, we visited the old town by foot before finding a charming outdoor restaurant where we enjoyed a fantastic italian dinner. The next day, we started with a little dip in the hot tub before taking advantage of the free hotel bicycles to search first for a nice little lunch spot on the lake and then for our first Italian Gelato. We next headed back to the hotel for a nice massage and one last dip in the hot pool before having a lovely dinner accompanied by a very inexpensive bottle of Tignanello. To thank us for our business, we received a free bottle of wine, and then we found ourselves back at the hotel to prepare for our departure the next day.
After a good breakfast, we hit the road towards Venice. It was a very short 2h trip. Upon arrival the parking on the island was full, therfore we found an alternative on the mainland, which included a short boat trip over to Venice. The boat dropped us off on the side of Venice opposite to our hotel. While we had to pull our suit cases through the city in the hot midday sun, we enjoyed our first views of the city while walking across old bridges and through tiny alleys, which are very difficult for GPS. We finally arrived at the hotel after a 30-40 min walk. We got our temperature checked at the hotel as is required for a covid free check-in. Then we found a small outdoor restaurant for lunch. We spent 4 magnificent days strolling through the alleys of Venice. We enjoyed a very informative guided tour through one of Venice's districts, visited the Doge's Palace & some churches, and even made a trip to Murano to admire the glassblowers at work. We of course did not miss the mandatory gondola ride. We also managed to eat extremely well. We found that there were still quite a lot of tourists in Venice, but the crowd was likely nothing compared to the pre-covid period. This place is defintiely unique, and I look forward to returning there someday soon. After 4 days, it was unfortunately time to leave this feeric city and hit the road again towards our last stop in Piemont.
We arrived near Alba at Cascina Giardini at the end of the afternoon and we met the nonna. My Italian was a little rusty but I could understand almost everything she was saying to us. She recommended an excellent cantina for the evening in Alba. The meal was divine and frankly without her recommendation, we would probably have never found it. It was an absolute delight. The waiter even brought us extra dishes of food, on the house, from the kitchen for us to taste. The next day we met the son of nonna, which manages the B&B, and he was relieved to confirm that I understood his mother's instructions the day before. He then booked us a tasting in a Barbaresco winery for the afternoon and one in Barolo for the next morning. In the evening, we once again took their recommendation for a restaurant that was clearly a place only locals visit. The staff broght the pans directly out of the kitchen and served the food onto your plate. It was once again absolutely delicious. After our private tasting in Barolo the next day, we asked for a lunch recommandation and it was as good as anything we have ever experienced in this region; Wendy was a fan because they served her two desserts and some candies which of course she still has in her handbag. We drove home after lunch with our car trunk full of Barolo and Barbaresco, 42 bottles to be exact, and a full belly and fantastic memories of this covid compatible trip.
Thanks to a chemistry conference in Vienna, I joined Wendy on Thursday evening...It was an opportunity to rediscover this magnificent city and introduce Wendy to it. We had the opportunity to experience some restaurants that I knew, to taste Viennese coffee, a schnitzel in Figglmueller, try electric scooters and enjoy the walking museum that is the center of Vienna. A wonderful weekend ...
After a busy year, it was time to fly to the tropics. A long flight to Honolulu was awaiting us. We landed safely around midnight. The next day we got up, had breakfast at IHOP and visited Waikiki before enjoying a Mai Tai at a beach bar. Around 5pm, it was time for us to welcome Wendy's mom at the airport. After the mother / daughter reunion, we came back at the hotel to drop the luggage. We had booked a good restaurant for the "get back toegther evening". Everyone was still tired from the long journey, therefore we did not stay late. The next day, we spent time visiting Waikiki with Wilma, it was a bit windy, but we were having a nice day. We also booked excursions for the week. We had planned on visiting Pearl Harbor, taking a tour of the island, visiting the ranch that is serving as a base to all the Holywood productions in Hawaii that offer magnificent scenary. I also enjoyed doing 3 dives over 2 mornings while the girls were shopping. We had a great week, with beautiful beaches and landscapes, some tasty cocktails by the water, and a magnificent victory for Clemson in the semifinals of the National College Championship. After ten days in Polynesia, it was finally time to head for California. We parted with Wilma in San Francisco airport prior to her Phili connection
We then met Teresa who was picking us up at the airport. We were welcomed with a delicious home made chili at their place. The next day we were supposed go hiking, but Teresa booked the parking for the wrong day... Too funny, probably the more organized person I know had screwed the booking up, just prove that it could happen to the best of us. We went for a beach walk instead which probably turned out better than the original plan would have. We even had the opportunity to admire a coyote from a few steps distance, how amazing. In the afternoon, we took the famous city trolley before walking along the pier and we took the opportunity to check the seals out. The next day we hicked along the ocean with a top view of the golden gate bridge and Alcaltraz. We spent great evening for new year's Eve. During the rest of the week, we went to have beers in Oakland with few chemists from Berkley, I had the chance to have a mini tennis lesson with David at the Olympic Club, we were welcomed at Wendy's former neighbors's house. Teresa organized a mega brunch. It was a great week with fantastic company in a dynamic and magnificent city which reminded me a lot of Sydney. Sadly it was time to fly back home, get back to the snow and colleagues. A big thank you for welcoming us to Teresa & David, as well as Bob & Gay.
The USA were finally open to vaccinated foreign visitor. After our negative tests, we were ready to fly to Orlando. We had planned 2 nights in Orlando, to allow us to visit some entertainement parks. We settled for Animal Kingdom and Hollywood studio parks, and had a lot of fun trying different rides. The next day we started heading north along the coast to pick up Jessie. 
We met her in Vero Beach around some catch up drinks and then made our way south to Vero Beach small costal town on the famous A1A to spend the night.
The following day we drove down to the Everglades and enjoyed a fan boat ride to meet aligators. We were lucky to spot a few gators and we really enjoyed the fan boat ride experience. We then headed south towards Islamorada. The next day, we booked a self guided Kayak tour in the mangroves. It was a super nice and relaxing ride and we even spotted a crocodile sunbathing. Back at the hotel we enjoyed the swimming pool for a while. before heading to Dinner and hunting for a dive bar.
We spent a few days in Key West making the most of the festive atmosphere. I decided to go back in the water for 2 small wreck dives that were long overdue because of Covid while the girls went snorkeling. We learned a lot about the amazing history of spanish gallions and treasure hunts on the wrecks. On a rainy day we visited the house of Hemmingway and made a lots of 6 toes cat friends that are descendants of Hemmingway's cats. We also took advantage of fresh seafood restaurant and tried the famous Key West lime pie.
After about a week it was time to part with Jessie and let her off at the Key West Airport before heading back north towards Fort Lauderdale. We managed to stop on the way and meet Bob and Gay that were also on a road trip to Florida. We spent 2 nights in Fort Lauderdale, a pretty weathy suburb of Miami before flying to Philadelphia where Wendy's mom and her Husband Bobby picked us up. Wendy sister and her husband, joined us for the XMas celebration too. We visited the Amish region in Delaware, attended Wendy's young cousin's wedding, and visited some other family members. 
Before returning, we took advantage of the close proximity of Washington to meet Teresa and David in their new home and of course Olive, the not that small puppy. I particularly enjoyed the long walk we took to see the capital's monuments. After a little more than 2 weeks, it was time to fly back and pick Alfie up who had spent the holidays in the "Valley de Joux".
