ANDY’S SWISS TRAVEL 21

Katherine our tour guide for the day knocked on my door and I literary fell off my bed. I woke up on time but since the laundry dryers, as usual, have technical difficulty, I had to waste 20 minutes of my morning hanging up my damped clothes all over my door room. It didn’t help that I woke up with allergies and had to deal with laundry so early in the morning. After my bizarre first 30 minutes this morning I got it together and made it to breakfast. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to finish eating my breakfast because of some personal issues I had at the breakfast table this morning.

We all met up at 7:29am and departed for Lugano, as I predicted last night on the way Bellinzona it was raining so hard the bus driver could barely see out his windows. We arrived at Bellinzona at 9:53am which gave us only 1 minute to transfer to the train station. Over the weekend I had become familiar with Bellinzonas transit therefore I decided to lead the group. I immediately jumped off the bus and stopped traffic to make sure Dr. Garely and Prof. Blake-Neis made it across the street safely. Some of the students were lagging behind – that’s when I decided to shout out (We are all New Yorkers pick up your pace now). It seems like everyone got the hint because everyone started running faster. It looked like a James Bond movie all of us running under an immense amount of rain; I must admit it was a good 60 seconds.

Upon arrival at Lugano visibility was low along with the heavy rain. We took a bus heading towards the Grand Hotel Eden. We weren’t able to take the bus all the way to the hotel; we had to walk 10minutes under heavy rain to reach the hotel. Upon entry at the Grand Hotel Eden Mr. Maurizio Lieto (assistant front desk manager) greeted us and us put our back packs and wet clothes in a closet. My first impression of this hotel was great; it looked like a jungle (animal print seats and plants all over the place). As I walked through the first floor I was floored by the Italian theme the hotel had going on. The hotel features 117 gracious rooms and suites fitted with all comforts (8suites, 7junior suites, 48 deluxe rooms and 54 superior rooms). Dining at Eden hotel is top of the line, the hotels award winning restaurant features contemporary Italian cuisine in an elegant setting, offering spectacular views of the lake and mountains. I was impressed the most by the wellness centre which offers an indoor heated pool and space dedicated to fitness, beauty and general well being, such as Jacuzzi, massage area, sauna, hammam and relaxation area. During the summer guests can spend a day of complete relaxation, sunbathing or diving in the lake. The bathrooms were crispy clean with plenty of amenities and each bathroom also includes a bidet. Eden hotels most profitable time a year is during the summer time.

We had lunch (bread, ham, cheese and juice) in the train station because once again our day was cut short due to bad weather conditions. I slept through the train ride and bus ride home because I wasn’t feeling good (allergies and sinus). Dinner time came by quickly and we had curry chicken, fiesta styled rice and raspberry sorbet with a coconut cookie. I enjoyed my dinner so much – it was too bad there wasn’t chicken left for me the second time around.

Thanks Katherine for being such a star today, she performed fabulously as our tour guide. I hope tomorrow it doesn’t rain again, I am tired of all this bad weather I need to see some sunshine.