Luminous Trips

Through Italy – Sorrento, Amalfi and Capri (Days 5 to 8)

Day 5

This day marks the start of our cross-country expedition, well, sort of. In the morning, after check ing out from our hotel, we went to Termini station to pick up our rental. After an hour, we got our car and we were on our way to Sorrento. Having heard some horror stories of driving on the south Italian freeways, I must admit, the drive was quite peaceful. After Naples the road narrows and the traffic increases but it’s not too bad. We made it to Sorrento in good time, despite many pit stops we took on the way. Our hotel in Sorrento was in a very pretty setting, facing a cliff on one side and the town on the other. We parked our car at the hotel and walked to the main square. Sorrento is located on a cliff overlooking the gulf of Naples. It has fabulous restaurants, best limoncello and crème brulee ever, great local and upscale shopping and great views. After dinner we went for a short drive through zig zag cobblestone streets downhill and reached the harbour.

@Sorrento

Day 6

Today, we were going to drive from Sorrento to the town of Amalfi trough the famed Amalfi coast. This drive is not for the faint-hearted as the terrain is quite difficult to navigate. But, it is surreal. Every corner we stopped had incredible views of the coast. We passed through the town of Positano, the coast’s most picturesque and photogenic town. We then made our way to the town of Amalfi, a little graceful town with a beautiful central square. After lunch at Amalfi, we were headed visit Ravello but our love for Sorrento made us change our plans. We wanted more of Sorrento since it was our last night there.

@Positano

Sorrento

Day 7

After checking out from our hotel, we parked our car at a car park and boarded a ferry to the island of Capri. We were going to spend a night there. Our hotel room in Capri was really impressive with the balcony overlooking the blue waters of gulf. We left out luggage and took a funicular to the town of Capri from the harbour.

Capri furnicular

Capri

The luxury boutiques, patisseries, the many gelataria all add to the plush character of this place. It is highly recommend to spent at least two nights in Capri, if you don’t mind the tramp-in-a-palace feeling. It is pretty expensive, but it is gorgeous. It has immediately gone in our journal of repeat destinations. After going around the town, we decided to take the bus to Ana Capri. Smaller and laid back compared to its more flamboyant sibling, it is no less glamorous. While walking the streets, we came across a beautiful play area where the boys had a blast. I went to a coffee shop across and grabbed some coffee for the two of us.

@ Ana Capri

@ Faro

We then visited the Capri town. It was nighttime and all the crowds had left. The island had now transformed in a very romantic location with flood lit streets and live music playing. We grabbed our dinner at a restaurant at the Piazzetta and took the bus back to our hotel.

Capri by night

Day 8

The day started early for us and we took a boat tour of the island. The sea was really choppy and I was happy and relieved that we had we opted for a skipper. On reaching the blue grotto, we learnt that due to the sea conditions it was closed. But our skipper was really good, he took us to many grottos, beaches, caves and arches. The views of the Faraglioni rocks from the sea are really something. We took a quick dip in Capri’s unfathomably blue sea. After our boat ride, we hit the beach to snorkel and he took us to the beach. We spent some there while the boys went snorkelling. After the beach, we went to our hotel for a quick shower, picked up our bag and then took the ferry back to Sorrento. We picked up our car from the car park, took the luggage from our hotel in Sorrento and hit the road. We were headed for Orvieto in the southwestern Umbria region of Italy. It was quite a peaceful drive. The sun sets is pretty late in this region making the days longer, this works well for me as I prefer to drive during the daytime. It was just about night when we reached our hotel.

Sailing through a cave

The Faraglioni rocks

@ Capri beach

Day 1

What makes for an ideal family holiday? I’d say road trips, jumping into the sea with the kids, getting local ingredients and twirling up a storm in the kitchen, discovering common interests and of course, the bonding time; these are memories that last for a lifetime. So, it was that time of the year again for us and we were as excited as kids in a candy store. Our flight was on its descent and the outside was visible now. In an ecstatic cheer my son said “guys look” and when I peeked from my window, I was awestruck by the architectural grandeur and the symmetrical perfection of the city below. No surprises we were landing in Rome. Our excitement levels had quadrupled from the time we made our way through the aero bridge to the cab. Fatigue, hunger all disappeared and all we wanted now was to know more about Rome than Augustus himself. Our cabby tried to answer all our questions initially, juggling through the accents, but soon his English disappeared.

@ Dubai Airport

@ Rome Airport

After a quick pit stop at our apartment near the Termini station, we spent our evening in Piazza Navona. Our kids running tirelessly around the square with renewed enthusiasm at the end of each lap. It is one of the biggest miracles of nature, the energy these little beings of light have. We had our dinner at one of the many restaurants at the square. After dinner, we did some gelato at the Pantheon, explored the city by foot for a while and called it a day.

@ Piazza Navona

@ Pantheon

Day 2 – Rome

We visited the Vatican Museums today. I had reserved “skip the lines” ticket from the official website. You can skip the long lines and arrive at the designated time printed on the ticket. Since we arrived early, we went across the street and grabbed one of the most expensive below par pizzas ever. After our “so called” lunch, we entered the museum. My kids were really intrigued by the spiral staircase at the entrance but as soon as we hit the first exhibit, the interest died out and my younger one was off to sleep. Good thing we had a pram. We had to carry through the stairs in the museum at times but that it wasn’t a big deal. The museum is beautifully adorned in exquisite artwork and the Sistine Chapel is magnificent. The kids decided for us to visit St. Peter’s in the coming days as it was getting a bit too much for the kids. So, we grabbed some gelato en route to Piazza Venezia and walked to our favourite spot in Rome, the Trevi fountain. It was evening by the time we reached the fountain. Kids flipped coins, we got some pictures; it was perfect. We waited till the lights at the fountain were lit and then…magic!

@ the walls, the Vatican

@the staircase, Vatican museums

Boys@Trevi

The Trevi Fountain

After Trevi, we visited the Piazza Di Spagna to see the Spanish Steps. Some restoration work was in progress at the steps, so, we grabbed some dinner, gelato and called it a day

Day 3

We bought a 2 day ticket for the open top bus and took our little gladiators to the Colosseum. I had reserved skip the lines tickets from their official page. The architectural brilliance of this colossal arena is unparalleled, sad history though. Spent sometime inside the arena, showed the kids around, shared a little history and went to the adjacent gardens. The children transformed the garden in the busiest pretend airport in the history of Rome. After their pretend planes were finally parked, we went across the street for some pizza. It’s an amazing feeling to have lunch across the street from the colosseum. After lunch, we went shopping for toys at a shop called the little big world near Piazza Venezia. Now that the kids were happy, we headed for the Trevi fountain with a quick stop at the Pantheon. After Trevi, we were Piazza Di Spagna bound but our hunt for the Spanish steps actually transpired in one of the best memories we have of Rome. We were walking the streets of Rome at night, our elder one was siting on my wife’s shoulders, and my younger one was in the pram. Walking besides each other and sharing a laugh, this was perhaps the best memory of Rome for my wife and I. We got to a beautiful little square with an adjacent restaurant. Considering the crowds waiting for a seat, one could say it was very popular with the locals. A guy was singing Italian opera songs, could not understand a word, but he was entertaining and also he was doing these funny little jigs that kept the kids entertained.

Outside colosseum

Inside the arena

Day 4

This was more of an off day for us. We grabbed some pizza from a restaurant near our hotel and decided to go to St.Peter’s. It is stunning from the outside and the interior is magnificent. After visiting the Church we went about walking from Via del triton to Via del corso and spent the day visiting all our favourite spots one last time.

St. Peter’s Bascilica

The Lion – Days 11 to 15

Day 11 – Pilanesberg: The day began really early for us. We returned our car to a rental at the airport and took our flight to Johannesberg. We took another rental vehicle from Jo’berg Airport and headed straight to Pilanesberg Nature Reserve to see a Lion. We had booked a lodge for 2 nights. After reaching to our lodge, we headed straight for an evening game drive in the park.

Our lodge was located right at the edge of the park with electric fences preventing the wild animals from getting through to the lodge from the park. You could see wild animals frequenting a watering hole from the restaurant at any time of the day

Day 12 – Pilanesberg: After breakfast, we took our car and went driving in the park; our very own game drive. An experience like no other and a definite must do. You can take a map at the gate to the park and take it from there, its pretty easy. They also have a central information point, where you can stop for snacks, at your own risk. They also have these kiosks there with screens that flash the locations of the lion sightings and are updated often. We stocked up on our food reserves and went driving through the park eager to find a lion. The day had passed and we had seen everything except a lion.

Info point at the Park

Day 13 – Pilanesberg/ Sun City: Our day started early and while I was going to get the car from the parking lot, I saw a huge African Elephant, at a distance of around 5 feet, just beyond the electric fence. This was the closest I had ever been to an Elephant of this size. We hit the park again, determined to find a lion. After driving for a couple of hours in the park and not a trace of a lion, we decided to head for the exit as we were already running past the check-in time of our Suncity hotel. On our way, we saw a naturalist on his radio, so I jokingly inquired if there were any lions in the park. He smiled and asked us to go to a location. As it was enroute to an exit gate, we decided to go there but couldn’t find anything there either, our futile quest prevailed. Suddenly, out of nowehere, a lioness passed by; we awestruck. Following her, were four cubs and a male lion. Ours was the first car to discover the lions and we had exclusive viewing for a long time. We marveled at these magnificient creatures. Now, the word was out and suddenly all safari/ ranger jeeps converged and the big cameras were out. But we had our share and were very happy. We drove to the adjoining Suncity, checkedin and hit the wave pool; water fun for entire afternoon, while the boys out the water slides. In the evening, we visited a hotel with an entertainment play zone. Sun City is a kid’s paradise.

Day 14 – Sun City – Today we went hotel hopping and exploring the area. We went to a great zoo in one of the hotels, played some treasure hunt games, did some atv racing, took train rides all in all it was great family day for us. In the evening, we went to a great Italian restaurant in one of the hotels.

@ Sun City

Day 15 – Sun City: We hit the wave pool early in the morning. There are some extremely scary water slides for adults there. It is called the temple of fear. Oh man!! Well this was the last day of our vacation so post lunch we just went for leisurely stroll through the hotel and around 4ish headed to Jo’berg. We were going to stay overnight at a hotel close to the airport and take a morning flight back home.

@ Wavepool

@ Sun City

All in all, it’s a beautiful country and a great family destination. It has so much to offer from beautiful towns, exquisite wine n cheese, great mountains, pristine beaches and scenic drives. Not to mention the big 4 and the water slides. Another super family vacation….Pure Magic!

The Capes – Days 6 to 10

Day 6 – Wine region: This day marks the start of our roadtrip from the western to the eastern cape. We headed for the wine region of Franschhoek from Capetown. As you exit Capetown the beautiful wine region starts. There is a wine tram in Franschhoek that takes you through the wineries, however, since we reached there post 1:30 pm it was closed for the day. We headed to a wine cellar for lunch.

After lunch we hit the road and took the ‘Regional – R” route through Villeirsdorp, Robertson, Swellendham, Wilderness. My wife found a small restaurant called buzz bar in Robertson. It was a really nice find– really good pizza and wine. There were swings and a small play area also there so the kids had a great time too.

After dinner we headed to Wilderness. We had booked this great B&B in Wilderness and while it was pretty late by the time we reached there, our host was very hospitable and he was waiting for us when we arrived.

Franschhoek

Day 7 – Garden Route: Drove though the garden route, saw the Addo elephant park. It’s great for the kids as you get really close to the elephants. On our way back we stopped at Knysna and went for a lagoon cruise. Grabbed dinner at the Knysna Quays.

Addo Elephant Park

Day 8 – Swatberg pass/ Outdshoorn: Today, we headed for the Swatberbg pass. The gravel road runs from east to the west of the Swatberg mountain range and takes to the peak and then drops. We saw two mountain deer pop up from nowhere while we were at the peak and a hawk take flight through the mountains, unbelievable. Driving the pass is out of this world but its not for the faint hearted. We headed to Outdshoorn and visited one of the Little Karoo Ostrich farms, kids really enjoyed the Ostrich riding. Had our dinner in Mossel bay.

The pass

Deer

The pretty country

Day 9 – Garden Route: Today was more a less a free day for us. Explored the area, there are great beaches around. It was our last night in Wilderness

Day 10 – Storms River Mouth: After breakfast we headed for Port Elizabeth; we were going to stop for a night there and take an early morning flight to Johannesberg. On way to Port Elizabeth, we stopped at Storms River Mouth at the Tsitsikamma National Park. The route becomes very colorful with pretty flower on either side as you approach the park . We were going to stop there only for lunch, but we ended up spending almost the day there. There is just so much to do. It is a great camping site too. After dinner there, we headed to Port Elizabeth.

Wilderness

Storms River Mouth

Tsitsikama Park

Cape Town – Days 1 to 5

As our plane decends, I get the first glimpse of an imposing landform. It is familiar, for it has featured in all the cricket matches our nation has played in this part of the world – it is the Table mountain. Our plane landed at the Cape Town Airport and this time too, as soon as the plane docked, my son rushed out, the only difference being that this time around my younger son was following him. It was evening by the time we got out of the airport and after parking our bags at our hotel we left for the V&A waterfront for dinner. A perfect start to our vacation

Cape Town Airport

Day 2 – Cape Town: We were staying at a central location with the hop on hop off bus stop around the corner, great restaurants and good coffee in the vicinity and a car rental a couple of blocks away. We took the three-day hop on hop off bus ticket and headed straight to the table mountain. Once at the base of the mountain, we took the cable car to the top. Once at the top, the mountain offers you insanely beautiful views of the city at every corner, great trails and a pretty decent coffee shop. You can spend anywhere between a couple of hours to the entire day there if you are doing the trails. After visiting the table mountain, we look our hop on hop to signal hill – the place boasts of beautiful sunsets over the town and it does live up to it. We had dinner at V&A and called it a day.

Cable Car – Table Mountain

At the top – Table Mountain

Signal Hill

Day 3 – Cape Town: We visited Hout Bay in the morning. It was a perfect setting, with a group of people playing live music, a bay and mountains. Not to forget the seagulls there were adding to the atmosphere, almost surreal. We had the best fish and chips we have had in a long time. Kids really enjoyed the seal feeding there. After visiting Hout bay we visited Camps Bay. I think it has the best beach in Cape Town. We stopped there for some coffee and a quick bite. We then went leisurely exploring the place. Later we took our bus to beautiful play area by the sea for the kids in Bantry Bay.

Hout Bay

Our very own photo bomber!

Day 4 – Cape Town: After our lunch at the V&A waterfront, we headed to the two oceans aquarium – a five-minute walk from V&A. Kids loved the exhibitions and went hysterical with the shark feeding there. We then sailed through the canals of the V&A waterfront

2 oceans aquarium

Canals @ V&A

Day 5 – Cape Town: My son and I picked our rental car today and after a brief stop at our hotel, we headed to cape point, the most south-westerly tip of Africa. I took the route M16 from Hout Bay. The M16 is a very picturesque highway with a cliff on one side and the ocean on the other

Boys @ the lighthouse, cape point

Cape Point

A family holiday to the Alps, the Lakes, the Canals and the Rambala – Days 11 to 14

We took a cab from the airport to our hotel. Our hotel was about a 10 minute walk from Las Rambalas. We checked in our room, left our luggage there and hit the streets. We stopped for some coffee close to our hotel, spent sometime at the university square. It was dinner-time now and across the street from our hotel was a restaurant which was highly recommended and it did live up to its reputation. The seafood paella and the patata bravas were exceptional. The ambience was simple but the atmosphere was vibrant. The Spanish are a lively lot and Barcelona is one of most kid friendly cities in the world.

Day 12: We visited Park Guell. Sitting on top of a hill, you get great views of the amazing city. It is very colorful. The house that Gaudi lived in actually looks like it is out of a fairy tale. We had an option between the Gaudi park and Tibidabo amusement park but we opted for the Gaudi park as our kid was too small for the amusement park. We spent almost half a day there and returned to the lively Rambalas in the evening. The next day we took the double decker hop on hop off sightseeing bus. Its very convenient as it takes you all around the city and you can choose your pace. We went to Sagrada Familia.The highlight of the day was visiting “Mes Que Un Club”. I bought a miniature stadium souvenir and my boy got a small football signed by all the players. They have a small museum there as well. We went to the magic fountains of Montjuic, amazing

Day 13: We went exploring the city, there is great mall at the waters. It was a family day for us, we had ice cream and went on a carousel and played games.

We took a rickshaw to get back to the rambalas in the evening. Its quite amazing how the street transforms at night into a vibrant and lively party district. My son had turned in quite a social animal by now, interacting with almost everybody at the Rambalas. We stopped to get a cold beer for me and you should have seen him.

Day 14: So it arrives then, the last day of our holiday. It was 9 am in the morning and our flight was late at night. We took a cab to a car rental close to the airport. We had a reserved a convertible for a day. My son was tightly strapped in a car seat in the back. We wanted to drive the Costa Brava and be back for our flight. We went to a small little beach town called Blaine. It was summertime, so the beach didn’t have a spot left. It was a lovely sight. We took a quick pit stop and were on our way, the idea was to find some nice spots along the coast and stop there, but before we knew it we were close to the French Border and at a town called Roses. We had our lunch there, spent some time, sharing a laugh or two, admiring the beautiful sights while my son could get the wheel of our parked vehicle. It was evening already and we had to make our way back now. So we started our journey. By the time we reached to our rental to return the car, it was already shut. We tried calling the helpline but no one would answer and I am not too sure if there was a drop box. The situation was managed well by my wife, she had an idea to leave the car at a nearby hotel and leave the key at the lobby; it all ended well but was one hell of an adventure.

So there it was, from the alps to the lakes to gelato and tiramisu to the ramblas, it was a great family trip, Sunny all the way!

A family holiday to the Alps, the Lakes, the Canals and the Rambala – Days 5 to 11

Onward then, we get off a station in Italy and after finishing off with the passport control we go to a restaurant at the station. We had some pasta, pizza and wine. We still had some time till our train to Como and my son had it all planned. On the way, he had spotted a toy train parked outside the station. I inquired and as it turns out the toy train circles around the town for a 20 minute joyride. It was fun, we had gelato on the way, enjoyed our ride and we returned to the station in time. We boarded our train to Como. The train cannot be compared to the Bernina Express but was quiet comfy and was on schedule. The train was full of school kids, on their way to a picnic perhaps and they were singing in Italian all the way. We got down at a station before Como and head to the ferry dock, which was about 100 meters from the station. We took a ferry to Bellagio. After doing some online research I had opted to get a hotel in Bellagio, as it was well rated by other travellers. So we arrive at this cute little lake town and head to our hotel. Our hotel was just a couple of minutes walk. When we get close to it, I realised that the hotel can only be accessed through a flight of stairs. My son rushes up the stairs and my wife follows him. So here I am with a pram, two bags, a kiddie trolley bag and a flight of stairs. After considerable workout, going up and down the stairs, on a hot Italian day, we finally get to the reception and check-in. In an hour’s time, we were ready to go and explore the town. After those stairs, I did deserve a cold desert. I ordered for strawberries and cream and my wife ordered for Tiramisu. We are yet to find a place that serves better Tiramisu than the one served at that small restaurant by the waters at Bellagio. My son spotted some ducks at the lake and we went feeding them. We went exploring around the town and then went for dinner and tiramisu as the finale.

Day 6: We rented a boat and spend the day on the waters of Lake Como just soaking in the views, looking at the surreal villas (Villa Balbianello from Casino Royale, Villa Erba from Ocean’s 13) and watching the sea-planes takeoff and land. It was amazing. My wife and son were petrified at first knowing that we would be sailing by ourselves and I would be at the wheel all the time but they were soon ok with it. We had a map giving locations of all the villas on the lake but midway through our journey it flew off. So we could identify half the villas on the lake and speculated the rest. After our boat ride, we returned to Bellagio, fed the ducks, had Tiramisu and a cappuccino.

Day 7: We wandered through Bellagio, it was strikingly beautiful. Around noon we took a ferry to Como, had lunch there. Como is almost like a big city or at least we felt it that way after Bellagio. Went some kiddie shopping and rented a car. We drove the car from Como to Bellagio. The route for the most part is overlooking the lake. It is quiet difficult to concentrate on the road and not take in the spectacular views. We had dinner at Bellagio, followed by the best Tiramisu in the world.

Day 8: After breakfast, we drove down to Venice. Driving in Italy is more like a professional sport but I prefer it for the flexibility it provides. The approach to Venice, the bridge is majestic. We went to the rental to return our car and started walking towards our hotel, which was not far. Also, by Venice standards, the rooms were pretty spacious. Parked our luggage at the hotel and we were off, making our way through the narrow streets of Venice. Through swamps of tourists following the live music playing we got to St. Mark’s, the atmosphere there was electrifying. We spent the evening listening to live music and just being at the square.

Day 9: We went around Venice. No Agenda, just going wherever we like. We visited the Dodges palace. It was very interesting, my son, however, had a ‘slightly’ different view. We had to make up for the torture we had put him through, so, we, got him to a Disney shop. He bought a small Mcqueen trolley bag from there. The red colour bag has become an essential part of his life and features in all our travels. He spent the evening just zooming through tourists with his bag and through the pigeons.

In the evening we took a Gondola ride to see Venice by night and it did not disappoint. It was magical, seeing flood lit Venice, as we went through the canals. After our ride, we wanted to go to our hotel. We stopped at the Rialto Bridge en route and clicked some pictures. Grabbed some dinner at a restaurant close to our hotel.

Day 10: We went to the glass factory, I thought it was quite overrated – let’s leave it at that. The ride to the island, however, was good and my son loved it. We loved the approach to Venice, to the main square from the waters, a fantastic sight. The day was at our disposal and we went leisurely around Venice

Day 11: Our flight to Barcelona was in the afternoon and in morning after breakfast we wanted to go St. Mark’s one last time. As it turns out, it was the hottest day of our trip and we were exhausted by the time we reached St.Mark’s, which was a good 15 minute walk from our hotel. Well we ended up spending a lot of time at St.Mark’s and then suddenly we realised that we were too tired and also late for our flight– so walking again to the hotel was not an option anymore. We wanted to take the public transport ferry. So we headed to the stand and learnt that there was a public transportation strike! The only thing that was available was a Water Limo. It was PLUSH, it has its price tag, but, it was the only option available . The driver let my son take the wheel so that was pretty cool. Also, looking at the onward traffic – “boats” and so many of them was amusing. We got to the hotel in time and rushed to the Airport. On to BARCA!

A family holiday to the Alps, the Lakes, the Canals and the Rambala – Days 1 to 5

Day 1: My wife, my son and I landed in Zurich and as soon as the plane reached the parking bay and the gates opened, my son ran with his small trolley bag. My son was 1.5 years old now, wow. I remember the time I used to rush out when the plane would land, the excitement, the happiness and now, to see my son live through it is pure magic, its extraordinary. So I ran past my son and my wife and I clicked a picture. That’s how it began, my very own tradition of clicking pictures, while at the airport I have done it since. One look at these pictures and it’s like traveling back in time for me.It has been over 4 years since our trip but once glance at the picture from the airport of my wife and son and I can relive the entire trip. We grabbed our luggage, got a quick bite and got a cab. The best drives are the stretches from the airport to the hotel. Checked in, dead tired and I thought I would just CRASH, but my enthusiastic wife had other plans. In an hour’s time we were at a zoo in Forsterstrasse, looking at a peacock. A ZOO!! What’s going on here!! In hindsight, however, I thought it was the perfect start to our holiday.

All of us really enjoyed it. A great family time, afterall, spending some quality family time was the very soul of our holiday. After our boy allowed us to part from the zoo, we took a tram to Bahnhofstrasse. The Swiss transportation network is very simple, user friendly and at the same time very efficient. Our son had slept on the way so on reaching our stop, we stopped for coffee. My wife and I did this a lot in the coming days. This is by far the best memory I have of Zurich.

Day 2: We went for a cruise on the Limmat. It was mid May but it was brisk. I remember the red hoodie my son wore. He was shivering but had a huge smile on his face. Well, he never let us get inside the cabin. We were at the gallery all the time, all three of us, shivering in cold, but smiling all the way. Once the cruise was over, we went to Bahnoffstrasse, as the wife wanted to shop. And shopping for her is actually shopping for the child and when she means shopping for the child she means showing me clothes for baby girls. While they are really adorable, for us, they are totally irrelevant since we have 2 boys!! (we are refereeing most of the rime, trying to avert a tackle)

After “shopping”, we started to walk to the old town, cobbled streets and magnificient structures all around. We were hunting for a place called Schobber’s. They serve the best hot chocolate it seems. And when we finally found it, the shopkeeper was shutting shop for the day. He looked like he was eager to get home after a long day, greets us and rushes past. We just stood there helpless, but the very next instance he backtracks. He lets us know that they are shut, but he doesn’t want us to leave disappointed so he opens his shop and gets some cold chocolate for us and man it was the best. Day 3: We took a train from Zurich central to the town of Lucerene. The train has a dedicated play zone and my son had a blast. The route to Lucerne is very picturesque. When we arrived, we quickly grabbed a bite at the station itself and just walked across the town. Getting some gelato on the way

Day 4: We took a train to St. Moritz. Checked in a small boutique hotel. The aroma of fresh chocolates from the hotel’s small chocolate factory lingered in and around the hotel. We went to a restaurant across the street and had cheese and wine fondue with snow clad mountains of St. Moritz in the backdrop. After lunch, we went exploring through the town. It’s an extremely pretty town. My wife clicked some awesome pictures of my son and I. After spending enough time through the town, we went for dinner. Ordered for a hunter’s platter, which is meat and veggies on a hot stone and only rock salt. I would never in my right mind order for something like this, well we did and as it turns out, it was really good. Highly recommended.

Day 5: We boarded the Bernina Express. This train essentially connects Switzerland with Italy. All the cars in the train were observation cars with large windows for an unrestricted view, we were awestruck by the sheer beauty of the surroundings. You pass through snowclad mountains through tunnels, world heritage sites and finally into the Italian fields.

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