In hopes of not actually forgetting this entire European excursion, I’m sharing the photos and highlights from our autumn trip to London, France, and Switzerland. Eric had to go to London and France for work (tough stuff, but somebody has to do it), so I tagged along and made a grand little vacation out of it.
London
This was our first visit to London, and pretty much everything we knew going in was from either Harry Potter or The Crown. So here’s Eric on that bridge from Harry Potter:
The weather was pretty “meh” while we were there, so the photos aren’t particularly gorgeous or anything, but I will say that I liked London a lot more than I expected. Not being a big city loving gal, I was surprised how much I enjoyed walking around the city.
And here’s me in front of Buckingham Palace (obviously heavily featured on The Crown):
We tried to see all the touristy places within walking distance of our hotel, including Big Ben, which is apparently completely hidden under scaffolding for construction. Note to self: always give your tourist attractions a quick google before adding a few extra miles to your walk.
I had very low expectations for the food in England (beans for breakfast? no thank you), but we did have one truly delightful meal at one of Ottolenghi’s restaurants. I have several of his cookbooks on my shelf at home, so it was fun to eat at kind of a celebrity restaurant.
I had lots of time by myself in London while Eric did work things, so I, like any good American, went to Notting Hill. Aside from this super cute little block, the actual Notting Hill area was a bit of a letdown. Not nearly as precious as Hugh Grant made it appear.
But all the streets in London were historic and charming, and everything was super beautiful. After living on the super casual west coast for the past 7 years, it was a shock to the senses to see all of these London business folks dressed in suits and dresses for work. And movies have led me to believe that English folk are not the most naturally beautiful people in the world, but I’d say that everyone we saw in London could have been a super model. It was insane.
France
Next up, Eric had work things to do in Toulouse, France, another new city for us.
Toulouse
We were super hungry by the time we got to Toulouse, but it was way too early for restaurants to be open for dinner, so we ended up dining at the first place we could find serving food at such an American dining hour. Empanadas for us! One hundred percent, would do it again.
Again, I had a lot of time by myself while Eric worked, so I wandered the city, terrified of having to speak to anyone in French (my French is actually high school-level Spanish). But I successfully ordered lunch without too much embarrassment.
Albi
Once Eric finished worked things, and I had already walked the entirety of Toulouse, we hopped a train to Albi. I’m so glad we did because it was gorgeous and charming, and full of hidden gardens.
Paris
Our next destination was Switzerland, but we managed to land ourselves a 24-hour layover in Paris. The weather was total crap, but since we only had 24 hours, we headed out in the rain to see the sights.
The Eiffel Tower was a slight disappointment, as it was raining so hard that we were soaked to the bone by the time we got there, we couldn’t actually see the entire tower because of the clouds, and the area was full of these beautiful chain fences. So scenic.
We headed back to the hotel where Eric painstakingly dried our soaked clothes with a hair dryer before we indulged in an Americanized French breakfast buffet, proudly featuring this giant bucket of butter:
Thus far in France, we had not been served butter to accompany any meal (including one with a basket of bread), so I was thrilled to finally get what I assumed would be the norm in France: butter, butter, butter. It was so good.
It stopped raining after brunch, so we ventured back out to see more sights, looking ultra-touristy in my 2007 backpack (yes, that is the one you bought me when I left for college, parents!).
Ultimately, we didn’t particularly love Paris (lots of people everywhere, as you might expect), but we were big fans of this huge park with a pond and seating for hundreds. I’m sure this place is crazy in the summertime, but in October, it was a lovely, and filled with people reading books and drinking wine.
We kept trying to imagine what a park like this would look like in Portland, and the answer is, it would be covered in trash and human feces. You gross, Portland. But in Paris, it was pristine!
Switzerland
We have been obsessed with Switzerland since our first visit a few years ago, so when determining where to spend the true vacation portion of this trip, I considered a lot of other options, but ultimately wanted to return to the best place on earth. This time around, we stayed in Grindelwald. Our Airbnb was about 15 minutes straight uphill from “downtown”, which turned into quite the sweatfest when pulling our suitcases along for the ride. Luckily, there were cute sheep to stop and admire while we caught our breath.
Our Airbnb was amazing and featured mountain views out every window, and cows as the closest neighbors.
Our first night in Switzerland also marked our 13-year dating anniversary, celebrated by staring at mountains and wishing we lived here permanently.
We wanted to do a lot of hiking while in the mountains, and were thrilled to get some really nice weather. We accidentally ended up hiking almost 14 miles because our “medium-level” hike was so steep that it took us WAY longer than anticipated, and we missed the last gondola to take us back down the mountain.
We stopped at this little restaurant about 4 miles into the hike, and ate our body weight in pasta, potatoes, and cheese.
As it turns out, the Swiss do not believe in switchbacks, so we climbed approximately 6000 feet straight up the mountainside, which was just as hard as it sounds, especially when done in snow.
We look really happy here because we finally reached the flat section of the trail.
The next day, we opted for an easier hike and took the gondola up a few thousand feet to get started.
We got to see a big ol’ glacier, which gave way to a small avalanche as we were hiking away.
On our way back down the mountain, we came across this little self-service cheese fridge and bought ourselves some fresh goat cheese because Switzerland is the best place on earth.
We also picked out what was listed as an “easy” trail run, described as a “great evening jog.” It was not easy. The Swiss are so strong.
We ran (“ran” being a generous term) to the top of this canyon, which was SO much deeper than it looks in the photos.
Luckily, the bakery (which we visited every single day) was on the way home from the run, so we stopped to pick up some berliners.
As always, Switzerland was amazing and beautiful, and we’d happily spend the rest of our days eating bread and cheese, and building the strongest leg muscles in all the land.
-Ally
Anita Smith says
Beautiful pictures! Glad you are still making use of that old college backpack.
JUDY GECKELER says
I enjoy your writings so much. I find myself chuckling at your remarks about the area and hiking. You are amazing. Thanks for sharing your photos and trip. Switzerland has always been a country I would love to visit. I just might make it there yet.
Hugs,
Judy G.
Ally says
Oh, Judy, you would LOVE Switzerland! The photos don’t even do it justice!