Maui

After a very LONG day of flights (3 hours Geneva to Lisbon, 12 hours Lisbon to San Francisco, 5 + hours from SF to Maui)  we traded in our winter coats, hats, mitten and boots for swimsuits, shorts, and flipflops.  Yea!  We arrived Thursday evening and stayed two nights at the Marriott Beach Resort on Kaanapali Beach.  It was a beautiful place.

Beach on the resort

Our view from the cabana

Friday in the lawn chairs.

View from our room

When in Maui we love the Magic Show at Warren & Annabelles!

Hawaiian meal before the magic show

On Saturday we moved to our time share exchange - Kaanapali Beach Club just north of the Kaanapali Beach.  Our exchanges in Maui have never met our expectations.  It was large and clean but very dated, no oven or stovetop, and not much of a beautiful beach.  Oh well.

A monk seal sunning on our beach

Sunday - The Road to Hana
A must do when in Maui is to spend a whole day on the road to Hana!  We were on the outlook for lush green rain forests, curvy windy roads, one lane bridges, and of course WATERFALLS.  We were not disappointed!  The waterfalls were plentiful and flowing.

Nice pool at our resort

Hula Pie at our favorite Hawaiian restaurant:  Dukes

At the Maui Classic - halftime of the basketball games

Sunset

Last day on the beach

Switzerland

Three nights and two days in Geneva, Switzerland!  Don was appointed to be on the board of WABC (World Association of Basketball Coaches) and the headquarters is in Switzerland.  Don had two days of meetings and I had two days of sightseeing.  Don lined up a tour guide for me and we had two full days.

Our hotel

Don had two days of meetings at the WABC headquarters

Day 1:  Tours of two cities - Geneva and Lausanne

We took the train to Lausanne first, 41 miles northeast of Geneva on Lake Geneva.  Home of the Olympic Museum and the Cathedral of Notre Dame, Switzerland's largest church.

Geneva
The birthplace of Calvinism and the International Red Cross and the home to the European headquarters of the United Nations.  Geneva is on the west tip of Lake Leman (Lake Geneva)

Day 2:  A hired driver took Maria, my tour guide and I to a chocolate factory, a cheese factory, a medieval village with castle and to the far east side of Lake Geneva to Montreux with the Chateau de Chillon castle.  Fabulous Day!

Cailler - Chocolate factory

Off to the Cheese factory in Gruyeres.  It's more than its namesake cheese.  It's a charming village with beautiful views and Chateau de Gruyeres.

Gruyeres

Off to Montreux famed for the nearby lakeside Chateau de Chillon.  An awe inspiringly pictureque 12th century castle that rears out of the water. 

This area is called the Swiss Riviera.

perched on a rock in Lake Geneva

In Montreaux

Leaving Montreaux - vineyards on the mountain sides.