A Surprise Birthday!

Ok so it has been over a month since I have posted. I officially reached my year point but let me update you on what has happened since I reached week FIFTY-TWO!

I had been anticipating my European Birthday since I decided to make the move. Where could I go? Who will I go with? Venice? Paris? Barcelona? Greece? The options seemed endless! Since it is summer, my working hours have, for the first time, outnumbered my playtime hours. So a long weekend getaway was not an option. Plus, I have made amazing friends who I wanted to spend it with. So it was around the corner and since people’s work schedules were all over the place, we decided Switzerland was the place to be. We would have a night out on the town for the first night followed by the Montreux Jazz Festival in the French region of Switzerland. I was excited for the weekend as planned.

So my birthday celebrations started on Thursday night. My Papa B’s Dad was in town for the week and we all went out for a very nice dinner. It was a beautiful restaurant with a vista view of the lake and Zurich, surrounded by the mountains and cows of course.  We toasted champagne and they handed me a few gifts.  One of which is the Swissessity: the Longchamp. The week before I bought myself a lovely little Swatch and now only need a fondue/raclette set to complete my Swissessities! After dinner, the restaurant turned off their lights, turned on a disco ball, and started a recording of something no one could understand other than it said “Happy Birthday” somewhere in there. Then “Happy Birthday” was played and I blew out sparklers on a chocolate delight.

It was a really a great birthday dinner and what has seemed like the real mark of the beginning of the end.

Friday, my actual birthday, I woke up to work a bit and then got off around 1pm.  I met my friends in the city to begin a day by the lake with lunch and wine. However, as we were having lunch, my schedule changed. As it turns out my friends have surprised me with a ticket to the “History of Hip Hop” concert at the Jazz Festival. Nicole and I are leaving after lunch! It was quite the surprise! I was super excited!  After missing a few trains, we were on our way!

The concert was absolutely amazing! Coolio and House of Pain among other performed. Nicole and I were on stage for a bit (video below) dancing away. We were screaming and dancing. As it turns out, that is now how the Swiss enjoy concerts. Nicole and I were each given dirty looks on separate occasions for yelling at “inappropriate times” and the security guards hated us even more. We laughed it off and continued to enjoy our time standing feet from some of the amazing hip hop artists of the past! 

After the concert, we met our Couch Surfer, who took us out for a night out at the Jazz Festival. There are great clubs, free dance and music concerts, and people everywhere. It was a night to remember!

Saturday we enjoyed the city and were joined by another one of our friends. It was, dare I say it, the prettiest lake view of the year.  I can only say thank you to the amazing group I have here for ensuring that I had a wonderful European birthday! xoxo

Birthday Lunch with the Ladies

Not the actual concert but the only picture of the night

See why it is my favorite?

My Week in "Paradise"

My week in Saint Tropez was lovely in many ways but at times it was actually like I was actually under house arrest. The heaven I was staying in was gated and I had to ask to leave the house and schedule my coming back to ensure that someone would be home to let me in.  We were also not in Saint Tropez. We were 25km   outside of the city so I was very isolated to say the least. 

Twice, I was so bored I risked my life walking to the beach up and down a winding hill. It was in no way safe to be walked on but I was willing to put my life on the line to get a break from the kids! It was a little like being a white collar criminal. They put you up in these lovely prisons which everything you could possibly need, but at the end of the day you are still trapped, so it isn't what you want! 

In addition to feeling completely isolated, the area we were in reminded me a lot of home, which made me the most homesick I think I have ever been.  This is a good thing in some ways though, because while since being released back into society, I have adapted to back into my social life, but I am also excited to go home. I have been talking to friends about exploring San Diego in new ways! And I am returning to somewhere similar to the South of France, so it can't be all bad right?

Here are some pictures of my week! They are beautiful and I really have NOTHING to complain about. The pool was great, the temperature was high, and there were beaches! But just wait for the post after I am sent to the woods in a few weeks with  just two of the kids and the French side of the family! Talk about isolation..

My adorable Baby Gaga and I playing by the pool.

Our time at the fair

My death walk to the HEAVENLY beaches!

The dock in San Tropez

G and P

EXTREME Weekend

This weekend will go down as one of my favorite of the year. My friend Maggie from university (I am soo European now) came down from Germany to explore Zurich a bit and most importantly head up to Interlaken for the weekend. After a wonderful Canadian dinner, filled with too much sugar and a game of charades about Canada, Maggie (friend from university..again sooo European), Kathryn, Anna, and I took a train to Interlaken, a popular destination for outdoor adventures in Switzerland.

Shortly after arriving and getting to our hostel, we were on our way to go paragliding! A little terrified and really excited we were giggling our way up the mountain in a car full of people. We pick our guides and headed to our take off spot, seen above. 

After finding a few ways to release our nervous feelings, we were strapped in. My guide asked me if I can run and I said yes, but I usually don't start flying after running for a little while so I am not sure how this will go. He laughed and we started running. And by running a mean we jogged a few steps and then couldn't touch the ground any more. It was simple and absolutely amazing!

View from the sky

The entire experience was absolutely amazing! I am so glad we did it! I really want to do it again all over the world! We were proud of ourselves and headed off to have a delicious wrap and a beer in celebration! 

After we finished the first attempt of being outdoorsy of the day, we headed off to some waterfalls. Along the hike we saw a few here and there.  It was another gorgeous view in the utopia which is known as Switzerland. 

Now, we arrived at the waterfalls and were a little annoyed we had to pay to get in. However, after go up the caves that have been cut next to these waterfalls. It was unbelievable. There was talk of negative ions creating positive vibes. It is totally true. The feel in the caves was amazing and beautiful.  I also felt like it was the environment that Disneyland tries to recreate, and let me say, their effort is appreciated but it just can't compete with the real thing. 

Maggie hanging out in the "weeds"

Kathryn wanted to befriend a cow on our hike.

In the caves!

Double Rainbow

Despite the positive energy we were all experiencing, Kathryn took a little fall. There was blood but she is slowly recovering. Luckily, that was the only real injury for the weekend!

After our big day, we headed back to our tent hostel and ran into some people from Zurich (really small world). We headed out to dinner with them for some delicious Mexican food! Soooo good! I wouldn't have guessed it! Margaritas and a burrito so it was the perfect meal to end the day. We headed to the hostel's party afterwards! 

After a late night, we got up for our last sport of the weekend.  Whitewater rafting. I was more nervous about this than I was for paragliding. This time, we were a key part of the process of surviving. They kept talking about people falling off and what to do and not to panic and watch out for rocks because they can really hurt you. All the things you know but still scary to hear about. 

As it turns out, this is also not as scary as you think it is going to be.  We swam in the 5 degree water and ended in a gorgeous lake.  I am so lucky to have such amazing friends and absolutely loved this weekend...

But wait, it isn't over! After getting back into Zurich, we met up with some of the other girls (and one guy) to experience blind dining. There are a few restaurants around the world, the first one was in Zurich. It is an experience worth having if you have one by you.  You lock up your belongings when you get to the restaurant, look at the menu, and then are guided into the restaurant by your waiter.  Our waitress, Rita, was blind and they employ a mostly blind wait staff.  

After being directed to your seat, you order your drinks and food.  There were 8 of us there so we established where everyone was sitting and how far away from one another you are.  Usually your eyes will find something to focus on, but there was no way to see anything at all. You have to feel for your cup, plate, knife, and fork.  We found ourselves continuing to talk with our hands. I started to close my eyes at times just because it was easier than trying to focus. The food was okay, but it is the experience that made the dinner! 

We ended the weekend at our favorite bar, Oliver Twists with some darts and a few games of giant Jenga. It was hands down one of my favorite weekends full of overcoming fears, too many laughs, and some of the most amazing people I know!

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.

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!