After my stay in Geneva and my great visit to the Montreux Jazz Festival, it was time to move on. I took a beatiful train journey through Switzerland to Zurich, where I changed trains for the the Cisalpino high speed line through the Swiss Alps to a small town called Bellinzona in the Swiss-Italian canton of Ticino.
This area has to be one of the most beautiful regions in the world and appears in many films where the scenery often looks like it has been inserted with CGI…there´s no way it could be real…
Bellinzona is a small town close to the larger towns/cities of Lugano and Locarno, both on beautiful lakes. The town is nestled in a valley with three large castles strung across the narowest part. It´s quite a climb to reach the highest one, especially in 30 deg heat but well worth it for the views.

My three days in Geneva have come to an end and it was a great place to start my trip. I know the city back to front so while I did take the time to wander round the lake front and through the Old Town, my stay was more about meeting up with old friends.
I spent a very chilled evening on Geneve Plage and yesterday managed to drop in to the Montreux Jazz Festival. I’ve been before and if anything it has improved. For starters, you can’t get a much better location; palm tree lined shores of Lac Leman, mountains towering round on all sides and the entire lakefront transformed into foor stalls, boutiques and music stages.
The beauty of the Festival is that the majority of the acts are free to watch and only bigger names require tickets. Should you wish, you can see this year everyone from 30 Seconds to Mars and The Ting Tings to Lenny Kravitz and Sheryl Crow!
Anyway, I took along a group of fellow backpackers and we spent the day watching the likes of the Oxford Uni Big Band.
Needless to say, pictures and videos will be up on Flickr when I get the chance!
Right, next train to catch, this time to the stunning Bellinzona in the Swiss-Italian canton of Ticino.

The first leg of my trip is almost over. I was on the 09:26 Eurostar from shiny St Pancras to Gare du Nord and happily arrived early…to be greeted by muggy wet conditions. Ah well, I had not planned on spending any time in Paris this time as I’m saving it for a weekend break in the Autumn. Anyway, I made my way to Gare de Lyon and sat around reading and people watching all afternoon…trying to get rid of my poorly-timed man flu!
I’m writing this from a rather busy TGV train to Geneva and according to my GPS we’re travelling at around 160mph…not sure about its accuracy but we certainly seem to be moving fast.
Right, back to playing Scrabble in French with some random fellow passengers!

Update: The TGV broke down last night. Something about lightning hitting the points, which I thought was a purely English excuse. Anyway, arrived into Geneva Cornavin about 23.15 and checked in to the Youth Hostel at 23.30.