Dennis & Aimee's Big Gay Paris Adventure

This just in... Switzerland is picturesque! Who knew?

Yes, it's raining, and yes, it's Sunday so everything is closed, but we're not letting that dampen our spirits. Last night after we arrived and settled in, we went back out for a big pot of fondue. How Swiss is that? It's very hilly here. Here's what the streets in town look like:



This morning we walked down down down the hill to lake Geneva. Lausanne is up on the hill a bit, and the town that's right on the lake is called... get this... Ouchy! Heh. That's still funny. Here's the metro:



They were holding a triathalon along the lakefront, so it was a little crazy down there. We walked around a bit, and found the place where the paddlewheel steamboats depart. They go all over the lake, visiting the towns dotted along the shore. So we took a four-hour cruise around the upper part of the lake. Here's the boat we took, called the Montreux, which was built in 1904:



Its engine was impressive too (this is looking down on it from the upper deck:



First stop was Evian, directly across the lake from Lausanne. We'll probably take a day-trip to Evian later, but for now, we just cruised past. On the way, the lake looked eerie and lovely:



There were maybe 10 stops in all, one of which is the town of Montreux, for which the boat was named. If that sounds familar to you, you may be remembering the lyrics from the Deep Purple song called "Smoke on the Water" which begin:

We all came out to Montreux
On the Lake Geneva shoreline
To make records with a mobile
We didn’t have much time
Frank zappa and the Mothers
Were at the best place around
But some stupid with a flare gun
Burned the place to the ground
Smoke on the water, fire in the sky

I don't usually quote Deep Purple, I know. It's a bit weird, but the story is just so funny that I have to share it. I'm going to quote you the relevant parts of the story, but you can find out more here: http://www.answers.com/topic/smoke-on-the-water

The lyric of the song tells a true story: on December 7, 1971, Deep Purple had set up camp in Montreux, Switzerland to record an album using a mobile recording studio (rented from the Rolling Stones and known as the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio) at the entertainment complex that was part of the Montreux Casino. On the eve of the recording session a concert featuring Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention was held in the casino's theater; during the concert a fire broke out (said to be caused by a Swiss fan shooting a flare gun in the ceiling) that eventually destroyed the entire casino complex, along with all the Mothers' equipment. The "smoke on the water" that became the title of the song referred to the smoke from the fire spreading over Lake Geneva from the burning casino as the members of Deep Purple watched the fire from their hotel across the lake.

There's more on the site, including the fact that Deep Purple never expected that song to be a hit.

And speaking of bands, Dennis' brother's band just played in Oakland yesterday, and they got a great review in the Chronicle. They're being managed by Flameshovel records, which is no small feat. We listened to their new album just before we left for Switzerland, and it's great! Here's the article:
Chicago Rockers Invade Oakland
And here's where you can listen and buy, if you're so inclined:
Amazon.com

And look, they got their picture in the paper! Eric is the one in the middle wearing a blue shirt. He's so cool:



Another cruise highlight worth sharing are these gorgeous terraced vineyards in Lutry:



We enjoyed some local wine on the boat -- not bad!

So, we're back to the hotel, listening to the patter of rain out the window, looking forward to another day of exploring. We'll probably go to the church that you can see out of our hotel window tomorrow:



So for tonight, farewell from Switzerland!



--Aimée