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Bersepeda ke pantai Carrum dengan Eyang

2011-12-30T21:49:00.000+11:00

Bapak, Eyang Kuka, dan Eyang Ito bersepeda cukup jauh dari rumah ke pantai Carrum

Sepanjang jalan menyusuri sungai Patterson sampai ke muaranya di Pantai Carrum

Jalan-jalan ke duck pond

2011-12-28T21:44:00.000+11:00

Jalan-jalan ke wetland bersama Eyang

Pulangnya makan meatpie di Caravan Park

Merry Christmas!!

2011-12-25T21:41:00.000+11:00

Christmas Dinner bersama Eyang2

Dapat hadiah banyak, dan Ariel membantu membuat Huzarensla

Merayakan Natal di Sandringham

2011-12-24T21:36:00.000+11:00

Perayaan 'Crib Service' yang merupakan tradisi natal.

Kita datang awal.

Ariel membacakan peristiwa Natal, dan Andrew menjadi orang Majus!

Bersepeda Bersama Eyang

2011-12-23T21:30:00.000+11:00

Eyang datang.. Kita bersepeda ke caravan park

Mum's Birthday

2011-12-08T21:25:00.000+11:00

We celebrated Mum's birthday in Frankston.

Waves by the Beach

The sky was particularly beautiful and the weather was so warm!

Happy Birthday!

December activities

2011-12-07T21:20:00.000+11:00

New lens

2011-11-27T20:53:00.000+11:00

Dad bought a really fast Nikon Lens (50mm f/1.4)

Dad's 40th Birthday!!

2011-10-03T23:49:00.000+11:00

It's dad's 40th Birthday !

Echuca - part 2

2011-10-02T20:34:00.000+11:00

The next day we went to town and rode the Paddle Steamer which Echuca is famous for!

Had breakfast at Beechworth Bakery. Then to the Paddle Steamer pier. We took the "Emmy Lou"

The steamer is made in 1902! It uses wood to make the steam

The ride was about 1.5 hours along Murray River. Very beautiful.

Just our luck, they had the annual festival!

There were various things to look at. For example this small steam boat!

We went to the winery and bought white port and Red wine. Then we went home.

In Bendigo the park had large collection of flowering tulips!

Echuca - part 1

2011-10-01T20:14:00.000+10:00

To celebrate Dad's birthday, we went to Echuca at the northern part of Victoria

Echuca, an Aboriginal name meaning "Meeting of the Waters" is indicative of the role rivers have played in the town's existence.[3] Echuca is situated close to the junction of the Goulburn, Campaspe and Murray Rivers. Its location at the closest point of the Murray to Melbourne contributed to its development as a thriving river port city during the 19th century.

Andrew built the tent !

Echuca is located near the famous Murray River and we had a walk along.

The Caravan Park is beautiful.

It was still cold but Andrew and Ariel braved the freezing water!

We had a walk at the town center and had Indian food for dinner.

Ariel's School Play

2011-09-21T22:34:00.000+10:00

Ariel's school play was about travelling to different countries... Japan, India, Afghanistan, and ..... Indonesia. Ariel made the Afghani flags!

Ariel's Choir Camp

2011-08-27T22:26:00.001+10:00

Ariel's choir camp at Mt. Evelyn

On the way home we bought a huge pizza and ate by the lake.

Paynesville - Anniversary trip part 3

2011-07-06T22:06:00.002+10:00

On day 3 we returned to Melbourne from Bright, again passing the snowing Mt. Hotham

Passing Bruthen, we stopped at the bakery for some meat pies!

Paynesville - Anniversary trip part 2

2011-07-05T10:00:00.004+10:00

From Paynesville, we travelled up toward Omeo - Mt. Hotham. There was a blizzard.

Mount Hotham is a mountain in Victoria, Australia. It is home to Hotham Alpine Resort. The mountain is located approximately 357 kilometres (222 mi) north east of Melbourne, 746 kilometres (464 mi) from Sydney, and 997 kilometres (620 mi) from Adelaide by road. Mt Hotham's summit rises to an altitude of 1,861 metres (6,106 ft) above sea level. Hotham village stands at a height of 1,750 metres (5,740 ft) AHD, making it the second highest resort village in Australia after Charlotte Pass Village.

Stopped by the road to play snow and build a snowman!

Playing at Diner Plain playground

Travelling towards Mt. Hot-Ham (andrew!) ... the whole road and mountain were covered with snow.

We stayed at a lovely caravan park in Bright, and had warm charcoal chicken for dinner. Nice !

Paynesville - Anniversary trip part 1

2011-07-04T05:49:00.003+10:00

This is the first part of our road trip for mum and dad's 12th anniversary. We went to Paynesville, about 3.5hrs from Melbourne.

Paynesville was originally called Toonalook which is an aboriginal name for place of many fish. The Post Office opened on 8 November 1879 as Toonalook and was renamed Paynesville in 1886 by the Dickson family who still reside in the area.

We stayed at Allawah Caravan Park, which is very nicely situated at a waterfront! Arriving in the afternoon we had "Mr Pizza" margarita for dinner. Dad bought pickeled onions which apparently is a local speciality.

The day after, we took the ferry to neighbouring island (Raymond Island). The ferry trip wasonly about 10 minuts.

There were HEAPS of wild Koalas in the island! We drove around spotting them.

Then off we went towards Mt. Hotham...

Ariel's first communion

2011-06-26T11:00:00.001+10:00

Beautiful Winter day on Ariel's first communion. After that we had a party!

Lunar Eclipse

2011-06-16T09:38:00.004+10:00

Very unique lunar eclipse as it was at dusk.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-13786140

Freezing weather !

Andrew's 8th birthday

2011-06-05T21:21:00.004+10:00

You're 8 Andrew ! This was the morning of 2nd June 2011.

Celebrating at Mentone Bowling with friends. Very nice cake!

Great bowling!

Anzac Dawn Service

2011-04-25T20:51:00.001+10:00

Ariel wanted to attend the Anzac Day Dawn Service, so we woke up at 5am and stood in the cold morning for an hour at the local RSL. It is a tradition where Australians respect their war casualities. It was our first time to attend.

Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand, and is commemorated by both countries on 25 April every year to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who fought at Gallipoli in Turkey during World War I

The ceremony was typical Australian - simple and straightforward.

The day was foggy and freezing

Autumn in Ballarat

2011-04-22T19:18:00.002+10:00

Friday of 22nd April to Tuesday was a looong public holiday in Australia.

We went to Ballarat with Tante Esti and had a sleep-over at Tante Wiwied's house.

From Tante Wiwied's house we walk to Wendouree Lake through Adrian's school.

A really beautiful lake. Three years ago there was no water in this lake due to the drought.

They had Pedal boats !! Ariel and Adrew were very happy.

Beautiful Autumn leaves and light.

The huge trees were Sequoiadendrons and they were planted in 1863!

Beautiful park.

At night we had dinner in "La Porchetta". Ariel with her usual antics :)

Then the next day we went to "Tangled Maze" in Creswick. Had lunch at KFC.

Autumn walk

2011-04-17T19:12:00.001+10:00

Walked around the neighborhood when dad returned from Buenos Aires

Murals and Graffitis of BA

2011-04-13T14:01:00.005+10:00

Tango!

2011-04-06T14:03:00.004+10:00

Argentine Tango is a social dance and musical genre, written in 4/4 measure and with binary musical form. Its lyrics and music are marked by nostalgia, expressed through melodic instruments like the bandoneon. Originated at the ending of the 19th century in the suburbs of Buenos Aires, it quickly grew in popularity and was internationally spread. Among its leading figures are the singer and songwriter Carlos Gardel, composers like Mariano Mores and musicians like Osvaldo Pugliese and Ástor Piazzola.

Buenos Aires Nights

2011-04-05T11:00:00.004+10:00

Strolling around Puerto Madero which is the canal in front of the hotel.

Puerto Madero, also known within the urban planning community as the Puerto Madero Waterfront, is a district of the Argentine capital at Buenos Aires CBD, occupying a significant portion of the Río de la Plata riverbank and representing the latest architectural trends in the city of Buenos Aires.

Had dinner of traditional dish "Asado" which the portion is too much!

Dad arriving in Argentina

2011-04-03T14:07:00.001+10:00

Hi Ariel Andrew, here's some photos of Buenos Aires in Argentina. Dad's hotel is in front of a canal.

Very nice 'pointy bridge' which is close to the historical Presidential Palace, a 'pink building'

The Casa Rosada (The Pink House) is the official seat of the executive branch of the government of Argentina, and of the offices of the President. The President normally lives at the Quinta de Olivos, a compound in Olivos, Buenos Aires Province. Its characteristic color is pink, and is considered one of the most emblematic buildings in Buenos Aires. It also has a museum, with objects related to the presidents of the country. It has been declared a National Historic Monument of Argentina.

It's a very nice building with a lot of Spanish influence.

Labour day to Mt. Dandenong

2011-03-14T21:13:00.005+11:00

This year's Labor day holiday we went around Mt. Dandenong.

Driving through Emerald, Monbulk then stopping at Grant's picnic ground in Sherbrooke to feed the wild birds and walked the tracks.

Then to the walking trail at the top of Mt. Dandenong to Sky High. We took a detour and found this very nice walking track.

Arriving at Sky High mt. Dandenong, we did the maze. On the way back we had nice Margarita Pizza at Monbulk.

Playing footie with friends

2011-02-28T20:12:00.002+11:00

Andrew playing footie with his best friends Daniel and Zach

Dinner in the garden

2011-02-19T20:06:00.003+11:00

We cooked lamb roast on the BBQ and had dinner in the garden.

Ariel and Andrew's classes

2011-02-18T20:24:00.002+11:00

Harvesting Passion fruits

2011-02-13T20:17:00.000+11:00

Our passion fruts are ripe. Ariel simply looked for those which had fallen to the ground.

They make yummy passion fruit juice!

Melbourne flood

2011-02-04T21:52:00.005+11:00

Cyclone Yasi was so big. Although the eye of the storm landed in Queensland and flooded Brisbane and beyond, its tail lashed out massive amount of water in Victoria. Bonbeach was flooded and compared to other areas around Melbourne this is not too bad!

Tracks behind our house. The pony club is submerged in water.

Having a bit of adventure!

This is Andrew's football field, which had became "Lake Bonbeach" :)

Double rainbow!

2011-02-03T20:28:00.002+11:00

Camping at Nagambie

2011-02-01T21:40:00.001+11:00

Near the end of school holiday we looked for a place to camp. Simply driving to North, stopping at the first nice town that we saw. Nagambie is about 200km from Melbourne and has a very nice lake.

Ariel and Andrew erected the tent.

Central Victoria was very hot that day, perhaps 42deg or more. So we had a nice swim.

Walking around the lake we noticed that the drinking water is directly pumped from it. It had yellowish color and distinct taste. It was quite good!

Returning via Kilmore, we had nice lunch of noodles beneath a huge tree.

Church lunch for Margot

2011-01-30T21:26:00.003+11:00

This was for Margot's retirement. We gave her Swiss mug as present.

Very delicious spit roast!

Fishing at Patterson River

2011-01-29T21:19:00.001+11:00

Perfect day to go out fishing, but we did not catch any.

Lerderderg National Park

2011-01-26T21:09:00.003+11:00

On Australia day we delivered Mum's cake to northwest part of Melbourne. Then we went for a 4wheel driving through Lerderderg National Park.

We saw a beautiful gorge where people had a swim. Next time we'll bring our swimsuits!

Some parts of the burnt forest. Coming home we stopped in the City to have Es Teler 77.

Creepy Crawlies sand sculptures

2011-01-08T22:13:00.004+11:00

Every year people from around the world come to Frankston foreshore to create amazing sand sculptures.

This year's theme is creepy crawlies.... bugs, roaches, and flies !

Ferryn sleep-over

2011-01-06T22:04:00.003+11:00

Ferryn stayed at our house for a sleep over and we took her for a swim. It was a beautiful warm summer day.

Andrew is now able to swim without floats and he paddle really well!

Bunnies and Teddies!

2011-01-04T21:58:00.002+11:00

Cinnamon, Jimmy, Pepper ... who else ?

New Year's eve at St. Kilda Beach

2010-12-31T21:44:00.001+11:00

This year we wanted to try something different and see the fireworks from distance. We parked at St. Kilda Beach and waited there. But unfortunately the fireworks was not visible from that location.

Nevertheless we had great time and dinner there!

Picking cherries at Redhill

2010-12-28T19:43:00.000+11:00

Tante Esti came over and we took her to Redhill to pick cherries

We had a bucketfull of sweet cherries.

Stopping by Arthur's Seat to enjoy the scenery.

Overnight stay at Mansfield

2010-12-21T20:41:00.012+11:00

During Christmas holiday we went to Mansfield and stayed at High Country caravan park.

Mount Buller is a popular ski resort, about 30 minutes from Mansfield. There was snow at the top of the mountain which is very rare because it's summer! The last time we had snow in December was in 2006.

"Best Pizza in Town" and we think they are right. We looked around the shops in Mansfield.

The High Country Caravan park. Andrew and Cinnamon love their bunk bed.

There were wild bunnies!

Stopped at Howqua River for a quick lunch. Continuing on, we turned off at Taylors Rd. to have a look at a four-wheel track. It was cut off by a fallen tree.

We found another way forward, but eventually the track ended here. It's been raining heavily in Victoria so the track had been flooded. We could not turn back and had to reverse.

Sceneries along the way between Jamieson and Eildon. The gravel road had been sealed.

Having a look around at Snob's Falls, near Alexandra.

Cherries!

We stopped at Marysville. The town was burnt down by "Black Saturday" fire last 2 years. They have started rebuilding the town. The lollies shop is already opened in a trailer and even the birds returned.

Touring the Grand Ridge Road

2010-12-04T20:12:00.004+11:00

Today was a really nice summer day. Not too hot, not too cold, and the sky was blue. We drove to the Grand Ridge Road, taking the gravel roads, scenic country roads, and a National Park.

The view to the ridges. We took many pictures and stopped for a picnic.

Pretty wild flowers.

Stopping at Mount Worth National Park, we circled a 2km walking track among giant fern trees. Dad made walking sticks for Ariel and Andrew.

We ended up at Mirboo North and had a late lunch of Fish and Chips!

Ariel's Choir 2010

2010-11-20T23:15:00.002+11:00

The theme of this year's NCCA Choir was "Songs from Down Under"

Stormy and wet Melbourne

2010-11-12T23:23:00.002+11:00

It has been a rather wet Summer in melbourne. Being a dry country, it's great because the flowers got enough water and blossoming!

Family Tree

2010-10-23T20:02:00.001+11:00

Hi Ariel and Andrew,

This is our family tree. Eyang Kuka wrote it and gave it to dad when we were in Lausanne.

See how many you know !

dad.

Happy 10th Birthday Ariel!

2010-10-15T09:00:00.002+11:00

Wow you've grown up really quick Ariel !

An Ipad !

Dad's Birthday

2010-10-03T09:00:00.000+11:00

Dad's birthday was on Sunday. It was a nice day and his friend came along to celebrate. We had a swim with Kara and Axel then enjoying the scenery at Mornington Peninsula and Arthur's Seat.

Melbourne Spring 2010

2010-09-29T21:29:00.000+10:00

Flowering bushes at 97 broadway.

Eyang depart to Algiers

2010-09-18T20:00:00.002+10:00

Eyang leaving Switzerland after 3 weeks in Lausanne, to visit dik Nindya in Algiers.

Lausanne Cathedral

2010-09-12T18:30:00.003+10:00

On Sunday we went for service to Lausanne Cathedral. It was built between 1170 and 1240 (!) in the gothic style, with the western portal completed later in the flamboyant style.

Taking bus 6-Maladiere we stopped at Bessieres. The Service started at 10:30. There were not too many people attending the service and mostly are elders.

The pipe organ was massive. It is the only one of its kind in the world by virtue of its design (American manufacture by Fisk, Italian design by Giugiaro), its musical characteristics (French classical and symphonic styles, German baroque and romantic) and its dimensions (nearly 7,000 pipes, 40 tonnes, 150,000 hours of work to complete)

Dad and Eyang cycling to Lutry

2010-09-11T22:00:00.001+10:00

It was a nice day so after taking Andrew and Ariel to Geneva airport, Dad went cycling with Eyang.

From home we went to Pully, stopping at Ouchy. From Pully we took bus 47 until "terminus". Then cycled downhil to Lutry.

The views of ripening grapes are amazing. From Lutry we went back home by bus 9-Lutry to St. Francois.

Ariel and Andrew returning to Melbourne

2010-09-11T15:00:00.007+10:00

Ariel and Andrew returned to Melbourne today. They've had really great time in Switzerland and had great fun adventures while Eyang were around.

The flight depart from Geneva at 11:40, so we had to take the train there leaving Mont d'Or at 6am!

How lucky it was Andrew's favourite double-deck train!

Ariel and Andrew's last day in Lausanne

2010-09-11T04:18:00.001+10:00

This is the last day for Ariel, Andrew, and Mum to Melbourne as on Saturday they head back to Melbourne.

Had fun taking pictures in Ouchy.

Ariel and Andrew's favourite Pedalo !

Then to the "Frog park" at Georgette and heading home for dinner.

Dinner at Figuire about 100m from home. It's Ariel and Andrew's most favourite restaurant. We ordered the 5-cheese Pizza, the Pizza du Mont d'Or and had ice cream afterwards. Yum.

CERN Large Hadron Collider

2010-09-07T21:30:00.007+10:00

The European Organization for Nuclear Research (French: Organisation Européenne pour la Recherche Nucléaire), known as CERN, is the world's largest particle physics laboratory, situated in the northwest suburbs of Geneva on the Franco–Swiss border and most well-known for its LHC (Large Hadron Collider) particle accelerator.

Dad arranged this free tour a month in advance!

We were greeted nicely by the staff and Michell was the Physicist who guided us. The tour consisted of 1hr presentation and after that a visit to the Superconductor construction facility and ATLAS detector.

The presentation was very serious and talked about CERN history and technical matters like quarks, muons, particles etc. Dad and Eyang enjoyed it while Andrew and Ariel were ready to fall asleep!

What CERN do basically is to look for new particles which do not exist in nature anymore (after the Big Bang). To do this they need to accelerate and smash particles at near the speed of light. So they built this massive superconductor 'pipes' which are supercooled with liquid Helium (-273°C). The length? ... 30 kilometers! And it's 100m below the ground.

It cost the European countries 10 Billion Swiss Francs.

These ones are the accelerators which "speeds up" particles. They are simply huge and mind boggling.

Then we went to see the exhibition which are open for the public. Very nice 3D presentation and very futuristic. Basically CERN tried to explain on the way to find out how the universe exist.

The ATLAS is particle detector which is really huge. You can see a picture below. It is in operation so no one could come in due to the radiations. It's job basically is to detect newly-created particles which exist after the smashing of the protons.

Currently it is being tested at 3.5TeV (Terra Electron-Volts) and already detected new particles. When running in full capacity in a few years (7TeV) they will be able to produce tiny black-holes.

United Nations in Geneva and Red Cross

2010-09-07T19:57:00.000+10:00

The Palais des Nations (English: Palace of Nations) in Geneva, Switzerland, was built between 1929 and 1936 as the headquarters of the League of Nations. It has served as the home of the United Nations Office at Geneva since 1946 when the Secretary General of the UN signed a Headquarters Agreement with the Swiss authorities, although Switzerland did not become a member of the UN until 2002. Dad almost worked here.

Views of the flags representing the members of the United Nations.

Very big fountain across the road, and even bigger replica of a 3-legged chair representing the fragile nature of peace in our world.

Too bad the tour did not start until 2pm so we just looked around.

Across the road we visited the International Red Cross and Red Crescent museum. They close on Tuesdays.

Leysin

2010-09-07T07:38:00.001+10:00

Located in the Bernese Alps, Leysin (pronounced "Leysan") enjoys spectacular views across the Rhône Valley towards the (Dents du Midi). Leysin is situated at an altitude of 1,263m. It is about 1.5hrs from Lausanne.

It started as one peaceful and relaxing morning at Mont d'Or ...

Then we took the long way round through Lavaux. Seems like the Autumn has started? Some vine leaves had turned orange and the grapes are ripening.

They say that in Dezaley the grapes for the wines are very special; They are heated directly by the sun, the reflection of Sun from the Lake, and the daytime heat retained in the old terrace stone walls which are released during the night!

The Road to Leysin.

Arriving at Leysin, we stopped at Le Gare and enjoy Movenpick ice cream. Yummy.

We got plenty of souvenirs at this little shop.

Vineyards terraces of Lavaux, Grandvaux, and Chexbres

2010-09-06T07:15:00.001+10:00

This was a very easy drive from Lausanne to the vineyards of Lavaux, GrandVaux, and Chexbres. Only about 20 minutes from home. It traverses the mountainside roads overlooking the main road and Lake Geneve.

In the morning Ariel prepared "Bacon and Eggs du Mont d'Or" :) then off we went to Lutry.

The whole area is amazingly beatiful, no wonder it is one of the Unesco's World Heritage location.

Driving through the Great St. Bernard Pass

2010-09-05T06:43:00.006+10:00

Great St Bernard is the most ancient pass through the Western Alps, with evidence of use as far back as the Bronze Age and surviving traces of a Roman road. In 1800 Napoleon's army used the path to enter Italy. It's a about 1.5hrs from Lausanne and is one of the most scenic drives in Europe, passing Swiss-Italia border.

The area just after passing St. Martigny.

Amazing mountains along the way and soon we found a glacier creek.

We spent quite sometimes there as the air was so cool and fresh. Andrew built some stone markers.

Arriving in Italy (!) we looked around the area and bought souvenirs.

As usual Ariel found her way to the top of the mountain and found patches of snow. We threw snowballs to each other :)

Very rugged scenery. Due to the height of the location which was more than 2700m above sea level, there were little vegetations. Mainly grass and moss.

Photos towards the road above the mountains from Italian side. We also took this picture of the Swiss-Italian border which was very humble.

On our way back to Lausanne we bought some tasty Apricots from the roadside stalls.

Dik Nindya back to Algiers

2010-09-04T15:00:00.000+10:00

Dik Nindya returned to Algiers. She looked very sad, but Eyang Kuka and Kupu will join them there in another 2 weeks...

Musée Olympique

2010-09-03T20:00:00.009+10:00

Eyang Kuka trying to outrun Emil Zátopek

Eyang Kuka was a great sportsman, in fact he was in the national wrestling team and taught physical education much of his life. So Ariel was very keen to take him to the Olympic Museum in Lausanne while Mum, Eyang Kupu, and tante Anne went shopping.

The museum is located at the shore of Lake Geneva. We took nice pictures on our way there from Ouchy.

Citius, Altius, Fortius is Latin for "Faster, Higher, Stronger". This is the Olympic motto.

The displays were exceptional, both historical and contemporary ones.

Eyang Kuka in his younger days!

The "Invention Museum"

2010-09-03T18:00:00.000+10:00

To get to the Invention Museum (Espace des Inventions) we took bus #6-Maladiere from the apartment.

The displays are outdoor constructions like this huge sun-dial. There is also beautiful rose garden.

Then we took bus #2-Desert towards Ouchy to have our favourite sandwich and to ride the Pedalo, before continuing to the Olympic Museum

Broc Chocolate Factory

2010-09-03T01:02:00.000+10:00

After visiting Gruyeres cheese factory, we went to the township of Broc to visit Caillers Chocolate Factory.

There were plenty of tourists and we had to wait for about 15 minutes. Luckily the english-speaking tour started earlier and we moved ahead. The tour started with various displays and exhibitions about chocolates, how it started in the Aztec empire, how it was brought to Europe, etc. Cailler was the first person to modernise chocolate production and is now part of Nestle.

We got to taste raw chocolate beans from all around the world. They tasted different from each other.

We can see how the chocolates are produced by the machines. At the end of the tour there was a room where we could eat all the chocolates we wanted!

Gruyeres Cheese Factory

2010-09-02T20:00:00.000+10:00

Gruyeres is a famous Cheese-making region of Switzerland.

We arrived a bit late and the cheese making demonstration had ended. But there were plenty of exhibitions.

The tour uses recorded handsets and took us through the exhibitions and also overlooking the cheese-making floor.

Dad and Ariel enjoying the samples. We were given 3, 6, and 12 months old cheese. They were all yummy but different. Then we bought two cuts of Gruyeres cheese to take home.

Swim with Eyang at Lac Geneve

2010-09-02T17:01:00.000+10:00

We took Eyang Kuka for pedalo swim at Lac Leman (Lake Geneva!) while Eyang Kupu, Mum, and Aunty Anne went shopping.

It was a cold day and Dik Nindya joined us. Then she felt cold.

Eyang swam quite a distance from the boat too........

Drive to Mont Blanc

2010-09-01T10:39:00.002+10:00

Driving to Mont Blanc, we took a 2-hours trip crossing the Swiss-France border towards the township of "Chamonix Mont Blanc". It was a perfect blue-sky day!

From Lausanne we drove towards Montreux and took a detour to to Caux. A very high viewing point towards Montreux below.

Stopping at McDonalds to have lunch we saw many paragliders jumping from the mountains surrounding Rennaz area.

In Swiss the sceneries can jump right at you. Nearing Martigny, this waterfall seems to just sprout from the sides of the mountain.

From Martigny we started the climb towards Rhone Valley. It is impressively high and the buildings below looks like toys.

Stopping at the Rhone Valley lookout we saw this breathtaking scenery.

Snowcapped mountains ... in Summer! We also took this photo of a 3-generations family.

Stopping at Chatelard to find this interesting train stop which is covered by bushes.

At Argentiere we stopped and took photos with the majestic Mont Blanc in the background.

Soon we arrived at Chamonix Mt Blanc, the pretty little ski-resort town and got some ice cream!

Nindya, Andrew, and Ariel bought some fairy floss which was hand-made then we did a bit of shopping at a watch shop.

Views from the town centre. A magnificent place.

On our way back we stopped at a glacier river, that is the water is from melted snow. Ariel and Andrew looked for pet rocks as usual. Eyang Kuka told us that he was taught about the glaciers in the 1950s but only now he was able to touch it. It's very cold !

It was a very memorable day.

Cruise to Montreux with Eyang

2010-08-31T20:30:00.000+10:00

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!

2010-08-30T09:37:00.004+10:00

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

2010-08-29T11:53:00.005+10:00

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

2010-08-29T11:43:00.001+10:00

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

2010-08-29T00:00:00.001+10:00

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!

2010-08-28T18:12:00.008+10:00

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.

Eyang arrived in Swiss !

2010-08-28T07:03:00.006+10:00

Mommy, Ariel, and Andrew tool the train to pick Eyang in Geneva. Then in the afternoon we went to Ouchy

From Mont d'Or we went to Bessieres and took the Metro tram downhill

It was almost dark.

We could see France across the lake. The city of Evian.

Quite dark when we got to the Apartement. Then we packed for travel to Paris the next day.

Roman Ruins

2010-08-27T03:01:00.001+10:00

Sauvabelin Tower

2010-08-25T13:17:00.005+10:00

This is a 35-meters structure made entirely of wood

To get there we took the bus towards Lac Sauvabelin and walked about 500 meters from Signal bus stop

It's quite scary to look down!

Coming home, we had little dinner at a local Pizzeria around Mont d'Or (Figuires).

Swimming at Maladiere Shores

2010-08-24T13:07:00.003+10:00

The pedalo boats were closed, so we took bus 2-Maladiere Lac and swam at its shores.

It took quite a walk to find the nice stony beach

Looking for pet rocks.

St. Cergue to Nyon downhill cycling

2010-08-22T12:41:00.005+10:00

Went to St Cergue via Nyon by train and then cycled downhill.

We left home when the Trialthon started.

Took the train to Nyon and this is how the bikes are carried (or rather "hanged") in the trains

Had nice ice cream while waiting for the train to take us up the mountain at St. Cergue

Views along the way

The ride was very easy and we did not need to pedal alot :). The total distance was 20km.

We took many stops along the way. Bought Rivella at this service station.

Pedalo swim again...

2010-08-21T12:23:00.000+10:00

Returning from Rochers de Naye we went swimming again

Nice weather!

Waffle and popcorn at Veneta shop. The whole area was closed as there would be a Triathlon competition the next day.

Rochers de Naye

2010-08-21T12:10:00.000+10:00

From Montreux we took the Train to Rochers de Naye (2042m). Very high mountain, and that's why the train needed cogs.

Very steep climb and Andrew got the best seat in the train !

Views along the way

Swiss vuvuzelas awaited us at the top.

Very beautiful valleys and cliffs.

Ariel climbed a really high cliff. Scary! Then Andrew went up.

The whole place was very Swiss!

Around Lausanne

2010-08-20T11:58:00.000+10:00

Football

2010-08-17T11:49:00.000+10:00

Played Footie at a local park around Mont d'Or.

Visiting Lausanne Museum

2010-08-16T04:27:00.004+10:00

We went to Lausanne Musee (Museum). It has Geological, History, and Zoology section with Evolution exhibition. Andrew was posing beside a real meteorite there.

The museum is near the city centre. Andrew guided us with the GPS. Upon entering the museum there display was about the history of Lausanne and switzerland since the stone age.

The display is amazing, then we proceeded to go to Geological section where they had displays on rock crystal. Very beautiful and some even glow in the dark.

After the Geological, we went to zoology area. Ariel was captivated by the fossilised shell displays and Andrew had a close look at bugs trapped inside ambers.

There was a huge Mastadon skeleton and up above we had a look at the evolution exhibitian. All a very educational (and tiring!) day.

Vevey

2010-08-14T17:00:00.004+10:00

Vevey is the next big city after Lausanne, opposite to Geneva.

Mont-Pèlerin Funiculaire

2010-08-14T16:48:00.000+10:00

There is a Funiculaire going from Vevey up to Mt. Pelerin. Looks fun.

From Lausanne we took the train to Vevey station, and changed line towards Corseaux

We were supposed to stop at Vevey Funi but missed it and walked back! But it was very pleasant.

Dad got left when the Furniculaire departed!

Mt. Pelerin is the upmost village, then we took a walk down to LeBaume

The view from LeBaume towards Vevey below. The big building is the Nestle headquarters.

Lac Sauvabelin

2010-08-14T08:09:00.006+10:00

Lac Sauvabelin is a place on top of one of the hills around Lausanne. It is about 30 minutes by bus. It is famous for its lakeside restaurant and we had our first fondue there, a traditional Swiss dish consisting of bread and cheese with wine.

when we stopped at Chocolatier bus stop we found boysenberries. Ariel liked them very much!

there are beautiful woods in this area!

there was also a small pig farm, but they stink!

Maladiere - Ouchy

2010-08-13T08:00:00.004+10:00

Very late jalan-jalan to Maladiere and Ouchy. We took bus number 6 the other way.

Stopping at Maladiere and crossing the bridge to Avenue de Rhodanie

Passing dad's office and arriving at Ouchy

Lots of fun with the Pedalo boat. We were the last renter as it was around 8pm

Swimming at Lake Geneva

2010-08-10T13:29:00.007+10:00

This was an amazing experience to swim at Lake Geneva

Took the bus to Ouchy, 10 minutes from home, and rented the Pedalo boat to the middle of the lac (lake).

Plenty of fun and the water was very fresh.

The water contains minerals from melting glacier and is green-turquoise in colour! It had somewhat alkaline/chlorine taste to it.

Downhill cycling at Lavaux

2010-08-10T04:35:00.005+10:00

After dad's work we went to Lavaux to do downhill cycling.

We took the bikes by train to Grandvaux station

Grandvaux is high on top of the mountain so we just rolled downhill. The view of the vineyards are amazing. They even have grapes grown on houses!

We frequently stopped to enjoy the night scenery. The braking was hard on some of the steep parts.

It was fun!

Then we took the bus number 9 Lutry back to St Francois. Then again downhill to Mont d'Or. Almost dark by that time at around 10pm.

Lavaux Express

2010-08-09T07:21:00.007+10:00

We took a small train, the Lavaux Express which goes from Lutry to the top of Lavaux. It is a wine-growing region 30 minutes from Lausanne and the vines are blossoming....

From Lausanne the train went to Lutry. Then we walked down to Lutry-port. We found this tree with sharp fruits like a rambutan. And then wehad lunch at Lutry-port while waiting for the Lavaux Express train.

it is a very high climb to Grandvaux. absolutely beautiful.

Then we stopped in the middle of a very steep hill to sample the local wine. It was very nice.

You can remember here how steep the winery location is.

On the way back we went through the alleys to buy some petit fours at the local shop. (petit fours means "little treats" in french!!)