And I'm Proud to be an American...

'Ello! from Cambridge...Today, Sunday, July 5th (also, my dad's birthday by the way), is our last full day of the trip. Tomorrow morning, and by morning I mean late night (around 3:30 or 4:00 AM) we're heading to London to make our way back to the good ole' USA! Hooray!

As is apparent (if anyone is even still reading this...if not, at least Steve and I will have it as a memory), we have not blogged in quite a few days. The reasoning behind this is that we have literally had the same, uneventful schedule I wouldn't say uneventful, thats so strong.. the entirety of our stay in Cambridge:

-wake up late and eat breakfast/lunch this means breakfast food at lunch time

-watched experienced and novice punters (although a few days ago we took it to a new extent by walking down the river a ways to a bridge to observe. There are mass amounts of inexperienced punters on the river on Saturdays. This section of river was like a traffic jam, usually at the expense of one group, which would be embarrassing, everybody looking at them and they're just spinning around in circles, blocking traffic, hilar for bystanders. There are two punting companies in this area: one that wear collard shirt and nice shorts and the other who wear flourescent colored tank tops or no shirt/80s sunglasses (with the same bold colors as the tank tops and surfing shorts Erin secretly loved these people, shouting, "Oh look at those crazy punters, (then gazing for an extended period of time)," listen I get it, I saw you)...anyway, we watched a few of the punters from the uniformed company manuever in and out of these people...and when I say manuever I mean literally make zig-zag lines around others without hitting them...it was amazing.

-possibly walk to the "green" near the apt to read/get sun/watch people/smell DELICIOUS food (they have one-time-use grills that they bring out there). This was terrible, everyone here grills delicious meats apparently, leaving me starving.

-eat dinner (usually involves pasta and cheese) although on the 4th of July we had chicken nuggets and potato skins with cheese and bacon, I found it only appropriate. Also, on the 4th, we played "God Bless the USA" by Lee Greenwood a few times with our roomate, Bob Costa (more on him later).

Anyway, we decided to do 10 questions about the trip (again, I'm sure no one is still reading this, but just in case, and, again, good memory). I would like to apologize for the fact that this will look like Christmas colors (or colours, since we're in the UK) when we comment, but it was not planned.

1)Favorite City?

Rome - This city was fanatastic, a history buff's fantasy, mainly because everything is so old, and most all of the sites were free, what a deal! Interestingly enough, even with free places to see, we still spent the most money here...Also, we befriended a restaurant owner and dancing locals, all around good time.

I would also have to say Rome...mainly because we were able to see a lot of sights in a little amount of time (and for free!), the food was great, and we made friends everywehere. Also, I loved Valencia...it was small so I felt like we got a grip of the city in the little bit of time we were there. And the beach there was AMAZING (foot massage included)!

2)Best Hostel?

Barcelona...definitely. Despite the room being 100 degress at night, they had a well layed out "social area." The kitchen and eating area were right beside the game room so you saw everyone. Also, the staff was super helpful and we met our "group of misfits" (as Steve would say) from various countries.

We are in agreement again, I also liked Barcelona. Although the men's showers had no curtains, the people we met were just too much fun, and we had great cross-cultural talks. Also, the staff was nice and fun, and it was close to the soccer stadium! It also had a full kitchen, high-school aged French girls who couldn't stop staring, and a coffee vending machine. Great!

3) Favorite Site?

The Vatican. It was free to get into the church, and it was fantastic. Everything was so huge, and every square inch was decorated in some way (this is even cooler when you think that most of those little paintings and stuff probably had a meaning too, amazing). Also, the view from the top of the dome was fantastic, both inside and out.

Sunset and wine at Piazzale Michelangelo. It was such a pretty walk up, and, obviously a great view when we got up there. Also, there was a great mix of locals and tourists. And, great convo.

4)Best Memory?

After our train car's A/C gave out and I thought I was going to have a panic attack, we moved to an area between the cars and sat and looked out the window. Although it was still hot, and we had hours left on the train, we took videos of each other, that ended up being hysterical!

Orrr, eating dinner outside (great view of mountains) at Stephen's aunts then ending the night with wine, tea, and watching a slideshow of pictures.

The train ride to Italy. This seems odd to say, but it was crazy how when we got on we were almost crying about how we weren't going to sleep ever, how there was no dining car (our refuge on long train rides), and how we were going to make it. It ended up being the best sleep I've had in a while, and I still can't figure out why. I remember waking up and being suprisingly refreshed, and looking over to see Erin still passed out, hilar!

5) Worst Memory?

Getting lost in the slums of Madrid, Spain. This was actually scary, as we didn't speak Spanish, and we were carrying a bookbag, so we had to stick out, and all their eyes were crawling over us as if to decide how they would murder us and take our money (and yes we actually had some at that point, ha!).

I have two: 1) taking the overnight train to Switzerland from Barcelona. We made our way to the dining car and (after not finding ANYTHING appealing on the menu) argued about how I would NOT eat a jamon sandwich for dinner...and did not even want to see jamon...and how Steve refused to eat pasta and cheese for dinner ever again and how he "hated it." And then, having to eat an omelette sandwich (which I ate two bites of) and had to go to bed hungry on a train...horrible.

2) Arriving in Florence, getting lost, and getting aggravated because it took us over an hour to get food once we got to our hostel. We made it all the way to a restaurant and realized we didn't have cash so had to go all the way back to the ATM (that was right beside the hostel) and go back. I never been hungrier or more aggravated by a lack of planning.

6) Best Meal?

I would say the first meal in Rome...we each had a pizza with unbelievably fresh cheese and mushrooms. I've never been more satisfied after eating. And we were eating outside under a roof of vines, very pretty.

That meal was very delicious, but the one in Switzerland was the best for me. We ate at my aunt's friend's, Hans and his wife, who made a variety of meats, veggies, multiple desserts, wines, grappa, expresso. I was actually stuffed.

7) Worst Meal?

I'll have to throw it back to Err's earlier comment, the sandwich on the train to Switzerland the first time, that was horrible, but I was starved so I toughed it out, but never again. That was horrible being hungry as well, for 11 hours, although that tuna steak meal at Gail's was great after starving.

The last meal we had at a restaurant in Barcelona. Of course, it was jamon, cheese, and bread. I cannot describe how much I was over jamon. Also, we tried to order crablegs (would have been a fantastic change) and received some sort of fried seafood=let down.

8) Person you wish you hadn't come in contact with?

I was trying to think of someone else (because this could be Stephen's too) but I am forced to say Sam from Valencia. The guy that trapped us in the bathroom, acting incredibly patrionizing, and told us what he "admired" about our trip and what there was to offer in each city in Spain, including his overview of the population...which we late found was wrong. "Barcelona is only Spanish people, it's such an inside culture and others are not welcomed." Not so true, Sam, but thanks anyway.

Erin is correct, that was my least favorite person ever. Although on this trip I became somewhat of a SC fan, I did not like the way he talked down to us as if we didn't know anything being from SC, trying to hide it with talks of his travels around the South and its beauty. Also, previously unmentioned, the conversation started with him because he tried to hit on Erin, while I was in a stall, then asking if we were "affliated," yes, Sam, we are, so back up.

9) Person you're most glad you came in contact with?

Everyone at the hostel in Barcelona. I personally enjoyed Toby because I spoke some German with him and he responded, making me feel as if I could actually talk German. Also, the guy from

Australia was really casual, talking about Australia being as real as possible, unlike that imposter in Madrid.

Bob Costa or "Bizzle" as we refer to him when he's not here, our current roomate in Cambridge. 1) Good roomate, gave us pointers about Cambridge 2) He's met/interviewed/is friends with anyone and everyone famous including several politicians, Dave Matthews, John Mayer, Three Days Grace, Maroon 5 (most importantly Adam Levine), and the list goes on. 3) He said he'd get us tickets to a concert when he returns to the States (he's a music critic). 4) I'm sure he'll be a famous journalist one day.

10) Song that embodies the trip?

"Starman" by David Bowie. We heard this playing at our hostel in Florence but have played it several times since then (including on our picture slide show for Stephen's aunt). Also, for some reason, I feel like it fits the trip perfectly.

"Poker Face" by Lady GaGa. I am not a particular fan of this song, but apparently the entire European techno scene has this song as their anthem, so all the cars that were "bumping" music were playing this jam, and on late nights, whenever we passed clubs or bars, this song was playing. Literally we heard it a million times, so its somewhat synonymous with the trip.

We've also gathered a few awkward pics. Still hilar. The first: was in the "green" ...people like this are exactly why we go. He was not doing yoga, btw. He did handstands for about 10 minutes (falling frequently).

2) Head retro punter we saw every day (also, we got to know him a little better than we wanted one day when we passed the window while changing into a bathing suit ON the punt, in broad daylight...luckily he was punting his friends this time, not tourists because that could've been awkward. 3) Interesting

And so concludes our journey, it has been exciting, interesting, riveting and quite the learning experience. No more waking up a noon and realizing you have absolutely nothing you are expected to do...not even errands that you "could run," no phone calls, no unwanted visitors at the door, no nuisances you can't escape, etc. Now it's back to the real world...to the AMERICAN real world. Although I did enjoy never being carded for alcohol, the general emo style of dress, splitting meals, taking trains/metros/or walking anywhere instead of dealing with traffic, being tourists, etc., I'm looking forward to being back to "where you can live without your head" as Stephen's aunt said it; where everything is accessible 24 hours a day, you don't have to stop by an ATM before going anywhere because they take cards, your groceries are bagged for you, the check is immediately offered at the end of a meal, water is FREE at a restaurant, knowing where to go because it's home, etc. I never thought I'd say this (honestly, I thought I'd come back hoarding Italian and Spanish food) but I cannot wait for my first meal in the USA.

Peace out, Europe

See you soon.

I'd rather be in the desert

Cheers! Hello again from Cambridge, which by the way has been a fantastic vacation. We've certainly had a great trip, and this leg has been a wonderful respite from our whirl-wind tour. Cambridge is beautiful and it is amazing to be here, but, honestly, I cannot wait to 1) see Benny and 2) eat SAN JOSE...that will def. be my first stop. After spending many a night in collective rooms, it has been great having an entire apartment to ourselves. We've been able to sleep in daily (and when I say sleep in I truly mean it, I don't think I've slept this much since weekends in high school). As far as activities, we have no had huge plans, but have remained thoroughly entertained.

For one, every morning begins with a delicious breakfast burrito, and a cup o' instant coffee I have Bambu, the vanilla alternative, that Stephen's aunt sent with us...delicious. Saturday began in this way, with some loafing around, and catching up on the most interesting SC news I've read in a long time (i.e. governor). We then ventured out of the apartment to the town in search of treats. Through our wondering, we found across from King's College, a great fudge shop with free samples, and not the kind of samples that are like a grain of salt, but the ones that make you feel like you've cheated the owner's of the establishment (you know, the kind where you have to kind of hide it when you eat it for fear other customers will see how big it is). Saturday we tried chocolate with chili fudge (tasted much better than I expected it to) after being persuaded by one of the workers to come in. We returned to the apt only to enjoy the amateur punters and their fight with the water, the daily duck migration to up the river, and Erin's twice daily search for the baby ducks. I saw them (there are three...and I have a hilarious video) the day we arrived and they have been missing since...frankly, I'm concerned. There's also an albino mallard in the bunch. Quite the diverse group on the Cam River. Also, adding to the scenery, are the extraordinary amount of British people who have yet learned the idea of discretion in what they wear. or what they say...at any time of day...or, for that matter, where they walk. There is no body lanaguage exchange about which way you're going to cross one another when walking down the street which results in several near collisions. But, it is still completely entertaining to walk down the road hearing their adorable accent (everytime we hear peope Steve comments about how he thinks he's in a movie scene haha). Also, whenever we're walking through campus, we see guys attempting to recruit people for punting. And my questions on the matter are: 1) if we see hundreds of people getting punting tours throughout the day, why do they still have to advertise? 2) How do they decide which employees punt and which hold signs and ask people in the streets (because, from our observation, it is always the same...there is no change in schedule)? and how are the guys in the streets not aggravated that they are not "good enough" to punt as I'm sure they have almost no luck in people actually agreeing when in the street.

Saturday night was extra exciting. It began with our usual meal of pasta, but it had a bit of stir-fry veggie in it as well. We sat down to eat it, discovered some bottles of wine that were in the fridge, we preceeded to drink some of that, and watch old Whose Line is it Anyway? videos on the back porch over looking the river. I know this sounds odd to our peeps back home, but unlike SC, it is not a 450 degree sauna at night here, so its actually more pleasant outside. We continued this for a long while, laughing loudly, and then ventured to bed. There are also huge spiders that sit on the outsides of the large windows in the living room (bc of the river I guess) that we watch occasionally. Steve looked up their exact information and, luckily, discovered they are not poisonous. Anyway, they are enormous and at least three are on every window. (Steve took this from the other side of the glass which is why it appears to be crawling on my face).

Sunday came and passed without any overly exciting details. We enjoyed relaxing, it was a pretty day but at times a bit overcast. Our "roomate" Bob directed us to a website that we could watch TV shows and movies for frizzle, so of course we did that last night, on the porch, and then went to bed a bit earlier.

Today, we woke up and did most of the same as we always do. After breakfast burritos, we ventured out on the town, and looked through the market. The market is always fun because there are some truly crazy stuff for sale, most of it will never be bought I'm sure. We also went into the mall, took a look at the stores, and of course bought some candy. I have been drawn to these little candy establishments throughout our entire trip, similar to a fly and a bug zapper, I can't help it. We even "happened" to go by the fudge shop again...unfortunately, no one was standing outside ushering people in so we had to awkwardly walk in as if we were interested in how they make it. After watching the guy stir, pour, and flip the still liquid fudge (ignoring the first offer for a sample), I finally snuck a treat of the vanilla caramel fudge. Twas fantastic...and the guy was pretty entertaining also. The guy pictured was quite outgoing, and since it was hot (for British people) today, he was singing the song, "I'd rather be in the desert," which was apparently his own creation, hilar. We then went to the grocery store, and bought some more groceries. This time, we got some chicken, ground beef, more salad stuff, and some taco mix wha?! Yes, we made tacos and they were delicious. We're also still drinking the flavored water/ginger ale/strawberry mix. It's so refreshing...makes me think I'm drinking something really special when in actually we bought all of those ingredients because they were inexpensive :)

Also, I'd like to make another note: My bangs have not been this long since before ninth grade when I initially got them. They are blending in with my hair...it is humiliating.

Beloved back to you...

Another stay in Cambridge! We arrived here on Wednesday night at about 2 in the AM after a 2 and a half hour train ride from London Gatwick (side note, maybe I haven't traveled in a while or I just never noticed, but aiports have the LONGEST walkways in history, I feel like everywhere we've gone, we've walked 17 miles alone in the airport). When we got to Cambridge, we realized that we had forgotten to print the directions to Leland's friend Dorothy's flat, which held the keys to Leland's apt (he's in Anan, Jordan studying at the moment), and was close to the train station. Even though we had forgotten the directions, thanks to my natural navigational abilities, we found Dorothy's flat. Again, endless generosity and hospitality from these people. It's amazing.

After locating the key and getting in, we preceeded to basically pass out from the long day. That day had started in Switzerland by visiting my cousin's school, and then touring the town of Olten (pic is by the river throught the town, its of my cousin and myself), where he goes to school (their village is too small to have a high school, and their schools are split up, so he attends the one that prepares him for University). We also had fondue...it was amazing. We dipped bananas (surprising combo but delicious), pears, and bread, that you dip in Kirsh before the fondue. My aunt insited on taking us to McDonalds there because she thought it would be a ironic way to end our trip, eating an American meal. After saying goodbye at the airport in Basel (which is where Roger Federer is from), we boarded our EasyJet flight, after sneaking past the security people (cause my bag was too big), and flew for England (a video of Err trying to sneak some footage of me is attached at bottom). Please note how embarrassed/aggravated he gets :)

On Thursday morning, we woke up in the afternoon actually, retrieved Leland's key, and headed to his flat. The weather yesterday was glorious, warm and sunny, so our walk was pleasant. The walk was a little far with our baggage, but it wasn't too bad considering we had done extreme walks before with the same bags in Valencia and Barcelona. After getting to Leland's, we basically put our stuff down and rested haha. Following this bit of rest, we went to the grocery store (which is basically the only one in Cambridge) and bought some food for our next 10 or so days in Cambridge. At about 6, Leland's academy friend came by for a visit, Reggie, and we went with him to watch The Hangover, which by the way was hilarious. Upon returning home, we crashed (being tired from I don't know what). Picture to right is a miniature Coke they sell individually in the grocery store for 20 pence. hilar.

This morning, we woke at an early noon, and preceeded to take a low-key day. Which, by the way, I love. Here it is incredibly easy to sleep late for some reason (we thought it might have something to do with the elevation in Switzerland, or maybe it's still the time, I have no idea). Anyway, in the past few days, we've stayed up late, always fun, and getting up late. (Neither one of us has showered today...Steve hasn't since Wednesday...we sat in pjs for most of the day. It was wonderful. Exactly what a vacation schedule should consist of. What made it much easier is that standard Bristish weather came through finally, so we had overcast and rain almost all day (pic is of the weather today, from Leland's porch, what a view though), making a slow day a lot easier. This apartment has a huge window in front of the living room that has enabled us to witness many awkward punters, especially today in the rain. The guys that punt for companies seem to not even notice when it's raining, but the tourists: an entirely different story. Some good laughs. Catching up on some news, we watched a bit o' Today Show, saw the greatest pop star of all time had past away (he made thriller), watched a few KOL home videos, old Dane videos (I don't care what haters say, he is the funniest person alive...apparently it's trendy to dislike him) and that our governor is a player (title is from his emails). The title is kind of a joke, but seriously, I felt awkward reading the emails...it must be terrible for his wife and sons to have to read that.We also had some good convo with Dave and Leland's friend Bob, who in college interviewed Dave Matthews (this video is hilar, showing how much drugs DMB actually does). The picture is of our dinner: beef and veggie stir fry with noodles. It was delish. Let me tell you a quite typical story: We went to the grocery store (as Stephen previously mentioned) and got enough things to hopefully last us the entire time (and their grocery store has some deals, about 90% of our purchases were under 1 pound-Bargain shoppers!). Anyway, the beef was brisket beef (= cheap). So, last night we made the first half and tonight we finished the rest so it had been put in seal wrap in the fridge overnight. After taking this out, Stephen commented on the grayish color of the meat...already panicking. Then, after cooking it, he commented on how "intense the beef flavor was" to which I returned, "that's second grade beef taste." THEN, he googled "how to tell if beef if bad" and we learned that the signs would be unbelievably obvious if it was (it wasn't...I'm quite sure it was oxidation effects). Needless to say, he's still worrying, at this very moment. He's also commenting on the tap water and if it's contaminated...watch, because I'm saying all this, I'll really be sick tomorrow...Anyway, we also had fruity drinks (with ginger ale, flavored water, and fresh strawberries) and double chocolate cookies (the English ovens are difficult to master so some were browned on one half and light on the other).

Tomorrow's agenda is most likely very similar to today, but I think a bit more outside activities are in store. Cheers!

Also, note: We changed the blog so that now anyone can comment, even without a google account (Buster, I expect comments now)! Hooray!

Nodding Nelson

Gruezi! from Switzerland. Today, another cold and cloudy day in Switzerland, began again by catching a ride to the train station (Stephen's uncle brought us so we were able to leave a little later). Today's conquest: Luzern...about a 45 minute train ride. more like an hour and a half if you don't sleep... Luzern is known for it's old bridge (see pic...soo pretty) built over the river and for it's scenic view from the lake. Once we arrived, we headed straight to the trusty ole "i" symbol for tourist information (they always have free maps)...let me also add that the woman we spoke with was quite helpful, I would say the most helpful person in a tourist center I've ever encountered. She was pleasant and gave us information before we even thought to ask. and deal that the info place was in the train station, instead of around 17 corners and down dark ally-ways like usual. The info she gave us: that we could take the boat ride to other parts of Luzern FOR FREE (because of our Eurail, STEAL!)...she also gave us the lengths of various boat rides and the most picturesque place to stop, Weissig (we took her advice).

Around Luzern, we wandered aimlessly for about an hour (waiting for the boat), got some hot chocolate (which is exactly what I needed...Switzerland is COLD as soon as it's cloudy) she got the hot chocolate, and mauled it, drinking it like it was water and gummy goodies, looked at some huge, beautiful, overpriced wine glasses, fed some birds with our sandwiches, and finally made it to the boat. Despite the rain and clouds, the boat ride was very pretty...we couldn't quite see the mountains, but at least got the see the town from the water and the base of the mountains. The picture to the left is the engine. It was visible from the middle of the boat, which was pretty neat. also, we had a group of screaming school children on the boat, futhering leading me to assume that these people have no Volume control, I mean one kid was yelling at the water, come on kid, thats terrible.

We got to Weissig, got some snacks, and wandered to a park bench by the lake that was underneath a tree to block us from the rain. Not only did we feed mallards (including a crippled one) the birds I swear follow Erin, knowing she will feed them because everytime we sit down to snack the come up, and only to us.. but we also completely dissected a family's dynamics (Leland, I am going to come to Cambridge, attend Darwin College, and publish work on group dynamics, since that's such a novel concept...) that was playing chess near us (since they have big chess boards and pieces randomly throughout places in Switzerland). We did get them down to a T, which stems from people watching experience, which I must say, we have a lot of. Anyway, by this time the boat was pulling up so we rode back to the city. On this trip, we caught a guy nodding off (James-remember Jaclyn Green) and Stephen got a video...please watch, it is hilar! Also, this is about the 15th time we filmed him nodding off...this guy COULD NOT keep his eyes open. SO funny!...and then, when the train was stopping in Luzern, he woke up and tried to help the shipmen tie the ropes to the poles...Sir, please...you are not fooling anyone...everyone saw you sleeping and jumping. This was so hilar, we were literally crying by the time we got this video, which did take us about 10 tries, and he really tried to get up and help, all sloppy and uncordinated from sleeping to hard, hilar. Oh, we also saw baby swans and gave them a treat too.

We caught a train back to Stephen's aunt and uncle's house (on a packed bus full of kids on the way home...loud) again no Volume control and were met by a delicious dinner and a black forest cake for dessert. Tomorrow we fly back to Cambridge (although its campus is unbelievable) leaving cow bells, fresh cheese, farmland, and home cooked meals behind :(

Another side note: everyone here does the 3 cheek kiss, for any small greeting or goodbye...I love it (even though the only person I've exchanged this with is Stephen's aunt because we don't have friends...and I don't hug randoms). I get jealous when I see people do it. Friendly but not too friendly. It's my fave. Aufwiedersehen Mike, Gail, und Andreas! We will miss you guys!

Don't stop me nowwww....

Yesterday, as usual, we woke up late, and had breakfast. As with most weekends, my Aunt had prepared for us a nice breakfast, which of course we were eating for lunch (since we didn't actually get to the table 1:00). The day then progressed rather slowly, with me playing ping-pong with my cousin, and then taking a shower, and getting ready for the cook-out that we were going to this afternoon. This was hosted by the village doctor Hans and his wife Janika (which may or may not be spelled correctly, she is from Holland originally, and he is Swiss).

We walked the "back" way to their house this afternoon at about 4:30, which brought a nice view of the mountains and some farms, as well as cherry trees, which we of course sampled. Upon arriving, we were greeted warmly by Janika, who is enormously happy all the time, she truly is great. We then went to the backyard, and there enjoyed some champagne and snacks, watched a Swiss bike race on the T.V., and then proceeded to grill the food. Their house, biological, was A-mazing! It had the prettiest random artwork, pictures, and even a huge cowbell with an ornate collar hanging from the ceiling...it was awesome! I didn't take pictures of the inside because I didn't want to be creepy...And their backyard was fantastic too (see pic). This guy does everything. He's the home doctor of the village (we got a tour of his practice...which is connected to his house-again, awesome), relative of a famous painter, and has grape vines (overhanging the table on the porch where we ate dinner) that he uses to make grappa.

We sat at the table that was set outside, and thus started the 3 hour eating fest that was called dinner. We began with a salad with sauteed mushrooms!, and then it started to rain so we moved the table under the porch. Following the salad, the main course, which was lamb, chicken, steaks, kebabs of some meat, sausages, noodles, ratatouille, and some corn-on-the-cob. After dinner, I had a tour of Hans' medical clinic, which is attached to their house, and then we ate dessert. There was ice cream with raspberries and strawberries in some sauce with expresso, then some Dutch brownies followed by a bit of Grappa. This was delightful, but I felt as if I couldnt move for like 20 minutes or I would die. I...Would...Diiieee

We left that night full, and ready for the next day, which was an adventure. We started out at about 6:30 this AM with Auntie Gail. We rode with her to Solothurn, and then took the train to Biel. In Biel, we transfered to Lausanne, and arrived there at about 8:30 in the morning. Erin was dead tired (Steve had already had coffee...and I think we all know he sleeps as soon as he hits a pillow/chair/couch/floor/wall so I'm sure he was more rested than I), but once we stepped off the train we both were able to pep it up. We walked around Lausanne for about an hour, saw some dogs in a dog park with a MINI dog, so cute! and a Benny look-a-like...I snapped a photo of course to show her when I get back :), looked at the lake and the mountains, saw a bit of the Old City, and then continued on our way to Montreux (since we didn't make it the other day). We arrived there, and upon exiting the train station, we were greeted by the lake and mountains, a view that was scrumptulascent (it may not be spelled correctly). We then ate the delish sandwiches we packed (it was only about 1130 at this point and it felt like we had been going for days) and walked the lake shore of Montreux, seeing Freddy Mercury's statue (left) (people watched...caught several awkward pictures by tourists (Steve's included) and the casino that "Smoke on the Water," was written about. We contemplated the 45 minute walk to the castle, but decided to continue our adventure.

What came next was the Golden Pass train, that has huge windows, and rides through the mountains. I think it's also the train for old people that hike. I could not tell you how many older (grandparents age) women hikers we saw, dressed in all their gear...We decided to take this train to Interlaken instead of the usual one, and although it took a bit longer, the view was great. We rode past tiny mountain villages that had the traditional houses, and saw mountain goats (and cows haha) and even glimpses of some Alps. We finally made it to Interlaken, but we were greeted then by rain. We still managed to buy a salad and something to drink, ate it on a bench in the town, and then walked back to the train station to venture back home. Also, a little hilarious side note: all throughout the day we took several naps on the train (especially the hours in the golden express)...well, on the way home, we had about 30 minutes until we needed to switch train and somehow both fell asleep during this leg of the journey. Luckily, we woke up after the train had been stopped in Olten (where we needed to get off) for about 5 minutes. Picture this: I realize we're stopped, tell Stephen we're in Olten (to which he responds, "well then what are we doing?" like we had been awake) and we both fumble around for bags and jackets and scramble off the train (still in a nap daze, mind you) just as the doors are closing. I bet it was quite entertaining for the other passengers. Fantastic day! Annnddd, Stephen got a video of Desty "laughing" when she's excited. Cute. Tomorrow to Luzern before we head back to England Wednesday

And she makes a Willy

The last few days in Switzerland have been more adventurous than the previous: we've successfully made a trip to Bern (the capital) and have climbed a mountain, pretty exciting stuff.

Thursday: The usual wake up a little later, take a walk around the village (this time we stopped at the store and got BLT stuff-lunch was amazing!), then stayed up late sitting on the back porch (which has a view of the village and mountains) drinking wine. Lots of fun. and some good convo.

On Friday, after waking up a little later than expected (apparently this is a trend for no one except for Stephen and me in Switzerland...) but it is quite fantastic to sleep late with no alarm or cell phone.. we took the train for a short visit in Bern. After arriving we wandered in the first direction that caught our eye (the covered sidewalks because it was raining) and were immediately met by some of Bern's juvies...a few guys sitting on the street with rats attempting to scare passersby. One guy came creepily close to Steve (pushing the rat on his shoulder toward him), yet he kept walking as if nothing was going on...luckily, I was on the other side and somehow got ignored or they def. would have succeeded. This was an odd experience, I don't know why he felt obliged to approach me because I didn't want to look at his rats, but I wasn't afraid of them (and didnt look afraid so it was bizarre to be approached by rando). Anywho, we stopped in a few shops in Bern, saw the market (pic below), a fountain or two, and even got to see the big clock tower and it's dancing characters. (pic). Bern is quite the scenic city. All of the buildings are fantastic, its like someone took painstaking time to design each one, the windows, the little mini-porch things, and the stone sides of them. It truly is beautiful. It not only has old buildings with gold trimmings and flags waving, but also a river running through with a great view. The whole city (at least we parts we saw) has a very small town feel (adorable shops, small businesses, people walking)despite its metropolitan areas. On the way back to the train station, we witnessed a semi-drunk/crazy guy first yelling at a bus driver then throwing his beer down and scrambling onto the backdoor of the bus...very amusing. Especially because he was kind of awkward, so the beer throw and the run were funny to watch. We casually wandered over there but saw nothing. Uneventful.

After making it back to Stephen's aunt's house, we had delicious ravioli and, of course, ice cream (baileys, strawberry yogurt, and vanilla). The ravioli was hand-made by some old Italian woman so you know it was good. We then proceeded to show a slide show of the Rome and Florence pictures. And, side note, don't let Stephen fool you with the "cool" act...he's secretly artsy. He designed the videos with special effects and music. Anndd, believe it or not, he has taken over half of the photos on this trip...and has an eye for emo/artsy pictures. It's phenomenal...ask him to be your photographer :)...moving on. Well I wouldn't say it is all natural, I have had my share of, "steve, wrong angle, thats a crap picture, stop taking pictures of that," and assorted other cut-downs, which has honed my picture taking skills.

Today we awoke with a plan to go to the WhiteStone (Weissen Stein) mountain. My first impression of this trip was the ski lift (we rode up and walked down)...it consisted of two seats facing one way, a flap that came down in case of rain, and a semi roof--it was very open to say the least. This makes it sound a bit more sophisticated, it looked like the chairs that go over the fair in Cola, but wooden, made in the 1940s, and on the side of a mountain. But, even though it was scary, it was actually a beautiful (and not scary) ride up...a whole view of the areas surrounding. and although you are up pretty high, it isn't that far away from the ground and any one time, it stays pretty close to the side of

the mountain the whole time, if you fell it would only be a

bout a 3 story drop. After making it up, we walked a bit and settled at a place to make a fire and grill sausage (delicious) to eat with mustard and bread. Just by chance (after Stephen's aunt had been talking about hearing yoddlers), a group of about 15 older guys showed up in the path above us. They asked if we had something to drink (we offered them flavored water and they reluctantly took it) and ended up singing a tune for us. There was a lot of chatter as they walked up, and I think they were talking about us, joking about us. Our conclusion was that they had some schnapps before starting on the trail. See video! But not in a public setting or people might judge you haha. This was the jollyest group of men I've ever seen see, clearly drunk...it would have been so much better had I been able to understand the words, oh well. After this extravaganza (and stopping to see cows), we made our way down the mountain. Oh, we also had unbelievable chocolate. It's freshly made and we had:white chocolate with lemon, dark with almonds, and milk with peanuts.

..much better than the usual Hershey's Bar. The first time we went walking (before we went to Italy), Stephen's aunt offered me her hiking shoes and I wasn't sure why my 7 year old new balances wouldn't do the trick...what a joke. These people are serious walkers (even the grandparents) and they love their hiking up, sitting in a restaurant to get a meal/drink/etc., and walking back down (we, btw, stopped at a local restaurant, had hot chocolate...with milk straight from the cows in the back...and got warm. Steve, got a coffee and schnapps that was incredibly strong but pretty

delish.) I did not have lactaid pills, therefore could not enjoy the milk chocolate drink (makes it worse that the milk here is beyond whole milk, like almost straight from the cow). Anyway, back to the trek down, ...I may or may not have slid down...twice--luckily the backpack was on my back to break my fall...it also, however, made a louder noise when I slipped causing all to look back. and she made a "whoop" that attracted attentions, and slid is a bit too graceful, she fell flat on her butt..haha. Anyway, the walk was so pretty and we saw no one (except one biker) so it was so peaceful. Overall, fantastic few days. Oh, and another side note: as far as the Swiss people know, I'm mute. I cannot conquer the sound of the language. For example: Andreas loves chocolate sprinkles called Hagelslag...although in Swiss-German, the 'g' sounds more like 'ch' with a lot of throat in it. I said it once at dinner and it was humiliating. ..and I will admit, my cousin delights in our German failures. (the title is from the dog Desty, when she gets over excited she runs around the back yard crazy-like, similar to her dad Willy, who is a Dingo).

We've spent the last few days in Switzerland having full meals, full nights of sleep, and very nice weather. We have had a traditional Swiss meal, of course tried to feed some more cows, taken Desty on a few walks, and played some ping-pong. Quick recap of some highlighted events:

1) Tuesday began with an extensive sleep, followed by pancakes for breakfast. Erin and I had a task given to us, and that was to go to the cheese maker and get Raclette cheese for a Swiss dinner on Wednesday. This was quite the task considering the guy who makes the cheese did not speak very much English. Therefore, getting the cheese consisted of Erin watching Desty outside, me venturing in, using broken "high" German and rudimentary sign language to communicate what we wanted. Pic is Steve victoriously exiting the cheese shop. We got it eventually, and finished the afternoon with our usual walk with Desty around the farm fields in the village (where she gets to run for free). On the way back, she laid in a mud puddle to cool off (pic). We also semi cooked dinner that night...we tried noodles with spicy peanut butter sauce. Although it was pretty good, it wasn't enough so we had second helpings of spaghetti (with fresh sauce) that Stephen's aunt quickly whipped up. Delish! Also, another side note-Stephen's cousin, Andreas, runs (and is also very active otherwise) and can eat more than anyone I've ever met. He ate at least 4 full plates of pasta that night...it was incredible. He also gets up and takes Desty on walks/runs/rollerblading before school in the morning...so I guess that's why he can eat that much.

2) Wednesday we woke up a bit earlier, went to the local supermarket and got postcards, and then to the post office to get a few more stamps. While in the supermarket, I went to get a beer, and the two women working behind the counter thought that I wasn't old enough (16 is the legal age for drinking beer), and were discussing it in German, luckily I heard a bit, and told them I was 23, Ha! They were shocked. Thankfully I didn't go...I was outside eating pistachios. Following this, we took Desty on another walk around the farm area, and snuck a few cherries from the tree. Last night, we prepared for the Raclette meal that we had gone shopping for the day before. This is when you take pieces of cheese, melt it in a little stove thing, everyone gets their own cheese melter (below the stove in pic) so you can make the cheese as bubbly (or not) as you want and then spread the melted cheese over potatoes, veggies, and anything else. It is delicious, but so much cheese is very heavy (and even heavier for people with dairy problems). Following this we had ice cream (coffee and strawberry), and then went to bed. This ice cream, by the way, is made from the milk of the cows I try to befriend on the evening walks by the farm. Also, another fun fact about Kestenholz, and an advantage to living in such a small villate, is that they buy some of the village's goods (ice cream, potatoes, pickled goods, honey, syrups, desserts, liquors, etc.) from a small store that has an honesty policy...about 90% of the time, no one is there to run the store so you buy your goods and put the money in a box with a note of what you bought.

3) Today, we were supposed to have gone to Montreux near Lausanne, but after me not sleeping much (due to the cheese meal), I also couldn't sleep (thank you Steve), hence the reason, Whitney and Devon if you read this, I emailed you around 8:00 U.S. time...we are going to go for walks and such today, hopefully going on Monday. I think tomorrow we may go to Bern for a look as well, but I'm not sure.

Ping Pong

Mooo

Jammin to Jamacain tunes