More Travels.

This post is a combination:
Travels with Diane-Continued
and
Use Your Words. (A monthly word challenge from my good friend, Karen Blessing of Baking in a Tornado.)
My words this month are:

green ~ slimy ~ frogs ~ bugs ~ firecracker ~ bb gun   

Were a gift from Dawn 

And have been included with the following:

And now, on to the

REST of THE STORY:

I left you all in Avignon.

I hope you had a good rest.

Let's continue...

Gordes.

Okay, I hadn't heard of it, either, but you can bet I won't forget it soon. 

Medieval town.

And . . . WOW!

Yeah, our pharmacy doesn't look like that . . .

From there, a quick hop across and down the road a couple of miles to Rousillon, the RED stone town.

Then on to Antibes. Which sounds like something ancient and Greek. 

But wasn't.

It was our first 'no-frills' hotel. We had to pay extra for parking. Bedding. Towels. Gasp. But the beds were comfy and the view spectacular.

See?

Touring Nice.
Just outside of the Old Town . . . Ummm . . .

Old Town Nice. Amazing.

Down the road to Monaco.

I have one thing to say: Man, do they ever monitor their parking! Fortnately, we escaped unscathed, but they have a whole team of people who spend their entire day towing vehicles. Yow!

The beach wasn't spectacular.

And the city crowded and under construction.

And there are no bathrooms.

None.

Zip. 

Nada.

Zilch.

But the drive! Wow!

Looking down on the medieval town of Eze.

Yeah, it's a restaurant.
I hope they sell really sticky, light food . . .

Eze. And a tree. Because.

Husby being photogenic.

The world famous beaches of Monaco.

Skipped across the corner of Italy and into Switzerland. Have you ever dreamed about a place all your life and then, when you finally got to visit it was ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING YOU EVER DREAMED?!

Well, that was Switzerland. It was just turning green in the spring sunshine.

A little side note: When visiting Switzerland, bring money. Lots and lots of money.

See the little heart-shaped cloud.
Switzerland was happy to see me!

Even the strictly practical had to be picturesque here.
This is the structure wherein they hide the controls for the flood gates.

We explored the country side and then took the 'Bond' ride from Stechelberg to Schilthorn. And for a few hours, stood on top of the world!

Watched the skiers. The day was super warm, but the snow wasn't too slimy. Yet.

Whimsical BB gun sighting. 

Where they filmed: On His Majesty's Secret Service. Bond film #1000
Okay, I don't really know the number, but this seems close . . .

Bond and his leading lady: Oldie vonMouldie.

It just stops my heart. Every time.

How do you follow that?

With chocolate and cheese, of course.

So we were off to tour the Cailler Chocolate plant and Gruyeres cheese plant, both in the village of Gruyeres. The best part?

SAMPLES!!!

The next stop  was Lausanne and the most unique hotel room I've ever seen:

Isn't this the cutest ever?

Yogurt-eating Husband not included.

Then a visit to the Mormon temple in Bern followed by a quiet rest-of-the-day in our rooms.

Yes!

On to Divonnes-les-Bains.

And yes, we were right across the parking lot from the baths.

And no, we didn't get a chance to go in.

Sigh.

But we did get to see CERN, the super-collider/atom-smasher.

Fascinating.

And waaay beyond my understanding . . .

Where are the men from Big Bang Theory when you need them?

CERN visitor's centre.

Covered with equations and names of amazing men and women.

A friendly face in the business part of things . . .

Geneva!

It was closed.

Ghandi. On the United Nations grounds. Just before we lost our parking . . .

Not your usual used car dealership.

Doesn't it just speak to you?!

Over 140 meters. Straight up.

What can I say: Swan butt.
Maybe fishing for frogs?

Husby getting cold feet. Seriously.

Lake Geneva

Super interesting statue. Sisi. Empress of Austria.

Last night: Malesherbe

Delightful hotel.

Stopped off for some pictures of the Chateau Fontainbleau, then to the airport.

Parking garage.

An ancient cottage on the property.
Inside looking out.
Mind the bugs.

The road to . . .

View from my window.

Last dinner in France. What else? French Onion soup!

Fontainbleau. Before the gates open.

And, just like that, it was over.

We were home, celebrating our trip by blowing off a few firecrackers.

The best parts? All of the above.

And patisseries.

The worst? Road tolls in France.

And things closed between noon and two. Or one and three.

Or Thursday.

And the prices of everything in Switzerland.

Would I do it again? YES!

Several of my blog friends participate in Use Your Words.
You can find them here:

Baking In A Tornado
Spatulas on Parade
The Diary of an Alzheimer's Caregiver
Sparkly Poetic Weirdo
Bookworm in the Kitchen
The Bergham Chronicles
Simply Shannon
Southern Belle Charm
The Angrivated Mom
Climaxed
Not That Sarah Michelle