We boarded a train the following morning, fortunately we were traveling very light, just backpacks and small carry-on luggage. On our way to the train we noticed a s
mall cemetery; a resting place for people that had met their fate while climbing the Matterhorn. Many of the grave markers were personalized with climbing gear, boots, ropes, and ice hatchets, giving the cemetery an especially thoughtful ambiance. They went back as far as the 1930’s, 40’s, and 50’s. Zermatt remains car free to this day. For a reasonable fee we were escorted to the train station by a horse drawn carriage...the train ride was approximately three to four hours long, and quite a nice experience.
Arriving in Lugano was amazing, the weather was sunny with temperatures around 70 degrees. It was so interesting to see palm trees in Switzerland. We checked in to our hotel where we would spend the next couple of days. Of course, as soon as we left the hotel we were on the hunt for a reasonable place to eat. Switzerland was expensive, and it seemed that fewer people spoke English, mostly Swiss and Italian. We were going to splurge and find a restaurant by the lake and enjoy a real meal. We had been eating at food carts where we could see the food and point to exactly what we wanted, which often turned out to be some sort of sausage on a bun. At first that was great, however we were in the mood for a meal, like steak with some sort of vegetables, a real meal! 
The restaurant we chose was not fancy but very nice. We were seated at a table with a partial view of Lake Lugano. The waiter was polite and professional and spoke no English. As we scanned the menu looking for something we recognized, it was difficult as everything was in Italian. We both spotted the word "steak", which was what we were most interested in...we overlooked the word "tartare", assuming it was a type of marinade or flavoring. As we munched on some very delightful bread with butter, looking so forward to our steak dinner, our appetites were increasing by the minute. As the waiter presented our steak "tartare" we both were completely stunned, and not to mention disappointed. I could see by the look on my friends face she was mortified. We promptly discussed the situation, requesting her steak be cooked and in my best “world traveler persona” I muscled through the meal as it was. Her steak arrived back adequately cooked. I continue to this day to enjoy an occasional steak tartare as an appetizer with French fries.
After our meal that afternoon we went back to pointing at food carts, which in retrospect was always very satisfying and added a special charm to the trip, at least I thought so. From Lugano, which is a beautiful city, we flew to Paris to face new challenges; the most obvious would be the language (with a bit of attitude). I can appreciate the frustration of the Parisian service industry trying to communicate with people from all over the world that do not speak French. French is a beautiful language when spoken correctly, and is otherwise quite unforgiving. The reception of an uneducated effort to speak the language has always struck me as less tolerable in Paris. We checked into a small charming hotel on the left bank. After a very short rest, we agreed that our curiousty was beyond control. We left the hotel... map in hand, before long “surprise” the Eiffel Tower. Not seeing Paris from the Eiffel Tower was unacceptable; It was an amazing view!