David and I left for Switzerland on Monday, March 22. We took a train to Milano and then to Bellinzona. We boarded the first train at 7am and had yet to figure out the train system. We asked someone and they pointed to the cart we should board. We sat down and before too long, a cart came by and we were given cookies, tea, and hand wipes free of charge. Neither of us thought anything of it, after all, we did pay an arm and a leg for our train tickets. When we got off the train, we realized we had accidentally sat in first class, not second! It's a good thing no one noticed, as my Italian is not yet good enough to explain our honest mistake.

The next train we managed to sit in the correct class (note to self: read the big letters on the side of the train denoting class) and we realized we had actual seat assignments. Feeling quite proud of ourselves, we enjoyed the view through northern Italy and arrived in Bellinzona at 10:30am.

Gotti (my dad's mom's brother - so my grandma's brother, also my dad's godfather) met us at the train station. We drove 10 minutes to his and his wife, Suni's, summer home in Lumino, nestled at the base of the mountains. We dropped off our belongings and then all four of us headed into town to explore the castle there and to have pizza at an Italian restaurant there. Because Bellinzona is south of the Gottard pass (a mountain pass in the Alps), people speak Italian there.

Gotti spoke English with David, and Suni talked in English for David as well. I practiced my swiss german and translated for David.

After lunch, we drove to Annamaria and her husband, Izzi's, house. They have a vinyard in their backyard where they make their own wine and then sell it! David and I got a tour of how they make the wine. To our delight, Izzi served us a dessert wine with a sweet bread. It was the most delicious thing I've ever had to drink! It was like a sweet grape juice that went down warm. I'm not usually a fan of wine, but this wine was something else! Even David liked it, so it must have been special!

Around 5, we returned to Gotti and Suni's. Gotti took David and I for a hike into the mountains behind his house. We each had large walking sticks. The views were wonderful!

That night we had chicken, rice and salad for dinner before heading off to bed.

The next day, tuesday, we went to a museum that talks about the tunnel being built under the entire alps! Quite interesting. Upon our departure, Gotti presented David with a Swiss army knife and me with a Swiss Army card! We said our goodbyes and headed off to.... BASEL!