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.

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!

Vienna - Now or Never

The second we got off the train in Vienna, it had the big city feel that Salzburg did not.  It also came with a bone-chilling cold which was absent in Salzburg.  After unsuccessfully looking for the "center" of the city, we heading back to the hostel.  We quickly discovered how many things we wanted to see and do in the city so the morning started after finally finding the city!

We walked around the St. Stephan's Church and the Hofburg buildings.  Then off to the Museum Quartier.  We saw a few exhibits, one of which was called Power Up - Female Pop Art. The list of artists that were displayed is below and I would recommended looking up some of their pieces.  It was an awesome exhibit filled with art that is often passed over.

We followed that with the Modern Art Museum which had an exposition of Hyper-Life Art.  I liked a lot of these pieces as well.  I feel like you cannot come to Europe and fall in love with the art world.  It seems like there are constantly quality exhibitions in every museum in every city.  

The State Opera House

After our Viennese cuisine we headed to the Opera for the evening (classy, I know).  We saw L'elisir D'amore at the State Opera House.  It is a beautiful building and the orchestra and singers were fantastic.  The Austrian man sitting next to me was very helpful in pointing out who among the singers were the best.  At the end of the day we definitely felt cultured! 

Chicken Schniztel and wine

The Opera House 

Wednesday we went to the Schloss Schonbrunn castle and the Butterfly House, and then we separated for the afternoon.  I wandered around the Jewish Quarter, a few Christmas Markets, the Parliament building, and the Rathaus.  It was quite lovely, but the cold got the best of me and I headed back to the hostel a little early to get into my warm covers and take a quick nap. I justified this because I know that there in still a laundry list of things I want to do in Vienna and must return again soon! 

Schloss Schönbrunn

Christmas Market Fun

Rathaus

Today, we walked to the Nachtmarkt which is a big market that is around all year with fresh meat, fruit, cheese,  and delicious goodies!  I got to type this in the hostel listening to a woman play Christmas music on piano next to me.  It was helpful for getting that Christmas feeling! Our next stop is Budapest for the holidays! 

Two Lessons about Snow

I am currently experiencing my second winter ever so I am learning things about snow that most people know already but I figured I would share.

1. I know there are different types of snow (when I tried to build a snowman last year, it failed miserably..it just wasn't the right kind), but I didn't know it could look so fuzzy.  We have been getting snow almost everyday for the last couple of weeks but Tuesday's snow was the prettiest snow I have ever seen. It was amazingly fluffy looking.

2. The snowflakes we make as children, well, they actually look like snowflakes. I have gotten through all of my snow experiences in my life, I have never seen such perfect snowflakes. I was in genuinely amazed with ever flake that landed on me!

J'ai laissé mon cœur à Paris

So I don't actually know how to say this in French but Google (love) translated my title for me! It says "I left my heart in Paris." I will need to go back as often as possible until I can find it!

I am going to skip the complaining about the trip because whenever I say my complaints out loud, well, it just sounds silly (as my Dad reminded me yesterday). My life is not difficult; work brought me to Paris. (This is going to be my new life mantra..)

It snowed in Paris this weekend and quite hard. Mama C was shocked. It apparently rarely snows in the city and very rarely as hard as it was snowing. Lucky me, the snow followed me to Paris!

On Saturday evening, I was allowed out for the night to explore on my own.  The skies had cleared so I started walking. I had done a bit of research on places to go and things to see but really I just wanted to walk. I started at Notre Dame, which was gorgeous. I arrived just in time to see the beginning of Saturday night Mass (sorry Mom, I didn't stay). It was indeed a gorgeous church.

Joan of Arc 

"St. Joan of Arc (1421-1431) Born in Lomaine, burned
alive in Rouen as a heretic and a witch. The decision
to rehabilitate her reputation was made in this Cathedral. 

I thought this was an interesting fact! One of the few women we ever hear about in religious history!

Then I continued to weave through the streets of Paris. I didn't exactly know where I wanted to go end up but I stopped and got some Vin Chaud (hot wine) which has popped up as a (not so) tasty treat around Europe. It was disgusting and I did the unthinkable and threw away a glass of wine.

I continued to walk and look at the shops and every building I walked by made me fall in love with the city even more. It had a lively personality and the diversity was extremely apparent. It reminded me New York City in a lot of ways, only everyone speaks French, and the buildings are notably historical instead of tall!

This is one of the main government buildings. 

This is possibly a fact I should know or at least researched before departing to Paris but I didn't know where the Eiffel Tower was.  I also felt too silly asking. I figured it is tall and must be visible throughout the city. I will just stumble upon it! I was wrong. I eventually asked for a visitor's map at the metro and had of course been walking the wrong way!

I turned around and started the trek. Since it was a lovely 2-3 degress out (35 F) I figured I would walk there. I mean how far away could it really be...

About 2 hours later, I was getting closer. So close I could see more than the top of it! I got so excited I stopped and ate dinner! Now, I loved this city a lot, but sitting at a restaurant alone in Paris, is not a pleasant experience. I recommend grabbing to go because people stare with so much sadness when you sit alone. It is the most romantic city in the world for a reason, I guess.

Then I made it to the Eiffel Tower. There are so many things around the world that we see pictures of growing up and when you see the real thing it is a let down in a weird way. This was not one of them for me. I loved it! I thought it was absolutely gorgeous.

Sorry, I really LOVED it!

Just as I was leaving, I was thinking, I did think it sparkled more..and before my eyes it did! It was absolutely gorgeous! 

My Dad is completely right..my life is just not difficult..frustrating and exhausting perhaps, but not difficult! 

I woke up early on Sunday morning to catch free day at the Musee d'Orsay.  It is much more manageable with the time that I had free before we left. I loved this museum. The archeticture itself made it amazing not to mention the amazing artists who have their work on display.  Now a large portion of the Van Gogh and Monet collection is at some other museum somewhere in the world.  They had everything mixed up a bit which was really interesting. They combined much of their Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art (this makes me sound oh so smart..right?) since they were missing portions of each. 

I really did enjoy them being mixed together. It did make it interesting to wander through that section of the museum.  There was also a bit of the beginning of photography which I also really enjoyed. It was a great way to spend my Sunday morning! 

I then headed to Angelina's for some African hot chocolate, which absolutely amazing, and a lemon tart (that I just finished eating) and my 20th croissant (I am only being a little sarcastic).  

The museum with an awesome elephant and the line that I fortunately did not have to wait in.

This visit to Paris will be one of many in my lifetime. It has become my latest inspiration to continue to learn the language, which I can only guess will make my Parisian experience even better!

Weekend Adventures

I had an absolutely fabulous weekend! The weather was as perfect as it could be for a mid-November weekend and there was plenty to do!

After a relaxing Friday night out with some friends, I worked for a couple hours on Saturday morning, went swimming myself, and then heading into Zurich to relax by the lake.  Some of my friends wanted to paint/draw as we sat there. Let's just say some people had some talent, others were just enjoying themselves!

Then we were off to the Wine Expo.  It was 4,000 wines from all over the world on yachts right on the lake! It was a really fun night. We got a bit dressed up, hoping people serving wine would take us more seriously, which was only semi-successful.

Rachel, me, Whitney, Shelly

Me, Shelly, Rachel, Kristina, Whitney, and Karah

I have really enjoyed trying wines since I have gotten here. While I still can't pick out the different flavors within a wine, I can tell you a little about different regions and what I like. I think my favorite wines of the night were from Portugal and from outside of Geneva.  I usually don't like white wine because they are very sweet but the winery outside of Geneva had some dry whites which were delicious!  It is a slow process but my knowledge of wine has increased 10 fold since I moved to Europe! 

Sunday, we headed off to Liechtenstein for the day! That's right the sixth smallest country in the world is just a mere hour and half train ride away.  The train ride was gorgeous. The lake we were on was a stunning blue with the mountains surrounding it.  There were wind surfers everywhere because it was nearly 16 degrees out! It is a very small country with not much going on. They are known for their stamps and are the world's largest dencher producer.  They do not have a king, but a prince and princess.  That is just as high as their leadership goes! 

After hitting up the Post Museum, we took a lovely stroll up the mountain to the castle.  It was really quite pretty. On the walk up the path led you through the history of the country. While I don't remember most of the little facts, I do know that they abolished their army in 1906 and have treaties with Austria and Switzerland (the countries it shares borders with).  

It was a near perfect weekend! 

Unfortunately, my camera wasn't charged so I don't have pictures from Liechtenstein but will add them when I get them from friends!