Gruyére

Yesterday was cold and rainy, so aside from a trip to the mall for some lunch and a game of dress-up with the girls, we didn't do much. Today, Catherina took the four of us to the town of Gruyére,  famous for its cheese. The drive was beautiful, as is all of Switzerland we've seen so far. The town is nestled in between several mountains in the Alps, the peaks of which are just now beginning to get dusted with snow. Catharina wanted to show us how Gruyére cheese is traditionally made, so we drove past the town and up a little ways into the mountains. Unfortunately the tour of traditional cheese making is closed at this time of year since they have already taken the cows down the mountain. It was already too cold even for the cows! So we ran around a bit, trying to keep warm amidst the snow covered hills that loomed only a short distance above us. Although we didn't get to see cheese being made by hand in little straw covered huts, we were not dismayed. There was an entire medieval castle to be seen! Emily and Isabelle were not particularly excited to see a castle, as they are a dime a dozen in Europe, or so it would seem from their lack of enthusiasm. However Hannah and I don't see castles much in Vermont, so we eagerly climbed up the steep hill on which the castle was perched. Inside the castle walls was a bunch of tourist shops and restaurants that had once been a medieval town. After running all over the ramparts with the girls, we went inside the castle, which is now a museam, and climbed all the staircases and looked in all the rooms. After all that running and climbing around we were starving! It was time for lunch. So, Catharina took us to one of the little restaurants in the village, where we had a proper swiss meal. It consisted of raclette for Isabelle, and fondue for the rest of us, finished off with some ice cream. It was delicious, and even though it is now almost dinner time, we are still all pretty full. Tomorrow is our last full day here in Switzerland (until we come back at the end of our trip in December) and so Hannah and I will be travelling into Geneva by ourselves to do some more looking around. Hopefully we will be able to manage it all with out Emily and Isabelle to be our guides and translators!