Few days in Dublin

Wow, I'm getting really bad at this. Sorry! So we were in Dublin from April 9th-11th.

I flew from Geneva to London on Wednesday and met Elyse there to fly to Dublin. She had been in London for a few days visiting friends. Caitlyn was already in Ireland after staying with family for a little while. Elyse and I showed up in Dublin, took a bus to somewhere, walked a little bit, and found our hostel. It was so great! Definately in a great location (near the bars, of course) and very poor-college-student friendly. We went to our room, which was a 6 person shared, and met one roommate named Rosh. He's from Australia and was just traveling around Europe for a while. Very nice guy. We went exploring for a bit waiting for Caitlyn to get there. We scoped out a nice place with early bird specials for dinner. When Caitlyn arrived the three of us and Rosh went to that place for dinner. We had such a great time reuniting and laughing.

On the way back we stopped for beers and Strongbow (Lynn!) to chill in the room. We met some people at the hostels. One guy who was from Northern Ireland and another girl from Australia. We all went out to a bar/club for drinks and dancing. A fun night!

Thursday during the day the three of us went to the Guinness Factory. It was so much fun! It was a self-guided tour so we skipped some boring things. Haha. It was like 7 floors, and at the top is a place called Gravity Bar where you get a free pint of Guinness with your admission. It was all of our first Guinness'.... I didn't love it. But I drank some. Good enough for the government. Here's a picture.

After the tour we went to the store they had and of course bought some fun things. The day before we had noticed a diner and so we headed over there for lunch. It was nice to just have good, greasy food. Delicious. The rest of the day we spent walking around the city (including Trinity College) and shopping. Typical us. We had been considering going on a pub crawl, but didn't want to go alone. When we got back to the hostel we met a girl named Casey who was from the US and was going on a pub crawl that night with her boyfriend. We convinced Rosh to go with us, which was not hard to do. Silly-ly, we didn't eat dinner. The three of us grabbed something small from a convenience store along the way, and then met the group at 8. There were a bunch of Americans on the tour, and some people from Finland and Germany. We went to 4 different pubs around the city. It was so much fun! It was really nice going out and meeting people in the city.

Friday we packed up and headed to the airport to go back to Glion. It was too short of a trip, though! I know we all would have wanted to stay longer. I highly suggest everyone to visit Dublin at some point in your life. It was definately one of my favorite places we visited!

So that was Ireland. Can you believe that in only 27 days I'll be home?!?! Less than 4 weeks! During the last week of May we're going to Rome for a couple days as a last hoorah. I'm sure I'll have lots to write about that.

I'll try and update a bit more frequently... though no promises.

.love and chocolate.

Mom and Dad Visit

Better late than never, right?

So mom and dad arrived while I was still in Budapest and just toodled around Switzerland and France. I got to meet up with them Saturday (April 5th) for dinner in Fribourg. It was a great reunion! Sunday then came from Montreux to stay in Bulle for a few nights. That night they took me and my other two gringas out to dinner. It was nice to be able to have a conversation with people who knew me and spoke english! And of course, having them treat us to a good meal :)

Monday I took them to the usual touristy spots around here. Gruyeres to see the town, the castle, and tour the cheese factory. We had a really good lunch at the cheese factory, too. Since they had a car (which was soooo nice) we drove up to Moleson, our "token" mountain in the area. The day was kinda crappy so we didn't get to take the funnnnicular up to the top, but it was still a nice drive. From there we decided to trust the GPS and drive around a bit. I was falling asleep, so mom and dad dropped me off here for a nap before dinner. I took them to a nice place in Bulle that served all kinds of food. Delcious, as always.

Tuesday they picked me up in the morning to head off to Zurich. We explored there Tuesday and Wednesday. It was definately a fun city. Not to big, but lots to do. We walked a lot, took a boat ride, ate at an authentic beer hall (where if there are extra seats at your table, other people sit down), shopped, went to some museums, and saw all the necessary sites. We were going to go to the zoo, but when we went to check it out it seemed a little lame.

Thursday we left to go to Interlaken. On the way dad took us to the Rhine Falls. They were soooo incredible. Not very high, but the rocks that they flow over are really amazing. It was quite cold, so we got all the pictures we wanted and then left. Next stop was the Bernina Factory. It was in this little random town in the middle of no where. We were lucky that the sun came out after lots of rain in the morning. Dad got a kebab for lunch and mom and I bought some bread and cheese. After seeing the factory, we headed to Interlaken. Unfortunately, I fell asleep during the best part of the ride! We had to drive up and over a mountain. Towards the top it was snowing like crazy, and big trucks were pulled off to the sides. Mom was freaking out and I slept through all the excitement - damn! I woke up when we were on the other side of the mountain, out of all peril. Interlaken was adorable. Right on the edge of the lake, surrounded by mountains. We finally found our hotel, checked in, and started walking around the town. Of course we shopped a little. Dinner was interesting. We chose a place that looked reasonable and good food. Walked in and the place was absolutely full of asian tourists. We felt a bit out of place. There was one main waiter who was out of his MIND. Singing, dancing, ringing cow bells, etc. It was entertaining, to say the least.

Friday dad planned for us to go to the "Top of Europe", which is the highest accessable point for tourists in Europe (almost 12,000 feet!). We had to take one train up a ways, then wait for another to take us the rest of the way. The train goes right through this amaaaaaazing skiing. We were all very tempted to strap on some skis. The second train takes you right through the mountain to the top. There, you can go to different look out points, walk through ice caves, and more in the summer months. It was soooo beautiful. We decided to get lunch up there and wait for the next train to go down. That was a bad idea. As we were on the train waiting for it to leave, I started feeling very sick. Luckily the train started going, and after only about 5 minutes of decending I felt fine. Man the altitude is rough on you! The ride down was just as beautiful, and at the bottom we got in the car to drive around the area some more. Man I love this gorgeous country!

Saturday, the plan was to go straight to Geneva, and I would take a train back later. Thanks to the GPS, we realized that we could go basically right through Bulle. Thus, I could drop all my stuff off and then spend the day with mom and dad in Geneva. Got to Geneva, checked into their hotel, returned the car (in France... yea, don't ask), then got to spend the rest of the day in the city. At the lake there were about 15 hot air balloons just hanging out. It was a beautiful scene! We took a boat ride around the lake, shopped (of course), got dinner, and then I had to get my train back to school. Mom and dad think I was happy to see them go, but it was definately sad saying goodbye. We had such a good time traveling around, taking lots of pictures, and eating good food!

Speaking of food... dinner time!

.love and chocolate.

Spring Break!

Sunday- Flight to Prague from Geneva was interesting. We have come to learn that with EasyJet, your flight prooobably won’t go out on time. Oh well. We got there. Took a shuttle to our hostel, checked in, found out room. Met one of our roommates, Matt. He’s from Connecticut, studying outside of London, was on vacation. After such a long day, the girls and I decided to go find a local bar. Since Matt was alone, we had him join us. We all found a fun bar that had a club-type place downstairs. There was a group of guys there from the UK for one of their buddy’s bachelor party. Not sure why they were there… seeing as there were no naked girls dancing in cages. But they were fun to talk to. The music was very different from the states and even in Switzerland. More techno-ish. It was entertaining anyway.

Monday- The four of us went out to explore the beauuutiful city of Prague. We started by finding an Easter market which was adorable to walk through. After getting semi-lost, we wound up near the pendulum. We walked all the way up to that, and then down to the castle. The castle was huge and really nice to take pictures of, but at that point we were all hungry. Our quad headed down from the castle and found a café-like restaurant to warm up and have lunch at. Oh, side note. The 3 of us girls call ourselves first (me), second (Caitlyn), and third (Elyse). So since we had Matt with us, we started calling him fourth J After lunch, Elyse and Caitlyn went to do some shopping while Matt and I went back to nap. I had gotten really chilled through out the day, so I cuddled up in my bed until the girls woke me up.

That night we met up with two of our roommates from Paris, Adam and Jason. It’s so funny how you meet random people during your travels, and get to meet up in more exciting cities later! They were with a friend who was from Prague, so he helped us out with the language barrier. After hanging out at one bar, we went to another place for the four of us to have dinner, since the other guys already had. We had an awesome time eating, drinking, and laughing. Adam and Jason had to head back, so we went to meet up with a friend of ours from UNH. Her name is Dana and she’s studying in Rome for the semester. She was in Prague for a bit with one of her best friends from home. Of course, we met up and went for drinks. It was fairly late at that point, so after one drink we said our goodbyes and the four of us went back to our hostel.

Tuesday- The girls and I got up to check out and then continue our travels around the city. Matt wanted to sleep, as he wasn’t leaving that day. Caitlyn and him exchanged numbers and we were off for the day. It was rainy/snowy/cold again, so all indoor activities were quite appealing to us. We went through the market again, climbed a tower at the Charles Bridge, and took a boat ride around the river. From there, we walked around until we found another adorable market and a warm café to sit in while the near-blizzard passed. The three of us sat in there with tea and hot chocolate for almost an hour until the sun came out. When we emerged from the café, we realized that we were right in the middle of the shopping district – perfect! We shopped for a while and realized that we should probably have dinner (I can’t remember if we had lunch or not…) Feeling like we should try some authentic Czech food, we chose a restaurant – bad decision. The food was not what we wanted and the service was terrible. Luckily, two doors down from that was a Friday’s. Don’t judge us, we were hungry. Went there and got food and very large drinks, which we got a lot of looks for. Clearly American, I guess.

Since that night we had a 12:30am overnight train to Budapest, we planned to stay up until then. We called Matt and met him at another bar closer to the hostel (which is where we had left our luggage). A drink or two later, we all headed back to the hostel for the girls to get our bags and head to the train. Said goodbye to our new fourth and attempted to find the train station (we did a pretty good job, thank you very much). Theeeeeen there’s the train to talk about.

Wednesday early morning- Overnight train. Wow. We didn’t know which car to get on, so we got on the first one we saw. Thank GOD that was not the one we had ticket for. Incredibly sketchy, dirty, dark, etc. Next car. A little less sketchy, but didn’t have beds as we had requested. Finally on the third car we tried (we sound like goldilocks) there was someone working who took our tickets and showed us to our cabin. It was a four person cabin, but only set up for the three of us which was a bonus. I don’t think that “basic” even begins to describe it. Tiny little space, mattresses no thicker than a comforter, but it did have a door that locked (we tried it with one of us on either side). I wouldn’t call it clean, but it also wasn’t terribly disgusting. I can’t say that I slept much that night, but it got us to Budapest safely.

Wednesday- Finally we arrived in Budapest. Our train was supposed to arrive around 8:30, but I think it was almost an hour late. It was clear we were not on a Swiss train. After flipping maps around and reading directions over 10 times, we made it to our hostel via the metro. It was called the Home Made Hostel… and home made it certainly was. Seemed like someone took their flat and converted it into a place where people stay to sleep. They had internet and clean beds, so we couldn’t complain. At that point we couldn’t check in yet, but we left our things and went for a walk around the city. We walked down their fake Champs Elysees to Heroes Square which was beautiful. We continued into the city park and found some sort of castle replica (I believe the real one is in Slovakia). Walking back down the main road we stopped for lunch then headed back to our hostel for some serious napping. We got up to go to dinner, which we had at a nice place around that main road again. A semi-italian dinner which was great. The plan was to go out that night, but all of us were too exhausted to do anything else more than sleep. So after dinner, that’s exactly what we did.

Thursday- We walked the other direction down the main road towards the river. There we got on a tour bus (yay American tourists) that took us on a 2 hour tour around both Buda and Pest. Normally we would never do such a tour, but it let you get on and off at different locations, as well as telling us about much of the history of the cities. We got off at the palace on the Buda side for some incredible views. There was a small market there where we bought this traditional Budapest pastry (though, we also saw it in Prague). They took a long snake-like piece of dough, wrapped it around a metal cylinder on a pole and cooked it over a fire. Then they dusted it with cinnamon and sugar – amaaaazing. After our delicious snack we got back on the tour bus, which then took us to the highest point in Buda for the best view of the cities. And it definitely was.

From there we took the bus back down to the Pest side to walk around some more. We walked over to the Temple (which is the 2^nd largest one in the world - the first being the one in NYC), then took the metro up to the mall. It was the first “normal” mall that we’ve seen in a while. Though none of us bought anything, it was nice to feel like we were just back in the states shopping. We had dinner in the area, and then walked back to the hostel. We bought some drinks along the way, thinking that we were going to go out that night. After getting back to the hostel, showering, and chilling out, I really did not feel like going anywhere. Caitlyn and Elyse were on the fence, and once we started chatting with some other guys in our hostel, I assumed they would go out. Ultimately, we all decided to stay in and sleep.

Friday- We hung around the hostel for a bit, then headed to the zoo! It wasn't huge, but it was definately fun. After spending a few hours at the zoo we walked down along the city park. We got to see the beautiful baths there and snuck in to take some pictures. Our flight was late that night, so for the rest of the beautiful afternoon we hung out by parliament and the river. Finally we went back to our hostel to gather our things. Next to the train station we need to be at was a mall. For a quick dinner we went to the food court there and then attempted to get on a train to the airport. Now that was interesting. The train was allll sorts of ghetto. And there was no way to determine when our stop was, because there were no signs. Super. Luckily the guy in the cabin with was very nice and helped us. He didn't speak English, but we showed him our tickets and he told us when to get off.

The rest of the night was normal travel stuff. Flight to Geneva, hotel in Geneva for the night, train back to Bulle Saturday! Whoo! It was quite a week. I know we all had a really great time. Update about my time with my parents soon!

.love and chocolate.

PARIS!!!!

Alrighty, here's the big update on our weekend.

Thursday- Train from Bulle to Paris was hilarious. The three of us must have been super overtired or something, because it was one of those "everything is funny" times. We played cards, chatted, and basically just annoyed everyone around us. It was fabulous.

Met up with Caitlyn's sister (Corey) and cousin (Leigh) in the train station. Got on the metro with the directions the hostel gave us, and soon realized they were wrong... this was going to prove interesting. We got off at one stop and decided to get dinner. McDonald's was the closest place that was open... oh well. The directions said to walk along the canal for 5 min until we reached the end. Walked down the canal for a good 15 or 20 min, with no end of the canal in sight. Found a map, and figured out that we walked the WRONG WAY. We were not pleased. Oh, did I mention it was raining? Yea, it was. Found the closest metro, went a couple stops, and finally made it to the hostel.

Checked in, found out we would have to switch rooms each night... aka check in and out each day (obnoxious) but oh well. Got to our room and found we were sharing with 3 guys. No problem, we knew it would be an 8 person mixed room. They were nice enough. There was a bar downstaris with 10% off for guests so we were toooootally there. Almost everyone there was American! It was very strange to know the language that people were speaking around you. Then we found out that there were about 50 students from Regent's in London there for the weekend... a majority of them UNH students. SOOOO weird to see people who I recognized from home. Anyway, had a couple drinks then went to bed.

Friday- Got up and had breakfast at the hostel, which was cornflakes, bread, and orange juice. Whoo. Carrie, Katie, and Ashley were arriving later, so the 5 of us went off to see some sights. When we got out of the metro in the city, it was absolutely breathtaking. All I could keep saying was, "Oh my GOD we're in PARIS!!!". Walked around there until we found Notre Dame. Went inside to look around, then people wanted to go to the top. 400something steps.... ew. There was a long line so luckily that deterred my group. We bought a boat pass for two days which stopped at about 10 places along the river. So you get a ride and a view. It was great. We took the boat from Notre Dame down to the Eiffel Tower. Now THAT was incredible. It was hard to comprehend that we were actually there, looking at a structure that is one of the most well recognized in the entire world. Very cool. Took all sorts of pictures and walked around the bottom.

Next we decided to get lunch before going up to the top. Found a fun cafe about 2 blocks away. Delicious lunch, a little shopping, then back in line to go up the tower. You take an elevator which is similar to a funnnnicular to the 2nd level, then get off and wait another 45 min to take the SCARIEST ELEVATOR EVER to the top. I put myself in the corner and closed my eyes until we were there. The view was amazing. It was a tad cloudy, but you could still see for miles. After hanging out up there for a bit, we headed back down. By the time we reached the bottom, it was around 5. We had planned to meet up with Carrie, Katie, and Ashley at 6 at the Louvre, so we started walking there. After about 20 min of walking, we realized that it was much further than expected. Hopped on the metro for the rest of the way. Seeing Carrie and Katie (i didn't really know Ashley all that well before this weekend) was so necessary. An excellent reunion. Caitlyn, Elyse, Corey, and Leigh wanted to go shopping, so the rest of us went into the Louvre because it was free to students at that time. Saw the Mona Lisa (cool, but overrated) and some other famous things. Lots of fun. Met back up with the others at 8 to go back to the hostel.

Checked back in, this time we were in a 8 person with 2 guys and a girl. They were all singles. The bar also had food, so we went down there for dinner. Met up with the guys we had shared a room with the night before and some other people. The night was fairly warm, so we all got drinks and hung out outside. It was really nice.

Saturday- Up for another thrilling breakfast. Caitlyn, Corey, and Leigh wanted to see museums, so they went off. Carrie, Katie, Ashley, Elyse, and I headed up to the Champs Elysees to walk around. We walked that street loving the window shopping. Got to the Arc de Triomphe and took loads of pictures. It was sunny and beautiful, so we sat there for almost an hour people watching. Ohhhh there are some interesting people in Paris. Definately had a good time decided the dynamics of groups and where everyone was from.

Then we walked down the other side of the Champs Elysees and then over to the river. We were looking for some type of grocery store to buy lunch. Finally we asked someone and they directed us to this great store and market. Bought lunch and headed to the Eiffel Tower for a picnic. Very delicious and very fun! Katie and Ashley hadn't gone up to the top of the tower, so they stayed there to go up. Carrie, Elyse and I headed towards the Latin Quarter, which is near the Notre Dame. That was so cool. The streets were much smaller and filled with places to eat. We found a crepe stand that we had to stop at. Elyse and I got crepes, and Carrie went across the street to get gelato. We were all very satisfied. After walking around for a while, we found a lot of bars having happy hour. Clearly, we were interested. Found a nice one where we sat right next to the sidewalk. The happy hour drinks were Tequila Sunrises.... delicious. Katie and Ashley met up with us, so we all stayed for a while to have more drinks. We were going to go to Moulin Rouge, but it started pouuuuring. That was then out of the picture.

We then headed back to the hostel to hang out for the night. After realizing we didn't have dinner, we found out the kitchen at the bar was closed. So we walked down the street and found a great little pizza place. Exactly what we needed. That night we were sharing a room with all sorts of random people; it was a 10 person room. As I was getting things out to go to bed, I realized that my alarm clock and iPod were missing. I remembered exactly where I left them in my last room, and knew someone else had taken them. Very depressing :( I checked with reception that night and the next morning, and with housekeeping. But nothing. I freaked out a little, but it's ok... they both can be replaced.

Sunday- Packed up all our stuff and headed to the train station. Corey and Leigh had left early to get their flight. We put our bags in lockers and walked around that area to find lunch. We must have walked for almost 40 minutes before deciding. It was worth it, though. Very good food, not too expensive (for Paris). Then we had to say goodbye to Carrie, Katie, and Ashley. Got our train back to Bulle... and now here we are!

Next adventure is Prague and Budapest. We leave Sunday for Prague, then an overnight train Tuesday-Wednesday to Budapest. Flight back Friday. Stay at the Geneva airport for a night, then back on Saturday. Mom and Dad come this week, so I'll get to see them when we get back!!! I can't waaaait for that.

Back to homework.

.love and chocolate.

Sounds and smells

Ok ok ok, you'll get a Paris update. But I'm currently (well, not right this second) working on a paper for my leadership class, so once that's done the details will be up.

I just had a thought that I wanted to write down. I was thinking about things that I miss from home, and other than the obvious family, friends, and food I miss the smells and sounds. Like, weird smells and sounds. Here are some examples:

Smells:
- My car
- Laundry at home
- Panache when we're making cookies (and hopefully not burning them)
- My backyard
- Barnum and Bailey (don't judge)
- My bed
- Maine

Sounds:
- Rachael blowing her nose
- The sound that my porch makes when you step onto it from the kitchen door
- "The funeral is about to being...."
- Dan's laugh
- Being able to tell if it's mom, dad, or lynn who is coming up the basement stairs just from how they walk
- Barnum and Bailey (I'm a little obsessed with them)
- The stove in H6 when you first turn it on

Ok I think I'm going crazy. But I've officially been out of the states for 2 months! Can't believe it. Back to the leadership paper.

.love and chocolate.

Gossip Glion

Well, we have come to find out that people here like to talk. A lot. About other people. It's getting a little tiring for the three of us to hear new stories that are completely FALSE about us each day. I talked to mom, dad, and Lynn on... Sunday I think, and they said that these people are just bored. With only 350 students, no hockey team to watch, not much of a town, and three new american girls here, they don't have anything better to do than talk about us. But I say, damn it! Get a hobby!

But in the good news department.... WE'RE GOING TO PARIS TODAY!!!!! We're meeting Caitlyn's sister and cousin there tonight, then 3 other UNH girls are going tomorrow! It's going to be an amazing weekend away from all the crap going on here. Then one week of classes, then break! Prague and Budapest are on the docket, then meeting up with mom and dad! Can't wait for that. Be back on Sunday/Monday with updates about the weekend and picturessss!!!!

.love and chocolate.

Happy March!

Can't believe it, but it is already Marzo (like my spanish?). Since my last post, really not much has happened. Turned in 3 projects last week, and now we get to begin on the second part that most of them have. Thrilling.

Plans for our 4 weeks off are coming along slowly. Started off as going to Egypt. Now it might be Greece, Ireland, and around Eastern Europe... who knows where we'll end up. Mom and Dad come at the end of this month, so I'll spend about a week with them toodling around Switzerland. It will be nice to not have to plan my activities for a few days. Oh! It snowed yesterday! And again today! The snow here is quite different from at home. I can't really explain it, but it's a heavier, wetter snow. I know everyone at home is pretty sick of snow by this point, but the UNH girls were very excited. Most other people are complaining about the cold - whimps.

I've been watching all the updates about the primaries in the past few days. Apparently that's what everyone here wants to talk to us about, so I have to keep myself informed. Go Obama!

Next weekend we're going to Paris. It will be Elyse, Caitlyn, her sister and cousin, and I meeting up with some other UNHers. Carrie, who I met in Geneva in January, Katie, who's abroad in London, and I think some other girls. I can't wait! It'll be a great weekend away, filled with crepes and the Eiffel Tower. Ohhhh there will be pictures.

Time to do something productive... like cruise YouTube.

.love and chocolate.

Stupid Projects

So in our classes, your grade is made up of a project and the final. Intense, yea. And it just happens to be that 3 of our projects are due this week. And they're group projects, which makes it that much more difficult to coordinate and stuff. So the weekend was basically full of work and frustration. One project was due today at noon, and most people were working on it until 11:30. What he asked us to do is absoultey ridiculous. We had to get information on a hotel that hotels don't publish. Like, occupancy rates, customer records, etc. And he was so damn specific about exactly what he wanted that it made it very difficult to actually remember it all. Also, Glion all together is so freaking anal about referencing, format, cover pages, and anything else they decide to do to make our lives a living hell. Geeze! And we only have 5 classes! I can't imagine how other people do it with 7, or even 10 classes!

Everyone is looking foward to this weekend very much, since all of our projects and work will be over for now. Most projects have 2 parts, but at least the ones due this week will be finished. And celebrate we will! Caitlyn, Elyse and I are going to plan our spring break sometime this week, so that will be the next exciting thing to tell you all.

Still missing Lynn and Brett. She posted almost 250 pictures. They're all great! If you're not on facebook, just e-mail Lynn to see them. And if you are on fbook, but not friends with my sister, friend her. Believe me, if you're friends with me, she'll friend you back. Hahaha.

.love and chocolate.

Visitors!

Last week Caitlyn's parents came. On Wednesday night they took us (me, Caitlyn, and Elyse) out to dinner. Cute place in Bulle with amazing food. We ate like we had never been fed before. It was fabulous.

Thursday was Valentine's Day. The Glion students step up a nice little get together. We all had one glass of wine and were in bed by 10... orrrrr something like that. The rest of the weekend was normal. Out at night, homework/shopping during the day. But then there was Sunday.

Lynn and Brett came on Sunday!!!! I had set my alarm at 8:30 to get a 9:13 train. Work up at 9:12... realized that I had set it for PM, not AM. I paniced. Ended up getting a train that took me all over this freaking country, and finally to the airport an hour and a half later than I had planned. Lynn and Brett's plan had been delayed out of Logan, so they had 20 min to get their connecting flight in Amsterdam (Amster Amster Dam Dam Dam!) Thankfully, they made their plane. But their luggage didn't. They were told that it would be on the next flight, leaving Amsterdam around 3, and then would be brought to Bulle. Brought them back to Bulle with me, where they got to their room and showered before I toured them around. Went to my room to meet people, over to campus to show them the classes, then walked around Bulle for a while. Had dinner at this great little place in town and went back to my room to check e-mail and figure out plans for Monday. As I walked them out to go back to their hotel, I was praying I would meet them in the morning and they would have all their luggage.

No such luck. Met them at their room Monday morning to take them on an adventure, with still no luggage. Apparently the airline had 2 of their 4 bags, and would be delivering them at 2pm. We got a train over to Gruyeres to see the town and the Chateau. Spent a little while up there (so beautiful) and then Lynn wanted to tour the cheese factory. That was fun, and we got samples. On the bus to our next destination, we all tried the cheese. 6 months, 8 months, and 10 months of aging. Lynn tried the 10 month first... EWWW. At that point, I just went straight for the 6. Brett was daring and tried all three. Lynn convinced me to try the 10 (gotta love sisters). It was... an experience. One that I would never want to try again.

Next stop was Moleson, our token mountain, and the tallest in the area (2002 meters). From the bus we took a Funicular (SOOOO COOL!!) up part of the mountain. There, there was a ski station and restaurant. We then took a scary-ass cable car up to the summit. Mom would not have liked that. There was another restaurant and observation area up there. Along with ski slopes! People are such crazy skiers in Switzerland. Lynn and Brett then wanted to climb to the VERRRRY top. I didn't think we were allowed to... but we went anyway. 2002 meters is beautiful!!!!
Back at the bottom, we had about 2 1/2 hours before our bus... with nothing open. We basically just bummed around before getting something to eat and then bummed around again. Finally we got back to Bulle, and Lynn asked the receptionist if their bags had come. She didn't speak very good English, and said something like, "No bags. 2 bags at 10". Lynn was livid as we went up to their room. Opened the door aaaaand.... 4 bags! Everyone was much happier at that point. Even me, because all of the stuff I had requested from home was finally here! I left them to relax and shower before going to dinner. Apparently Kebabs are very popular in Switzerland, so I took them to our favorite place for dinner. Delicious as always. Brought them back here to check train schedules for the rest of their trip, then had to say goodbye :( I had a great couple days with them... it was very much needed!

Elyse's parents and 2 brothers came this weekend. We're going out to dinner with all of them tonight and I'm definately looking forward to it. Who wants to take us out next week??? :)

This weekend is going to be full of work. We have 3 projects due next week, so it doesn't look like "fun" is on the agenda... though I'm SURE we'll find time for that. Gotta keep up the Glion Spirit!!

.love and chocolate.

No longer trendy

I'm making a list of all the thing that don't matter/aren't popular over here, that were in the states. I'm sure this list will get longer as the semester goes on.

- Vera Bradley (sorry sister)
- North Face jackets
- Headbands
- Nalgene's
- Being considerate (not many people say excuse me)
- Eating large meals
- Pick-up trucks (sorry roomz)
- Saving trees (teachers give millions of handouts)
- Enormous mansions that could house 60, but only house 2 newlyweds and an infant
- Tap water

That's all I can think of right now. Stay tuned for more thrilling updates.

.love and chocolate.

"I don't even want a beer... I just want a chairlift"

This past week was uneventful. Classes are going, projects are in the process. Most of them are due in 2 weeks, so everyone is working hard. Thursday night was the welcome party - that was certainly interesting. I may or may not have had one or two drinks, and began missing UNH. Once I got back here, I had to call someone from home to talk to. So, I chose my mom. It was about... 3:30 here, so 9:30 at home (just before my mom's bed time). We talked for a while as I calmed down, then I was able to go to bed. Friday night was a normal night. We went out to a bar, and then to a club. Nothing too exciting. Saturday was just homework and hanging out during the day. My goal was to actually go out for only ONE drink that night, and I did! I was back and in bed by 12:15.

The only reason I was in so early was because a big group of us went skiing! There were 9 of us - 6 skiing (me, Elyse, Aura, Francisco, Ana, Valery) and 3 boarding (Caitlyn, Loric, Vianney). I was the only one who had skied before, and Caitlyn and Loric had boarded before. I figured the place would have bunny hills... not so much. And unfortunately, I'm not the best teacher. The day was filled with screaming and falling. We had fun though! Elyse and Vianney tried their respecitve sports, but ended up just staying in the lodge. The views were absolutely INSANE!!! Gotta love the Swiss Alps! Oh, and the title of post is due to the fact that my boots were about 2 sizes too small, and all they had were j-bars to get you up the mountain (yea, doesn't make sense to me either). So Caitlyn and I were on one for 2 people and were both in extreme pain. I said, "You know, I don't even want a beer. I just want a chairlift". And that's where it came from, and it was so true.

This week is just going to be more classes and working on projects. The majority of them are due in 2 weeks, so I'll be much happier then. Thursday, as you SHOULD know, is Valentine's Day (along with Dan's 21st birthday!). Glion has set up a nice little get together (*cough*) for the students. So that should be a good time.

LYNN AND BRETT COME ON SUNDAY!!!!!!!!!! I will call upon my tour guide skills to keep them entertained through Monday. Ohhhh don't worry. There will be MANY pictures.

.love and chocolate.

Florence and Milan

We made it through out first trip together! And we're still talking! Yay us.

Thursday- Got a train out of Bulle and took lots of stops (3 in Switzerland, one in Milan) before finally arriving in Florence. We took a taxi to our hostel, and arrived there around 11pm. The hostel was basic. My mom would have freaked at the shower (some serious mold growing), but that's ok. We got what we paid for. It had a "king" bed (2 double pushed together with king sized sheets) and a single. The first night there we all slept in the king. It was cozy :)

Friday- This day was spent exploring the incredible city. The morning started off rainy, but when you're only there 2 days, no weather can stop you. We walked around taking pictures, and our first stop was the Uffizi Gallery. It was so amazing... but after a while, all the art starts looking the same. They had a patio on the 2nd floor, and when we got there the sun was out! Left there and continued walking. Stopped in the Piazza della Signoria where one of two replicas of "David" is, along with the Palazzo Vecchio and some famous fountain. Next was the Duomo, which is the third largest church in the WORLD. It is an absolutely breath-taking building. We went into the cathedral, then walked up to the top of the dome. Wait, I mean we CLIMBED to the top of the dome... 450-something steps! I was freaking out the majority of the time. But the view was INSANE. Wanna see it? Well, it's at the top of the post. It's not letting me move the picture down here. Anyway, then we went trying to find a local food that our friend suggest. Tripe? Trype? Yea. All I know is that it's some foreign animal body part that I was NOT about to eat. But she was adverturous. Go her! ANNNND while Caitlyn was pumping herself up to eat it, we ran into our friend from UNH!! So random. But awesome to make a connection to someone from home. Made it seem like we weren't the only ones gone from UNH.

After that we went to the Galleria dell'Accademia. That's where the "David" is. It was HUUUUUGE. I had no idea. It was really incredible to see it in person. There was other stuff in the galleria, but nothing worth seeing after that. Then we headed back to the hostel to hang out for a little bit. The owner suggested a restaurant for dinner across the street, so we went there. It was reeeally good. It was our "splurge" dinner. After dinner we decided to test out the night life in Florence. We had planned to meet up with our UNH friend, but things didn't end up working out. We went to a pub and I met a girl from Framingham! (UNH people, that's the town next to my hometown, and where I work over the summer) She goes to Endicott, and is in Florence for the semester. We hung out with her, Suzy, and her friend Katie for the evening. Next we went to a dance club down the street. It was super crowded but fun. And there we saw ANOTHER UNHer!! Our friend Juliet was there and seeing her was equally amazing! We think that we also saw 2 other UNH girls, but no one we really know.

Saturday- Left the hostel with all of our things to go shopping in the market. Obviously we all bought leather bags. Duh, it's Italy! But we haggled!! I was very proud of myself. After walking around a little more, we headed to the train station to get a train to Milan. Arrived in Milan and took a taxi to our hotel. It was a little bit in the ghetto, but nicer than the hostel. After checking in we got on the metro and explored Milan. Saw the equally amazing Duomo there. Along with a famous fountain and a famous arch (no clue what they're called or why they're famous). We cruised the shopping section, of course, because we were in Milaaaaano. Dinner time finally rolled around and we asked a doorman at a hotel for a suggestion (very Rachael Ray or Samantha Brown). He directed us to this restaurant which was absolutely amazing. I had some sort of pasta with pesto that was ALMOST as good as Mrs. Wyant's. After dinner we were way too tired to go out, so we went back to the hotel. Got in our PJs and "watched" italian TV while chatting. A nice, relaxing night.

Sunday- Checked out of the hotel, but left our bags so we wouldn't have to schlep them around the city for the day. Took the metro to the Piazza Castello. The castle was so beautiful. There was a huge park behind it, and at the end was another famous thing in Milan. I feel that really all that matters is that I know it's famous... I don't need to know the names :) After strolling through the park, we went back to the Piazza Duomo to find lunch. Got lunch at this random place that was like an a la carte restaurant, but exactly what we needed. Went shopping after lunch, and totally lost track of time. We basically had to run back to our hotel to get our stuff and run back to the train station. But we made it!

All in all, a very successful and fun weekend. The next few weekends we'll be staying around here. Lynn and Brett come on the 17th!!!! Can't wait for that. I think our next big trip will be Paris in early March when Caitlyn's sister and cousin come.

As always, all of you are MOOOORE than welcome to come visit me. Bulle only has a day's worth of things to do, but Geneva is fabulous. Get crackin on those plane tickets!!!

.love and chocolate.

Sick-os

Everyone is getting sick! I'm trying to avoid all the sick people, by either staying in the lounge, or sitting at my desk with the window open. My mom would be proud. My poor roommate has some sort of virus and has been told to not leave her bed. We've been taking fruit from the dining room for her, and the nurse has been bringing her meals. Hopefully I don't catch what she has!

Classes are classes. There's a group project in almost every class, so figuring out times to meet with all of them is a challenge. Most of the projects will be over by the end of February or the beginning of March, so the spring shouldn't be too bad... minus worrying about finals.

We're hopefully going to Italy this weekend. We haven't planned anything yet, so who knows if we'll be able to. The idea is to leave tomorrow night for Florence, stay in a hostel Thursday night and Friday night there, then go to Milan for Saturday night. Sunday we'll be coming back here. If you don't hear from me all weekend, then you'll know that we actually went.

Oh! We have a mascot! I've named him Toby, though we're not even sure he's a boy. He's this adorable grey cat that roams campus, and sometimes is even let into our dorm. You can hear him meow-ing all the time. He tends to hang out by this one door, so we think who ever lives there let him in once... and I'm sure is regretting it now. He's fun to play with, but makes me miss Barnum and Bailey. Don't worry mom, I washed my hands after playing with him and didn't let him lick me :)

JUST to let you know, the address I have posted to send me mail does work. I assume that people are waiting to send me those huge care packages until they know it works. So. It does. Don't have the address? You're in luck! I just so happen to know it!

Emily Connor
GIHE
Rue de l'Ondine 20
1630 Bulle
Switzerland

No excuses. I'm getting lonely.

Back to homework. Enjoy your day!


.love and chocolate.

First Real Weekend

Classes have been going well so far. Lots of reading, but it’s do able. I can’t imagine how most students take 7 classes, and some even take 10. It’s really insane.

On Friday a whole bunch of us went to Chateau d’Oex for a hot air balloon festival. We took the train over, which was about an hour ride. We got there around 3, walked through the town looking for information about the festival, and found out that nothing was going on until 7. Super. We were expecting there to just be balloons up in the air all over the place. Apparently that day they decided not to do that. So we all bummed around Chateau d’Oex until 7 (mind you, it was QUITE cold once the sun went down). There was a church on top of a hill in the middle of town, which was where we went to get the best view. At 7 there was a whole lights and balloons display. It’s hard to explain, but basically there were filled balloons scattered along the hillside of the town, and some candles or lights that made the shapes of more balloons. Since it was dark, every time a balloon’s flame would go on, we could see the balloons. Without the flame, it was just dark. So the balloons would light up set to the music. It was very cool, but VERY cold.

We all took the train back to Bulle, and went down town to a local bar for the evening. It was great because pretty much all the people that were there, were Glion students. It was a nice way to meet people and try to convince them not to hate us just because we’re American.

Saturday was amazing. I took an early train to meet my friend from UNH, Carrie, in Geneva. She’s studying abroad in Dijon, France. We met at the train station for our much needed reunion. Caitlyn and Elyse came on a later train, but the phone numbers that were exchanged weren’t quite right, so we couldn’t get in touch to meet up. So Carrie and I spent the whole day walking around and exploring Geneva. Talking to someone from home, face-to-face, who isn’t biased as to what’s going on here was EXACTLY what I needed. We had a wonderful day filled with random shops, an unexpected show from a type of marching band, and Carrie being able to speak French (that’s really the only reason I keep her around J).

We decided to find some place to get dinner, and decided on an authentic Mexican food place… lol. We walk by to see if they’re open, and who’s inside but Caitlyn and Elyse! So it was great that we were all able to get together for dinner. Carrie’s train was around 7, and ours was at 7:10. We all went to the train station to see Carrie off. Again, we came back and then went out with a bunch of friends for the evening.

Today was a bit of a lazy day. We all got to stay in bed late, and then go to the “American” brunch that they serve on Sunday. It was eggs, bacon (though they were all out when we were there), crepes, waffles, something like a chicken burrito, pizza, cereal, toast, hot dogs (random?), and some other stuff. It was definitely good though.

We all came back and did a bunch of reading all afternoon. Dinner and a movie in the evening, and just some quality hanging out time.

Time to get some more reading done.

.love and chocolate.

Gruyeres and classes

On Sunday afternoon, Mr. Nash took the three of us to Gruyeres. It's a town about a 10 minutetrain ride from us. Took the train there, and then had to walk up to the town. It was SUCH a beautiful view from up there. We got lots of pictures, and they're posted on facebook. We went tothe Chateau de Gruyeres and did a tour around that. It was such an amazing place. The town itselfis adorable. Tiny, just one cobblestone "road" with little shops and cafes all around it. We stoppedon our way back down for ice cream. Definately a fun place to visit.

Monday was like an orienation day. The three of us were pointed out in every freaking class. Every teacher said something like, "These are our american students, from new hampshire. They're different. They're special. Don't let them sit together all the time. They need to branch out" it was incredibly obnoxious. We're going to branch out, CHILL.

We ended up going out to a bar Monday night called Big Ben. We didn't leave until 10, so we only stayed out until about 11:30... since we had an 8am class the next morning. It was really fun to go out with other Glion students.

Classes really started yesterday. We're taking 5 classes: Tourism Operations Managment, Marketing, Conventions and Exhibitions Management, HR Management, and Leadership. At this point, it seems that my favorite is going to be tourism, followed by leadership, conventions, and HR/marketing (they're tied at this point). Classes will be intense, because the whole grade is comprised of a project grade and a final exam. That's it! Very different from UNH.

We worked it out to only have classes Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Lots of time to travel on our weekends! We're going to Geneva this weekend to meet up with my friend Carrie (Dempster, for those who know who she is). She's been abroad in France since September and I can't waaait to see her. It will be a great UNH reunion.

Time to go back to class. One more this afternoon.

.love and chocolate.

P.S. So sad about Heath Ledger!!!! :( :( :(

Disclaimer

Just to let you know, the date and time of my posts is about 10 hours behind. Not sure why.

.love and chocolate.

The Beginning

Bonjour!!!

Yea, that's about all the french I know. But it's really all I need, for the most part.

So! It has certainly been a collection of adventures so far. The flight over to London was ok. For any of you who have flown with me before... there was LOTS of turbulance (sp?). And you know how much I just LOVE that. Yea, so basically I almost had a mini-melt down on the plane. But I held it together.

We were a bit delayed out of Heathrow because of the PLANE CRASH there that I'm sure you've all heard about. Elyse and I arrive in Geneva and checked into our sweet hotel. Caitlyn was supposed to arrive at 11:15... but apparently our flight had been the last one allowed out of Heathrow. So it was interesting to try and find out which flight she was actually able to get on, and finally get her back to the hotel with us. After we settled a little bit, the three of us headed into the city area of Geneva on the train. It was soooooo pretty! Gorgeous old buildings, THE LAKE, expensive shops, and lots of good people watching. We tried getting dinner, but everywhere we went was SOOO expensive! Yea, welcome to Europe. Well, we ended up at McDonald's. DON'T judge me.

After dinner we decided to head back to the hotel. This is the beginning of Adventure #1. We got on a train that we THOUGHT would take us back to our hotel. After 2 stops, we realized we were on the wrong train. We got off at... some stop. Looked up the timetable there, and found that the next train going back to the city wasn't for another 45 minutes. "Let's get a taxi", we figured. Yea. That was like trying to hail a cab in Sudbury, or Durham. It was clearly not going to happen. So we waited at this sketchy ass station for the next train. Over an hour after we had planned, we got back to the hotel to go to bed.

Yesterday was our travel day to Bulle. We took a train to Romant, then a mini-van-taxi picked us and three other people going to Glion. Apparently the driver thought I would be fun to talk to. Mind you, he spoke no english. And I speak basically no french. That was interesting. I smiled a lot and nodded and hopefully didn't agree to give him my first born.

Welcome to Bulle! We got to "campus" around 1:30. Checked in, got our room assignments, etc. Caitlyn and I are on the second floor, 2 doors down from each other. Elyse is one floor below us. The rooms are nice. We have our own bathrooms! Whoo! And people who clean them! Would you like a picture? I'm sure you would.
So that's my side of the room, very naked, very unpacked. My roommate, Aura (like "Oww Ruh"), has the other side. She's from Mexico and very nice. So the picture is taken from our little hall, with closets behind me to the right, and the bathroom on the left immediately when you walk in the door. I'll put a more complete set of pictures on facebook.

I say "campus" because it's not really a campus. Not like UNH, at least. There is one building that has all the classes and dining room. Then, about 200 meters away is the residence building. And that's it. Both buildings are in the middle of like, a huge apartment village. It's very strange. At least I shouldn't get too lost.

I went down to Caitlyn's room to visit, and we decided to set up her iPod speakers. This is the beginning of Adventure #2. We plugged in what we THOUGHT was a converter, then plugged her speakers into that. After about, 15 seconds, Caitlyn sees smoke. She unpluggs everything and opens the window so that we don't set off the alarm. Whoops! Aparently it wasn't a converter, just an adapter. You live, you learn, right? But not only was there smoke, it had also blown out the whole room. No outlets worked, no lights. So we had to go downstairs and talk to this guy George (he had shown us around earlier. Nice, cute, and from Sweden) about it. We just said that the lights didn't work... they didn't need to know about the smoke. George said he'd take care of it.

At that point we had to meet with Michael Nash. He's a professor here, and basically our advisor while we're at Glion. He's this older man from London, who knows everything about everything. He greeted us and was so thrilled to have his "three americans" here (that's what he, and almost everyone else, calls us). He took us on another tour of the school, helped us with our computers, and then toured us around Bulle. It's an adorable town, with little shops and cafes everywhere. But, it is definately small... and very removed from everything else. But that's how most of Switzerland is. Lots of open space and rolling hills in between insanely beautiful mountains.

Speaking of mountains, would you like to see the view from my window? Right-o.Amazing, isn't it? That is looking towards the south-east sort of, and away from the center of Bulle.

We then returned to our rooms to unpack some more, and then Caitlyn's roommate arrived. Her name is, Vennie (I'm not sure if that's spelled right), and she's from Mexico also. Her two friends, Carlos and Francisco, live in the room in between us.

Caitlyn, Elyse and I went to dinner around 6:15 (it was only served 6-6:30... yea). Dinner was pizza and salad, which was just fine with me. After we decided to walk into town to pick up a few things. On Saturdays, most stores close at 4, but a couple places are still open. On Sunday everything is closed.

On our walk back, we went through this little park, that had a sort of... maze. This is the beginning of Adventure #3. There were bridges that you walked over that we ground level, and then dug into the ground is like a cement maze. There are 2 slides, also. I'll have to get a picture of that. It was very fun. I decided to go down one of the slides. Got stuck and dirty. But it was fun. Then I thought the maze part was too creep to walk through, so I walked on top of the maze walls. Got stuck. Had to get Caitlyn and Elyse to help me down. Then we couldn't find the path back down to the sidewalk (though this park was really no bigger than... our downstairs, or the distance from The Knot to BNG). We thought we were going to get arrested for walking on the grass. After about 10 steps, we found the path. It sounds lame now that I'm typing it, but it was definately an adventure.

The rest of the night was just spent socializing and unpacking. Auda went to Geneva for the night with some friends. Unfortunately, as exhausted as I was, I couldn't sleep. It's 9:30 now, and I've been up since 6:30. And I'm getting sick because I'm not sleeping. Whoo! Good times.

Had my second melt-down this morning. I couldn't figure out how to get on the internet, and lost it. But now that I have facebook... all is well.

I will hopefully be writing here often. Though I'm not sure if anyone is actually reading these. I miss everyone so much, and can't wait to hear from all of you.

.love and chocolate.

One week

So, one week from now I will be in Switzerland. This is out of control. It really hasn't hit me yet that I will be all the way across the Atlantic for nearly 5 months. If you have enough interest in my life to read this, then I will certainly be missing you while I'm there.

Keep me updated, k?

.Love and chocolate.

1

My first blog... wowwww.

So, I'm sure you will all want daily reports of my life in Switzerland. You are in luck. This is where you will be able to find such reports. Please enjoy and leave comments so I can have some connection with the states.