Switzerland: chocolate, cheese, and a whole lot of SNOW.

Since the day I had found out that I would be working and living in Spain, I have dreamt of Switzerland. 

I flew into Geneva late Saturday night and met up with my travel partner. This was the first time we were to meet in person but we were connected through one of the most wonderful friends that I made the previous year. 

Our first day to explore was Sunday and since nothing much is open we wandered the streets and took in the sights before heading to the train station. Throughout the four days I was there it seemed that Easter was in full swing with all the decorations.

We walked up hill with all of our bags to the Geneva Cathedral. Afterwards we picked up a snack at a convenient store and headed to the train. 

Our complete journey was just over four hours and included three train switches. Our layovers were only about four to six minutes each, the Swiss are VERY efficient.

I was very excited to be heading up into the Swiss Alps. We even had seats in a panoramic train for one of the journeys.

Our second night was to be in Interlaken. This town is between two large lakes and in the valley of the Alps.

As we were walking to our hostel we saw this cute sign and it included the name of our next stop, Lauterbrunnen. During our walk we saw two of my friends from the town in which I work in Spain. This world sure is small :)

This church and monastery we saw had some gorgeous stained glass windows.

My souvenir for myself was this double wrap Swatch watch!

I cannot believe it but there was a Hooters here. I had no interest to go inside but thought to snap a picture. 

We had plans to go canyon jumping which is just like bungee jumping but because of the bad weather all of the activities were cancelled. The hostel we stayed at was very nice and gave us a recommendation for a place to eat fondue for dinner which is very typical in Switzerland. The prices are outrages for everything so we mostly ate from the grocery store but decided some fondue was in order. The next day we headed to Lauterbrunnen which is further into the Alps.

Honestly you could not even see the Alps because everything was just white as could be. No one was at our hostel so we dropped of our things and went for a walk. We popped into a sport store where one of the employees was from Seattle!! He recommended we rent toboggans and take a train up the mountain. There are many sledding trails that are two to three hours long.  

The weather was about seven degrees Fahrenheit and although we were layered up, we weren't exactly dressed for the weather.

Within the first ten minutes one of our sleds was lost. There is an attachment to place on your ankle but my friend decided against it which made for a pretty funny experience. If you look closely in this photo you can see two skis of a nice Swiss man who went down the bank to retrieve the sled. She had on leggings and one glove, he looked at her and said, "madam, you know you are in the Swiss Alps right?"

While waiting for her to retrieve her sled I discovered that the snow flakes in Switzerland sure are gorgeous!

Two thrilling hours later we made it down the mountain. This picture makes it look not to thrilling but I can say at many points I was a little scared. There were many steeeeeep places and sharp turns with banks on the side of the trails. It was awesome!

We were in a room with six women total and were assigned the two beds in the loft. I had never been to a hostel like this but it was definitely cozy.

Wengen, Switzerland

Our last hostel did not include breakfast sadly, but this gave me the perfect excuse to go grab a coffee.

The last day was even colder and whiter than any of the previous days. We decided to take the cable car or gondola up the mountain. This gondola was HUGE and built in the sixties. This is where they filmed the James Bond movie toooo! After the cable car ride we had a two hour hike to another city and another gondola ride. As you can see from the picture there weren't many views other than the pretty snow. I plan on returned in warmer months some day so really see the views.

We finished the trip with plenty of chocolate and some rosti which is a traditional dish which is like hashbrowns with some toppings. I chose mine with Swiss cheese (overall I am not a fan of their cheeses... they taste pretty good but smell like death), ham and mushrooms. Overall, I loved Switzerland!!

St. Patrick's Day in Almería

I finally had a free weekend to head back to Vera, where I lived last year. After a very loooooong train ride (it was two hours late and then broke down twice) I arrived safely. It was wonderful to visit friends and see my old students. I did not take many photos sadly. I visited the beach where I lived. They suffered from a very bad flood in September and I am so happy to see how far along they have come since then.

I stayed with a friend and from her terrace you can even see the Mediterranean Sea.

The weather was so nice. It was a great change from the cold weather where I live this year. On Monday when I left it was in the seventies!!

Sunday was St. Patrick's Day and so we headed to the local Irish pub to celebrate. Here are some fun facts for you... Patrick's real name was Maewyn and was actually English not Irish.

This was a very successful weekend and I am hoping to return for another visit to Vera in May.

Istanbul Turkey

Recently I was lucky enough to have five days off from work and so I headed to Turkey with two friends. It is quite the journey from Spain and take a little more work since it is not in the EU.

The architecture is so different than anywhere else I have visited. The views were phenomenal. We arrived in the late afternoon so after dropping our things off at the hostel we decided to go for a walk. We were meeting with my friend´s old college roommate, who is actually born and raised in Istanbul, for dinner.

We made a quick visit to the grand bazaar since it was one of the few things still open. We saw the cutest little spot to enjoy some treats and tea. The apple tea was sooooo good and the traditional baklava with pistachios is to die for. I absolutely fell in love with the treats in Turkey and had to purchase plenty for family and friends to enjoy later as well.

Under one of the bridges there are plenty of fish restaurants. We made sure to note that we should stop by here later. Shortly after we headed to the restaurant to meet for dinner. Sadly, I have no pictures from this evening because I was too busy enjoying myself. We had the most phenomenal food!! I loved the kebab with pistachios and lamb. Her friend was so kind to order all the usual for us and draw as a map with plenty of hints and tips. She also tried to help us with the basics of Turkish as well. At the end of the night the surprised me with fruit and dessert with candles to celebrate my birthday. It was a wonderful first evening in Istanbul!

The next morning we had an appointment and a local and very old Turkish bath. It was quite the experience.

After our bath we needed major hydration and there are so many street vendors with fresh pomegranate juice. I had a mix of orange and pomegranate which was fabulous.

We headed back to the grand bazaar to buy some gifts and then headed to the spice market which I loved. Here is a picture of the shop that I spent so much time and money at... and of course had plenty of samples! The turkish delights in Turkey are actually really good. The ones I have tried before and not in Turkey I did not like.

With one of our lunches we tried Ayran which is a typical yogurt drink. When I read the English menu they called it buttermilk which actually sounds a little sickening. It was okay but the size was entirely too pick for me. One of my friends is Indian and she says they drink something similar in India and I think she enjoyed it more then the rest of us.

We had turkish meatballs for lunch which was another recommendation.

The top of the Hagia Sofia with the Turkey flag.

To think I was impressed with the outside of the architecture... inside is even more impressive. These structures are so much better kept than all of the ones I have seen in Spain. These pictures are from the Hagia Sofia. Originally a Basilica, later a Mosque, and now a museum from the year 360!!!

We had such wonderful weather which is quite lucky since it was raining when we arrived. Next we headed underground to the Cisterns where water used to be held (there is actually some fish there now and a lot of coins from wishing).

There are also two medusa heads in the Cisterns.

Then we had an afternoon snack of roasted corn, roasted chestnuts, and turkish tea in front of the Blue Mosque.

Getting ready to enter the Blue Mosque by removing our shoes and covering our heads. The Blue Mosque is actually named Sultan Ahmed Mosque and built in the year 1609. It is still used as a Mosque today and you can hear the prayers throughout many parts of the city. I only say many parts because Istanbul as about 17 million inhabitants, HUGE!!

This picture does not quite do it justice but I am telling you in all my travels this is the most beautiful and precious thing I have ever seen in all my life.

After trying some more recommended and new food for dinner we decided to have some traditional dessert. 

The two on the outer sides is a type of rice pudding and the green one is of course pistachio! The one in the middle is a dessert made of shredded phyllo dough, cheese, pistachios, and honey.

In the morning we had free Turkish breakfast at the hostel and look and the amazing view. It is so bright that you cannot see the sea.

We toured through the palaces and you would not believe how much space the working women were given and if the give birth to the child they are someone then part of the royal family!!

I love all the blues and greens in the tiles and windows.

Here is a view of the Asian side. Istanbul is halfway in Europe and halfway in Asia. We took a cruise over to the Asian side.

We returned to the fish restaurants for lunch. I of course did not eat the bread. Luckily I packed plenty of homemade granola bars for times like these.

The men were all fishing off the bridge.

We did not climb up Galeta tower due to time constraints but still we had a glimpse of it.

That is a glimpse of my wonderful trip to Istanbul!! I definitely look forward to returning someday. It was such a rewarding experience!