Adrenaline, booze, and the Swiss Alps.

My last and final trip was to my fourth country, Switzerland. This was possible one of the best weekends I had while in Italy (a close second to Oktoberfest). The land was beautiful and the people were some of the most generous people I have ever met. Definitely the best way to spend my Thanksgiving weekend in Europe.

Our first dat there we didn't do much because of how tired we were from getting to the hostel at 3 in the morning. So we just roamed around the town and for lunch, wait for it, we ate at Hooters. Yes, I was so excited, a bit pricey but still, it was worth it for a taste of home.

Later that night we were able to enjoy a well cooked thanksgiving meal. We had fried stuffing balls, turkey and gravy, mashed potatoes, and steamed vegetables. For desert we had apple pie with a vanilla sauce. It definitely was an American day for me. After dinner we relaxed for a bit, then headed downstairs to the underground bar in the hostel. This place was definitely the place to be. It was just one giant party.

The next day the girl I went with went sky-diving, so while she was gone I rented a bike and rode around Interlaken. I did a little shopping, had lunch at a nice little sandwhich shop, and went to one of Interlakens beautiful lakes. It was a very relaxing but cold day.

That night when my friend got back we headed into town to find a fondue place. Let me tell you we found the best place. It was a typical Swiss enviornment, the owner was there and he made us feel really welcome. He kept calling me Heidi and made me play the Alphorn and I was actually really good. The cheese and chocolate fondue was delicious (definitely better than Melting Pot). We had a lot of fun talking to the owner and the other waiter who was working. Come to find out his brother has a restaurant in Orlando! It's such a small world.

After dinner, I was beat but everyone ended up talking me into going out again. Hey you can't pass up 2 for one drinks right? I didn't party to hard because I had a long day on Sunday.

My final day there I was able to go into the woods in the lower mountains of the Alps and play on a giant high ropes course. This was my wonderland and it definitely beat out anything I play on at camp. They had 7 different courses all with beginner to harder elements. My favorite was the flying fox because you got to zipline through the entire woods.

My experience in Switzerland will never be forgotten. I met some really great people and had the time of my life. I will definitely be back some day!

Ciao!

Chelsea Lynn

It's Futbal, not Soccer....get it?

One of the things I told myself I have to do before I left was going to a live Italian soccer game. CHECK. Crossed off my list. Apparently I went to one of the most intense games of this season.

I was able to see the game of Florence vs. Milan. It was crazy. I mean the fans are crazy. The Milan section is dangerous according to sources when they are on away territory.

In this particular game someone from the Milan team got a yellow card and everyone went nuts. It is just like how you see it on TV. I could not believe that I was actually watching it. I'm sure my dad and my sister are extremely jealous that I got to see this.

The score ended up a tie, 0-0, which was a big shock because Milan is supposed to be one of the best teams in Italy. So this was a big deal for Florence. All in all I really enjoyed my first European soccer game!

Ciao!

Chelsea Lynn

La citta d'amore....

I was very fortunate to make it to one of Italy's most famous cities, Verona. It is a beautiful small town closer to northern Italy. This city may sound familiar for it is the prominant setting of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. The city is literally known as The City of Love.

I was able to see many different monuments in Verona. Such as (above) the love well. The story behind this was that there was a girl living in a house very close and was very picky about who she would fall in love with. So she said that whoever falls down the well really loves me. When one man actually did, she went in after him. Now you are able to make a wish on love and throw in a coin.

Of course the other special place I saw was Juliet's house. It was the actual house, but the balcony was put in around when the 1960's version of Romeo and Juliet was made. This area was booming with tourists and probably looks really familiar from the movie Letters To Juliet. Yes you are able to send letters, but you have to pay to go up the stairs to the balcony and put your letter in a box. There was no way to put it on the wall or stick it in the crack of the stones.



There was also a gate to her house covered in locks. These locks represent people's love and devotion for one another. You bought them inside the tourist shop next to the house and then locked them and threw away the key for everlasting love. There was also a statue of Juliet in the courtyard where people horded around her so that they could rub her right breast for good luck. I was kind of disappointed to say the least of how such a beautiful city turned into such a tourist trap. I am still very very glad I made it there.

Ciao!

Chelsea Lynn

The leaning tower of what??

So we flew back from Paris into Pisa at about 10 in the morning so we thought we would make it to see the Leaning Tower while we were there.

Literally, this is what you do when you go to Pisa. You stand there tilt your head, take that infamous "pushing it up" picture and then you leave. It takes all but 45 minutes.



Well our adventure was a little longer. We decided to have lunch there. Then walk around a little bit. Finally we decided to leave and ended up getting on the wrong bus and pretty much took a city bus tour of Pisa, and not the ncie parts. It was ridiculous. Needless to say I'm glad I still got to see that stupid tower.

Ciao!

Chelsea Lynn

Parigi Giorno Tre....

Our third and final day in Paris was probably one of the longest. We slept in a little bit so we could get over our food coma from the day before. As soon as we got up and ready for the day we headed to L'Arc de Triumph to actually explore the monument and take some pictures. First off let me tell you how we got to L'Arc de Triumph, this monument is in the middle of a giant round about. There are no cross walks to get there and no stop lights. So the smartest thing we did was run through traffic. We made it, then got stopped by some cops and were told about the underground passage way. Yes, true American tourists.

This monument is where the tomb of the unknown soldier is for the French. Which was extremely interesting to me because I am really into all the world wars and that boring history stuff.

After we exited the right way, we started down the Champs Elysee and noticed some street performers. It was kind of like French break dancing, but better. There dancing had actually meaning and depth to it. They were performing to promote their show for that upcoming week call Cie No Mad. It was really amazing. I talked to them afterwards and they were more than happy to take a picture with me.

After watching them for about 20 minutes we proceeded to flag down a cab and go to the Louvre. We thought we would actually find it if we took a cab. The Louvre was just what I expected, but a tiny different. To be completely honest I thought that the museum was only the triangular dome that is in the middle of the square, no, it is the entire building that surrounds it, the triangle is just the lobby.

As we went inside it was chaos. Tourists everywhere, about 10 different ticket booths, and 4 different entrances to multiple exhibits. You immediately knew where the Mona Lisa was as soon as you saw the mob of people go into that entrance. It was very overwhelming and I realized you really needed to conquer this entire museum in about two days, yes that is how big it was.

I was able to see everything that I wanted to see there, including the Mona Lisa. It was small, which is what I had been told so I didn't expect much. The Louvre didn't really have any sense of organization either. I thought you know maybe there would be a line of people to go and look at it and then pass buy but no, a giant ocean of people surrounded her like she was some artistic goddess (okay maybe she is), but still. I pushed my way through just to get a couple of pictures then immediately pushed back out. I would say it was worth it.

We left the Louvre and of course headed straight to the Eiffel Tower AGAIN. I mean we had to see it during the day. I don't think we had a sunny day the whole time we were there, which I guess was okay. The Eiffel Tower was just what I expected during the day.
People were gathered on the outskirts, sitting with their loved ones on the green patches. Children running around and playing right underneath it. It was like oh just another day at the Eiffel Tower to them. To me I wanted to cry cause this was my last time seeing it.

After the Eiffel Tower we took the boat cruise down the Siene river and were able to learn some history of Paris. Well I fell asleep. I was exhausted, the cruise was only 40 minutes but I couldn't keep my eyes open.

Finally our day was almost complete. We told ourselves we were not leaving with out some macaroons in our hands. Laduree was apparently very famous in Paris. Well let me tell you, the line of people definitely proved it was, but the cookie didn't. I was not impressed with the service nor the taste. Definitely interesting and a very cute concept but not up to par for me.

After a very long day we finally went back to the hotel and packed our Paris life away. It was bittersweet, but I am glad to say I made it to the one place I have been dreaming of my entire life.

Ciao!

Chelsea Lynn

Parigi Giorno Due....

On day two of our adventure in Paris we were able to do some sightseeing.

We first stopped at this little bakery on the way to our first destination. It was so delicious. I had a croissant (possibly the best croissant I have ever had). My grandmother had this little tiramisu type pastry. It was the cutest little shop ever.

After that we caught a taxi to Notre Dame. This tour of the city by taxi was beautiful. Just something from a movie. It was a cloudy fall day and a little chilly. The leaves were falling off the trees and there were tons of clouds in the sky. All the buildings mirrored each other as we drove down the swerving roads of Paris. we drove along the Seine River which was absolutely amazing.
We finally got to Notre Dame, and yes it is as beautiful as you would think, and yet again to my astonishment I couldn't believe my eyes. Growing up watching The Hunchback of Notre Dame, I had never thought the dream of seeing this church would come true. Let alone be able to take communion during the service that was going on that day.

The service was in French but it was beautiful. My mom was the one to notice when they started doing communion and the three of us then preceeded down towards the altar and all took communion peacfully. I don't think we were allowed to do this, but I now get to say I have taken communion is a very historically famous church.

After Notre Dame we finally encountered our first angry Parisian. We bought a couple of sandwhiches and crepes outside of a restaurant from this stand (which by the way, looked like it was connected to the restaurant) and then thought we would sit outside and people watch from the tables outside the restaurant. The waiter told us we could not sit there because we weren't eating there food, so my mom told him we would order drinks and then he got us menus. To our knowledge that indicated that we were okay to sit there. Then all of a sudden, the manager came out and started yelling at us in French and shooed us away from his restaurant. Very embarassed be walked away and gave someone else our money for drinks. Needless to say, I'm not very fond of the Parisians.

Our next adventure was to find the Louvre, which was a total fail. We searched everywhere, and we ended up finding the contemporary art museum which was huge and we decided not to go in because we had to get back to get ready for our great night ahead of us.

This night was the highlight of our trip. We took the leap of eating at the restaurant at the Eiffel Tower. To be completely honest I was not that impressed with the food, but it was still a great experience. we met there very lovely couple from England and they were so much to hang out with at dinner. We were dressed in our best and was able to go all the way to the top of the tower and see Paris from an amazing view. It was wonderful.

By the end of the night I was exhausted from the day. I was very happy to have a crepe at the end of the night and just go to bed. The next day was going to be very eventful and I needed a lot of sleep for it!




Ciao!

Chelsea Lynn

Parigi Giorno Uno....

So to end the lovely trip with my mother and grandmother we ventured out way to Paris for three days.

Let me tell you, what an adventure.

I will post this in day incraments because literally we did that much.

Our first day there we flew in early in the morning so that we could have a full day there after flying.

Our first obstacle was getting to our hotel. We wanted to take a taxi but thought it would be expensive and hoping there was a shuttle or something, but then ended up taking a taxi anyways. This is where the fun starts.

Around the time we arrived was Paris's rush hour. So the highway was backed up like crazy. I showed the driver the address to the hotel I booked and he looked at me funny and then said okay. As we truck along, and along, and along, I start to realise that there is something funny about where we are going, it just seemed to be taking way to long. So I asked our driver how much longer and he said another 45 minutes. I of course said that is not happening.

He ended up taking us to the Champs-Elyse to find a place with wifi so that I could book a different hotel closer to the center of Paris.

Thank god for the internet. So we fixed our situation and were able to find a hotel right down the street from the L'Arc De Triumph. It was amazing.

We then had our first FANTASTIC meal in Paris. I had French Onion soup, tons of bread and a crepe nutella. It was delicious.

After lunch we checked into our quaint little hotel and took a nap.

Later we got Paris fast food from this place called Quick and it was so good and cheap compared to what our meal was earlier that day.

After dinner we took a stroll leading us all the way to the Eiffel Tower. I couldn't believe my eyes. It was so surreal and beautiful lit up at night!

And of course, to top off such an eventful day, I relaxed with my mom and grandma and ate my SECOND crepe for the day :].

First view of Paris!

OMG DELICIOUS!

Eiffel Tower by Night!

Ciao!

Chelsea Lynn