Chillin' in Chillon (Day 10)

We set out today to drive up to the mountains and see a glacier not far from Vevey, but we got sidetracked by a grocery shopping trip, hungry children, and cloudy weather. Not unlike other days so far on this trip, we changed our plans to suit the prevailing conditions and found a spot by the water in Villeneuve, a small town at the eastern end of Lac Leman (Lake Geneva), and went for a picnic. (Our plans have been pretty fluid and I think this has made the experience more enjoyable, especially with the two little ones along.)

When we reached the beach, we saw not far from us the Chateau de Chillon, a magnificent Swiss castle on the lake that we had meant to see at some point during our stay here. There's a great pedestrian promenade along the lake, and we decided to stroll on down to the castle. The clouds had come in and we were glad we had forfeited the drive up the mountains in favor of our little picnic and then the castle.

Not to say anything bad about them, but I tire of museums and other such tourist sites quite quickly, but I have to say this castle was very impressive. We spent the whole afternoon wandering around in its many rooms and courtyards. I won't bother recounting the history of it, other than to say it dates back hundreds of years and has had several additions/modifications along the way. Below are some shots we took...

Elias slept through most of our time at the castle, but Lucia had a great time. She's recently been eating like a horse (growth spurt?) and she insisted on having her snacks (yes, multiple) sitting at one of the many windows looking out onto the courtyard or lake. She got a real kick out of the latrines in the castle. (Wooden seat with hole, BIG drop-off to the stone foundation below. Primitive, but functional.)

Here's a shot of Elias and I looking at the ducks out on the lake. That's camouflage on his hat so he can sneak up on them.

Here's me getting a little artsy with the camera...

For a cloudy day with intermittent showers, it turned out pretty well. We got back to the house just in time for a HUGE thunderstorm. I was surprised that Lucia wasn't more afraid of it than she was - the thunder was really loud. She actually insisted on having her story time by the window so that she could watch the lightning.

Tomorrow, the chocolate factory.