WHAT A GLORIOUS DAY!  I guess I need to catch you up on last night first.  We had a fun pasta dinner at what is our favorite restaurant on this trip.  Max is the owner & he’s been great to us.  It took 2 bankers to collect the money & settle the bill.  And 34 hungry people to eat all the pasta, salad, & lime sorbet.  The group from the school was freshly showered & looked great.  Let me tell you more about the showers.  The water only stays on for 30 seconds, so the girls have perfected the art of getting a body part wet, soaping it up, & rinsing.  They go in 3 people to a shower head & rotate positions for soaping & rinsing.  The problem is that the first group to shower has cold water because the 30 second spurts don’t clear the cold water out of the pipes very fast.

After dinner, the school group went back for another snorefest.  In the hotel, I had to fight off Ariel for a place at the computer desk!  (Not really – we shared).  Kara was pronounced perfect in speaking French by the hotel staff.  All in all, a peaceful night.  Except for Debi F.’s embarrassing moment.  As the group headed back to the school, Debi was talking & her denture flew out of her mouth & bounced on the sidewalk.  Not missing a beat, she picked it up, wiped it off, said “5 second rule” & popped it back into her mouth!  In case you’re wondering – she gave me permission to tell the story.

This morning started early (except for Kara & Ariel who overslept).  We met at 8:30 & headed out on our adventures.  I’ve lost track of how many trains, trams, & buses we rode.  First, we went to the Castle of Chillon.  We mistakenly got off the train 2 stops early & had to wait about 20 minutes.  We entertained the people on the opposite platform with the Flash Mob dance, Closing Ceremonies routine, & the Safety Dance.  What would you think if you saw 54 people in purple shirts dancing on the metro platform? Well – that’s what the other travelers thought too.  We had fun!  And it was the moms who were instigating everything after the first dance.  I love it!

The castle was wonderful – dating from the 12^th century (Kara is looking it up on the computer next to me to see when it was built).  We climbed down in dungeons & up in towers.  It was great fun & all the girls were real troopers.  Kelli was especially proud of walking up & down all the stairs!  We had a picnic lunch on the lawn outside the castle. 

Then, we set off for our next destination – Rochers-de-Naye (which, according to Kara’s computer, is 2045 meters above sea level).  Kara talked the bus driver into turning her head  as all 54 of us boarded the bus & rode for free.  We went to the train station in Montreaux & negotiated a group rate for the train.  All day, everybody shorter than me with not gray hair counted as a child for admission purposes.  Charlotte S. & Alex had to squat down to qualify!  The train ride was an hour of breathtaking scenery.  Mary B. & Sharon said they couldn’t believe they paid money for such torture.  They just said that on the really scary places.  Arnetha rode all the way to the top of the mountain!!!   OK – she rode with her head in Pete’s lap, not looking out the window, but she made it.  Dede has motion sickness & she was miserable.  BioCored (my latest movement class) came to the rescue.  Debbie tossed an apple back & forth to her (since we didn’t have a tennis ball) & the sickness went away!

We had 2 hours on the mountain & filled every minute.  We hiked through an Alpine Garden which had flowers even Dennie hadn’t seen before.  We hiked past marmot pens (they were so cute as they posed for us) to a cross.  Some made it to the very top of the peak.  The views were amazing!!!  Mountains, snow capped peaks, glaciers, hang gliders – all above Lake Geneva.  You will have to see the pictures to believe it.  20 minutes seems to be our magic performance time.  We had another Flash Mob performance on top of the mountain as we waited 20 minutes for our train.  I think we got funny looks because nobody but us could hear the music.  Karen L. was playing it on her cell phone!  If you want to see the show, Neil had his video running.  The train was really crowded on the ride down & half of us had to stand up – taking turns tossing the apple to Dede.  We had to convince Samantha she really did want to get on the train & ride down with all the people.  Kara had a major panic & was calling the hotel on top of the mountain – she forgot her camera.  Luckily, Dede found it & brought it.  Ariel’s comment was “I thought you were supposed to be my role model.”  

Everybody had a great time today & it seems that we all had our jobs.  The girls all have buddies & I’m really proud of the way they helped each other out.  Harris, Lee’s dad, always seemed to find kids at the train stations & they loved all the pins he gave them.  Kelli practiced her yodeling & was thrilled to yodel on the top of the mountain.  Lindsay & Paulette hiked up, down, & all around the castle & mountain.  One of the girls is in love with Erik, but I’ll keep it a secret who.  Katie K., Khalilah, & friends invaded the nasty mens room in the train station.  Kiki was thrilled to hike in the Alps.  Karen & Adrienne decorated the insides of their backpacks (unintentionally) with yogurt – YUCK!  Jo & Charlotte B. made a great team.  I tried to convince Charlotte the images on the wall in the dungeon were ghosts, but she sighed & said “Ms. Cindy, it’s only a projector.”  Stephanie & Danielle always seemed to be looking for each other.  Karen D. ditched Katey & hung out with me.  Debbie T. & Dede, my deputies, were on traffic control all day.  Robin had bathroom duty.  Pat’s backpack weighed about 100 pounds (maybe Jennifer was in it!) and Erik & Danny helped carry it.  Lani & Ana weren’t feeling well, so they missed the trip.  But – Lani is better & eager to celebrate her birthday tomorrow!  And best of all, Dr. John had the day off!  OK – if I forgot anybody, just know that they all had a super fantastic trip today!

We called our friend Max, & he had picnic tables & pizza waiting for us when we got back.  Joey has taken the troops back to the school for showers & guess what – they get to sleep in tomorrow!  8:45!  We are leaving at 11:30 for our first lunch at the Gymnaestrada venue (Debbie T., Dede, John, Dennie, Ariel & I made a trial run on the bus last night – 18 minutes) & then we have Opening Ceremonies.  WOO HOO!  We have met lots of teams on the street today – the ladies from Kanata (from Ontario, where the Vintage Team competed), lots of Swiss, & a lady from I don’t know where who came up to me & said BRAVO when she saw all the Special Olympians.

Rest up tonite – tomorrow starts non-stop fun & gymnastics!!!

PS – Fashion alert – Gertie put a zipper in her fleece hoodie so it wouldn’t smear her make-up when she puts it on!