A common man marvels at uncommon things. A wise man marvels at the commonplace. CONFUCIUS

Thursday 9 October 2014

Day 34: Orbe To Lausanne

Knocking at this parish door in the Avenue de Thienne in Orbe produced a free basement floor for the night — with a kitchen, a WC, and a bathroom shared with the priest. I had a proper bath for a change, rather than just a shower. We did some food shopping, and I cooked us all a tagliatelle carbonara.

Orbe was a nice old town, with a castle and a maze of medieval streets. Here you can see the Swiss flag very much in evidence again . . .

There were clouds behind us over the Jura, but the rain had passed, and it became quite hot in the afternoon. We lost the path temporarily, but knew that all we had to do was head downhill towards Lake Geneva, which now glinted in the distance. The photo shows La Pontaise, Lausanne's Olympic stadium . . . 

This is the Renaissance-style Palais de Rumine, home to the university library . . .

. . . and this is the cathedral . . .

We carried on down, down, down the steep streets of Lausanne. It was a lively place, and I liked it a lot. Finally we found the Lausanne Guesthouse, a backpackers' hostel near the station — and this was the view from our room. Beyond the apartments you can just see the foothills of the Alps — which are actually in France!

7 comments:

Ruth said...

I still can't get over how easy it was to just walk into Switzerland, with no one to check a passport. (Right?)

That parish house with its gambrel roof looks very American. And what a view from your hostel. I like Switzerland very much. All that dairy and chocolate made me happy.

Ruth said...

... oh and of course the Alps, and the buildings, and the animals.

The Solitary Walker said...

Yes, you just walk — or drive — through. And the food, yes, it's good. I particularly liked rösti, raclette and the quiches. You're right — the mountains are pretty good too!

George said...

Lovely! Hard to beat Switzerland for walking and its myriad other treats to the senses.

The Solitary Walker said...

Switzerland is great for walking — all the paths so fastidiously signposted.

dritanje said...

So enjoyed the photos of the gorges and great to see Lausanne, which I enjoyed exploring a few years ago - steep streets and steps up from the train station to the main square. Wonderful the way you meet such hospitable people, and find places to stay (and enjoy such mouth watering meals!)

The Solitary Walker said...

I really liked Lausanne too, Dritanje — more on Lausanne tomorrow, as I spent all the next morning there...

... and re. the hospitable people, they were certainly the highlight of the pilgrimage, among many highlights... As George commented recently, it does your heart good to know there are such generous and trusting folk in the world.