More pictures!

venezia e verona. (Venice and Verona, Italy)

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2023597&id=1490550154&l=8edf36d6fa

you say to-mah-toe, i say to-may-toe. (Florence, Italy)

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2023837&id=1490550154&l=0931f165e7

Bike parking, allowed?? (Rome, Italy)

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2024055&id=1490550154&l=51e46de2e5

Bisous. (south of France)

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2024303&id=1490550154&l=015bbcce81

Surely. (Cinque Terre, Italy)

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2024476&id=1490550154&l=da359a490a

best.birthday.weekend.ever. (Paris, France)

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2025093&id=1490550154&l=064e46d84e

A side of earth apples, s'il vous plaît? (Bern, Switzerland)

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2025426&id=1490550154&l=2cc5822a2e

Fêtes des Vendanges: confetti et les coeurs. (Neuchâtel, Switzerland)

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2025427&id=1490550154&l=3d5d7cab54

Irene en Suisse! (Gruyere and Murten, Switzerland)

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2026375&id=1490550154&l=8fc8dcee9f

Antsy to see Annecy. (Annecy, France)

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2026378&id=1490550154&l=0ba541a637

un jour à Thun, Spiez, et Interlaken. (Thun, Spiez, and Interlaken, Switzerland)

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2027039&id=1490550154&l=dadf6a67c3

3 novembre 2009

Today was SO exciting for me! I bought a train ticket to Paris and plane tickets to Istanbul, Turkey and Lisbon, Portugal! It suddenly hit me that my time in Europe was coming to an end and that there were still so many places I wanted to see. I looked at my list of to-see’s, talked to friends, and decided on a repeatable favorite (Paris) and then two cities on complete opposite sides of the continent (Istanbul and Lisbon)!

I’ll be in Paris: Nov. 13-15

Istanbul: Nov. 27-30 (in Turkey for Turkey Day!)

Lisbon: Dec. 6-9

I’m SO excited! I feel so blessed to be able to see these incredible places! These trips are just the motivation I needed to get all my work done during the week and give me something incredible to look forward to!

2 novembre 2009

Every Monday and Thursday after German class, Kaitlyn and I try to decide what we learned that day so she can report back to her German roommates. For the longest time, it was a day of the week or a number (it’s been a slow process for us, but such a great learning experience J), but today we learned how to describe our hobbies. Daniel, Kaitlyn, and I decided our Fribourg hobbies were: reisen, tanzer, lesen, essen, und studieren (travel, dance, read, eat, and study).

31 octobre 2009

Happy Halloween! Today, I worked on a research paper for my course, An American in Paris. The roughdraft is due Monday. I’m writing it on the female protagonist in Hemingway’s Fiesta: The Sun Also Rises: Lady Brett Ashley. I love this book and am really enjoying writing this paper.

Spotted: three Americans at a Swiss Halloween party.

Tonight, Kaitlyn’s apartment is having a Halloween party at Beauregard, student apartments in Fribourg. We thought about dressing up as Haribo bears – the gummy bears from Bohn, Germany. Instead, we decided to be “Gossip Girls.” The show, just like at home, has taken over Europe, especially our European friends in Fribourg. It was a fun reason to get dressed up.

Xoxo, you know you love me. Signed, gossip girl.

30 octobre 2009

Switzerland is a small, steep country, much more up and down than sideways… Ernest Hemingway

This is just what I witnessed today, the up’s and down’s of the Swiss Alps. This morning, Jen, Vincent, Kaitlyn, Yohannaliz, and I decided we wanted to see some snow – some real Swiss snow. So, we got tickets to Interlaken! None of us had ever been and were anxious to see the “extreme sports capital of the world.” We left around 11:00 and started in to the center of Switzerland. Our ticket was not for any specific time so we jumped off in Thun and then again in Spiez. Thun and Spiez were beautiful! I can’t believe this is the first time I had visited them! We saw the top sites of any Swiss village – the lake, the cathedral, the chateau, the Alps, the café, and then back to the train station. Both Thun and Spiez were so laid back. We didn’t see anyone our age – only those way younger of way older. In Spiez, we made our way down to the harbor and made ourselves comfortable sitting on the edge of the clearest water I have ever seen. I don’t think I’ve ever been so relaxed. We had no agenda or schedule and were so happy to just sit on the water and watch the sailboats go by. It’s difficult to tell where the mountains and water meet – they almost seem like one. The sharp contrast between the towering, snow-capped Alps and the clear blue lake is breathtaking. Fall is in full bloom here, even though I believe it’s technically winter. The colors and piles of leaves around the Spiez Cathedral were beautiful, reminding me of a fall, football Saturday in Oxford. I tried to explain Oxford/Southern/Ole Miss/Grove culture to the Arizonians, Peruvians, and Cape Codian today… it’s very difficult to do. I so take for granted how wonderful of a place it is and must have assumed everyone else could understand the greatness of a football Saturday on the Grove, a TCBY cone from Chaney’s, sweet potato casserole from Ajax, and sweet tea that’s really just sugar water J We play Auburn tomorrow – hotty toddy! With daylight savings time, the sun starts to set here around 4:30… By the time we started the last leg of our trip to Interlaken, it was beginning to get dark. Even with the darkness, the ride into Interlaken was beautiful! Alps the whole way! When we got into Interlaken, we bought tickets for the mountain train up to Gimmelwald.

20 octobre 2009

Momma left this morning – she got on a train to the airport and I got on a train back to Fribourg for a 10:15 class a few minutes later. It was SO great having her here, for her to see my everyday life here and to travel throughout Switzerland and some of France with her! I am so blessed to have a mom that would jump the pond to come see me and can’t wait until our whole family travels in Europe together J

19 octobre 2009

I went to my courses this morning and Momma went to the local chocolate factory, Villars Chocolate, and got lots of chocolate to take home a few pieces of Switzerland. When I got out of class around lunch, we hopped on a train to Zurich! We checked into our hotel and then started off walking. First stop, one of the most expensive streets in the world, literally: Bahnhofstrasse. We spent a good bit of time in the Louis Vuitton store, oohing and aahing over future Christmas presents J and getting great advice from a Louis sales rep. on where to go, eat, and drink in Zurich. We took his advice and went to the water, crossed the Quaibrucke, and had an amazing hot chocolate and apple tarte at Café Schober. We walked through Old Town (incredibly beautiful winding, cobblestone roads) and had the best dinner at another place recommended by our Louis friend. I had my favorite, wiener schnitzel, with a fresh cranberry sauce J Such a great way to end the week with Momma in la Suisse!