Geneva-> Manchester-> Leeds

I'm exhausted, but I'm back home (home is where the bed is, as Steph says). We took a bus back from Manchester this early afternoon and got home sometime around 3 or so- I've spent the last hour and some trying to clean my room and unpack. Unfortunately, the vacuum seems to be broken and only seems to be making my room even more dirty than it was in the first place.

As I sit here with my coffee I will try to remember the details of the rest of my trip.

In the last post I mentioned how we took a train through 5 countries to get from Brussels to Geneva. We were to be staying at my cousin Robyn's place so she had given us the appropriate directions- hop on the bus from the train station for a few stops. Unfortunately, she had told us to go right instead of left so when we got off the bus we were quite lost. Fortunately, the kabab shop on the corner was helpful and made for a very yummy shwarma for dinner. Now my cousin also had forgotten to tell us which room she lived in. Some lady that lived there yelled at me and Steph for a minute for not knowing where we were going but we found her name on a mailbox, and then quickly discovered that the first floor was actually one floor up- not the main floor. So we got in and took a rest, watched the movie Gia, with Angelina Jolie which I thought was very well done and waited for her to come home- I hadn't seen her in so long I almost didn't recognize her, but it was very nice to finally see her after all these years.

The next day, we wandered around Geneva (at this point I'd lost all track of time). We tried to make our way to the life-size chessboards we had found the day before- we ended up going for a nice little walk around the city and finally foudn the chessboards and played a game of chess. It wasn't too cold outside, but being outside and hardly moving for the duration of the game made us freeezzing. We made ourselves some sandwiches with stuff we had bought earlier from the grocery store (Switzerland is one of the more expensive European countries) and ate them inside a subway station as people walked by and said: "bon appetit". We fed a bit of left over bread to the birds by the water, explored a Swiss novelty shop, then decided to head into a department store for some warmth, bought some stationary and paper and found a cafe to write some letters! We bought some dinner at the grocery store and had dinner over the bottle of wine we bought in Frankfurt... mmm...

The next day we thought we'd make good use of our rail passes and took an 8 hour scenic train ride to Luzern, at the other end of Switzerland. We climbed the hills of Montreaux for a gorgeous view of the mountains. Although we only got to spend just over an hour in Luzern (its the journey not the destination, lol) Steph and I frantically searched for some rosti- kind of like a potatoe latke, but Steph to this day insists that they are not the same. After we found a place with a waterside view, I must still contend that the two are very similar, however, rosti, is mmm amazing, and sorry Steph, but I it was also my little mini hanakah celebration!!!. We walked up the bridge, enjoyed the view and headed back into the train station for a 3 hour ride back to Geneva (ironically so much shorter). Well the reason we rushed back was so we could meet Robyn at this waterside fondue place called Bain de Paquis. We had cheese fondue mixed with champange (Robyn said it was the best she's ever had) as she told us about her Saharan adventures and we told her about our trip so far.We then met some of her coworkers at the Demi Lune Cafe over hot wine. It was a very fun day, but exhausting!! zzzz

Our final day in Geneva was definitely one to remember. We woke up at a reasonable hour (9 or 10) and headed to the chess boards again! Only this time, we decided to take the shortcut route that we had taken the night before from the bar. We wound up on top of an overlooking hill in the old town and got to see the older side of Geneva. We walked through the campus (which is where the chess boards are) and got distracted by one of those carousel park things that spins round and round, whoops. We then played a pretty intense game of chess. We noticed as we were leaving (again, freezing in search of coffee) that the guy who had been watching us play was following us. Steph kept insisting that he was still looking at us, but we kept walking until abouta couple blocks later, he pulled up beside us. We quickly realized that he was a nice harmless guy and invited him along for coffee (he even treated us), we learned he was from Germany and he later offered to show us around the city. We told him we were headed to the museums- we osmehow stopped by the church and some other sites until he got the idea we weren't staying in the city long and weren't really interested. But he was a nice guy, we had good conversation, even though it didn't take long for Steph and I to realize how bad our French really was- although we know alot of words and bits and pieces thanks to the Canadian educational system and the Quebecois influence, we still have a bit of trouble forming coherent sentences. In fact, sometimes Hebrew comes out with mine, and Steph said the same thing happens with her and Spanish.

Anyways, after that whole adventure we headed back to Robyns place to meet Andrea and her brother Dustin and for a little hor d'eorves and some champagne before she took us out for dinner. We then stopped by Robyn's coworkers party at a posh place that looked like a beat up student hangout with class (it was a student bar) with books on the bookshelves. We tried to convince Dustin to join us in Interlaken, a ski and tourist resort that we were going to, but he just didn't wake up in time the next day!! hehe. Anyways I had a lot of fun that night nad it was nice getting to know everyone! I thought it was funny how Robyn thought that I was the adventurous cousin sleeping in airports and taking the longest overnight routes so we could sleep on the train rather than having to pay for a hostel, but in truth, Robyn's navagated through the Sahara desert, and moved to Geneva and has been travelling the world- I think that's pretty cool!!!! But if you're reading this, Robyn, thanks for a great time!!! We shall have to meet up soon, in some random European country maybe.

The next morning Robyn made us breakfast- matza and egg (I'm sorry I don't know the name... matza kugel?) and Steph and I headed to Interlaken once again to be stunned by the beautiful views. UPon arrival we immediately noticed how friendly our hostel staff and guests were- we stayed at Balmer's Lodge in Interlaken. TEhy gave us chocolate and a mousepad that says "I had a great time at Balmers". Steph and I wanted to take a boat ride of some sort that would have been free with our Eurail pass but however they run only on Sundays and there wasn't much we could do sinec it was already sunset so we cut our losses, bought some dinner at the co-op (grocery store) and relaxed for a bit. Now what made Balmer's so great was that it was so elaborate- pool and fooseball tables, club, bar, restaurant, amonst other things- it is world renowned and came highly recommended by Andrea. Steph and I went to the bar, got our two for one happy hour beers and chatted for a bit. After a while, when we were thinking of leaving, a couple of guys approached us asking if we were American- we told them we were Canadian and they were very nice guys from teh US army who were in Germany. Apparently they are officers and can take off work whenever they like so they were Skiing in Interlaken for a bit. We had fun speaking to them, had a little 'power drink' with them and after they went to bed, we met some Aussies who were very rowdy and probably very drunk. I won't mention all the details because there is a wide audience of people reading this but basically we walked into our hostel room and found a little aussie surprise in one of the other girl's bed. We didn't get much sleep that night becuase of that and other disturbances but hahah it was so histerical. (Mom don't worry, nothing bad happened at all)

The next day, Steph and I grabbed a bus and train after breakfast to the mountains (away from the wee little hills). Since we were on a tight budget and weren't properly dressed for skiing (we wore all our pants, and sweaters an shirts, 4 pairs of socks and running shoes), we decided to go sledding!!! Even the bus driver warned us that we'd be cold but when we arrived at the top of the mountain (by a shaky bus), it was surprisingly warm, and wonderfully picturesque. It was a beautiful day and I am so happy I got to go sledding in the alps. It was a 5k run down the mountain but we took 3 hours or so, taking our time and snapping photos. What a beautful day. We then headed back to Robyn's place (she offered us a place to stay even though she was in Verbier skiing- we couldn't join her as the train schedules didn't allow us to get back in time for our flight :( .

Now, the next day we almost missed our flight. We were supposed to get up at 6 or so but Steph didn't hear her alarm (neither did I of course) and I woke up at 8 or so and asked her what time it was. We ran out in an organized panic and caught the next bus, took the trian over to the airport and arrived at 9 for our 10 am flight.. wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeew... that was scary, especially considering I was perfectly broke at this point lol.

We flew to Manchester and met Steph's friend Clare to join her and her family for Xmas. I had a very nice time, they were so sweet and I loved spending Christmas with them. We went out Christmas eve and met some of Clare's friends- as it is customary for the English to head to the pubs the night of the 24th. We woke up the next morning, or afternoon for Xmas brunch, before which we had some more alcohol, enough to have us a bit enubriated before lunch... but mmm i love turkey meals. We sat around the fire afterwards, played pub quiz and trivial pursuit (the British version, so of course I wasn't much help on some topics)- it was a great way to spend the holidays!

In Britain boxing day is not a day of shopping, but rather an extended day of Xmas so the trains were all closed so we took a bus back, which brings me back to my room at my laptop a little dazed, a little tired, writing to you. Now that my journey is over, I am certain that it is only the first of many more to come in my lifetime. During these last two weeks, and of course these last 3 and a half months, I have been fortunate enough to experience things and meet people that will have a lasting impact on the way in which I view life and the world. So much has changed, yet so much has remained the same. After experiencing different cultures, different languages, my eyes have been opened to the myriad of perspectives of people all over the world. From sitting in a train to the French countryside, to sledding in the Alps, staying with different families, getting to know my own family, I have learned so many things about the world, and of course, myself.


Both Steph and I will readily affirm that our trip literally went off without a hitch. Although there were some minor obstacles along the way, we certainly proved a little improvisation, a little patience, and a little creativity goes a long way. Of course, perspective makes a difference, and our little glitches remained merely glitches, and the road remained smooth. I have to thank Steph (whether or not she reads this) for being an amazing and fun travel buddy, I'd do it again any day.

And now, it's time for the 2-3 weeks I've been most dreading, exams... I'm off to spend the next little while in studious isolation. Until next time I have learned to always remember, that every day is an adventure. xoxo.