Ruins, Gargoyles, and Crazy Costumes, Oh My!

What beautiful weather we had today; nothing better than to take a day trip to Avenches and Morat, two picturesque cities about an hour away from Geneva. Avenches was first on our stop, and there, in the middle of the town, was a Roman amphitheater that they still use today for concerts and the like. The kids had a great time going up and down the steps of the seating area and finally made their way down to the center arena where Troy proceeded to put his fingers on the top of his head and run like a bull, full force towards me. I haven't laughed so much in a long time. The kids also posed like gargoyles on some of the ruins; was it reminiscent of visiting Notre Dame a couple of weeks ago?

A short drive away were the ruins of a temple and a Roman theater. Quite impressive with the size of it all. Once the Roman Museum opened up in the afternoon, we went in and saw many of the artifacts they discovered at the different ruins in the city. My favorite were the mosaics that they had displayed; it's absolutely amazing that such craftsmanship was done such a long time ago!

The day was also filled with a trip to Morat where we tried to do a walking tour of the old town, but we couldn't find our way around with the directions in Rick Steves' book on Switzerland. We passed by a giant chess board and Troy couldn't resist moving the pieces around; he begged to play a game, but grandpa and I knew it would take to long (plus, I don't know how to play the game.)There were a lot of people dressed up in crazy costumes, some in bands, others just walking around. They were getting ready for Nachtsfest, a celebration like Mardi Gras. It looked like fun, but we were getting tired and decided to head back home for a little relaxation.