Zurich

Our trip to Zurich Switzerland got cut short since our studio teacher just yesterday (Saturday) sent us a new list of requirements of what she is expecting for our Midterm review on Tuesday... Which is the next time we have class. So instead of flying home Tuesday morning like planned, we booked a train ride from Zurich-->Milan and Milan --> Florence. Currently I am sitting on my second train on my way back home and even though the entire journey is just under 6 hours, its gone pretty quickly. We departed for our trip on Thursday evening, our flight to Zurich was only 50 minutes and we were warmly welcomed when we arrived at the airport by Annas foreign exchange student. We chose to go to Zurich because she lives there so Anna was able to see her friend again, and we were able to have someone who knew all about the city take us around. We also had the luxury of staying with her family this weekend. When we first arrived to the house we were welcomed with open arms... and a table full of chocolate fondue. We soon went to bed that night because we knew the next day was going to be full of sightseeing.

Friday we woke up and headed down to the lake where we took a boat into the city of Zurich. The water was beautiful but it was so foggy that you couldn't see the mountains. We started the day by going to Debbies favorite cafe in the city. There i got a nice big cup of hot cholocate and a pastry that I'm not even sure what it was but she recommended it and it looked pretty good! Along our journey we stopped in some shops where I managed to find a water color painting for my collection! Sometimes you can't always find actual handmade one so i end up having to settle on a postcard that looks like a watercolor. So even though it was a little pricey, I couldn't resist picking it up right there (which was a good thing because I didn't see anymore along the way). For the most part all morning we just walked through the city taking in the different sites and we ended it by going to a touristy spot where you got a great view of the city. We took the train back to the town before hers that is home of the Lindt Chocolate Factory. So you can guarantee I picked up for Lindor truffles and chocolates. The store was packed and the man behind me had an entire cart full of chocolate. I can only hope it wasn't all for himself, but I also cant imagine how much he spent on all of it. We headed home to do homework for a little bit, then her mom took us to another popular location where there is an outlook. We climbing the tower and from the top your could see for 100s of miles. You could see the snow on top of the alps, and the streets we walked through all morning. That night her mom made us a typical swiss meal, don't ask me what its called because I could never say it or even spell it for you, but it was a type of beef with mushrooms, that you ate with a special type of potatoes that were similar to hashbrowns, with some cauliflower, broccoli, and carrots. It was very good, but what was the strangest thing was having a home cooked meal! Then i retired for the night so i could work on as much homework as possible before going to bed.

On Sunday we went Zip lining which I was looking forward to since I got to Europe. Where they took us was a ropes course, that had some Zip-Line runs spontaneously, But there were two courses they were JUST zip-lining. I have done a ropes course on vacation twice before and I enjoy it but its always a test of you fears. Even though you can't actually fall to the ground you do have the possibility of falling off an obstacle which for some people makes the experience that much more exciting, but for me it made me nervous. When you have broken so many bones in your life, all i could think about was falling and hitting one of the objects from the obstacle on my way down and breaking my arm... Lucky for me that didn't happen, but I conquered some fears by staying up there. But i far more enjoyed the actual zip-lining runs. Plus we were near an amazing waterfall so we could get some amazing views on the way down. After we finished our zip lining we sat and had some sandwiches Debbies mom made us for lunch which were so good! It was just a typical ham and cheese sandwich, but I always say when someone else makes you a sandwich its 10x better than making it yourself, then through in the fact that I haven't had a basic sandwich in at least 2 months now. It hit the spot. Then we headed down the hill to actually go to the waterfall we were seeing from the hills. This thing was amazing and i've been to Niagara Falls before (in winter) But this waterfall was breathtaking, and the color of the water was unforgettable. We took a boat right to the base of it were there is a very small path that you can climb to the top and get on amazing view. For dinner that night her mom made us another swiss meal that used this neat little skillet thing were you put some cheese inside it and it melts then once it melts you slide it off over some potatoes and enjoy!

It was neat staying with an actual family this weekend because we really got to see what it is like to live full time in a Europe. We got to live with pets again for a weekend! They had a big shaggy dog and 10 hamsters. These hamsters lived a life of luxury. Debbies mom hand made their cage and she hand makes their food! It was pretty cool to see how she cares for them! But I think my favorite part of the weekend was sitting and talking with the family about things in the US verses things they have in Switzerland. Every night after dinner we would stay at the table and they would ask us questions and we would do the same and it was quite interesting to see what differences there were in everyday things. But I think whats most amazing is all of the public transportation! Just in two days we took a train, bus, plane, and taxi! Thats something I will miss about Europe. Don't get me wrong I love driving, but America could definitely benefit by more public transportation!

Well that was my weekend in a nutshell its time to go keep working on studio so I can blow away my studio professor