Jardin Botanique in Lausanne, Switzerland...

Cozzie and I were sleepy heads this morning and didn't get up until a little after 9 AM.  We headed for breakfast when we were ready and found a beautiful buffet of yummy food.  Mama and Papa joined us before we finished.

Papa took Cozzie with him as he rode the train to the parking place for the van.  They returned to load for the activities of the day around noon.  Soon Papa and Mama left for the day.  The show would be at 3:30 then there would be dinner for them plus they would probably take in some of the other groups performing here for the Cully Jazz Festival which is a week long event.

At the entrance of the Botannical Garden...

So Cozzie and I were on our own for the rest of the day.  First thing to factor in was a nap for my sleepy little guy.  He fell asleep easily and slept until 4 PM. 

While he napped, I decided to check some Lausanne maps, literature and do some on-line search to see what might be of interest within walking distance of the Alpha-Palmieres Hotel.  I narrowed it down to the Jardin Botanique or the Tour de Sauvabelin.  As we were ready to leave the hotel, I consulted a gal at the desk about my options.  She highly recommended the Botannical Gardens as she said it was a 5 minute walk from the hotel and the other place would require a bus ride to get there.  It was also threatening rain and perhaps I didn't want to go so far away.  She said there was a children's playground there so that's where we decided to head.  It would prove to be a good choice.

Not sure there'll be time tomorrow for a stop at the Tour de Sauvabelin so I may have to return on another trip to see this:

- in the middle of the wood, a 35 metres high wooden tower overlooking the city of Lausanne which invites you to enjoy a magnificent view of the Lake Leman, the Jura mountains and the Alps.

But since we had a very cool and heavily overcast day with sprinkles happening quite often, we were better off fairly close to our hotel home. 

Have my little fellow pretty bundled up for this outing...

Pushed him to the top of a fairly high hill and had nice panoramic views of Lausanne...

A little sad that the mountain views are hidden...

Found an amazing play place for children.  Started our time there on a horse with 2 little girls and their Papa...

Cozzie enjoyed the ride...

He really enjoyed this slide though it was fairly wet until he and some other children made some trips down...

This circular item has many climbing options.  The slide is behind Cozzie.

There's actually a better view of this play place in the background of the above photo showing Cozzie on the horse with the 2 little girls.

I heard about the use of an Archimedes Screw for a children's playground from a teacher in Kerrville, TX who got a grant to have one installed on an elementary school playground there.  This above installation dwarfs the Kerrville version but this is a wonderful way for children to play and learn physics at the same time.

Children and parents were playing with this today...

Elaborate item for children.

Money well spent in my opinion...

A Garden must have flowers but this one has a very special flower who appears to be holding a ball....

Even more beautiful on a chilly, gray day...

Hasn't God designed magnificent tulips?

Could the Flintstones have left something behind?

A little too advanced for Cozzie but other children were enjoying this contraption...

Several swing options...  He has a head; it's just down and covered by his hood.  Swings are a little new to him.

This was his favorite.  When I stopped pushing, I heard, "Again, Again..."

 After being in the chilly, drippy weather for over an hour, we decided to head back to the hotel - about 10 minutes at least to push a stroller and climb the steep hill to the hotel.  This place would keep a person in good shape.

We changed into dry clothes, read some stories, ordered food from the hotel restaurant for our room, had a bath and got into our jammies.  We've had a good day.

Talked with James late this afternoon for a few minutes and he said the show was fantastic - a really amazing performance, audience and setting.  He says Lausanne has lots of very interesting things happening here and people involved in them.  He's sorry I'm missing the excitement of the venue but I'm not so sure I'm sorry I'm missing it.  I'm pretty happy with my assignment.  How could there be anything more interesting or exciting than building a relationship with a Grandchild with whom God has blessed me?  I'm content.

We'll leave here at noon tomorrow and head to the last place for a show on this tour.  Our together time for this trip is drawing to a close.  And going home will also be sweet.