Czech me out...I'm in Prague!

Prague...the last of my great adventures in Europe. I was very excited to spend the weekend in one of the best cities in Europe with my friend Uuljan who I have been doing most of my traveling with so far. However, because of a few things, Uuljan had to cancel her trip so I was left to go by myself. This was fine because I was staying with a friend of mine from AU who is studying abroad but I was a little iffy about leaving France without a travel buddy as Steph (my friend in Prague) was most likely going to be immersed in school work (she is in a film program in Prague and her movie was shooting while I was there). I left on a Thursday afternoon and flew into Munich and then from Munich to Prague. I arrived pretty late in the city and was welcomed by Steph at her apartment after taking a pretty cheap taxi (God bless the fact that the Czech Republic has yet to switch over to the euro) to her place.

Friday morning started off great. Steph was shooting her movie all day so I traveled the city with some of her tour books and words of guidance. While it was a little lonely, it actually worked out really well. Because I was by myself, I was able to go at my own pace and actually saw pretty much everything the city had to offer in this one day. I took the tram with Steph until we got to her school which was right along the river. From the river you can see the Prague castle which is nestled right in one of the oldest parts of the city. I made my way to the castle and across the Charles Bridge and was in love with the old touristy but gorgeous area in which these sites are located. For lunch I went to a side street instead of going to the main, more expensive places and for some onion soup and potato dumplings I paid 39 krowns. The exchange rate to the USD is about 18 Krowns to one dollar. For this substantial lunch I paid 2 dollars!!! This is the theme of my trip in Prague...epic cheapness.

What I loved the best of my trip to Prague was the Jewish quarter and the Old Town Square. The Jewish center of Prague is the oldest Jewish quarter in Europe and the Old Town Square was filled with people getting ready for the Christmas markets that were to start the next day. For my day on Friday it is better to look at my pictures. I did not closely follow a map and I am not totally sure what everything I saw was, however I saw most of this relatively small city on this day.

The next day Steph was free to play in and around Prague with me! Steph is one of the easiest people to be around with, very funny and lighthearted and it was really great to spend the weekend with her. We pledged APO (community service organization) together and had multiple classes together last semester. It was really great to have a connection to AU and who knows me pretty well for the weekend. Anyways, as I had already seen most of the major sites the day before Steph showed me around to some things that are more hidden and aren't as easy for the typical tourist to find. We went to the John Lennon wall which was incredibly cool. Its this huge wall of graffiti that people keep going over with more graffiti and obviously there are many references to John Lennon and the Beatles. We also hit up the Christmas markets which were up and ready in the middle of Old Town Square. It was so festive, Steph and I both got teary eyed we were so excited to start our Christmas season. It was also cool because Steph took me by her school where tons of students were shooting films. Prague for some reason is pretty well known for their directors/film/etc. Her school is in this crazy old building that reminds me of Hogwarts and is right on the river. After school we went to an incredible Czech feast. I wanted to treat Steph for letting me stay with her for 4 nights so we chose this really authentic brewery (Prague consumes more beer than any other place in the world) for our dinner/lunch. We both got a half liter of beer, bottled water and two incredible meals. I got pheasant legs, potato dumplings, bacon dumplings and red cabbage. The whole meal in the US would have cost at LEAST 50 bucks for the two of us. However for the two of us to eat and drink it cost just under 20 bucks. It was such a great meal too! The bacon dumplings reminded me of my Mom's sausage stuffing and all in all it was kind of like my own little Czech Thanksgiving dinner (Missed everyone at home on Thanksgiving!) Needless to say we went back to Steph's place after our epic feast and had a food coma for a little while. Later that night we went out with Steph's boyfriend and another guy to a really cool pub down in Old Town Center. Also it was amazing because we got to see the Christmas markets at night :o)

The next day we had a lazy morning and went off to do a bit more exploring. We started off our morning (or at this point I should say early afternoon) back at the Christmas Markets and hit up the Starbucks that was in the Old Town Square (yayyy for caramel macchiato's!) and I did a little Prague souvenir/Christmas shopping. Then we hit up the Jewish section again because I missed a few of the main attractions there. After that we continued back towards Steph's place and dropped off our purchases and then continued to this place called Vysehrad that was right near Steph's place. It is a huge elevated park that was formerly a fortress and castle and is where the city was built around. It was gorgeous. From this place you could get 360 views of the city and it was a great walk. There is also the Basilica of Saint Peter and Paul located here and a very old cemetery. Later, we had another fantastic Czech meal with for me consisted of Goulash, more potato dumplings or Knedliky in Czech and this apple tart thing that is very popular for dessert. Delicious! Also ridiculously cheap. Later that night we watched a movie and went for a another nighttime walk around Vysehrad with some of Steph's friends and then went to bed and I caught my very early flight out of the Prague airport. So ends my weekend travels in Europe! I have a few other day trips planned before I leave so I'll be sure to post those pictures here as well.

Prague Photos

Avignon & Lyon: A Fairy Tale and Roman Ruin playground

My roommate and I were excited to start our weekend. We were exploring two different cities in France that hold a lot of history. Also this trip was/is pretty low key. (Still in Lyon as I write this). We were getting right on the train at our town and we didn't have to make any transfers etc. We left Thursday afternoon and arrived in Avignon, France three hours later. Avignon`has an interesting history. We were there to visit the Palais des Papes (Palace of the Popes) and the Pont d'Avignon. The Palais des Papes was inhabitated by two anti-popes starting in the 1300's (anti-popes were bishops who claimed to be the real pope while there continued to be a pope in Rome) and remained a property of the papacy and a separate country until the late 1700's. The palace still stands is an incredible perspective. There are many rooms that are still in immaculate condition, with paintings all over the walls and ceilings (no pictures allowed of those :o( so you won't find any in my albums) and huge cavernous chapels and burial rooms. It was amazing to compare to the actual Vatican in Rome. Just like St. Peters Square there are walls and a giant courtyard in which you can see the division from the rest of the town where it is its own entity. The Pont d'Avignon also was an amazing sight. The bridge was built in the 1100's after a sheperd boy received a divine calling to build it. He later was canonized and there are two chapels located in the bridge itself which hold his tomb. Half of the bridge fell and was reconstructed several times until finally only four of the twenty two arches remain. Both of these sights were amazing at night. But during the day we got to go in the Palais and on the bridge which was also really cool. However there was not much to see in the town besides these two sights so we only stayed for one night here and proceeded on to Lyon.

We arrived in Lyon on Friday by the TGV (highspeed train) and immediately were excited with the prospect of an amazing meal. Lyon is the third largest city in France and is almost Parisian in feel. However the most exciting part of Lyon is that it is the gastronomical capital of France. Which might make it the gastronimical capital of the world by reasonable deduction. Anyways after checking into our hotel we got the name of one of the best roads to eat on and found a delicious homey looking place. I ate foie gras, filet of duck and tarte tatin (a fancy apple pie) and Kacie had the French Onion soup , Black Pudding and Profiteroles (ice cream puff pastries covered in chocolate yummm). We rolled on out of the restaurant and crashed back at our hotel.

Day two we proceeded to Vieux Lyon (its in 1000 places to see before you die!) Very pittoresque with the Cathedral St. Jean and the traboules (covered walkways between buildings) and cobbeled walkways. Very France. Almost every town I've been to has an old town like this. After walking through old town and grabbing a pastry and an apple for me we started the hike up the hillside to the area of Fourviere. Fourviere is the section of Lyon where the Basilica and the Roman Ruins are located wayyyy high above the city. The stairs and walkways take at least a half hour to climb up but when you get to the top it is incredible. The Roman ruins at the top have an incredible view of the surrounding area. The Ruins themselves are incredible. They are open to the public and you can just climb around and explore in them at whim as you can see from the pictures. One of the coolest things I've seen since beeing abroad. After the ruins we walked towards the incredible Basilica Notre Dame de Fourviere. from the bottom of the hill it looks like a fairy tale castle. At night it is the only thing lit up on the hillside and you can see it from everywhere in the city, day or night. Inside it is beautiful. Gold and blue tile mosaics everywhere. After the basilica we made our way down to Old Lyon through the Chemin des Rosiers (the rose path). Lunch was another crazy affair. I ate french onion soup, Tripe sausage (interesting...) and apple pie again. Kacie tried frog legs! They were a cross between a white fish and chicken. Kind of bland besides the fried seasoning. We relaxed for awhile and then went back to the Cathedrale St. Jean to watch the giant angle clock chime and move around and such. Then went back to our hotel to rest for awhile (all this traveling makes us girls tired...) Dinner was a lowkey affair and now we are back in our hotel room for the night uploading photos and writing blogs because we have free internet! haha...anyways we leave tomorrow at 11. I really liked Lyon. Its a real city for the French. Nice's population fluctuates during the summer with all the tourists and Paris is very touristy too of course but Lyon is where the French come and go. The people visiting here are the French country people in the city for the day. I was able to actually speak French here without being interrupted by fluent English on behalf of the French individual. Yay!

Avignon and Lyon Pictures

PARISPARISPARIS

Of course I could not spend a semester in France without visiting one of the most amazing cities in the world. Having been there once when I was 16 I couldn't wait to go back and see if it was any different for me. We arrived by plane and were in the heart of Paris by noon. My friend Lawren and I were meeting another friend from AU who is currently studying in Copenhagen (Corey). We arrived at our "hostel" which was really just an inexpensive hotel and then proceded to Montmartre and the Sacre Coeur (one of my favorite places in Paris!) for a yummy lunch. Our hostel was no more than a five minute walk from the gorgeous cathedral and hillside. For lunch we at a cozy little place in the heart of montmartre and had some delicious french onion soup that warmed us up on that cold day. After lunch we started walking...and walking...all the way down to the gardens of the Louvre, the Tuileries. On the way there of course we saw some amazing things, the Opera house being one. After walking through the gardens of the Louvre we made our way to the Place des Vosges, the Notre Dame, and place de la Bastille. I hadn't seen any of those things (besides the Notre Dame) in my last trip so it was neat to discover this new things. The Notre Dame was still gorgeous but when I went last time it seemed bigger than life. Now after seeing so many gorgeous cathedrals in Milan, Florence, Venice and Rome and even the National Cathedral in DC the ND was still gorgeous but it did not seem as big to me anymore. As it turned dark we decided to head towards the Eiffel tower. We took the elevator up and got some incredible shots of the city at nighttime. As we walked away towards something to eat the tower started to sparkle as it does every hour on the hour and I got some more great pictures of the tower. Dinner was at a little cafe (steak-frites and escargot!) and then we headed back to the hotel to crash after a very tiring day.

Day two started out early. Corey decided to head to Versailles and me and Lawren stayed in the city to see more of what it had to offer. We took the metro towards the Hotel des Invalides (something I had not seen before). The Invalides is a combination church, courtyard, tomb and military museum. This is where you can find the tomb of Napoleon. Let me tell you he must of had a really big complex about being a little man because his coffin alone is the size of a small cape house. The tomb and the cathedral were all very gorgeous (I have pictures that will be uploaded to the Paris album soon...they weren't on the same memory card) and the military museum was incredible. It had coats and swords and shields ranging back from the middle ages with a big focus on the Napoleonic era. There were even outfits of his including that famous black triangle hat he was so famous for. After the Hotel des Invalides we started walking towards the Place de la Concorde, which is the giant Egyptian obilisque and surrounding square. From the square there is a long road that stretches to the Madeleine a few blocks away. On this road there are shops like Chanel, Gucci, Dior etc so that was really interesting to walk down there and people watch as we made our way to the Madeleine (a really cool Greek temple inspired Cathedral). Still really amazing because I haven't seen any of these things on my last visit. For lunch we hit up this adorable crepe place on a little side road. Most of the people there were locals so we knew it was good. The inside was beach themed with white walls with wide wooden floor boards and light blue everywhere. The crepes were delicious. I had a smoked salmon and creme fraiche one for lunch and a homemade caramal, toasted almond and vanilla ice cream one for dessert. Out of this world how good that last one was. After lunch we started the long walk up the Champs Elysees (which starts right next to the place de la Concorde) and followed it up to the Arc de Triomphe. The Champs Elysees is the busiest street in Paris with a ton of stores. We met up with Corey at the Arc de Triomphe and then headed to the metro towards the Musee Picasso (something I was dying to see) and the Musee de Cluny (another must see in Paris). It was a long metro ride and a confusing walk to the Picasso museum only to find that it was closed until August 2012! Major disappointment but something that couldn't be helped. We continued on to the Musee de Cluny which is a museum dedicated to the Medieval Ages and there were artifacts there from centuries in the single digits. It was incredible to see especially the artifacts such as the crosses and religious items as many of them were from the very beginning of the religion as a mass movement. After the Cluny we hit up a STARBUCKSSS across the street and headed home for a little evening rest. Dinner was a local kebab place as we were on a budget and that is just fine. It was still delicious.

Day 3 and our last day we started towards the Louvre and the Musee D'Orsay which are right near each other. We went to the Musee D'Orsay first (I've already been but its my favorite museum ever) and saw all the incredible impressionist art like Degas and Renoir not to mention Van Gogh, Gaugin, Pissat among others. Then Corey had to leave to catch his train and me and Lawren went to the Louvre. I walked her inside and she bought a ticket to go in and I sat in the Starbucks in the Louvre writing post cards and waiting for her to come back. I had already seen the Louvre back in the day and it did not impress me very much besides the actual building so I decided to skip the entrance fee and relax for a bit. After Lawren finished we headed back the Champs Elysees for a little window shopping and then to the airport to fly back home. After some technical difficulties with our flight we made it home five or six hours late. A rough end to our trip but overall Paris is still worth all the hype that it gets.

My Paris Pictures

Link to Italy pictures

My Florence/Venice/Milan photos

Florence, Milan and Venice...the last of my Italian adventures

The last two weekends me and my friend Uuljan made trips to Italy. The first weekend we went to Florence and this past weekend we went to Venice with a quick stop over in Milan.

Florence was gorgeous. I loved how small yet busy it was. We spent all day friday on the train and arrived Friday night and walked around for a bit before hitting the hay. We saw the Duomo and the Medici chapels all lit up at night and walked around the San Lorenzo Market. Went to a yummy dinner (fresh pasta with mushrooms! and bruschetta which is a florence favor) finished it up with a pistachio gelato and went back to our hostel.

Our hostel was incredible. It was really more like a guest house. Me and Uuljan had our own room with a closet, sink, computer and flatscreen TV. We shared a bathroom with a few other rooms but not that many people. It was a great experience and the people were very helpful and it was a great place to stay.

The next day me and Uuljan hit up all the rest of the major sites.We started at the Galleria dell'Academia where the statue of David is held. I had no idea that the statue was that big! The museum was packed with tour groups, mostly Americans. I think I ended up hearing more English in my stay in Italy than Italian. We then took our map and explored all the major sites. My favorites included the Pitti gardens and the Piazza Michelangelo where you got an incredible view of the entire city. Actually, on our way there we ran into a friend from Marshfield (she is studying south of Florence) with her parents. Very small world. Of course, Florence is also known for its shopping, and me and Uuljan hit up several of the outdoor markets and bought many souvenirs for our friends and family. We ate lunch at a little cafe right at the Piazza and enjoyed the view some more. We saw many beautiful churches in the afternoon and then headed back to our hostel for a little rest before dinner. We went to a little local place for dinner that was recommended by our guest house and then crashed back at our hostel.

The next morning we went and got a little breakfast and went back to explore the Duomo (fantastic cathedral built with white and green marble) Unfortnatley the cathedral was closed both Saturday and Sunday so we weren't able to go inside. However there was some crazy parade going on around the chapel with Italian politicians and costumed military etc. We went back to catch our train at noon and spent the rest of the day on the train. Long day on the train but I had a cannoli and a panini to keep me company.

This past weekend we went to Venice. We caught our connecting train in Milan and instead of going right away we took a few hours to go see the Duomo (cathedral). It was probably the most incredible church I've ever seen. We took a cable car/tram twenty minutes and arrived. On the way I made a little friend in a three year old Italian boy. He was adorable. Anyways, while the Duomo was gorgeous, Milan was a very modern city. If you are looking for Italian/European charm it is not to be found in Milan. Tons of shopping however. We stopped for a quick dinner in what looked like a very cozy and adorable cafe but actually just reheated the food. Kind of a let down but thats okay. We went back and caught our train and arrived in Venice around 9 and went straight to our hostel.

Our hostel was right near the Jewish Ghetto and was run by a Jewish family. It was a very clean place and we shared our room with two students from William and Mary. We had our own bathroom which was great and our roommates were very nice (they were study abroad students living in Lyon).

The next day we explored the city. I took my Grandpa's advice and we did not pay attention to the map and just allowed ourselves to get lost in the city. We saw the beautiful San Marco's square and Basilica, went to the Galleria dell'Academia where Leonardo DaVinci's Homo drawing is held and all in all just tried to see every inch of the city. What I loved most about Venice was the lack of cars, and how the city was not modern in the least. Florence and Rome both stradled the line between old and new but Venice was all about embracing the old with the hundreds of canals and pittoresque bridges and piazzas. We ate a deliciouss lunch on the canal (fresh pasta with wild boar and mushrooms) and continued to wander. We got so lost trying to get home but again per my grandfather's advice we just found our way to the nearest vaporetti (water bus) stop and made our way home. Dropped off our stuff at the hostel and went out to a little place and got some wine, bread, cheese and tomatos and ate a little late night snack (no dinner...we were still too full from our late lunch!). We then went back to the hostel and talked with our roommates for awhile and fell asleep.

The next morning we had a couple of hours until our noon train. We got a quick breakfast and proceded to explore the Jewish ghetto. It was the oldest ghetto in Europe and today is a center for Jewish culture in Venice. I was upset because we were there too early for any place to be open for me to find matzah ball soup. Oh well. We picked up some sandwiches and pastries to hold us over on our train back and headed back to Nice. I was sad to leave Italy for the last time, some of the most gorgeous and exciting places I've ever been.

Geneva: The Trip that Defined my Type-A Personality

So I have been a little late in blogging about my Geneva adventures! Sorry! It was a busy week with two midterms and then I had a stomach bug Thurs afternoon until yesterday so I was just sleeping alot and had to cancel a hiking trip through the northern coast of Italy :o( Hopefully I can make it there at some point. Anyways, our trip to Geneva started off eventfully. Our flight was at 8 am on Friday morning and all four of my friends decided to go out to a party the night before. Long story short was none of them woke up for our first train to the airport and I had to kick their butts into gear, pack suitcases and wake them up in order to catch our plane ride. Lets just say Geneva was almost the trip that wasn't but ended up being a really great weekend.
Our flight was literally only a half hour long and then it was only a six minute train ride from the airport into the center of Geneva. Our hostel was only a ten minute walk from where we got off. It could not have been any easier. From taking off the ground in Nice to arriving in our hostel in Geneva only an hour and a half must have passed.
Right away I loved Geneva, if even for the fact that it was FALLL there. I haven't had a real fall in several years seeing as DC just goes from being really hot and humid to very rainy and cold and Nice isn't really about having a fall either as it continues to be very warm and sunny here. Anyways Geneva is gorgeous. It is right on a giant lake and you can see mountains from all sides. It is a city but very low key. It is kind of a cross between Washington DC with all the politics and money and Burlington Vermont where the nature is infused with the city. There is a lot to do but there isn't that rush most cities have. Walking around the first day was great. We did all of the old part of the city, saw the Hotel de Ville where the Geneva convention was signed, toured the Cathedral of Saint peter where Calvin started started his Protestant ministry (we also climbed to the top of the bell twoer where you can get great views of the whole city), played on a playground :o) saw the famous Jet d'Eau in the middle of the lake, had a yummy but odd lunch (fried egg on cheese patty with lots of meat involved), stopped at a chocolate and tea place for a snack, went to a park in front of the University of Geneva, saw famous Protestant monuments and ate some yummy Asian food for dinner. we went back to the hostel by 9pm and were asleep very soon after that.
After a great ten hours sleep, we got a free breakfast from the hostel and started out for day 2 in Geneva. We took the tram (our hostel gave us free transportation passes for our visite there) to the International City, where teh UN headquarters in Europe is located as well as the International Red Cross Museum among many other international organizations and museums (all of these properties border the lake and have gorgeous grounds). We took a guided tour of the UN that included the former League of Nations building that is now used for UN purposes, as well as the main rooms that are typically used. Next we walked around and in the frist floor of the Red Cross museum, as well as visited a gorgoues ceramics museum with pieces from all through Europe and all time periods. The ceramics building was called the Ariana Museum and was housed in a gorgeous Italian mansion with beautiful grounds. We left the International City and got some lunch at a Kebab place (aka cheap but delicious) and then spent all afternoon walking around the lake and visitng the Botanical Gardens. Visited a tea house right on the lake (started by the Rolex founder) and had delicous hot chocolate. then we took a ferry ride across the lake (free!) and walked along the other side of the lake until we got back into the main part of the city. We found an authentic fondue place for dinner and all partook in eating the traditional Swiss meal. It was definitely an interesting (an expensive) endeavor but worth the experience. A beautiful fall night walk home to end the evening and another early night for us girls in Geneva.
Sunday morning was great. Me and my friend uuljan woke up for early and headed near the train station to get bikes and ride arond the lake. Bike rentals are free for the first four hours and then one dollar per hours afterwards. Incredibele huh? The best thing about Geneva that the only tihng we had to pay for was to eat (which was definitely very expensive) and all the sites were free. Uuljan and I enjoyed riding around on our bikes in the early morning fall weather all around the lake. We then stopped at a Starbucks (ok so I know that I'm in Europe and should be enjoying European culture but we were tooe xcited by our Starbucks find...coffee comes in thimbles here and no to-go cups to be found) and had a very cozy hour or so just talking. We then met up with our friends again and headed towards the train station to get our plane .
I loved visitng Geneva and could honestly see myeslf living there one day. Itw as completely unlike the cities I have visited in Europe thus far. It was not a crazy city with oodles to do but it seems like an amazing place to live. Switzerland is in the middle of Europe with easy and cheap access to everywhere you'd want to go. I think what makes this city so amazing is that the nature creeps right into the city. Even amongst tons of building you can smell and taste the fresh mountain air. Oh yeah...it is SOOO CLEAN! Spotless. The lake is visible from almost everywhere in the city. Cities like Rome and paris provide endless excitement but I felt at ease in Geneva, I actually left feeling relaxed and like I had such a peacefull weekend.

My Geneva Pictures!!!

Birthdays, some more Italy and oh yeah...classes

Weather update...still 80 degrees and gorgeous here! Cools down a bit at night but I am wondering when and if the weather will cool down for good. I've gotten mixed opinions from the locals but from what I'm understanding it doesn't get much colder than 60 degrees in the winter. But anyways some updates on what I've been up to lately...
This weekend we travelled into Italy! On Fridays there is a giant market in Ventimiglia where you can but everything from clothes to shoes to cheeses and sausages. It is only an hour and twenty minute train ride away from us (at the end of our train line) so we decided it would be a good day trip to take as everyone talks about the market. We left around 9 am and got back around 3. Not bad for travelling between countries! The market was really cool and the town is right on the Italian coast. Ventimiglia was very cute and pittoresque, not unlike the area I am in right now in France. Got some interesting items, a couple of things for Nick and a bag for me (loveee italian leather). I hope I have the chance to go back because there was so much there and some great gifts to bring home to people. Anyways once we finished up at the market we went to a yummy place for lunch, I got gnocchi and the girls got pizza and on the way back to the train we all got cannoli's. We were able to cram some of the best things about Italy into one day; leather, pizza, gnocchi's and cannoli's!
Classes have been going decently. Three hours is a long time to sit through a class, especially one entitled "Production and Operations Management", it just sounds dry doesn't it? I have Midterms over the next three weeks, two this tuesday, one next week and another the week after that. Hopefully they should all go well. I had a bad experience with my first Finance Quiz. The teacher only gave us 30 minutes to complete this very complicated quiz. All four American's in the class did not get a chance to finish, but we weren't worried because there was no way anyone in the class could have in the time restrictions. WRONG...all the European students had been given the answers by friends in a previous class (as we found out by one of them later) and had not only finished but all had 100's. Now the teacher should have been suspicous because as I referred to in my earlier post we are the ONLY ones who pay attention, he basically only teaches to us. He said we didn't do well because the other students were used to his quizzes and teaching style but in the next minute or so he was telling us how his USB drive with our Midterm exam on it had been stolen from his office (apparently it happens all the time by students looking to gain an edge on the exam) sigh. In the US there are such extreme measures to prevent against cheating that none of us can comprehend this situation but apparently it is very common. Hopefully the midterm will go better in which the students are required to show the workings for each problem. Cross your fingers for me.

My 21st birthday has come and gone here in France. My friends were very sweet and got me pastries and some flowers but it was hard thinking about the 21st birthday I would have had in the States with all of my closest friends and being able to talk to my family. I've had such a great time here but my birthday was a little lonely. Also I have a little bit of a cold which has been plaguing me for a few days so really wasn't up for any adventures. However next weekend I am going to Geneva Switzerland so that should be a great time. There are six girls going and I'm sure I'll have more stories to tell next week. Lots of trips planned, Florence, Venice, Milan, Cinqueterre, London, Paris, Avignon, Lyon and hopefully one more to be disclosed at a later date. Thats all for now...