One of Switzerland’s most visited landmarks, Chateau de Chillon (Chillon Castle) has a checkered history due to its most famous “guest.” Located just south of Montreux, it is easily reachable on the number one bus, which runs every ten minutes, or it is a leisurely 45- minute walk along the lakefront down to the castle.

Magnificently situated jutting out over Lake Geneva, you cross a wooden bridge above the shore waters to enter the round towered fortress. It faces the snow-capped French Alps which rise above the far side of the lake presenting an amazing view, even to a man chained to a pillar for six years. Built in the 13th Century by the House of Savoy, the castle offers a glimpse into the life of the time with period furniture, artwork and stately rooms and passageways. I particularly liked the toilet throne, with its window view and direct deposit drop into the lake.
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Europe’s Largest and one of its most beautiful lakes

Stretching along Switzerland’s southern border with France, Lake Geneva (also called Lac Leman by the Swiss) is the largest lake in Europe. It’s pristine shores support a strong fresh water fishing industry. Some would argue that it offers the most beautiful views of any waterway. They are jaw-droppingly amazing; especially the snow capped Jura Alps across the lake from Montreux and Vevey. The temperatures are moderate along the lake in winter; most of the weather takes place in the mountains.

In summer numerous music festivals and artistic events are held in towns along the lake, especially Lausanne, the third most popular city for travelers in Switzerland, next to Zurich and Geneva. It is a sophisticated artist’s haven and the city where T.S. Eliot lived when he wrote “The Wasteland.”
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Pack up your camera and prepare to photograph the magnificent Alps and indulge in some of the best chocolate as we travel north from Rome to the peaceful country of Switzerland.

Join us over the next two weeks as we take a trip on the Glacier Express, tour the Chocolate Academy of Zurich and pause to reflect at Europe’s largest lake, Lake Geneva.

Immerse yourself in the Swiss culture by learning the history behind the Bern flag, and by visiting Chateau de Chillon, one of Switzerland’s most famous landmarks.

Get ready to gaze at the majestic Matterhorn, as your Switzerland vacation is just beginning.

Rome is one of the most filmed cities on earth, with its signature set location being the Fontana di Trevi, or Trevi Fountain, a romantic, 85-foot-high baroque masterpiece depicting the god of the sea, Neptune, and his Tritons.

In the Hollywood classic Three Coins in a Fountain (1954), three American women toss coins into its picturesque waters and make wishes for love; soon afterwards, all three become involved in passionate romances, to the Oscar-winning title song immortalized by Frank Sinatra.

In the equally-iconic Roman Holiday (1953), a princess traveling incognito (Audrey Hepburn), slips into a hairdresser in front of the Trevi Fountain to get a more fashionable, short haircut, tailed by her freewheeling guide-for-the-day, Gregory Peck.  In a not-so-Hollywood ending, Hepburn must return to her official life as a princess in the final scene, which is shot near the fountain, in the Palazzo Colonnaa.

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If reading about the Eternal City has you fascinated, you may enjoy serving up an appetizing meal inspired by this region.

Try this delicious Italian entree recipe and bring the culinary diversity of Rome into your home.

CHICKEN WITH BLACK OLIVES - Yields 4 servings

One 3 lb chicken, cut into 8 pieces
1 t kosher salt
1/2 t freshly ground black pepper
2 T extra virgin olive oil
3/4 C white wine
3/4 C chicken broth
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 t minced fresh rosemary
2 t minced fresh oregano
2 t minced fresh thyme
1 C black olives, Gaeta, or nicoise, rinsed
1. Season chicken with half the salt & pepper. Heat oil in large skillet or Dutch oven. Brown chicken over high heat, skin side down, about 5 minutes.

2. When chicken is golden brown, turn it over, pour wine & chicken broth into pan, scatter garlic, herbs & olives over chicken; add remaining salt & pepper. Shake pan to distribute olives & herbs evenly. Reduce heat & braise chicken over medium-low heat, 25-30 minutes, basting with pan juices while cooking.

3. Heat broiler. When chicken is done, transfer it to an oven-proof platter & cook under broiler for 1-2 minutes to crisp skin. Raise heat under braising pan & simmer juices for 2 minutes to thicken. Spoon olives & juices over chicken & serve.

For more Italian recipes, visit http://www.globusjourneys.com/Burt-Wolf-Signature-Recipes/

Hollywood movies depict Imperial Rome as a city of gleaming marble and gold.  But by the first century AD, more than one million inhabitants were squeezed into the city – a density of population that would not be equaled until 19th century Manhattan.  Poor areas like the Subura district, only a stone’s throw from the Forum, were simply slums of crumbling tenements.  The alleys were no more than 10 feet wide – muddy arteries where walking was a diabolical obstacle course of mule dung, rotting vegetables and falling bricks.  Pedestrians had to dodge tradesmen hawking their wares, jugs of wine hanging overhead from tavern doors, the jabs of fellow pedestrians, even barbers shaving in the middle of the street.  No wonder Romans hung out at the Forum.

All over Rome today, inventive blends of ancient and modern architecture are bringing the public back into once-empty ruins.  The three-story Markets of Trajan, attached to Trajan’s Forum, are a prime example.  Created for the ancients as the world’s first shopping mall, they have been cleverly recast as a gallery for contemporary art.  Visitors peruse the maze of vaulted arcades with their tiny stalls and narrow shops, where vendors once hawked Arabian spices and pearls from Bahrein.  Roman shoppers could even buy fresh fish, kept in tanks full of salt water that was pumped 10 miles from the coast.  Today, the same halls delight the artistic senses with sleek modern sculpture, video installations and glamorous mannequins in the latest Italian designer fashions.

Continuing our post from Thursday, here are 6 more Roman hot spots to make your Rome, Italy vacation more memorable.

Full-Day Excursion to Pompeii

A scenic drive along the Highway of the Sun takes you past the famous Abbey of Montecassino and Naples for a guided visit of POMPEII, both destroyed and preserved by an eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.

Roman Highlights

A guided walking tour takes you to some of the most famous monuments. Admire the Spanish Steps, Via Condotti, Piazza Navona, Parliament, and Pantheon.

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Get off the beaten path on your Rome vacation with these must-see local sites.

The Terrace at Hotel Eden

Hollywood’s home in Rome is the Hotel Eden in via Ludovisi. Since it’s reopening in 1994, several of Tinsel Town’s “A-list” have stayed in its glorious surrounds. For drinks in the evening, the Terrace offers some best views in the city and, perchance, a star sighting or two.

Via dei Cestari

This street is the holy equivalent of Rodeo Drive. Often filled with nuns and priests window-shopping, it is an offbeat look into the clerical world you won’t find at the Vatican. It’s also the perfect place to stock up on nuns thermals, which we hear are perfect for skiing.

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If you were visiting Rome 2,000 years ago, you would have been awakened at dawn by the melodious bass of a copper gong resounding through the streets, announcing the opening of the thermae, or heated public baths.

To ancient Romans, their routine visits to the more than 1,000 bath houses in the city were one of life’s ultimate pleasures.  As one nobleman recorded on his tomb, “Wine, sex and the baths may destroy our bodies, but they make life worth living.” These thermae were far more than simple washhouses.

They were the Western world’s first full-service spas, combining the facilities of gymnasiums, massage parlors, restaurants and community centers.  In their beloved halls, citizens of all classes would loll by the pools with their friends, play ball games, drink wine, flirt and even enjoy elegant candle-lit dinners.  Like modern gyms today, Rome’s baths were unofficially graded: Some were chic, others déclassé.  Some were expensive, others cost only a copper.  Some, like the Baths of Caracalla and the Baths of Diocletian that can still be viewed in Rome today, were palatial structures, as large as cathedrals, decorated with multi-colored mosaics of Neptune and his dolphins.

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