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July 29

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 We started our day today by going out to breakfast with our hosts on a pier at Lake Geneva.  They are leaving on a one year bike trip on Wednesday, so we had many questions for them.  And since neither one of them has done any significant bicycle touring - they had many questions about our journey as well.  It was a fun breakfast in a beautiful setting.  After saying our goodbyes, Brian and I rode around the city a little bit and then headed for our hotel at the airport.  Once there we had a little lunch and then relaxed for a while.  In the evening we got back on the bikes for one last time - this time we rode into neighboring France for groceries and dinner.  On the way back to the hotel we passed 1500 miles of bicycling for this trip!! The confluence of the Rhone river (on the left) and the Arve river (on the right). Sculpture in front of CERN - the largest particle physics laboratory in the world.  The sculpture is covered with famous ph...
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July 28

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 We went on a walking tour of Geneva today, visited a museum exhibit dedicated to bicycles, and found an open air market to have lunch.  Nice quiet day. The Geneva Water Jet can be seen over the rooftops. St. Peter's Cathedral.  Construction began in 1160.  John Calvin and the Reformation claimed the church in 1535 and mostly stripped it bare. St. Peter's Cathedral The Old Arsenal Mosaic at the Old Arsenal showing the arrival of Julius Caesar in 58 BC. Place du Molard tower.  Part of the old defensive wall of the city. Place du Molard square. Horloge Fleurie (Flower Clock).  Built in 1955 Jet d'Eau (Water Jet) This current version was installed in 1951 and is one of the world's tallest fountains.  It shoots water 460 feet in the air.
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July 27

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 Our last day of bike riding on this trip.  The end of a trip always gets to me.  There's so much time and effort put into planning and executing a trip like this, that it's bittersweet when it's over.  When we start, the end seems so far away.  But this trip in particular involved some real struggle.  I have ridden my bike over the Rockies and over mountains in Vermont and New Hampshire - but I have never encountered steeper hills than on this trip.  The reward, of course, was the beauty of Switzerland.  I'm glad we ended the ride here. Today we left Lausanne for Geneva.  Another sunny day.  No big hills in our way but my legs were still talking to me the entire way, saying "when are you going to get off this bike?"  But we made it and dipped our bike tires into the lake at Geneva.  We have a host named Sarah for the next 2 nights.  She and her boyfriend are planning a one year bike trip and they leave on Wednesday - the ...
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July 26

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 Today we left Bulle and headed for Lausanne.  Another great day; sunshine, no wind, no rain, and miles and miles of downhill.  Our path took us to the shores of Lake Geneva in the town of Vevey, which was just beautiful.  We headed east, away from Lausanne, to look around the town of Montreux.  Montreux is famous for having a fantastic Jazz Festival.  This year the festival ran from July 5th to July 20th.  Many of the stages were still standing along the waterfront.  It must have been a great 2 weeks.  Will have to come back sometime for the Jazz.  Also in Montreux is a statue of Freddie Mercury (from Queen).  He had a home here and spent a lot of time here.  Also, Charlie Chaplin spent the last 25 years of his life here and also has a statue to remember him. Our first view of Lake Geneva from up in the hills. Vineyards around Vivey.  We would be riding through those vineyards later in the day. Waterfront promenade around...
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July 25

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 Last night we slept in this little bungalow.  For 150 Swiss Francs you get this palatial room with no linens or pillows - those are extra!!  There is a shared shower and bathroom for several bungalows on the property. In the morning we headed to our host in Broc.  The day was just beautiful - clear skies; temperature in the mid 70's, and some spectacular scenery.  Honestly, I don't have the right words to describe the beauty of this place.  Of course, being Switzerland, we started with a hill.  It was only 7 miles up with grades that reached 14 to 20%.  We were soaked but happy to be in such a magical place. Once we crossed that hill and descended into the next valley everything became French.  German on one side of the hill and French on the other.  All the signs were in French and all the people spoke French.  It was if we just crossed into France. When we got to Broc there was a problem with our host for the night so we rode to ...
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July 24

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 Today we left Lauterbrunnen heading for Lausanne.  Only 4 days of bike riding left before we reach Geneva and fly home.  It has been an amazing trip. Goodbye to the beautiful Lauterbrunnen valley. Passing Lake Thun on the ride today. Nice paths on our way to our destination today.
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July 23

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 Today we are heading to the Lauterbrunnen Valley to camp for the night.  I saw pictures of this place on the internet and just had to visit. Clouds are beginning to break up as we enter the valley. Staubbach Falls. Wonderful path through the valley. Paragliders up in the sky. Our campsite for the night. We took a gondola ride from the valley up to the town of Murren.  When we got there it looked like this - all clouded in. Five minutes later it looked like this!!  That's Eiger mountain on the left. The valley walls look so high when you're down there.  The walls are 300 - 400 meters high.  But then you go up to Murren and see the mountains continue up from the valley walls another 3000 meters!!!
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