Switzerland, etc

Hello friends,
It's been a while since I updated you with my happenings.
Last weekend I met Peter in Southern Switzerland. It's the Italian-speaking region of Switzerland, only about 1.5 hours by train from Milan.
We met in Lugano, a lovely city on a lake. The lake was beautiful--it almost looked like a series of fjords, with mountains jutting out of the water.
Saturday we were lucky enough to have beautiful weather (which I'm told is rare in Switzerland) and we went hiking in the foothills of the Alps. It wasn't clear enough to see the really big mountains, but we had good views just the same. The hike was lovely and it was nice just to be outside without many people around in the woods. We had a really nice lunch in an old town on the side of the mountain. It was very medieval looking--the buildings were made of stone and the streets were windy. It reminded me of Nepal a little, actually.
Sunday we went to Bellinzona, only about a half hour away by train, to see 3 medieval castles that used to protect the mountain pass in the area. It sounds like that area was fought over regularly. The castles were really, really cool. And we had an amazing lunch in the castle--polenta, gnocchi, wine, salami and cheese, etc! It was delicious. The company wasn't bad, either.
The whole weekend would have been absolutely perfect, except there was a strike in Italy on some of the train routes (at least that's what they told us). So, I had the displeasure of eventually making it to Milan from Lugano, but having missed the last high-speed train to Rome. I had to take an overnight train from Milan that didn't leave till 11:30. Then, I had to persistently bother people until they let me sleep in a bed on the night train rather than sending me back to sleep in the seats in the back part of the train. I was so upset-I was trying to explain that the fact that I missed my train was not my fault, I paid for an expensive seat on a high speed train, etc. It took some time, but eventually they let me pay the 7€ difference to use a bunk. Thank goodness.
I arrived in rome yesterday morning at 7:15. I went home, showered and went to work. I was so tired and I seem to have picked up a cold, which is unpleasant. I slept for 12 hours straight last night! I hope to do the same again tonight.
I'm sorry I haven't posted any photos yet. I'm having some trouble finding a place that will do it quickly. it doesn't seem right to do it at work and the internet place by my house won't let me download the program I need to upload lots of photos at once.
Hugs!
Lauren