Tim and Sal's Global Odyssey: A guest post....through the eyes of Sal

We met Tom in Gryon, Switzerland at Chalet Martin - the gorgeous hostel we stayed in for 4 nights. Such a genuine dude from California and we hit it off instantly....so much so, we ended up making room for him in our car to give him a hitch to Italy. I happened to tell him I was a bit behind in our blog writing and jokingly said "can you write me a blog post Tom?" And so he did! And it's a good one! Thanks Tom! :-)

Here it is:

Friday night we crashed landed in the eclectic mountain town of Gyron. Our Tom-Tom didn't fail us, but it was no match for the unexpected road construction, luckily Tim remembered how to use a map and guided us to our hostel, Chalet-Martin. The warmth of the hostel matched warm tones of the interior oak, and the people follow suit. Its more communally orientated than most places; instead of the awkward, "I needed that pot..." while cooking, you'll get, "Please join our meal!" Don't exactly expect free meals, should you visit, but you'll probably get a free beer upon arrival. The first night, standing from the deck we peered into the darkness catches the jagged silhouettes that hover above the valley floor like crag guardians. The stars were speckled above us, but illuminations from the valley town below were a spectacles of themselves as they attempted to mimic the milky way. We knew we had arrived in another glorious location, and the smiling faces of fellow travelers confirmed it.

Gyron is a small, french speaking, Swiss paradise, surrounded by an arena of rocky splendor and lush green decor. It is no doubt a tourism-fueled location, but the residents seem to have accepted it, respect it, and be-friend the idea. It is still one of the few places where hitch-hiking is safe, and actually received!

Every night we delighted in some delectable foods, and even more palatable company. After filling your day with our various activities, the pinnacle physically and emotionally being the peak we hiked to one afternoon, you were able to lay the sweet caramel topping of community at night. There were a number of ping-pong matches that took place, some fire side chatting, and we even watched a favorite Aussie classic, "The Castle." There were many surrounding activities promoted for the mild to extreme adrenaline fiends, but we remained in our meek interests, and reveled in our own amiable character. We no doubt picked an excellent spot to soak up enticing views, but we remained unenticed but nothing but each other and company. Time managed to pull off a few ping-pong games, humbling winning and loosing, and I managed to again try my cooking and gift of sharing.

We had a few glitches with the car's brakes, but its not too much to worry about since it is budgeted for. On our journey we managed to pick up some lively cargo (we are giving our new found friend Tom a ride to Milan) and continue to share the good glory of God with our new neighbor. Overall, the Chalet Martin was a wonderful landing pad and launching point for our next destination, LAKE COMO!!!!