Now spending two days back on London with my parents was anything but boring but actually more fun than before, since when me and Sophie first went to London it was the end of the Jubilee and Buckingham was shut down and there were so many people! This time we decided to use the underground, which was surprisingly easy to use, instead of walking 10 plus kilometres a day. Went on a walking tour around Tower bridge and mom and dad went in the Tower of London. We also arrogantly attempted to do the British museum in 2 hours which is just impossible because there are so many great exhibits of ancient Rome, Greece, Assyria and Egypt. Dad and I also did the Churchill war rooms which were awesome, while Sophie and mom took a nap on the lawn in front of Westminster Abbey. After two days in London we woke up at 4:45am to catch the underground (which wasn't even open yet) to go to the international train station to catch the chunnel to Paris. Dad said it was "the only one available." When we arrived at the station the screen said that the security check in for the chunnel was being closed so we rushed to go through. When Sophie and I were travelling around the UK I really missed having a knife to cut cheese and bread and things, so I got my parents to bring one over when they came and of course you are not allowed a knife on the chunnel. So my whole bag had to be emptied and swiped for bomb making material, Mom almost ran up to lay on the tracks to hold the train for me! But I quickly repacked everything and jumped on the train before it left.
We arrived in Paris and I think Sophie was the only who actually liked the city. Dad didn't like it because people there don't speak English (I know, shocking). Mom didn't like it because a bunch of people tried to pickpocket us when we were trying to buy metro tickets and I didn't like it because it's dirty and generally smells of urine. And you can't blame people for going on the streets, I considered it myself because there are virtually no public washrooms in the city! But it wasn't really too bad once you got over those things, we did lots of walking around and did a river cruise. The highlight of Paris would definitely have to be the crepes. Banana and nutella, so delicious! We all went up the Eiiffel Tower and got to see the whole thing lit up and night which was awesome. The funniest part about Paris was in the same day we almost missed our chunnel train, mom jumped on a metro train just as the doors were closing and got her backpack stuck in the door. Then later when we were waiting for a train, it arrived and everyone got off, we all jumped on and then next thing you know the doors closed, the lights turned off and a frenchman was frantically indicating through hand signals that we should not be on the train. So we all start pounding on the doors to try and get off, luckily Sophie found and button to open the doors and we got off. I thought we were going to end up in some train depot or something haha!
After two days in Paris we headed to Interlaken, Switzerland for the last three days of mom and dads trip. Switzerland was fantastic and so beautiful. We stayed in a nice hostel that had an amazing view out towards the valley and a cascading waterfall. Our first full day in the valley we hiked over to Trummelbach falls which is a waterfall that has eroded through the mountain and you can climb though it and see it flowing through the mountain. It feeds off the snow of some of the largest mountains in Europe and you can feel the glacial cold coming off it as it flows by. When we returned to the hostel dad suddenly decided he wanted to do some paragliding! We had been trying to get him and mom to do it for their 30th anniversary, but mom wasn't convinced so I took her place instead. We booked it last minute for the same day and were picked up by one of pilots. They were both really funny and eased some of the nervous tension. We went up two gondolas to a hill and launched from there. The beginning was the worst part because your in the air and then suddenly your approaching this huge 1000m drop into the valley. A bit scary but really fun, we got to fly over the top of Trummelbach falls and see where water comes from, it was great. My pilot let me steer for a bit which was great and then did a few tricks where we dropped really quick. Dad kissed the ground after he landed but I was proud of him for even doing it in the first place.
The second day we took 3 gondolas and a train to the top of the Schilthorn which was incredible to see. Words can't describe the view so I won't bother trying. We had some tea in the revolving restaurant and then headed back down through the clouds to Murren which is still pretty high in the mountain. Mom and Dad walked in the footsteps of their hero Rick Steves and Sophie and I walked back down to the valley past a bunch of amazing waterfalls and met them back at the hostel. The next day we said goodbye to mom and dad as they headed back to North America. It was great seeing some familiar faces and doing some travelling with them! Now off to Germany for the weekend!
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