February 15, 2017 - Tanya's Winter Wonderland Tour - Day 10 - Zermatt, Switzerland

Elisa's Daily Scoop
NEXT TRIP DEPARTS IN: 58 DAYS
​

Zermatt, Switzerland & Mid-Week Reflections

HI there and hello peeps!!

Here we are mid-week and I'd be lying if I didn't say, I'm a bit of a freak out.

It's just one of those weeks that I have so very much going on and the "stuff" just keeps piling on.

The bottom line is that everything going on is pretty much on the "Good" column.  I've got a busy weekend coming up - a house guest, who I am thrilled to have and some fun plans that I'm completely looking forward to on Saturday and Sunday.

What has me stressed is that I feel like every time I turn around, there is something that comes up with the girls.  IN the first place, Gianna has really settled in with her social circle at school this year. 

How many of you remember the difficult time she had over the past few years with feeling as if she didn't fit in and "girl drama" at school?

ME AND MY TWO VALENTINES AT SEASON'S 52 RESTAURANT LAST NIGHT (c) travelincousins.com

Well, I'm so happy to report that with a little maturity on the part of the all the girls, things have settled down and she is completely happy and feeling a part of, what has turned into a lovely bunch of school friends!!

What also comes with that is LOTS more socializing and of course, at 12 and 13 years old, in suburbia - it's mom who is the taxi driver lol!

She has become an active and regular attendee of both the boys' and the girls' school basketball games.  One more thing added to the schedule.

Kelsey, on the other hand is going through her own changes and is much more attached to me these days.  She wants to spend alone time, going out for tea and coloring and watching television together.

Additionally, things are still a bit in flux for me and I'm still awaiting for the conclusion of my divorce.  Me and the girls will be moving, but we are kind of "stuck" in limbo until the finances are worked out.

Then add to that the regular daily stresses of running a household and the "enjoyable" unexpecteds like a leak in the kitchen and a new crack in the wall, because the house is 111 years old.

And there you have my venting - and I believe I need to just breathe and do some relaxing meditation.

The good news is I re-connected with two friends this week that I hadn't talked to in years!!! For one, it has been 6 years and I was so pleasantly surprised when he reached out.  We had some really fun times in the past, being part of the same crowd and the last time we got together was for two "reunion" dinners, around this time of year, back in 2011.

Then, as if that wasn't enough, about two days later, another blast from the past came my way with a FaceBook message from an old business associate/friend from nearly 30 years ago!!
Boy, that was certainly a surprise.

My horoscope and tarot card reading did tell me I was going to have some interesting social encounters this month, but, in spite of hearing that earlier in the month, it still all came as a crazy surprise!!

Moving right along...
As you know, Tanya is currently in Zermatt, Switzerland today.  She is just getting all around and living the dream on her Winter Wonderland Trip!!!

​Let's take a closer look at this Swiss town.

17 Fun Facts About
Zermatt, Switzerland

1. Zermatt, in southern Switzerland’s Valais canton, is a mountain resort renowned for skiing, climbing and hiking.

2. Zermatt lies at the foot of the Matterhorn. 

3. The town, at an elevation of around 1,600 meters, lies below the iconic, pyramid-shaped Matterhorn peak.

4. Zermatt's main street, Bahnhofstrasse is lined with boutique shops, hotels and restaurants, and also has a lively après-ski scene. 

5. The Matterhorn is probably the world's most famous mountain.

6. The region is legendary amongst mountaineers: the Haute Route, a challenging international route that takes several days to complete, leads from Mont Blanc to Zermatt.

Matterhorn Mountain, Switzerland (credit: beautifulmountain.com)

7. Over 400 kilometers of hiking trails lead through and out of the Matter Valley, including the mule traders' trails, which date back to the 13th century

8. In winter, the snow-assured ski region offers 360 km of pistes in three varied ski areas: the Sunnegga-Rothorn, Gornergrat-Stockhorn, Schwarzsee and Matterhorn glacier paradise.

​9. Snowboarders and freestylers are able to hone their skills in the Snowpark Zermatt in which Olympic hopefuls also train. 

10. A crossover to the Italian ski region of Breuil-Cervinia and Valtournenche is possible from the Matterhorn glacier paradise / Theodulpass. 

11. THE Matterhorn Museum houses the items of equipment used during the first ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865 which ended tragically.

12. Gorner gorge is a footpath across narrow bridges and steps as well as a fixed rope route guide visitors through the deeply scarped gorge.

(credit: beautiful world.com)

13. Village of Findeln is the original Valais settlement with a small chapel and it has Switzerland’s highest rye crop fields at an altitude of 2100 metres.

14. The vacation destination is a car-free zone.

15. There are public outdoor rinks for ice-skating and curling.

16. Although not the highest peak in the Alps, its fame is due to its almost impossible shape.

​17. Walt Disney and his family visited Zermatt several times.

How was your Valentine's Day??

Mine was really great - spending it with my girlies!!

We had a most fabulous dinner at Season's 52.  We certainly ate good!  Here are some pictures from last night.

Me and Gianna at dinner (c) travelincousins.com

Mediterranean Hummus with cauliflower (c) travelincousins.com

Truffle Mac & Cheese (c) travelincousins.com

Pesto Chicken Flatbread (c)travelincousins.com

Season's 52 Mini Indulgences Desserts (c) travelincousins.com

My personal favorite - Pecan Pie (c)travelincousins.com

Well, tha's all folks.  
Hope your day is a great one!

​-E
xoxo

Tanya's Daily Scoop
CURRENTLY TRAVELING IN:
​ZERMATT, SWITZERLAND

​Not sure the view gets much better than this

Hello world!

Greetings from Zermatt!

Let me begin by saying that it's great to be back.
​We arrived into town yesterday a bit later than originally planned. But believe me when I say that it was worth it...

We started the day in wonderful Wengen.

And made our way down to Lauterbrunnen (land of waterfalls)...

(c) travelincousins.com

(c) travelincousins.com

(c) travelincousins.com

​Then back up on the other side of the valley to the tippy top up to Schilthorn and Piz Gloria where we just couldn't get over how ridiculously amazing the views were. I thought the views were great at Aiguille du Midi (France), until seeing them from up at Schilthorn - where the James Bond movie 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' was filmed and that's their claim to fame - although it really should be "all about the view" -  because it's crazy amazing!
 

(c) travelincousins.com

(c) travelincousins.com

(c) travelincousins.com

(c) travelincousins.com

(c) travelincousins.com

​After much time spent taking in the sights and Dave walking out on the Skyline walk - too darn dangerous for my blood!

(c) travelincousins.com

​If was finally time for lunch and back down to the hillside car-free town of Murren. Sooo freakin quaint.. It almost made Wengen seem like a metropolitan!
 

(c) travelincousins.com

(c) travelincousins.com

​However although the cafe was recommended as having vegan menu items, by the time we got there they were down to only having a vegan banana cake. So we each had a slice, along with some hot coffee drinks - and it was quite good.

After all of our adventures we got on the road and made our way to Zermatt - which is car free to the extent that you cannot even drive to it!

It is required to take a car train and then after many switchbacks end up in Tasche, where it is required to take the Zermatt Express train to the town of Zermatt. Whew!

Upon arrival we got all checked in and the went out for a much anticipated dinner at a restaurant that we became quite familiar with on our last visit - Grampis.

Oh and one last thing, we had discussed the days events during dinner and again the crew felt like there was no way we did as much as we did all in a day. But guess what - we did!

Time to go explore Zermatt.

Ciao,
-T