Rain, rain... go away!

...Come back after we're gone!

It been raining, raining, and raining some more here. And we thought we escaped Ike! How about yIKEs! Other than the wet nuisance, it's been absolutely wonderful to wander about the mountainside Swiss villages. You know those postcards with cute little wooden/log homes with colorful shutters, flowers on the window sill, situated in a lush and rolling green pasture with a giantantic mountain in the background? Yeah - it really exists!

We'll write more later!

Geneva/Interlaken

Edit= pictures that go along with this post (I will figure out how to properly place them next time)

Last night we arrived in Geneva, Switzerland. What a beautiful city! It's situated on a huge lake, and it is largely very modern and international. Women are dressed to the nines, and the men aren't too shabby either. We had a great time walking around.

We also met our fellow compatriot, Oz, in Geneva. It was great to hook up with a fellow American and talk politics walking through the streets of Geneva. I think Oz was pretty excited to speak English, period--he's been travelling in Switzerland on his own for a while, and he hadn't run into many English speakers. It's great for us to have a friend to share these beautiful places with!

We spent one night in Geneva, and today we took the train to Interlaken (the city between the lakes). It's a breathtakingly beautiful area, with the surprisingly blue lakes, the river, and the Swiss Alps rising dramatically all around us. All of the (very old and well preserved) houses have flower boxes in the windows, and the delicate little tea houses provide a welcome haven from the rather cold weather.

Ankur speaks decent French, so we were able to order food and get directions in Geneva, but Interlaken, where we are now, is a somewhat different story. Interlaken is in the Germanic part of the country, and we are relying quite a bit on the Rick Steves survival phrases and hand gestures!

Internet is about to run out, but will post later! With love, M&A

London

Hi all! I apologize for the delay in posting. We've been on a whirlwind trip so far. We left DC at 8pm and arrived in London Wednesday morning at 10am -- but of course, it was only a seven hour trip. So we were a bit exhausted! But we were welcomed with unbelievable hospitality by Harishada and Kirtikaki and Richa and Angel (the rabbit). They had scrumptious food on the table, a warm bed, and wonderful conversation. We got to see Richa's new school uniform, and we got to experience London living. We also went visiting many family members. It was wonderful to get to see (and often, in my case, meet) them. Richa and Kirtikaki also had recently returned from India, with wonderful gifts for everyone (they are sooo thoughtful!). We also got to hear all about the wedding plans for Kayur and Claire, which are in full swing. It should be a great time.

We mostly visited with family on this leg of the London trip, but we did take a few hours to tour London in style. Rameshada graciously loaned us a company car and driver, and we drove around like very special and posh people. We got to see Buckingham Palace (we even saw the changing of the guard! That was awesome), the Parliament and Westminster Abbey, the Tower of London, Regent's Park and gardens, Trafalgar Square, and numerous other sites. London is a great city--a unique mix of the ancient and the modern. The people are quite well-dressed and sophisticated. You hear numerous languages spoken all over. However, the streets are incredibly narow and windy, the buildings are small, detailed and unique, and the people have a sense of history that Americans have to admire. We mentioned that our new apartment building in DC was very old--built in 1905. Then Claire, the soon-to-be other mzungu in the family, informed us that she used to have piano lessons in a house that was built in the sixteenth century!

(Also, for those who were wondering, we flew from London to Geneva, so we were not affected by the chunnel fire. But thanks for your concern!)

We hope that all is well with you. Thanks for all of your comments and emails!

This one's for Henry

Found one

We found a place to live while we're in DC. It's not the cute row-house we had in mind, but it's the next best thing--and in a neighborhood of cute rowhouses. Above is the outside entrance -- an old building completely refurbished on a "tree" lined street. I use "tree" in quotes because I am still of the opinion that trees should not be segregated by blocks of concrete. But it is lovely nevertheless. See below.

Not an auspicious start

Anyone have a cute place to rent in DC? We're having trouble finding one ourselves... Might have to commute from Oklahoma or St. Louis.

Suggestion Box

Thus far, we have taken the "come what may" approach to our European adventure. In that spirit, we have a basic itinerary, with lodging reservations in (almost) every location, but we do not have a single entry on our list of things to do once we get there, other than "explore ___." (If you know us well, you know which one of us was NOT very involved in trip-planning.) This approach has its definite perks--we get the thrill of discovery, the flexibility to deal with sleep and weather, and the freedom to change our minds. However, we would hate to spend a month in some of the most beautiful and historic places on earth and miss the highlights. Therefore, we're taking last-minute suggestions from all you veteran travelers of things to do while we're there.

Our basic itinerary:

Sept. 8-11: London, England
Sept. 12-13: Interlaken, Switzerland
Sept. 14-15: Gimmelwald, Switzerland
Sept. 16: Completely open - Somewhere nearby in Switzerland or Italy
Sept. 17-20: Cinque Terra, Italy
Sept. 21-24: Siena, Italy
Sept. 25-28: Assisi, Italy
Sept. 29-30: Completely open - Somewhere near Assisi or Venice
Oct. 1-3: Venice, Italy
Oct. 4-8: London, England

We'd greatly appreciate any suggestions in the comments!