El Viaje es el Destino

Thanksgiving was amazing!! I was soo impressed! I am so excited about how it all turned out. It definitely exceeded my expectations of Thanksgiving in Spain. So, Camille and I had been talking about doing our own Thanksgiving but towards the last minute we decided to join in with the other Americans in our circle of friends. I am so happy we did! Camille and I were in charge of desserts. We made a whole day of it. We went to the “Taste of America” store and bought all the necessities. We made a pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin pie, an apple pie, and chocolate cake. While cooking, we enjoyed a box of some good ol’ American mac n’ cheese and we had the Macy’s Day Parade playing in the background. It was perfect.

Everyone turned out delicious. I was especially proud of the apple pie. I had never made one before and it turned out awesome. Also, for the chocolate cake, I made a turkey design with the icing. It was really cute!

When we arrived to the Americans’ apartment, I was very impressed to see appetizers laid out on the table. This was legit! And, football was streaming live on the computer…a perfect way to set the Thanksgiving ambiance!

All of us were American except for our two German friends (Florian and Matthias) who wanted to get the American experience! Funny story…so, one of the Americans gave a small list of things to pick up from the grocery store to Matthias. One of the things was cranberry sauce. Matthias came back with cranberry juice! It was really cute! Obviously he didn’t know what the real deal was and just got that. No one told him.

Dinner was outstanding. Kevin cooked and sliced the turkey. You could tell he was proud! We had everything! And, there was so much! I cannot describe how happy I was about this night! Everyone actually took it very seriously, which was something I was worried about since we had such a good group. But, it couldn’t have been more perfect. All of the food was incredible! Florian and Matthias were impressed too.

GOD BLESS THE USA!

Denmark was very nice. It was probably the most “normal” place (or, familiar seeming) I have been so far. I went with Camille, Tori, Soojin, and Chi. But, Tori hung out with her Danish boyfriend the majority of the time, Soojin and Chi were a pair and Camille and I went our own way. The weather was pretty cloudy the whole time but it added to it’s charm!

One thing that I loved about Copenhagen was all of the bikers! Bikes were everywhere! It was cold during the time we were there but I could imagine it in the summer with all of the people pedaling around! Very quaint. However, even in the frigid temperatures, people were scooting around on their bikes.

Camille and I stayed with some awesome couch surfers there. They were soo nice and even made us food a few times!! Plus the guy gave us his bed. It was great.

Copenhagen had these amazing hotdog stands that sold hotdogs in a form similar to those of the “Puka Dogs” in Hawaii. The bun was more like a roll with a hollow part in the middle that the person would stick the hotdog in. They were delish! Camille and I made many visits!

The city was very cute. It’s on the water, and one of the streets was particularly famous and is usually seen on postcards. The buildings were very colorful. We also saw the statue of the Little Mermaid that was inspired and based on the novel! So, for me, being the Disney fanatic that I am, it was very exciting!

On Saturday, we did a full day bus tour that went north of Copenhagen where we caught a ferry into Sweden, stopped at few towns in Sweden, and took another ferry back into Copenhagen.

As we took our first ferry, on the coast somewhere in Denmark, we passed by the castle that was supposedly Shakespeare’s inspiration and setting of his play, Hamlet. So, I’m just going to believe that is true and go with it! Pretty neat!

The people of Sweden (Denmark too) were all very nice. At first when I walked into a café in Sweden, the girl at the counted greeted us with what sounded like “Hey! Hey!”. At first I just thought that this one girl was full of enthusiasm or having a good day or something. But, after about the third place we walked into and were greeted all the same, I came to realize this was how they said hello in Swedish. I found it pretty amusing.

Swedish meatballs. Of course I had to buy them!! But, it was a little disappointing because apparently meatballs are not some specialty in Sweden. But, I bought and ate some anyway. At a restaurant for lunch I ordered moose! It was delish.

After we got back from Sweden, Camille and I went and saw the new “Twilight” movie!! Yes, ok, embarrassing, but it was a lot of fun! And, it was just super exciting in general to go to a movie theater for the first time since going to Europa! Denmark (and the majority of Europe in general) has a lot of “Kebob” places to eat. We went to one and got this interesting looking pizza that Tori told us we had to get that resembled more of salad toppings than your typical marinara and cheese. It was good though.

PARIS….the city of love! And who not better to share it with than my partner in crime, Sarah!! The Paris trip had a bit of a ruff start. I was left wandering the streets of Paris all by lonesome for almost 2 days after Sarah denied boarding onto her plane because of her food poisoning. So, after that sad bit of news, I thought I was going to be stuck in Paris for 5 days alone.

The first 2 days were definitely an experience, but not something I’d like to do again. Traveling alone, it’s not for me! I was seeing all these great things with no one to share it with. It was depressing! My first night I randomly met two girls from Ecuador when they asked me to take their picture in front of the Pyramid at the Louvre. I ended up walking around with them the rest of the night. On the second day, I joined in on a free group tour which was actually very interesting, and I learned some interesting things. Assuming that Sarah was never going to join me, I ended up climbing the Eiffel Tower all by myself. But, while waiting in line, I chatted it up with a family from Idaho which made me feel more at home and I met some boy on top of the tower that was my age. So, I guess it wasn’t too bad. Its just that, Paris is the city of love. It’s one thing to be alone in some random city. But Paris, the place that you are supposed to visit with at least some sort of companion…well, being alone is just not allowed. So, you could imagine my excitement when I walked into the front door of the place I was sitting and there was Sarah!!!

We had to make up for lost time so our time together was nothing short of busy. We saw the Notre Dame, saw the Moulin Rouge and “pigalle” area (the “raunchy “ part of the city..interesting), the Louvre, Versailles Palace, the Eiffel Tower and more. The Eiffel tower was beauteous! And, watching it illuminate at night every hour was mesmerizing! I even took my madre’s t-shirt that she bought in Paris years ago and took a picture in front of the Eiffel tower wearing it.

The Mona Lisa was neat to see. It was pretty tiny, but still cool that we were right there, in front of the real thing. We also got to see the Code of Hammurabi and Aphrodite.

The food was amazinggg. It was such a nice change from the food in Madrid. Every we had was delicious. Of course there were crepes. I had mine with Nutella, the popular out here. Croissants, French fries, French onion soup…all of the cliché things!

When Sarah and I went to Versailles and were waiting in line, a group of Asian boys (who didn’t speak English) asked us to take pictures with them! I think they thought we were French. After all, we were wearing berets!

One day, we rented bikes for 1.50 Euro and touring around the city. It was great! And, it was such a better way to see the city than traveling underground in a smelly metro.

On our last day, I took Sarah to this bridge that I had learned about on my walking tour. The bars on the sides of the bridge were covered with locks. The story is that you and your significant other write your names and the date on the lock, attach it to one of the bars, and simultaneously throw the keys into the river below. This must be done with a lock that requires keys because throwing the keys away represents the “eternity of your bond” haha. No combination locks are allowed so that you cant go back later and take it off! So, of course Sarah and I had to do it to represent our unbreakable friendship!

Hmm, what else..I guess dats it! It was one of my favorite trips!..not that I haven’t enjoyed every single one!

Not gonna lie, it wasn’t my favorite Halloween. Europe just doesn’t do it the same over here! First of all, they just don’t get as into it as we do here. It is still a new thing to Spain and majority of people don’t even celebrate it, so that’s kind of boring! Second, of the people who do celebrate it, it is more about the “scariness” of the costume. Which, ok, I guess that is how it all originally started. But, I like to get creative with my costumes, you know! But, this year, Halloween was basically a fail. Because of my lack of inspiration, I wasn’t very motivated. I ended up be an “Indian” with Charlotte and Anda. It was still a lot of fun, but nothing compares to the good ol’ US of A.

Portugal was gorgeous. This trip was more relaxing because for once I didn’t stress about planning where to visit, what to eat, etc. The group European Vibe took one bus full of students. But, it was by far the most uncomfortable bus I’ve ever been on. My tall German friend, Florian, had to lay on the floor under the seats basically the entire time because he couldn’t fit in the seat! This trip was especially a lot of fun because I knew a lot of the people on it.

We first arrived in Lagos on Friday morning. The hotel was extremely nice, and HUGE! It was pretty awesome. But, of course we didn’t spend much time there. We immediately left to head into the town and grab some breakfast. I was excited to order a milkshake (just because they offered them) but when it came out it was basically just chocolate milk…not frozen at all. Wtf? Talk about disappointment! Lagos was a cute town. The majority of the buildings/houses were white and gave you that tropical vibe.

After breakfast, the group leaders that we were with set us up to go on a “booze cruise”! It was amazing. Sure, it was basically just a drinking fest but it was very beautiful as well. They sailed us along the coast of Portugal where we had some great views of cliffs and caves. It was incredible. And, since I had a huge group of friends that went on this trip, it made it that much merrier. Then, after about an hour of shoving sangria and beer down our throats, they suggested we jump off the side of the boat into the ocean…no lifejackets, no ropes. Throwing a bunch of drunk college students into the ocean…dangerous much!? Ha but of course we were all for it! And, indeed I consider myself an excellent swimmer so I went for it! Some of the other people though….it probably wasn’t the best idea! Still, all made it out alive.

After the booze cruise a few friends and I went down to the beach to play in the ocean and catch some rays. Sarah, Camille and I decided to climb a huge rock in the middle of the water. Well, it was more like a conglomerate of just sharp seashells and sand. We made it to the top but were left with scrapes and bruises all along our arms and legs.

That night, we went to a bar for a bit to socialize but Sarah and I went back to the hotel early to rest up for the next day’s activities.

When I woke up the next morning, the bottom of my right foot was on FIRE. I could put absolutely no pressure on it. It felt like a round rock was implanted into my skin. Conclusion: I must have cut the bottom of my foot from “rock” climbing the day before, didn’t realize, sand got wedged into it…infection. It only looked like a scratch but after future Dr. Camille took a look at it and pointed out the deep red and yellow that was surrounding it, she decided it was a problem. So, I endured the whole rest of the day limping around trying not to put any pressure on the bottom…which was very hard considering the terrain we walked on that day was compacted with hills and uneven cobblestone. Not fun.

But, the rest of the journey and sights did compensate for my excruciating pain. After breakfast we got back on the bus and made our way to Lisbon. They dumped us off at the city center and we toured around multiple landmarks including a few castles, monuments, overlooks, etc. It was a beautiful city but a few of us agreed that it would have been so much nicer if they had kept the city cleaner and had maintained it better. But, I suppose that was part of it’s charm as well. For dinner my group of friends and I went to a restaurant all together. The waiters loved us! At the end, they even gave us all free shots. It was great!

That night we went into the town and ended up in the middle of some very narrow roads bar hopping. The streets were PACKED with people. Looking back I was in a pretty crummy mood because of my foot. But, it would have been a blast if I would have been more mobile!

Portugal is a trip I will never forget. Every time I hear the some Danza Kuduro, it will forever remind me of Portugal! ☺/☹

I got the lovely surprise just one week ahead that Sarah was going to come visit me!! Our reunion was epic! After going over 5 months (with the exception of one day) without seeing each other, it was quite the celebration. It was sooo good to see her. I was comforting…having someone there in Madrid with me, because everything/everyone was still pretty foreign to me.

Our first day was spent walking around and sightseeing. We ate dinner at Plaza Mayor. That night, we loaded up on the ice cream and watched Vampire Diaries! This was our night of “catching up” and to spend our time as if we were in good ol’ ‘merica! It was exactly what I needed!

The next morning we walked around some more and made our way over to Parque Retiro. It was a beautiful day and the weather was nice and warm. We rented one of the little boats together and paddled around the lake in front of the Palace. It was very romantic! There was even a saxophone player serenading us in the distance. After my class, we started our night off in Puerta del Sol and went bar hopping. It was pretty fun. We ended up meeting some Russian kid our age and hanging out with him the rest of the night. Just so that Sarah could have the experience, we stayed up until 6am and went to the churros place. They were delish.

The next day, Sarah came to my International Marketing class with me where we spent the time eating snacks and playing Hangman…very studious on my part! She liked my French friend, Sebastian, who we were getting to say words in his French accent because they just sounded better. That night we went to Orange Café and later the club Pacha. At Orange, we got ourselves in on a game of beer pong. It was my first time playing it (and seeing it) since being in Spain. Only with Sarah. Orange was alright, but then we made our way over to Pacha where things got interesting ☺. Long story short, we met some random Nicaraguan guys who gave us free drinks, I sat on and crushed a glass (my leg got pretty cut!), and at one point we got on the stage with other friends and danced the night away.

Thursday we headed over to the Palacio Real and went inside the Cathedral. I had never been inside the Cathedral and it was quite beauteous! For dinner we dressed up and went to La Barraca, a really good place to get paella that I had been for Chi’s birthday. We dined on rosé wine, croquets, bread, and paella. Oh, and sarah claims to have the best coffee of her entire life there. It met our standards.

Later that night we hopped on the bus with European Vibe to head for Portugal…..

Granada was a great trip! We went with a group called ESN (Erasmus Student Network). Erasmus is a work that Europeans use that basically means exchange. People will say, "I'm on erasmus" or "I'm an erasmus student". This was another bus trip, and a high uncomfortable one. Along the way there were acres and acres of trees that seemed to be planted in perfect rows yet there would be no houses or farm looking areas around. But, indeed, I found out that they were olive trees! Kind of a fun discovery. There were a lot of people I knew that went on this trip. And, since there were 2 buses, traveling was a bit slower, which was frustrating. But, we got there. And after we got settled in our hostel (which was a very nice one), we went right to lunch at this restaurant called La Bella y La Bestia. In English it is, The Beauty and the Beast!! It became my new favorite place for 2 reasons. 1) I love the beauty and beast. 2) free and large portions of tapas!!! When you buy your drink (which range from about 1.50-4 euro), you get a plate of tapas to come with it. This sometimes happens in Madrid, but you aren't given nearly the portion size. It was great. You could order 2-3 drinks, eat the tapas and be full!

After lunch we walked around the city. We passed by some very nice looking churches/cathedrals. In one area there were gypsies. They would try to sell you stems of rosemary (I think). They would shove them at you. But, apparently if you take one, even just to look, the gypsies won't take it back from you. You are then forced to pay. So, we just ignored them. This was the same with other people trying to sell stuff. Even at lunch, when we were eating outside, men would come up to the table, reach around you and set down things. For example, once was a lighter, the other was a notecard thing that had something religious on it. They want you to pick it up and buy it. So, you just sit there eating with the nick-nac sitting next to you until the guy realizes that you aren't going to buy it and comes to collect it back. It's awkward, and kind of annoying.

Anyway, Granada. Many of the streets were all so tiny and cute. The city had a very strong Arabic influence. Many of the shops sold things that reminded me of places like Morocco and India (even though I have never been to either and both countries aren't even close to each other!)...but you catch my drift! I liked it.
Another thing I noticed was that the city seemed more family oriented. Well, I just saw a lot of kids, so that is how I am drawing my conclusion. And also, the dogs in the streets. I saw so many dogs that looked to be well fed and healthy, but were walking around town without owners next to them. But the cutest part was that they always seemed to look like they were on a mission. Always trotting, never walking. Clay, Camille's boyfriend is studying in Granada and he said that he has seen dogs that will stop at the crosswalk, waiting for the light to turn, and then when it's clear, they'll continue to walk when all the humans start to cross. How adorable!

We passed a statue of Queen Isabella and Christopher Columbus. The statue is showing the queen offering agreement to Columbus granting the rights for his voyage across the Atlantic to the New World! Interesante.

The next day, we toured around a little in the morning and then went to La Alhambra in the afternoon. It was gorgeous! And huge! There were magnificent views, beautiful gardens, fountains, and Islamic architecture. It was constructed in teh mid 14th century by Moorish rulers. The palaces were built for the last Muslim "Emirs" in Spain and its court, the Nasrid dynasty. We spent many hours walking around and taking pictures. For dinner we went to, of course, our new favorite place, La Bella y La Bestia!

That night, Anda and I hit the town on our own. We walked to our first destination which consisted of very narrow, steep, and dark roads. But we survived! We went up to this place where you could lookout over the Alhambra with all of the lights shining on it. It was a spectacular view! Then, we went to this club where part of it was built into the side of the mountain/hill or something. Inside, the walls were almost looked like they had just been carved out. It was all just stone and very round. However there was one room where the 2 walls were completely glass, and gave you a great view of the Alhambra. It was a fun place. Afterward, in the wee hours of the morning, we walked probably 40 minutes just to get churros with chocolate at a place that was supposedly famous. We were just about the only people in there and the churros weren't that fancy. And because we weren't that full we also ended up ordering a pizza that came with anchovies (unknowingly). It was nasty. Oh well, it will still a good time!

The next morning we work up and did some last minute touring. I bought an awesome fanny pack and a baby alpaca sweater that supposedly came from Peru...at least that's what I'm going with! Then, to complete our Granada experience, Anda and I embarked on "the Beauty and the Beast tapas challenge"! We bet Camille's boyfriend, Clay, that we could eat 3+ tapas because he said that he had never done nor seen anyone eat more than 3. We ate 4. Mission complete.

Barcelona. Oh boy. Mixed feelings. The entire trip was AMAZING all up until the last hour and half when I left with a sour taste in my mouth.

To begin. Earplugs. I bought them after Switzerland and they are by far the best 1.50 euro investment I have probably ever made. They definitely came in handy during our 8 hour overnight bus ride to Barcelona. We arrived around 8am and went to our hostel where we got a private room! The group was me, Camille, Anda, Tori, Soojin, and Chi.

After dropping our stuff off we went to the most beautiful markets I've seen. It was huge! We bought freshly squeezed cactus, papaya, and lime-pineapple juices. We then walked more along La Rambla (a main street in Barcelona) and then went into the Picasso Museum. It was very neat. We then just spent the day touring around the city. We saw some pretty parks, some archways, and some really cool building designs of Gaudi. For lunch we had Pintxos. This is a form of tapas, so everything is pretty much a piece of bread with some sort of topping on it. Each of the pintxos has a toothpick in it, you go up to the bar and choose which ones you want and then you pay for however many toothpicks you have. After lunch we walked around a bit and then went back to the hostel to rest before heading back out for dinner. Anda, Camille and I went to a delicious restaurant near the beach where we all shared dishes and wine.

After that we met up with the other girls to go to the Ice Bar!!! It was really fun!..and different! We were given metallic silver jackets and gloves to wear. Everything was ice: the bar, the walls, there were ice sculptures, even the cups! All of the drinks are designed specifically to complement the cold weather...or so said the menu! Mine was good though. But, I watched one one guy (who must have been holding his drink to long) try to salvage his drink as it started pouring out the bottom because a hole had melted in the bottom of his cup. We were only in there fore about 45 minutes because it was way to cold to endure it for much longer. It was an experience though. After that we strolled the beach a little and just went back to our hostel to get a good rest and early morning start for more touring!

Saturday. We woke up and immediately headed over to La Sagrada Familia, the infamous Gaudi cathedral. It is still a work in progress, said to be completed in 30 years from now (or 2026?....we have conflicting facts!). Construction on it began in 1882. Nevertheless it was incredible. It was interesting to see the different phases of Gaudi's designs. On part of the cathedral, it is evident that he uses a more gothic approach. Everything is darker, and the outsides of the structure almost look like they're melting. But then you do to the other side and it is a little whiter, and more modern looking. The stained glass is outstanding. The colors are unbelievable. I was telling the girls, no wonder it is taking them so long to build it...1) it's huge, but 2) I doubt there is one area that requires one systematic, flat surface of building. There is so much detail in the cathedral. Not one surface is similar. A lot of times in America, I feel like you can hand a man a pile of bricks and say, build me a building...because the majority of things we have in the U.S. are very basic and modern. But around here, and for La Sagrada Familia, every little detail needs to be measured and built carefully.

We spent a good amount of time in the Cathedral but after leaving we headed over to the Parque Guell. That was really cool. And, I got to see the ceramic iguana thing that always makes me think of Sra. Maestas! In the park, there were a lot of interesting people playing instruments and singing. I definitely noticed that Barcelona had a lot more of a hippie vibe than Madrid. It was more laid-back...if that's possible in Spain. After a long and exhausting day, Camille, Anda and I split from the other girls to go try and find Anda a ticket for the Sensation concert! Apparently this is called "scalping a ticket"?! Anyway, we journeyed to the other side of the city where we got some great airial views of the city and watched the sunset. And, Anda got a ticket, score! It was a little sketchy but definitely worth it. We went home, took a rest, and got all prepared in our completely white outfits, pumped for Sensation.

Sensation. Oh my God, it was INSANE!! I cannot describe how amazing it was. Also, half of the excitement was probably just because I had never seen anything that huge before. I had never been to a really big concert. It was definitely the highlight of the trip. It lasted all night and we didn't get back to our hostel until around 7am. It is something I will never forget!

Sunday. Since we had accomplished most of our touring, we decided to have a more relaxing last day. We went to the Miró Museum, another artist. It was alright but his style was a little strange for me. Too modern. After that we had lunch right along the ocean and then went and laid on the beach for a while. There were a bunch of women walking around offering massages on the beach...which I think is kind of gross. And it got to be annoying after awhile because they would keep asking. After the beach we went back to the hostel, packed our bags, left, and had dinner outside at a burger joint. Then, we left to go watch these "musical fountains" that also had a water/light show, kind of like in Las Vegas. This is where the trip turned sour. First of all, there was NO such show by the fountain. I put my bag right beside Anda and Tori and Camille and I walked 30 feet away to take pictures next to some big pillars. When we went back to the other girls 10 minutes later, my bag was gone. I was pissed/angry/sad/didn't know what to do. It sucked. So, after walking around frantically hoping magically that someone would have it, we went to the police station to fill out a police report. But, I barely had time to fill my name out on the paper because we had to leave to catch our bus back to Madrid. It was terrible. I HATE people who steal. I will always be mad about that. Ugh, but whatever, nothing I can do to change it.

So, Barcelona. I'll always be bitter but I just have to think of the first 2 days and Sensation when it was absolutely great!

I almost forgot! I went to a bullfight 3 weeks ago. It was definitely an experience but I don't think I will be going again. So, I was unaware of the fact that they KILL the bulls!!! And it's not just one...we watched 7 bulls get slaughtered! It was sooo sad. I just thought that the matador people wave their little red flags around, basically teasing the bulls, and then the whole excitement of it all was how the matadors could avoid being stabbed by the bull's horns and trampled over! No! That was only a minor part of the event. It was torture! They do the whole flag/sheet waving thing but then out of nowhere another man runs into the arena and stabs the bull with two knife-type things. This was repeated three times (a total of 6 stabs) until the bull started to get warn down. Then, the matador would take his sword and stab the bull through the top of his head to kill it. About half the time, the bull would instantly die. That was "good" for the matadors. That meant more points. But other times, the bull wouldn't die right away and the matador would have to repeat the head stabbing. It was awful. Then a horse-drawn carriage would lasso the bull's horns and drag it out of the ring leaving a bloody trail. Never again.

Oh, but I did learn an interesting fact (and a few more that I forget)...you can tell the age of a bull based on the length of his tail. At about 3 years old the tail will just start to touch the ground. Just a fun fact.

Switzerland. WOW! Everyone needs to go. It was amazinggg!!! But, I’m sure I’m going to say that for most, if not all of my trips! Two friends and I went together. I went with Anda, a French-Canadian girl from Montreal, and Camille, my friend from NC State who I just met on our exchange. They were perfect travel buddies!

So we arrived in Geneva on Thursday night. Friday morning we woke up early. First stop, Starbucks! Drink choice: hot chocolate…Swiss chocolate of course! We wasted no time. We spent the morning touring a beautiful garden, walked passed the Reformation wall, and then toured the “old town Geneva”. That was beautiful. The buildings were so cute and there are water fountains everywhere…such a nice change from Madrid where no water is free. Oh, and since Anda can speak French, she was our translator the whole day. Geneva is right on the boarder of France so everything was in French. People spoke English too but it was definitely convenient that we had Anda! So anyway, we were in the old town part. So cute. We wanted to stop in all the tiny little shops, they were so quaint and nice looking….but everything is SOOO expensive! By the way the currency they use are Swiss Francs. But anyway, during our walk through the old part of the city we came across these tents that were selling stuff…scarves, hats, jewelry…a tourist trap…and we were caught. There were these little finger puppet things that were really cute. We spent forever looking at them, there were so many different looking ones. We all ended up buying different looking birds. Mine is a blue parrot looking thing. Her name is Genvieve….basically the French girl name for Geneva. Very fitting.

So then, we made our way to the lake. The whole morning was pretty cloudy, well, foggy, but still nice. We went to lunch and ate “filets de perche”, a typical fish found in Lake Geneva…along with white wine (from Switzerland), a pasta with gorgonzola (yumm), and a margarita pizza. It was delish. When we came out of the restaurant, the fog was gone and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. It was like that the rest of the weekend. In the distance, we could see Mont Blanc, the highest mountain peak in France (Geneva is right on the boarder of France). I bought my first real, authentic Swiss chocolate…AMAZING! And that night I had my first fondue! It was a wonderful discovery! While we were waiting to go to dinner we watched what seemed like hundreds of bikers biking along the road along the lake. It took probably 15 minutes from beginning to end…which was a long time. I found out that it is a thing that the locals do on the last Friday of every month. They make a meeting place and just ride throughout the city. I thought it was interesting!


The next morning we woke up super early and rented a car at the airport to drive to Zermatt. The first hour or so was foggy because we were driving along the lake but after that it was clear skies ahead and gorgeous views. There were so many vineyards everywhere and there were towns and houses built just right on the hills. It was very interesting yet soo pretty. We ended up stopping at McDonalds for a snack. Because, what is a roadtrip without Mickey-D’s!? Btw, they sell McFlurries with Magnum Ice Cream..amazing. Also, there were so many cows. It didn’t occur to me then but I had the epiphany later…..CHEESE!...that is probably why there were so many! Interesante!

There are no cars in Zermatt. So, we had to park our car in a parking deck and take about a 30 minute train into the town. There are only a few cable cars and horse carriages to get people around if they want. But, the town is small so it’s really easy to walk. Anyway, first reaction to Zermatt: WOW! The mountains were so high and majestic-like and the Matterhorn mountain, breathtaking! I was proud of myself actually. I said I wanted to see it and it actually happened. I literally had chills. Oh, and a cool fact about Zermatt, the whole town spoke German, and that is what all the signs were written it. I didn’t realize that the language would change like that within a country, especially one that small, so I thought it was kind of neat!

We got to the town mid-afternoon and by the time we checked into the hotel we didn’t have time to hike so we walked around the town. It was so quaint and adorable. There was an “old” part of the town as well but sooo much better than Geneva! (we three became biased towards Zermatt! We LOVED it). There were these old rickety shack building things that had signs telling us what they were used for. Most were from around the 16th century and used for housing pigs or cattle, etc. That night we went to another place for fondue and also got raclette (a melted cheese that is served with potatoes, pickles, onions, etc). Ew, omg. So, I almost forgot. There was this really old, crazy man that kept coming up to us in the restaurant. He didn’t really talk (maybe he didn’t know English?) but he would come up, grab my fork from my hand, pick up a piece of bread with his hands (who knows where they have been!), and would proceed to squish the bread onto my fork, twirl it in the cheese and give it back to me. He was weird, but kind of nice at the same time. It was just interesting. But the food..it was sooo good. I swear, I’ve never eaten so much cheese and bread in my life. So many calories!!..and so expensive (sorry dad!)..but so worth it.

We went to bed early and woke up to watch the sunrise! It was very pretty but we never actually saw the rise of the sun. It was more like a lightening of the sky! The mountains were so tall that it would have taken hours for the sun to actually peak out over them. Also, it was hilarious..so, we were sitting on the bridge, watching the sunrise and we decided that we wanted a picture with the Matterhorn behind us. Side note: there were hoards of Asians in Zermatt, it was kind of strange and we were confused. Nonetheless, there were like 15 Asians watching the sunrise as well. So when we asked for one of them to take our picture, the lady (who spoke no English) was so excited about how good it turned out that she started showing it to all of her group. Next thing we knew, no less than 4 or 5 other Asians started taking pictures of us. It was funny, and cute.

So, we went back, packed our bags, went to breakfast, and headed up the gondola and tram to start our hike down from the Matterhorn! When we got to the top, it sounds lame but, it literally took my breath away! It was so open, the air was so clear and crisp. I missed the fresh, mountain air. Everything about our trip was just so wholesome and refreshing haha. So the hike. Words or pictures can not describe the real thing. It took us 9 hours to get to the bottom and we walked the whole thing. At one point we realized that we had taken the wrong path so we had to back-track uphill for one hour. It sucked. But, we had the most amazing lunch. We found a small hilltop and had ourselves a picnic complete with white wine, assorted cheeses, chocolate, baguettes, crackers, and nutella. Everything was perfect. But, of course, we took longer on the hike than we wanted. Our goal was to drive back to Geneva in the daylight….it was 5:30pm and the buildings of Zermatt still looked like ants, we were still so far away. We probably went a total of 4 hours without seeing a single human soul in the second half of our journey! It was a little scary but we made it down alive by 7:30, went to the hostel, got our stuff, and literally ran through the town to catch the 8pm train to go get our car. ANDDDD…most exciting part!...so, for the entire weekend, all I wanted to see was either a Bernese Mountain dog, a St. Bernard, or a Swiss Mountain Dog, etc. I hadn’t seen a single one but THEN!...while we were literally running to catch the train, with 4 minutes until 8, there it was, a Bernese Mountain Dog!!!! I took a picture with it of course! My trip was finally complete! I had the full Swiss experience.


Ugh, the trip was soooo amazing. And Anda and Camille were the perfect travel partners!! It was awesome. Definitely something ill remember forever!! YAY Switzerland!