7/21 So many lakes, so little time

Our wake up call wasn't until 7:30. We didn't have very far to travel today. I got dressed, put out my luggage and went for breakfast.

We left at about 8:45. The day was looking to be pretty clear (for once!) but it only took us driving about 30 mins. to hit rain.

We got into Lucerne about an hour and a half after we left. It was raining, of course. Our first stop was to a giant lion statue dedicated to Swiss soldiers who died in battle. It's carved into stone and is really cool. After that, we dropped off the people who weren't going to do the lake cruise in the middle of the city where all the shops and cafes were. Then, the 10 of us who were going to do the cruise headed to the pier.

Our boat cruise lasted an hour. It was raining but we still had great views of the sites along the lake. We saw tons of mansions, grand hotels, public beaches, and a couple old castles.

After the cruise, most people got back on the bus and headed for Mt. Stanserhorn. I decided to not do Thid tour so I had 5 hours of walking around the city on my own.

I walked up and down the streets, popping into shops. It would rain, and then stop, and then rain again. I had a great time looking at clothes (and even bought a 10 franc dress! :) At one point I went to the train station and had a sausage on a roll... It was soooo good!

After covering one side of the city, I crossed the cool old wooden bridge over the river. I walked along the cobblestone streets and admired the bakeries that offered chocolate goodies, pastries and ice cream.

At 5:15, the bus showed up and we all piled on. Our next stop was our hotel. It was kind of on the outskirts of town so luckily we had dinner included.

I checked into my room that I was going to share with Mikayla. I went down for dinner which was chicken with mushroom sauce, mixed veggies, and potatoes that looked like hash browns but had a smoky flavor. I ate with Eric and Jan from TX and Paul, Lucinda and Justin from IL.

After dinner I decided to go to bed early because I had a headache. By the time I was ready for bed, the sun was still out and I could still hear birds chirping. I closed the blinds and closed the bathroom door to make it extra dark. I looked at my clock and it said it was 9:30. I didn't even hear Mikayla come in at all.