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| According to legend, the Abbey of Romainmôtier was founded in 450 by Saint Romanus of Condat. Parts of the Cluniac Romanesque church date to the 11th century. As you can see, there's been plenty of construction and destruction since then. |
Chris and I took an overnight trip to Lausanne last week. On Thursday, we caught the train west and met Dan's cousins Pascale and Veronique for a walk to Romainmôtier, a picturesque village with a very old church. We made the mistake of not planning lunch, and our post-1:30 arrival at the restaurant in the village was not exactly greeted with joy. The host did find us a table, but when we ordered he exclaimed, "FOUR DIFFERENT DISHES?! WELL. The cook won't be happy about THIS," and then stomped off. Apparently they had planned to be closed between 2:00 and 6:30. But as this was literally the only source of refreshment available (save one self-service shop manned by a comparably grumpy-looking farm cat), the tourists kept arriving... We ate our lunch and made a hasty retreat, so I don't know whether the poor guy ever got his afternoon nap.
*Our* afternoon was very pleasant, with a walk back to the train station, a dip in one of Lausanne's free pools, and a lovely dinner at Pascale's lovely house. We stayed overnight in her lovely attic and were loathe to leave it in the morning - but adventure called.
If you are craving castle, Chillon has you covered. Moat, courtyard, Great Room, coats of arms, weapons, latrines into the lake, back hallways for the servants, random reliquary, Byron's signature in the dungeon? Check, check, check, check, check...
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| Cozy window benches for reading? CHECK! (I assume that's not what these really are, but if I were in charge...) |
When we had had our fill of castle, we ate lunch at the café next door and then cruised back toward Lausanne on the 122-year-old steamboat Savoie.
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| Seriously. |
You have such good trip-planning skills. I just reached out to an agent, late and desperate, after a year of trying to plan a trip with my girls. As always, their plans were too ambitious and constantly procrastinated, so we left it too late to get anything we want. I would have insisted rather than pleaded during this time, but truth be told, I don't care if we sit in the hotel for 8 days and fly home. I am happy just to be with my girls. The agent tsk'd me for dropping this mess in her lap. I can't help it, I said.. Strong-willed daughters!
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