Cruise to Montreux with Eyang

The day after we got back from Paris we went for a cruise on a boat to Montreux










The boat departed from Ouchy, a very populare lakeside area in Lausanne










The boat was originally a steam ship which was built in 1910 (!). They still maintain the propeller drive shafts and they were HUGE!










The cruise took us from Ouchy to various little piers along the way. We could see the cities, towns, and even villages perched on the mountain sides. It was a very windy day and Ariel and Nindya made the best of it!










The shores of Lac (Lake) Geneve was very picturesque!










We passed Château de Chillon (Castle Chillon) which was built in the year 1005!










Arriving in Montreux we did some shopping. Ariel and Andrew got genuine Swiss watches from oom Chondro. They cost 3 times more than dad's watch so they promised to wake up and shower on time from then on :)

Paris Disneyland!

On our last day in Paris, we visited Euro Disneyland










We took the early train and the travel was about 1 hour










Exploring Main St. U.S.A.










Ariel and Mom went for a scary roller-coaster ride, while Andrew was not tall enough yet. So he went with dad for the Autopolis... real fun!

Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris

Notre Dame is a very old church in Paris. It means "Our Lady" in French.










While waiting for Eyang Kupu, Mom, and tante Anne shop, we went inside.










Beautiful lights and candles. We donated for the candles and lit them around the altars.

Paris Bus Tour

This was a relaxing way to see Paris!










We took the Metro first to the "Ecole" stop in front of the Tower


















Paris is old and charming.










And there are so many world-renowned landmarks. We stopped at Notre Dame for a visit.

Eiffel Tower

Arriving in Paris from Lausanne at about 4pm Ariel, Andrew, and Nindya took a quick swim at the hotel and then we walked to Eiffel Tower.











It was not too far and soon we saw Eiffel from the alley ways.










There were large tourist crowd. We admired the size and height and took photos.










After a long queue we went up. The sunset illuminated Paris and it was beautiful. Eyang Kuka had always wanted to see Paris and he was really enjoying the view.










Then we went up all the way to the top to see the breathtaking view of Paris from up above. Amazing.










We stayed quite a while until it got dark and took these photos of Eiffel Tower at night. After sometimes the "christmas light" display started.

Train Ride to Paris!

We took the TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse, meaning high-speed train) from Lausanne to Paris. It departs from Lausanne Gare (station) where Andrew took the above photo of his "style" with Eyang.











Early morning we took the bus from Mont d'Or to Lausanne Gare. Then bought Sandwiches for the trip











Lausanne Gare (Station). Mom and eyang Kupu bought sandwiches from the stall, while dad and Andrew got their favourite poulet (chicken) curry sandwiches from the 24/7 mini market.











The train departed at exactly 9.22 am (that's Swiss!) and soon took on the mountain railways. Ariel wrote on her diary that exactly at 11:11 we passed the Swiss-France border.











Andrew likes to track the train path and speed using GPS. The TGV can go very fast, more than 260kph yet the ride is very smooth.











Andrew loves walking around the train and soon found the "Le Bar"...










Arriving in Paris, we took the Metro to Bir-Hakiem station and walked to the Hotel along the Seine River










The hotel is nice. Different lights on every floor and we were at the very high 29th floor.