My heart is full

Les Gorges du Fier, Lovagny, France 

There is nothing sweeter for me than having my entire family together. Breanna and Nathan were both able to visit us for a long weekend and I could not stop saying "my heart is full." What an absolutely joyous time we had.

Bre and I just got back from Athens, Greece on Thursday afternoon in time to grab a few groceries before Doug picked Nathan up at the airport. I was so excited to have all of us under the same roof for the next 2 1/2 days. We were all quite tired from the previous long days but that could not stop us from celebrating Nathan's 24th birthday with chicken fajitas and chocolate cake. We took an evening walk to Parc de Bastions, played a floor sized game of chess and walked through old town Geneva to finish the day. 

The walkway through the gorge

Doug and I had found a couple of places we wanted to visit in France, so the next day we grabbed our passports, packed a lunch and ventured to a place called Gorges du Fier (Gorge of Fire) in Lovagny, about 40 minutes from Geneva. It was a beautiful sunny day and the drive through the rolling hills of France was delightful. We found signs that pointed towards the gorge which helped supplement my researched directions. After buying our tickets, we proceeded down a path, across a bridge and stepped onto a wooden platform secured to the side of the gorge. The sight of the gorge was stunning. We couldn't believe how beautiful it was as we walked through the rock cut by the swirling River Fier below us. I was shocked by the fact that the platform we were walking on had been totally under water just the previous week because of a rapid snow melt in the mountains. We could see the high water mark on the side of the rock above our heads and now the water was 75 feet below us. We took our time, admired the scenery, laughed and chatted, and took lots of photos! This was a perfect beginning to the day.

Annecy, France

  

We returned to the car and drove 15 minutes farther down the country lan to the town of Annecy, a medieval town complete with castles, cobblestones, and canals. It was the perfect stop for lunch. We found a bench next to the lake and ate our picnic lunch as we looked out at the sailboats and small cruise ships lining the shore and the mountain peaks rising across from us. Doug and I have a favorite bakery in town which was just the right place to stop for dessert. This time we tried a delicious lightly sugared flaky pastry that melted in our mouth. We walked along the canals, gazed into shops, appreciated the architecture, shared stories, plans and laughter and I marveled at how blessed I am. I could not stop smiling.

Zip lining over the water fall

Our next stop was about a 40 minute drive winding along the coast of Lake Annecy past several small towns until we climbed the green hills through the town of Seythenex. We arrived at the empty parking lot, climbed a few stairs and were welcomed by Sebastian at the Grotte and Cascade of Seythenex. We asked if it was possible to go zip lining and were assured we could. Sebastian was so kind, explained everything in English, and trained us for our adventure over the waterfall. We got into our (lifeline) harness, put on our helmets and donned one leather glove (our braking system). We practiced clipping our 2 carabiners and our pulley onto the wire, rode a practice wire that was 7 feet off the ground and we were ready to fly 130 feet above the waterfall. I was feeling a little nervous but definitely excited and so thrilled to do this as a family. We followed Sebastian as he climbed the path to the waterfall and the zip line platform. I was giddy as we kept going higher. Finally we reached the platform and I was first in line to sail among the treetops. I climbed up, fastened myself securely in place, sat in the harness, edged my way to the end of the platform, smiled hugely, waited a bit gathering my courage, edged a little farther, and took the leap. Oh. My. Gosh. Too. Much. Fun! I squealed in delight. It was beautiful, smooth, and all I had hoped for in our adventure. I could hear Bre as she began to sail down the cable. Then Nate, and finally Doug. What a great ride! 

Enjoying our time in the caves

We then had 20 minutes to walk around the waterfall before our guide took us into the caves. These caves were formed by erosion from the glacier water that found its way into the rock. Our guide, Sophie, told us about all the formations, what caused them, and let us climb up the slippery slide. She was very knowledgeable, friendly and kind. She gave the tour in both English and French. We reminisced about Doug and Nate's experience caving with Boy Scouts as we ducked our way throughout the cave. (I actually had to duck too). We walked for about 40 minutes through the tunnel until it was time to leave the cave and begin our journey home. What a fantastic day.

Can you believe we are doing this?

In the morning we took the tram to Carouge, a nearby street market, to check out the local produce. The sights of the colorful fruits and vegetables were enticing and the smells of the flowers, spices, roast chicken, freshly baked bread were amazing. After we walked around the market, we headed to Mont Saleve. The mountain is in the French Prealps and is called the Balcony of Geneva. We took the bus to the border of Switzerland, walked into France and took the cable car to the top. Our plan was to hike down the mountain. As we took the ride up Nate and Bre remarked, "how do you get down that?" Doug and I hadn't ever hiked it so we didn't know, but we had seen a trail sign and knew it was possible. After we exited the cable car we hiked 20 minutes uphill to the Observatory for our picnic lunch with a magnificent view of Geneva. It was a little overcast so we could not get a clear view of Mont Blanc but we clearly saw the valley far below us. When we were ready to head down, we found the trail head sign letting us know it was a 2 hour hike down the mountain. We were all in. 

Our hike down this mountain 

The hike down the mountain was better than I could have imagined. It was breathtakingly beautiful. We walked towards the cliff, entered into the dappled light of the tree lined path, and carefully picked our way down the narrow, switchback trail. The Grand Gorge trail was well marked but it was really steep. Every once in a while we got a peak at what was coming next and couldn't believe what we were doing. It was a sheer drop off this mountain and the valley floor was a long way off. The ground beneath our feet changed frequently from a dirt path to one filled with rocks, to shifting loose rock where the rushing water created the gorge, to a path covered
with deciduous leaves. We continued to travel lower and lower. The path gradually began to level. A pasture appeared and the view of the mountain stood before us. We paused to appreciate what we had just experienced. We realized we had climbed through the cleft in the rock. We finished our hike and returned to the apartment thankful for this time together.

After dinner we spent the evening playing Euchre. Family game night fun made me so happy. I cherished every moment with Nathan and Breanna. 

Biking along Lake Geneva

Doug took Bre to the airport the next morning while Nathan and I explored the old city of Geneva. We walked through the Parc Bastions, up the hill paved with cobblestones, past the old stone wall, to the Hotel de Ville and then St. Peter's Church. We headed down to the new city filled with stores selling expensive watches, chocolate, and clothing. We then walked to the Plainpalais street market filled with clothes, fruits and vegetables, breads and cheeses, and food ready to eat. Doug met us here for a falafel lunch.  We grabbed the tram to Nations where we rented bicycles to tour the city. Doug and I got on electric bikes while Nathan chose to get a bit more exercise. I loved the electric bike! We rode 20 miles on bike trails through the Botanical Gardens, along the lakefront, through the Parc des Eaux Vives, and continued past the beaches. There are a lot of hills in Geneva but the electric bike made all of them fun for me. Nathan loved the ride on his bike too.

CERN 

We turned in our bikes, grabbed a tram and headed to the Globe of Science and Innovation CERN building. CERN is a large nuclear physics research facility with many buildings and also the particle accelerator located 300 feet under the ground on the France and Switzerland border. We appreciated the sculpture which represented centuries of scientific exploration filled with formulas, quotations, and discoveries.

We headed back to the apartment for homemade Bruschetta and Capresse, with fresh pesto and pasta for dinner and great conversation. I felt so blessed to have had this amazing time with family.