The Rain in Spain

My 10 day trip began in Spain. (Well it began with a late night train from Zurich to Milan and an overnight hanging out at McDonald's and a random restaurant all night before catching our bus to the train station.) Rachel and I arrived in Madrid around 11am. Rested enough to explore the city for the day.  We started with a lunch with delicious 1 euro sandwiches and 1 euro beer. I could already tell Spain was going to treat me well.


Then we wandered to the New Europe Tour of Madrid. I have now done these in Berlin, Madrid, and Amsterdam.  They are always good and sometimes even better than good! Also, they are FREE! The people work off of tips at the end of the tour so you tip what you can afford if you like them. (I know you are thinking..wow you are one of those obnoxious people who walks around a city in a large group and basically gets tourist stamped on their faces. Yes, I became one of those people. However, these have become a great way to meet people and really get a feel and history for the city you are visiting. So just do it! Then you can make fun of me if you don't like it!)

Most awesome Spiderman ever!

So we walked around the city and heard about 1000 years of Spanish history filled with suicides, murders, witches, kings and queens, and of course some war. It is fascinating to see how the architecture changes throughout the city based on what country is in power. The most fascinating thing for me is the politics of it all now. It is crazy how recent Spain was a dictatorship and how easily it would be for that same party to win an election again.

Spanish Congress

We left Madrid for a few days and then heading back to Madrid. We found ourselves at the Palace in Madrid. It is still used on a regular basis which is pretty cool. 

Pretending to be a princess in the 

palace

One of the things I liked about Madrid a lot was how many parks and open spaces there are in the massive city. Above is one of the many which is gorgeous. We continued to wander the streets of Madrid. We saw an old Egyptian building and explored some great new stores. (I fell in love with Pull & Bear so if you know where else they have stores let me know!)

We also went to the Prado Museum and the Reina Sofia. Both were amazing museums. I have started getting the audio guides at museums which is so enlightening. I really loved both museums! My favorite at the Prado was Bosch's The Garden of Earthly Delights. The Reina Sofia holds Picasso and Goya. I really enjoyed these artists! 

Lunch in Madrid

So I got the culture but the best part of my time in Madrid was watching the Barcelona v. Madrid game on Wednesday night. After Madrid won, Madrid went crazy! I had made some new friends and went to one of the major squares in Madrid to celebrate. We waited there until 5am when the Real Madrid team came and kissed the statue in the square. While waiting there were chants, flags, fireworks, crazy lights, and confetti. It was one of those experiences you can't plan in advance for. It was such an amazing experience. People were so unbelievably excited and we were able to meet a great group of Spaniards! It doesn't get much better than hanging out with locals when you are in a new city. 

The geographical center of Spain 

Dip your churro in chocolate! yummm

The tour of the bullfighting ring was really interesting. We learned about the history and importance of bullfighting. All the bulls are killed in the end no matter what but they are all sent to restaurants around Madrid. Only 3 people have actually died at that ring in nearly 100 years. The guide also discussed how it is a dying sport because there are few young people who still attend the weekly events. 

Mexican in Spain! Recommended by a friend! It was amazing to have really good Mexican food and one of my favorite beers - Pacifico and a Corona! It was sooo good! 

Now, most of those pictures don't show the immense amount of rain we got in Spain. Our bullfighting tour guide let us know that we were very unlikely to be getting rain in April. This did not help my disappointment in getting so much rain. However, I made friends in the rain and I powered through the week of rain! I love Spain and am going back in June! More to come about other cities in Spain.

Home Sweet Home

I woke up at 5:45, got on a boat, took the train to get to the plane, then a bus to the train, then a tram to the bus, and then walked to my house! Six hours of traveling to get back just in time to start working! I had an amazing trip and there are pictures and posts to come very soon! But for now it is time to get acquainted with cleanliness and Baby Gaga!

8 Months - The Countdown to Home

I have decided to leave the family and come home. I mean that in every sense of the word. I am moving into my house with my parents. After months of conversations with friends, the family, my family etc. I made the decision that it was time for me to head home.  The family doesn't know anything about Paris and as far as I can tell it has fallen completely out of the conversation in the last two weeks. 

So now my count down has begun. I have a lot to accomplish before I leave but I have also a great year to look back on and it isn't even over yet! I am going to miss so much about this lifestyle (aka. little work and a lot of play). I have also started to understand how hard it is going to be to leave the family. I have my fair share of complaints but at the end of the day these kids have stolen my heart ten times over! To make it worse, G has begun to make it clear how sad she is that I am leaving and that "I should stay for forever with her."  

This begins the countdown. Summer is around the corner and I have several more trips to be planned before I head back to San Diego at the end of August. I am heading to Spain and Amsterdam this week, Paris (for real this time) in June, a few more places in Switzerland (including paragliding!), and possibly Scandinavia in August before heading home. My schedule is packed and I love it! I am hoping a weekend trip in May to Rome if I can make it work.  I will also be going to the South of France twice with the family not to mention actually enjoying Zurich for the summer! 

Stephen's Visit

My BROTHER came to visit! I was so excited that he was coming to get a taste of Europe and more importantly that I got to see him! This has been the longest time I have gone without seeing anyone in my family so it was great to have him around! The second he got off the plane I saw him as an adult. My little brother is no longer a teenager! I couldn't believe how old he looked AND how much he looked like Anthony (my older brother). 

Anyway, he got off the plane, and we headed from the airport, to a quick lunch and a 5 hour train ride to Genea, Italy (also known as Genova). He was exhausted and after we finally found our hotel and got (a delicious) dinner (Italian wine included) it was time for bed. 

Genoa, Italy

When I woke up, I headed out to find us some breakfast before waking him up (I know I am the best sister ever!). After being outside for about 10 minutes, I was sweating from the SUN! It was absolutely amazing. I hadn't felt its warmth in so long and was able to wear SHORTS for the day. The trip was just getting better! 

There are too many pictures of Stephen not smiling and me being ridiculous...hmmm

At port. A self timer picture..you know how I love them!

We explored the city by foot for the rest of the day. Stephen did a little bit of shopping. We found a great restaurant with some salami pasta dish and pesto pasta (both traditional for the region).  We had some more amazing Italian wine and fried dough as an appetizer that was "filled" with "vegetables" but really it was just delicious fried dough!

So we made it to Milan after Genoa. The Duomo in Milan is one of the most famous churches in Europe. Stephen had yet to see a church and seemed confused by the fact that I was so adamant about going to the church in Milan. This may have been one of my favorite moments in Italy. Stephen and I walk up the stairs from the Metro and as he turned to see the church, his face stared in awe at the beautiful church.

It truly was gorgeous and at the recommendation from the same friend we headed to the top of the church. The beauty continued! It is my new favorite church in Europe. I am not sure anything by the Sistine Chapel will surpass this one. When you are in Europe, you see a lot of churches and, well, they get old. They are more of the same. Ornate, gaudy and expensive.  Yet, occasionally I come to a church that I really enjoy and you can't help but admire it. Milan's is one of those! 

View of below from above

After exploring more of Milan and getting disappointed by our lunch meal, we headed off to find gelato. Which made up for it all. It.was.AMAZING. The line out the door was there for a reason! It was absolutely d.e.l.i.c.i.o.u.s.!!!!!  

After another bad meal in Milan we explored more of the city and then headed back to the hotel early to enjoy some Italian TV and a good night of sleep for the first time all weekend. 

After a wonderful four day trip in Italy, we headed to Zurich for the rest of the week.  Stephen got to see where I live, meet the kids, and my friends. It is always fun to show your city to someone! Especially since the sun was shining during his whole trip! 

Our hike in Zurich to the highest place in Zurich

A trip to the Lindt Factory (yummmm)

Yummm

It was insane to see him as an adult and my not-so-little-brother. I was thrilled to have had the chance to show him a little bit of the world and my world! We had some delicious food throughout the whole trip. We were also able to go to the Swiss National Team's tryouts, where Stephen was able to put some of his classes into action!

We both had so many good conversations, laughs, and have I mentioned the food? I have passed him the travel bug and I can't wait until our next trip together!

Pictures to Say it All

or most of it... Here's a photo blog of what I've been up to the last couple of months!

A beautiful day in Luzurn 

Emily came to visit from Dublin!

I went glass blowing

Playing around in the afternoon

Hiking in Falera during ski week

I had a beer at the highest bar in Europe (10,000 feet)

Making birthday cupcakes with G

Hanging out in a glacier (after having my beer at the highest bar in Europe)

Became regular at Oliver Twist's with these ladies

Road a camel

Emily and I preparing for our elephant ride

I never thought I would ride an elephant in Switzerland..but it happened!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

More confetti at Fasnacht!

 It has been an amazing couple of months.  I have had 2 visitors from home. Kristina (an old aupair) came visit and I met Jill, the aupair I replaced.  The months here are coming to a close (more to come on that later) and I have so much more to do before it is over!

Burning Winter Away

Switzerland has a special festival to help move the transition between seasons along faster. Fasnacht is the equivalent to Mardi Gras but there is also a Fire Parade that takes place the night before the Lantern Festival.  It is literally a parade of fire. After spending a couple of hours throwing confetti all over the ground they light torches (brooms) on fire and walk down the street with them.   They also have wagons stuffed with wood that they run down hill with.  It was 2 hours of fire. Two hours of complete madness with children running down the street carrying fire, men drink beers while holding fire, and roasting bratwurst on the fire they are carrying down the street. 

** Parade pictures taken by Whitney Card**

As we stood in awe of the fire, we couldn't help but repeating over and over how there is no permit that you could get in the States for a fire parade.  It looks like the city is on fire. There are moments when the wagon had such a big fire we felt like we were going to burn.  The Swiss women next to us were telling us to pull back our hair and make sure we looked away otherwise we would lose it all! 

The last picture is a archway that the fire had to go through at the end of the parade.  Each time a wagon would reached this point the crowd held their breathe as fire crews stood there to spray water at the just the right time.  It was a phenomenal event.  It also seemed to have scared winter away, which I am eternally grateful for. 

In a couple of weeks we are burning a wooden snowman to say goodbye to winter! 

Spring Has Arrived

It has been awhile and I have been busy.  I have finally purchased a new computer and can back to updated you on my life. It has been 2 months since I last posted and let me say, SPRING IS HERE! I remember Spring coming last year in D.C. and it was glorious. The city was awaken by tulips and cherry blossoms. People filled the parks with their kids and more importantly their puppies!  This year has been no different. As I learn the in and outs of winter, I learn the importance of Spring. Spring is what gets you excited for summer. It is an amazing opportunity to ease your way out of winter and watch as a city gains its life back.  Without spring, the transition from winter to summer would be too much too fast. 

This year has been no different. Zurich is crowded when the weekend comes about. There are people lining the lake and river. The outdoor seats have returned. And most importantly, the sun is out regularly. Life is just better when the sun is shining!  So with that, here are some pictures of winter turning into spring. 

Boating across the lake on Super Bowl Sunday

Ski week in Falera with the family. There 

wasn't much snow and I was hiking in a t-shirt!

A Day at the Children's zoo

Riding a camel at the zoo! In a sweater!