Door to Door = 20 Hours ------- Cedar Springs to Montbovon, Switzerland

I'm sitting in a tiny kitchen on the second floor of a 300 year old farm house with an attached barn, sipping tea as I start another blog series on our travels. It's been four years since I've done this and it's exciting to be able to do it once again!

We left home at 7:30 on Tuesday morning and began a near perfect traveling experience. The trip to Chicago was smooth sailing. We parked our car at an off-site spot and took our first Uber ride to the airport. Next was check-in and security where we were able to go through the TSA precheck line which had about two people vs the the regular line with many, many people. After lunch we went to our gate and only had to wait for about an hour before boarding our flight to JFK. Landed in New York, grabbed a bagel, and were ready for the 8 hour flight to Geneva. 

After a smooth flight and some sleep, we landed in Geneva. The first thing we noticed is how quiet and clean everything is - not only the airport but it's been the same everywhere we've gone so far. Customs was amazing. Said hello, handed over the passports, and we were on our way. Not one question! We got our bags and after a conversation with the guy at the car rental booth, found out that we had to go downtown to get our rental car. It took about an hour from getting the bags to getting on the train to downtown - even though the train station is right at the airport. We had to get cash to pay for the train, buy tickets, ask a couple of people for help, etc. It all takes time. (Not everyone speaks English. French is the language in this part of Switzerland.) 

The car rental place was a five minute walk from the train station but it took us about 30 minutes since we got lost. It was a beautiful day so we didn't mind walking around. We have the cutest little red car - a Fiat 500 which has enough room for us and our suitcases and that's it. We forgot our GPS at home (first trip without "her"). The car rental guy had to help us figure out the one in the car. Off we went to our first B&B - almost two hours away.

All of the signs are in French and we haven't figured out how to get the GPS to talk yet so there were a couple of hiccups on the trip but that adds to the adventure. The farther we got away from the city the more beautiful it became. Almost all of the houses are light yellow/tan stucco with orangy colored ceramic tiles or a steel roof to look like tiles. Their roofs are very large. 

As we drove, the mountains were always in the distance and for quite awhile, Lake Geneva was in sight. The terrain became more hilly, with several tunnels going through the hills/sides of very old mountains (which look more like large hills.) The sun was shining and everything is so lush and green. Farmers are doing first cut leaving huge rows of very deep grass to dry. The fields of canola are in full bloom showing off huge patches of bright yellow amongst the green. The Swiss cows - some with large bells around their necks - are in the fields looking very healthy. There were even a few sheep on the hillsides. Apples trees are blooming in the orchards which are covered by nets to keep the birds out. It's very beautiful here. They're about a month or more ahead us at home so it looks like summer. 

Our B&B is just outside the village of Montbovon on a road that's super narrow, winding, and steep. Coming around the corners cause me anxiety but doesn't phase Dave. Apparently there's room for two cars to pass each other. We'll see.....

Our B&B is on the side of a "hill"/old mountain with the village quite a distance below. There are about 8 black nosed sheep in the backyard which we can pet. That'll happen tomorrow. The doorways in the house are very low - one of which I have to duck to get through. The hinges on the bedroom door must be the original from 300 years ago. Such fun!

After getting our things in our "mini apartment", we headed out to buy a few things for breakfast and to find a place to eat supper. The combination of the winding road and my "lack of sleep hangover" was making me incredibly nauseous. Dave had to keep pulling over to let cars go by because we were going so slow. He would have loved to go much faster. Maybe when I'm not in the car he can do that.

In the grocery story, I had to rely on my two years of middle school French and the help of two nice guys who spoke almost no English. We got the essentials: bread, butter, chocolate, wine, milk, and some fruit. After a few unsuccessful attempts at finding a place to eat supper, we headed back to the B&B for bread and chocolate. 😀

We were able to stay up until 9 pm and then went to bed. So tired, but excited to be here and looking forward to our adventure to begin tomorrow!

One thing I learned today: It's best not to drive behind a truck with wood strapped into the back of it. We'd been following the truck for a bit when Dave pulled out to pass it. It's a good thing that he did because as soon as we were in the other lane, one of the 12' boards came flying off the truck. It would have hit us and caused a lot of damage and probably a bad accident.  

One new thing I experienced today: Biometrics check-in at JFK. No ticket needed, No passport needed, Just look at the camera and you're good to go. Great system!

Most powerful moment of the day: This is a hard one for a travel day so I'm going to have to go with being able to lie down in a bed to sleep after being up for a very long time. So sweet!

One pleasurable experience: Coming back from the grocery store to find the Burmese mountain dog that lives at the B&B lying on the step in front of the door. Such a beautiful dog, It made for a great picture.