Rain fell all night which made for wonderful sleeping. This morning , outside is wet and now snow is falling. The bright spot is we don't see any wind. Regardless of the weather, we must get out, get something to eat and plan our day. Looks like a good day for museums. Zurich is said to be capital for art.

We bulked up in our many layers and headed out on the streets today in search of solid food for breakfast/lunch and some stuff to have on hand in the apartment . . .eggs, cheese, bread, quality lettuce and wine. The snow was falling like great pancakes on our faces. Flakes splashed into our eyes, littered our hats and wetted our coats.

If we happened to be in search of a bar this morning we would be in the right place. There were plenty of places to buy a cup of coffee or tea, a beer or enjoy a cocktail (yikes at 11 am???), but not too much of anything else. We walked a few blocks, here and there. We finally found a place that welcomed us in and then searched among its employees to find someone who could speak to us in English - especially since we wanted to eat and not drink. Turns out the place was Thai. We had soup and eggrolls. Strange combination, I agree, but it was warm, delicious and filling.

We found a grocery nearby and bought our essentials. From our tabs at the restaurant and receipts from the food store, we learned we have returned to another very high-priced area. It made us miss Budapest even more.

We gave thought to leaving this wet, snowy place and just heading on to Como. What a great idea! That sounded good! Then we checked the weather in Como and guess what - for the next few days they are having rain, cold temps and wind too! The weather is forecasted to improve in Como by the time we arrive there on Sarurday. We will just stay here and stay on schedule.

In the afternoon the rain subsided but the sun never shone. We caught the Number 31 bus to Old Town and proceeded to march ourselves through the area. We saw a number of old, historic churches. We saw St. Peters Church, famous for having a clock tower with the largest clock face in Europe. We saw Grossmunster, a beautiful structure with wonderful doors. Finally we saw the Fraumunster Church that is famous for having stained glass windows painted by Chagall and Giacometti.

Why do we see so many churches??? They are key points in history in a time that churches and kings ruled common people.

Our pastor back home asked us to send photos of baptismal fonts of churches from towns we visit. We had to sneak photos here at all these churches - most do not want photos taken of their church interiors but we were advised that if we were discreet, maybe we could get a non-flash or two. Pastor Stepfen. .. . you gave us this charge!!

We walked in the damp and the cold; we enjoyed exploring, another European city filled with history and architecture that will never, ever be repeated. It is rich. Rich! Each structure seemed to be architecturally designed only to best anything of the past.

We shopped today too. I have an infatuation with Chanel hand bags but I do not have one and may never. They are so expensive. But we stopped at a Chanel boutique today and I learned. I touched the newest designs, felt their weight and measured their size. I slung the straps of some bags over my shoulder. Mmmmm. But hey, I think my tastes are for an older double C variety that I might find on Ebay for a lot fewer dollars. I truly appreciate the good stuff but my practical soul always rules.

We also indulged Stan - the man with the obtuse watch fetish. We learned the ups and downs of Omega watches and felt good about the vintage Omega Stan has been proud to wear for many years. I became bored after a while of the techno/craftsman chat of a good quality watch and began to browse. I found a couple of beauties I'd be delighted to wear for just under 5000 Swiss Francs.

We had chocolate. There are many chocolate shops here! They offer the fanciest chocolates a person could ever imagine. We bought 100 grams of deeply-candied orange slices dipped in milk and dark chocolate, and some quarter-sized discs of chocolate topped with unknown delicious, wonderful stuffs. These were probably the most expensive chocolates we have ever tasted and by far, the very best!!

We learned enough of Zurich today to determine what we want to do tomorrow. Top of my list is to bus or tram to city center, make our way to Zurich Burklipatz to take a 1.5 hour boat tour into Lake Zurich. We also want to try some fondue and maybe a dish of sausages and gratin.