I didn't have to go far from Neuchatel to get to my next city-La Chaux-de-Fonds. I just took the road Rue de l'Ecluse/ Route 10. When I arrived, the city was bustling! It's the third largest city after Geneva and Laussane. Both of which I've been to! I had to remember to stop by my hotel, the Grand Hotel Les Endroits because I was just raring to get going! And I hadn't even had my coffee yet! I had to stop and admire how beautiful and green everything looked outside my hotel. I was definitely in mountain territory! I learned that it's Switzerland's highest lying city. No wonder it was hard to catch my breath as I was carrying my luggage in (actually I just had the bell boy do that). I'm staking half the blame on the pastries I've been eating. And then I grabbed a chocolate au pain from inside the cafe in the hotel along with my latte and had no more thoughts about my horrible diet for the rest of the day.
My first stop of the day was at the famous Musee International d'Horlogerie which translates to The International Museum of Watchmaking. La Chaux de Fonds was actually the watch making capital of the world for over one hundred years! And I'll tell you what, I had never seen so many watches in my life! It has over 4500 exhibits with 2700 watches and 700 wall clocks! I ended up taking a gazillion pictures and got a nice one of me next to a nice looking watch to send to my boyfriend. He loves watches and collects them, so I can't wait to tell him where I was! Here is a picture of my favorite one of the bunch. The pendulum!
My next stop was a huge tourist trap, but I didn't care! For one, it had a cafe on top which just fueled my addiction even more, and second it had an amazing view of the city. I'm talking about the Espacite Tower! It's 174ft high, and you can either take the elevator up, or walk up the glass staircase! So I definitely took the staircase and pressed my face up against the windows all the way up just staring at the city. I left my mark. When I got up to the top floor, I had another latte but this time I enjoyed a nice salad for lunch because I was feeling healthy for walking up the stairs and then admired the view from the fourteenth floor. Here is the view!
My last stop of the day was the Bois du Petit-Chateau which was possibly the prettiest park I've ever been to! It is home to over 600 animals! There's also a 30,000 sq meter wooded area, and a vivarium for other species as well. And it was free! What more could I have asked for? Here's a lovely picture! Can you tell I've been picture happy today?
I was so beat when I got back to my hotel! I had room service deliver me a glass of wine and the I went and drew myself a nice bubble bath. This is the life.
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