[Previous trip to Barcelona: 2017]
[Previous Swiss content: Part I, Part II, Part III, with Olga, Part IV, Lyon, Part V, Part VI, Part VII, and Part VIII; and Activities Nearby I, Activities Nearby II, and Activities Nearby III]
This summer, we wanted to travel to see my family and visit our friends in Switzerland. My family is living in Barcelona so we thought we could see them and then go on to Switzerland and stop in Paris on the way. My grandparents decided to move back to Ukraine in April so we didn't get to see them as planned, but it was still a nice chance to catch up with the rest of the family, especially because my parents and brother came out also.
In Barcelona, we hung out with them at their house overlooking the city that had a pool for Chase to swim in. We went on a tour of Park Guell. We also walked around the city and then went closer to the water and walked all the way to the beach. One of the nights there was the celebration of St. John's Eve or Midsummer and there were fireworks that we saw very nicely from the house. We went to the science museum with Marko. And, on the last night, we even had a chance to play Space Catan. A very fun time with family and in Barcelona.
After Barcelona, we flew to Paris. We had a hotel in the south of the 9th arrondisement, walkable to most things we were planning to see. We saw the Louvre and the Musee d'Orsay. Chase enjoyed the hippo in the former (similar to the one that's in the Met) and van Gogh and Pompon in the latter. We walked around a lot: to the garden of the Tulieries and to Notre Dame and to the Eiffel Tower. Chase was insistent on climbing up the Eiffel Tower, which we did. Overall, we had a great time in the city and were reminded of our time there together about 8 years earlier.
Finally, we made it to Switzerland by train. We stayed with Oksana and Italo in Lausanne, and then stayed with Christine and Yordan above Morges. We had a great time catching up with friends and colleagues. We also spent some time at the lake side both in Lausanne and in Morges. We went to the natural history/science museum with Marko and Sofia. We walked around Morges with Theo and Emil and their parents and then went to see Chase's schools and daycare and our old apartment. I stayed a few days later and had an American 4th of July BBQ. It was so nice to catch up with friends and reminisce about our time in Switzerland.
Top: Chase at the playground he used to go to; Chase near his first school where he did 1P and 2P; Middle: Chase at his second school where he went 3P; Chase at the chocolate place we used to go to a lot on Sundays; Bottom: Chase on the rock he used to climb on as we used to walk by the post office; Chase overlooking the fence to the daycare in Morges he went to after school and during school breaks.
