BMCC 2008 Switzerland Blog

Monday, June 16, 2008

(Day 19: Tour Guide – Katherine Munoz)

Lugano and Grand Hotel Eden – Itinerary

6:00 am: Wake Up Call

7 – 7:20 am: Breakfast (Please bring everything you need for the trip downstairs. There will be no time to go back up)

7:29 am: Departing to Chur (By bus from Passugg)

7:42 am: Arriving at Chur bus station, change into Lane 3

8:10 am: Departing to Lugano (by bus from Chur)

9:50 am: Arrive at Bellinzona Stazione

9:54 am: Bellinzona to Lugano (by train Platform 2)

10:19 am: Arrive in Lugano

10:23 am: Bus number 2 departs to Grand Hotel Eden

11:00 am: Meet with Mr. Maurizio Lieto (He will escort us during the hotel visit)

Subject too Change due to weather:

Option 1:

• 12:30 pm: Lunch at a local park in Lugano
• 1:00 pm: Tourism office located downtown in city center
• 1:35 pm: Arrive at Lugano train station for 1:55pm train

Option 2:

• 12:30pm: Return to Lugano train station to have lunch and wait for 1:55pm train

1:55 pm: Depart from Lugano to Bellinzona (by train Platform 3)

2:30 pm: Depart Bellinzona to Chur (by bus)

4:44 pm: Arrive in Chur

5:05 pm: Bus departs to SSTH

6:00 pm: Dinner at SSTH

Lessons Learned

1. Weather impacts and alternates your plans.

2. Have a back up plan and schedules of earlier and later transportations.

3. Remaining calm and patient when things go awry is the best solution because it allows you to keep your group calm and results in a better outcome.

4. Learning from your mistakes help you to improve your future itinerary.

What a “Wet” Morning…
Written by: Shevarma Pemberton

Waking up this morning turned out to be even more challenging than every other time due to the weather conditions. Today was going to be a wet one. On days like this I would prefer to stay under covers but we were instead going to spend it battling the elements.
Today’s tour guide was Katherine and I do not even remember her wake up call because I was really out of it. It really is not bad when you have a roommate to help get you through the day because if it was not for Sasha I think I would definitely have been late.

Breakfast was at the usual time and the menu was the same as always. We hurriedly gulped down our food and were outside in time to catch the 7:29 bus as is also the customary thing to do. This would be among our final tours and so by now the norm had pretty much already been established. Today was unique in a sense however, because this time the majority of the trip would be spent on buses rather than trains and then there was also the bad weather thrown in to make things more complicated.

The Express-Bus

At the Chur station we changed our reservations to get the express bus to Bellinzona and then we were on our way. We were all pretty much wiped out by this point and I doubt that there was anyone of us on the bus that had not slept even if only for a little while. And we had plenty of time to dose off on the 1 hr 47 min bus ride anyway.

Stopping Traffic – New Yorker Style!

Upon Arrival in Bellinzona we had no time to waste and it was a quick dash to catch the connecting train into Lugano. Thanks to Andy who got us all running in the rain for the train – we made connections. It was definitely a good way to wake us up from our sleepy states.

The train ride was much shorter than the bus, a mere 25 minutes. We were out in time and once again on another bus to get us to the Grand Hotel Eden, our inspection site of the day. The hotel was a little walk away from the station so there was no way to avoid getting wet today. It was really pouring.

All the hassle and rain that we endured to get to the hotel was definitely worth it. This was by far my favorite hotel out of them all. The best was left for last. We were early as usual and took advantage of the excess time to have a bathroom break.

Grand Hotel Eden

We were met by our tour guide for the hotel, Mr. Maurizio Lieto, the Assistant Manager and after our luggage was stored we began the tour. I had been taken from my first impression of the hotel. It is heavily Italian from its decor right down to its location in an Italian city (in Switzerland).

Unlike some of the hotels that we visited whose business revolves around the winter season, the Hotel Eden’s peak period is actually around these times (May – September). People generally come to Lugano itself because of the lake, casino and shopping, all of which are in no way associated with snow.

What I found really interesting about the hotel is the fact that it is actually two hotels joined by an underground tunnel. The older of the buildings contains all the standard rooms and the second is where all the suites and everything else in the hotel are housed (the main building).

The rooms are to die for with the Italian furniture, all the amenities in the bathrooms (robes, slippers and the regular soaps and shampoos), and then the splendid view of the lake. The color coordination throughout the hotel is a dream and the expensive fabric on the walls is exquisite.

The spa in the hotel is lovely. The pool is heated and 6.5 feet deep, ideal for a nice afternoon of relaxation. Everything about this hotel appealed to me. I really have reason now to return to Switzerland. We thanked Mr. Lieto for the delightful experience and then headed back the way we came.

Local Bus back to Chur

Back on the bus we were once again presented with an opportunity to sleep. Upon arrival at Chur we simply had to make a track switch and then we were on the next bus up to SSTH. Katherine had made it through her tour day and had managed to do an excellent job despite all that she had working against her.

Dinner was scheduled for 6 PM and on the menu for today was an appetizer of fish soup, an entree of chicken in curry sauce with rice and mixed vegetables and strawberry ice-cream with a peanut butter cookie for dessert. The meal was wonderful and the service divine as has become the custom. By this time the stagiaires had become quite acquainted with us and so some of the nerves that might have otherwise been associated with having to serve us everyday were alleviated.

The countdown was now on for the end of the trip. I think that by now we were all just about ready to return to New York. I was going to make sure that I savored as much of the Swiss bliss that I could before my departure.