Monday, July 16, 2007--Innsbruck to St. Moritz--Day 8

Observation 1: Many of the women, including me, are having trouble with our feet and ankles swelling. We do not know if it’s the long bus rides or the salty food or the heat, or a combination of everything. Mine were so bad I even took a picture. They look like cantaloupes. Not pretty. I’ll take a picture of my ankles for comparison once we get home to prove this is not normal. This is the first time I’ve ever had this problem.

Observation 2: Massimo is one outstanding driver! He can maneuver that huge motor coach into the smallest spaces, and he handles it like a fine instrument on the hairpin turns as we climb into the mountains, inches away from the drop-to-your-death cliffs. He makes it look so easy. Some of the other tour buses have actually had to back up and jockey into position to make the tight turns, but not our Massimo! We’ve applauded him several times so far this trip.

Okay, so today we drove from Innsbruck to St. Moritz, Switzerland. It is SO GORGEOUS!!! We’ve decided to skip the rest of the trip and just stay here. Kidding, of course, but it’s tempting. No wonder all the celebrities love it here. I don’t think any of my photos are going to be able to capture its essence. It’s beyond beautiful, with the lake surrounded by picturesque mountains and the lovely architecture dotting the hillsides. But it’s terribly expensive, catering to people with LOTS of money. Within a block of our hotel (very lovely, by the way) are Prada, Chanel, Hermes, just to name a few. No bargains here. It’s too bad we only have one night here, because the whole group is very happy in this town nicknamed “Top of the World”.

Before we arrived in St. Moritz, we stopped in the little village of Pontresina, where we took a horse-drawn carriage ride up to the Roseg glacier. We had lunch up near the glacier at a charming café at 6,562’ above sea level. The ride was fun and the scenery was beautiful, but the glacier just looked like any other snow-covered mountain. Compared to Alaska’s glaciers, this one was unimpressive.

After we checked into our hotel, Lisa, Bob, Tony and I took a long stroll through the streets of St. Moritz, ending at the lake. The water is very cold, much like Cayuga Lake in upstate NY in the summer. But it’s crystal clear. We had a long uphill climb back to the hotel, but we managed to find a public escalator that took us about halfway there. After sitting so much on the bus, I’m surprised our leg muscles haven’t atrophied. Tomorrow…….Lugano.