Northern Italy

We have now been to Italy! We picked up and went south this weekend, originally we planned to go to Venice or cinque terra but we decided to not drive quite as far. So we went to the lake areas. We went to Lake Maggiori on Friday. It is a huge lake! We took a short boat ride out to fisherman's island.

But to be honest we spent most of our time in the pool at the hotel. The water was so warm! Jacob loved it! And the views from the pool were amazing.

Saturday we went to Lake Orta. It was beautiful! There is a little medieval village on an island that is very picturesque. We took a delightful walk through what I assume is their old town down by the harbor. I loved it! The little shops were super cute and the buildings were beautiful.

Later that day we went down to Milan. Oh boy, Milan is HUGE! There were so many people! Steve said it was like New York City and I believe him! It was tricky to maneuver the stroller through the crowds but we had a great time walking down the shopping district and getting gelato. Jacob loved it so much that we couldn't get him to share! Haha! Then we saw the Duomo. It's beautiful from the outside! It is a huge cathedral and the architecture is gorgeous. We hoped to see the painting The Last Supper but it turns out that you have to buy tickets months in advance. Who knew? Oh well, we had a great time walking the streets of Milan.

Sunday morning we went to church in Como Italy. The ward there was really sweet. They were all very friendly to us and the bishop even invited us over for lunch. It was super nice of him! We went down to Lake Como for a quick glance. Lake Como is beautiful! And the homes around it were beautiful too. What a picturesque place to live.

After that we headed home. Jacob was a fabulous little traveller as usual. He has been so great to go wherever we want and to not throw tantrums for the most part. By the way, the scenery on the way home was gorgeous too. Take a look.

Basel, Switzerland

Today we decided to drive up to Basel, Switzerland. It's only about an hour away so we went after Steve finished school. I had read about Basel and thought I'd know just where to go but it turns out that I should have downloaded the info. Lesson learned. Nevertheless, we walked through a bit of downtown and actually ended up parked next to an LDS chapel. Go figure!

On the way home, we saw a castle on the side of the mountain that we decided we wanted to go see. We searched long and hard for it and when we found it it turned out to be a private residence... So we couldn't go in. On the way home (or what we thought was the way home) we ended up clear up the mountain and had this beautiful view:

First few days in Schönbühl

The Mössner family is so amazing! We have been here since Wednesday night and they have not stopped taking care of us! When we arrived late Wednesday night, they had filled the fridge with food so we would have breakfast on Thursday morning. Then they fed us lunch and dinner and have fed us several times since then. They are so friendly. They have 8 children and we are living in the basement apartment with one of their younger sons, David. The grand kids come to play often so Jacob has had friends and toys to play with. They even sent us a box of duplo blocks to let Jacob have toys down here to play with. How thoughtful is that? We love the Mössner family!

Life in Switzerland seems so simple. The Mössner's don't lock their doors. They walk to the grocery store when they need something. They take trains to get around. Their homes are very simply decorated and only have wood floors. It makes life feel so simple.

We went downtown to Bern on Friday afternoon and look at the view we got! It is beautiful here! We absolutely love it!