Some stupid with a flare gun burned the place to the ground

It was warmer than it looks, but the wind off the lake was cold

Montreux (week 35)

Like the casinos in Vegas, the Montreux Casino has a long history of hosting concerts by top musical acts.  It also has traditionally set aside space for a recording studio.  In December of 1971, during a Frank Zappa concert, a fan shot off a flare gun that eventually engulfed the entire casino in a fire.  Deep Purple were planning to use the recording studio the next day, and as they watched their plans go up in smoke with the casino, they penned the lyrics for "Smoke on the Water".

The casino and the studio were rebuilt, and when Queen arrived in 1978 to record their album "Jazz", they decided they liked the studio so much that they bought it.  The old studio space is now a small interactive museum dedicated to the band, including costumes, Roger Taylor's drums from Live Aid, and a mixing studio where you can take the individual element tracks and remix songs from their "Made in Heaven" album.

We toured the museum and also walked along the waterfront, which has beautiful vistas of the Alps over Lake Geneva.  Swans and mallards swim in the lake, hummingbirds feed at the numerous (and currently blooming) flower beds, and Freddie Mercury's statue presides over the waterfront square just down from the casino (if you're looking for the statue, it's right next to the McDonald's, which isn't the classiest description, but your GPS will be able to find it!).