SWITZERLAND - DAY 3

The day dawned grey and overcast. Great, looked like we were going to get extremely wet up on the mountain. We packed extra socks and jeans in case and headed off for our day in the snow on Mt Titlis the highest mountain in Switzerland.

Excitement was high as this was our first time in snow. We had heaps planned. Snowball fights, snowman building, making snow angels, and any type of sled ride they had available to ride once up there.

The bus took forever but finally we headed for the cable car that would take us up the first part of the mountain. The game was on to be the first to spot snow. Angelique won. The rain didn't stop but suddenly it wasn't rain but snow falling gently to the ground. We got out of the first cable car to snow swirling around in the air.

The second part of the trip up the mountain was in the world's first rotating cable car. The car rotates 360 degrees in the five minute trip,which would be great if you could see anything out the windows. Higher and higher we climbed until we reached the top at 3020 metres. The doors opened and we were hit with -2 degrees. Just a little chilly.

The tour guided explained the different options available to us and what time we needed to be back and then disappeared. We exchanged our shoes for snow boots, then ventured forth into the great unknown.

We hit the snow and immediately the snowball fight was on. Took a little to get the aim in but then balls were flying left and right as we made our way towards the Ice Flyer. The Ice Flyer chairlift was suppose to give us spectacular vies into the icy depths of the glacier and I'm sure they were beautiful, if we could see them. The crevasses in the glacier are up to ten metres deep. Today though we were to interested in getting to the Glacier Park to have some fun, fun, fun.

We walked from the Ice Flyer to the park. The girls kept picking up snow and munching on it or making snowballs and throwing them at Pasqual. Once at the park we joined the queue to have the ultimate experience of snow tubing. This involves climbing into your own rubber tyre and shooting off down the slope. Grandad went first, followed by Ellexis. Angelique was to small to go on her own, so she climbed on with me and away we went. It was fabulous. We waited at the bottom for Pasqual who had been spun around by the assistant and whizzed down extremely fast. We made our way to the travellator and slowly made our way back to the top.

Next Pasqual picked a balancer and zoomed off down the slope. He went so fast that he went up the slope at the other end to stop and fell backwards with the balancer landing on . . . (need I say more other than that he lay on the snow for a little while). Ellexis went next on a mini bobsled. The weather was closing in and Grandad and I watched as she disappeared into the white nothingness. Angelique was the last to go and she zoomed off and was instantly swallowed in the cloud. Grandad and I could only hope that Pasqual could find her at the bottom.

After leaving the Glacier Park, we travelled back by the Ice Flyer to head towards the Titilis Cliff Walk. This suspension bridge 3041 metres up Titilis is Europe's highest suspension bridge. It was a little disconcerting when it started to sway slightly knowing there was a 500 metre drop underneath it but we braved it to reach the other side and stood admiring the clouds and small part of the mountain we would see. We were surprised how warm we were, we were warmer up here than when we wandered the streets of Paris.

We headed back and the girls attempted to make snow angels. Didn't go quite as planned. Ellexis had trouble as her raincoat kept slipping on the snow and she kept moving. Angelique had the right idea, but the snow was too hard where she tried.

After a few more snowball throws we headed back into Titilis Mountain Station to walk through the Glacier Gotto. We wandered into the gotto and immediately felt the temperature drop as we walked along the 150 metre corridor into the heart of the glacier. We were 20 metres below the surface of the glacier. It was beautiful. The ice glistened.

We got back with ten minutes to spare before having to head back down the mountain, just enough time to munch on a chocolate bar to give us an energy boost.

Back on the bus we headed back into Lucerne for an hour before heading back into Zurich. The girls chattered all the way back about the best thing of the day. Best day ever.