20/8/10

I had the day off with my parents, yay! In the morning, we walked about 2 hours to the woodcarvers shop. My mom really wanted to visit the shop, since she saw my pictures and really liked that place. We spent our time browsing throughout the store and buying souvenirs and gifts =). We then headed over to Kaffee Blatti to enjoy some coffee and lemon cake. It was very yummy. The weather was very nice outside and it was not too hot and it was not too cold. The view from all around was phenomenal as well. Next, we went to the gorge; we started all the way at the beginning which is at the bottom of the gorge. My parents loved the breath-taking views and natural scenery. They liked to sit at the benches and just listen to the water run and observe their surroundings. I was happy that they liked the gorge! We then ate lunch by the river; it was nice to sit and relax, my dad even was acting like a kid and throwing rocks into the river. My mom and I thought it was funny. We then walked along the river and through a beautiful forest; our destination was first the alpen garden and then Tschetenalp! The view and hiking trail was very pretty to the garden, we saw so many creeks, streams and waterfalls coming from the mountain. We picked lots and lots of berries and ate them along the way; my dad really liked picking the berries. We then made it to the alpen garden; we sat and relaxed in the garden, observed the flowers and smelled the lavender! I really like gardens, so this was one of my favorite parts of the day. Our next journey was a lot steeper as we had to ascend 400m to get to the top of Tschetenalp. We took our time, paused, enjoyed the views, had snack breaks and water breaks and even watched the cows. By then it was after 5pm and I decided to look at my map to see when the gondola closed....well it said it closed at 5pm. Uh oh, we still had about 30 minutes to get to the peak. But, I wanted to get to the top so I could climb my 3rd mountain and get my 5 staff challenge points. So, my parents were kind and walked with me to the top, and yes, it was very quiet at the top as there was no one there and the gondola station was closed =(. I felt horrible that I did not look at the times in advance, but our only option was to walk down  back to Adelboden. We relaxed at the top in an abandoned ski building for about 45 minutes, it even had cushions so my parents laid down. I walked around and ate some snacks. Randomly, the gondolas from the station started moving downward toward Adelboden, and then they went back up. I ran to the station thinking that someone was there, but it was all locked up and no one was at the top; I think they were controlling it from the Adelboden station. Anyways, after our break, the downward journey began. It took about 2 hours to get to Adelboden and boy were my parents happy to sit down, eat and drink a beer. I felt really bad the whole way and I kept thinking that I wore them out completely and that they are going to be so tired the next day. But, my parents were pleased with the day and they said that they enjoyed themselves, which made me happy. We ate at my favorite burger joint, Kiosk Treff, we had hamburgers and fries and beer and it was yummy. I called a taxi so we could get a ride back to the chalet. My dad said that was the best 24 francs he ever spent on a taxi. The taxi brought us basically right to the door of the chalet, my dad and mom were happy. Horray, we made it back to the chalet before 10pm. I was exhausted as well so I took a shower, wrote my blogs and went to bed. Goodnight all! I only have 2 more days of work and then I am outta here. xoxo

19/8/10

It was my sixth day of working in a row, but I did not mind it because my parents were coming in the evening! I gave a morning tour to a group of guides from the UK, they seemed to enjoy it. I even met Rainbows and Brownies (the younger girl guides). I helped Sarah in the office and I got a 4 world centers fundraising pin, it was the last one so I felt special. Next was lunch and lunch clean up. I decided to start packing, because I knew I was not going to have much time to pack once my parents got here. I seemed to fit alot of clothing/items in my suitcase...but I still have a few days worth of clothes that need to go somewhere as well, hm. But, I worked on organizing my clutter, writing postcards and working on my end of the season evaluation. I got a lot done on the break which was very nice. It was then time to head to the kitchen for dinner preparation. I made the chicken carbonara, the veggie carbonara and the lactose free carbonara so that was fun. And, my parents arrived just in time for dinner! It was so good to see them! After dinner clean up, we hung out, I showed them around the chalet, but since they were tired from traveling they went to bed around 10pm. We were going hiking the next day, so sleep was needed. It was a typical day working guest services at the chalet.

18/8/10

It was my last time to work on-site day, and I was in charge of my favorite station -- Orienteering! At opening ceremony, Agus and I got to raise the flag. =) Jackie left this morning, so we had a goodbye muffin celebration in the dining hall just after the ceremony. Then, the bell rang and we were off to begin the day. The girls are from the UK, Japan and Canada...this is the only event with no Americans, crazy. The girls seemed tired and quiet, but they seemed to enjoy the activity. We had BBQ lunch, inside, because it was raining. We also had a bread crisis, someone in the office forgot to order the BBQ bread, so we had to use the regular bread for the BBQ, hm oh well. During the next session, I worked on the Our Chalet summer video I have been working on. I also folded laundry and made sign up sheets for the hikes during program. During orienteering, you have a 45-50 minute break, so I occupied my time wisely. After our second session, 3 girls still had not come back from orienteering. So, I put my rain jacket on and decided to go look for them. I wandering on the road uphill and into a forest looking for them and I stumbled upon the magic tree! The magic tree (I am going once more before I leave with a camera) is a tree that you can go inside, it is very cool. The forest was breath-taking and in the end I really enjoyed my walk/hike. I picked berries on the way back to the chalet, and luckily the girls had made it back just 2 minutes before I returned. Thank goodness we did not loose guests during the first day. We had once last session and then I helped the guests with their patrol duties. I worked on the video some more before dinner time as well, and I can not wait til I am finished! I decided to lend a hand in the kitchen, since Kate was sick and there were only 3 girls working. So, I got excused from evening program set up and helped with the washing and cleaning. I then went to International night, which was lots of fun! I got 4 patrol pins from a UK guide; they were the flowers from England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland! It was a good day/night and I am exhausted so I going to bed. I am excited for my parents arrival tomorrow!!!

17/8/10

Today: Guest services. I was back to guest services, which is my last event I will be working. I leave the chalet in just 6 short days, and my parents are arriving in 2 days, horray! I was on the early breakfast shift, but it was a changeover day so it was quite slow in the morning. I was the laundry queen again for the changeover day and I did loads and loads of laundry, really. The autumn volunteers have arrived and they help out on guest services so I was training Mette when we were doing rubbish and recycling. We sorted the paper and food out of the rubbish bins. We emptied all of the paper, rubbish and recycling bins from both buildings and did laundry in between. We also had time to re-stock bathrooms, so I showed her how to do that too. We brought the 2 green bins down to the silver bin, Mette jumped on the silver bin to fit about 10 more bags in the container, it was great and she earned staff challenge points. Luckily, Christoph was coming up the hill in the chalet van, so he put the containers in the back and we got a ride up the hill, just in time for lunch. Since we had a lot of extra bread at the chalet, Lesley made individual pizzas on bread for lunch, it was yummy! I then continued to do laundry after I helped out with lunch cleanup. I even did my laundry as well, which was much needed. After that, Susan had an outdoor picnic and she made crepes, they were so yummy! I had a nutella and banana crepe. It was then time for dinner preparation, and since the autumn vollies are helping, I was sent back to the laundry room to do laundry. I tidied up the laundry room, folded and put away all the laundry and continued to do wash, I as busy until dinner time, it was crazy. After dinner, we cleaned up. I taught an autumn vollie how to 'Vim;' I love vimming, its one of my favorite things to do in the kitchen, but I love washing dishes as well. I hung out with Susan and Renee and we chatted and gossiped for a little bit. I then fixed my necker, after Renee re-tied my friendship knot; I added all my pins to my necker, horray it looks neat! Anyways, it was a long day and I have 2 more working days until I have a day off. I am working program tomorrow since it is on-site day and I get to run the orienteering session, ya ya ya!

16/8/10

Oh sweet summer, how it has seems to be already vanishing/gone. It was a high of 12C today, it was very cold. I began the adventure day with our hike to the adventure park with Jackie. It was cold and windy so I had a warm hat, scarf, gloves, long sleeve shirt and fleece on, how crazy is that. We get to the adventure park, we get our equipment and then we begin! After we finish the practice course, we go to the zip lines and then it starts raining and the wind picks up. I go grab my rain jacket so my fleece does not get wet. I watch the girls go back and forth on the zip wires, laugh, shout and throughly enjoy themselves. It was fun, we also went to the high zip line, which is always tons of fun. Next stop, was the high ropes course. I was freezing cold, as I was standing around waiting in line. So, I decided to walk up and down to keep myself warm. Then, it was my turn for the high-ropes course; I went forward on the wooden part, but when I got to the actual wire, I decided to go backwards, it was fun. Then, I got to the flat wooden steps and decided to go backwards with no hands, I wanted to challenge myself since I fell off last time when I tried. I made it to the end without falling and I was going backwards the entire time, wahoo! We then abseiled off the bridge. The Japanese girls were really funny, because they were having fun, but were slightly scared at the same time. It was then time to jump off the bridge, and I finally have a video of me diving off the bridge, yay! It was my favorite part of the adventure park, but as I was swinging, I was so cold, it was crazy! We walked in the rain to the indoor climbing wall to have lunch. Thank goodness for being indoors. It was a lot of fun at the climbing wall, I climbed the slanted wall which is really hard and I climbed up the rope ladder. Now, my arms are very tired. After the fun and games at the indoor climbing wall, we walked through town on our way back to the chalet. And, one of the guests bought me a peach tea! It had stopped raining so the walk back to the chalet was just a little chilly. It is my last day of program and we are having a campfire tonight for evening program and I am running it/in charge!! =)

15/8/10

I woke up to rain beating on the window, oh joy I can't wait to go hiking today. I am a bit tired from going out with some of the vollies for Emma's last night; but I had a lot of fun at the dance club, especially since they were playing great American (english) dance club music. I got up later than usual, but I still managed to get ready, pack my lunch and eat my breakfast before morning meeting. Agus and I were on the high road together with guests from Montana, New York and Japan. It was a lot of fun, the weather was cool and a little rainy, but we made it to the alp in 2.5hrs. It is about an 8 mile hike to Elsigenalp, but it was a good hike. I then put on gloves, 2 jackets, my rainjacket and a head warmer and ate lunch by the lake. I tend to cool down very rapidly after hiking, so I knew in advance I was going to freeze. After about an hour outside, I was so cold that Koka, Agus and I went to the restaurant. There was some kind of mini festival going on, so a cheesemakers hut was open, there was a petting zoo, and there was constant music -- yodelling, alpine horn players or some sort of Swiss music with musical instruments of course. We had 5 hours on the alp, but it was so cold outside, and I was tired, that I did not want to do anything. I sat in the restaurant, enjoyed a nice large cup of coffee, socialized with guests and made a friendship bracelet. It felt like a very long day, and I am not quite sure how I kept myself occupied without going crazy. It was about 4:30 and we headed to the gondola station. We road the gondola down to Elsigbach, and the bus was waiting for us, horray! Thank goodness we did not have to wait in the cold. We made it back to the chalet in about 20 minutes and I changed into clean clothes and began blogging. For evening program, it is games night and we are playing indoor Clue, I am excited. AND, my parents are coming in 4 days!!!!!! I can not wait. Bye for now readers.

14/8/10

Weather forecast: Rain. Final destination: Oberhofen Castle. I woke up earlier than I expected, so I decided to take a shower so I could be more awake for the morning. After my shower, I made my lunch and got some coffee from the kitchen. It is not the best coffee in the world, but I drink it. My mom sent me some instant Starbucks coffee which has been wonderful, I only have a few left so I use them when I really need a morning boost. I then sat at the Stockli table, watched many vollies go to and from, and quietly ate my breakfast and drank my coffee. Mornings are normally quiet and loud, quiet because everyone is too tired to speak and loud because we are frantically slamming doors, showering and busily preparing for the day. It was almost 8:30am and so I headed over to Spycher for the morning meeting. We discussed the happenings of the day, received sign-out sheets, programme phones, maps, scavenger hunts and the infamous motion-sickness bucket. We have the motion-sickness bucket just in case a guest may need to use it, hmm. The bell rang just 5 minutes before nine. I dropped off my dirty mug in the kitchen so it could be cleaned. We then gathered in a large circle, told the guests the plan of the day and then we were ready to head down the hill. On town days, we only have to walk down the driveway, because that is where the bus picks us up and drops us off. Our first stop was Neisen; we rode the funicular train for 30 minutes until we reached the top. It was about 7C at the top and raining, so staff decided to head inside to the restaurant. I enjoyed a hot cup of coffee and ate my lunch. We chatted and observed guests to kill time. By then, it was noon and it was time to head back down the mountain. We next went to Spiez to catch a boat that we would ride all the way to the castle. It was not raining in Spiez and the weather was warmer than the top of the mountain, thank goodness. After our boat ride, we landed at Oberhofen Castle. I had not been inside the castle since training, so I decided to have one more look. I discovered another room on a floor I had not been before and I discovered some more rooms as well. I saw an old 'barn' room as well as the chapel and sacristy. There was a wedding reception in the courtyard, so that was fun to watch from the windows. After the quick castle tour, Jackie and I sat out in the courtyard gardens, chatted and listened to the music that was playing for the reception. It was nice to hear some live music and just relax, enjoy the flowers and the beautiful view. After sitting for about an hour, we decided to wander into the other gardens. My favorite garden, viney arch now had sunflowers which was very cool. I enjoyed the nice serene walk through the gardens. It was then time to leave the castle, we met the guests at the entrance at 3:45. At the same time, the wedding reception had come to a close and they were all walking out. We seemed to be in the way as they kept inching closer so we moved to the park just across the street. The wedding paraded to the end of the dock all carrying red balloons. The bride and groom were carrying a heart-shaped 'Just Married' balloon, and then they all let the balloons go together. It was kind of funny watching it happen, I took a photo of the balloons as they were in the sky. Our bus finally arrived, we then departed to Thun to pick up the other guests and we were on our way back to the chalet. It was Emma's last day of work and there was a cake made in celebration (we bake for every occasion). It was a good day in the office =).

12/8/10 - 13/8/10

Today I had the day off! Thank goodness, because it has been ages since I have slept in. Alex departed this morning for France, but I am sure glad she got to visit me! We camped in a tent for 4 nights, it was alot of fun. I slept in until 2pm, it was wonderful. Then, I made myself some Ravioli for lunch, well I just heated it up on the stove since it came in a can. I then packed my backpack for Bunderspitz, hoping that the rainy weather would clear and we would be able to reach the peak. I watched some episodes of the unit and just relaxed all day until dinner. After dinner, we started out our hike for the cheesemakers. We arrived at the cheesemakers just after nine pm. The plan for the Bunderspitz overnight hike is we sleep at the cheesemakers then get up at 2:30am and start hiking to reach the peak by sunrise. So, once we arrived we enjoyed a nice cup of hot chocolate and then headed for bed. I did not get much sleep as there was the sound of constant cow bell ringing in the distance, and sleeping in close quarters with people made it difficult for me to fall asleep. We then woke up at 2:30am, the sky was somewhat clear and somewhat cloudy, but we decided to give hiking a go. We made it all the way to the cow hut, which is half way to the peak. Some of the girls were really exhausted, sick, scared of heights or whatever and wanted to turn back. This made it difficult for staff to decide what to do next. We took about a 15 minute break and another thick cloud came rolling in and we couldn't see anything. We then decided that we should head back. I was really disappointed that we couldn't go all the way to the top, because I really wanted to see the sun rise. But, I guess the weather conditions were not right for hiking. And, Friday the 13th brings bad luck. It was about 6am by the time we reached the cheesemakers hut. We made our beds and gathered the rest of our stuff. The owner of the cheesemakers wanted to play his alpine horn for us, so we enjoyed the sound of an early morning horn. We heard cow bells ring all the way down until we reached the chalet. It was a little after 8am when we finally made it home. I finally became really tired, I went straight to bed and slept until 3pm. I woke up and I was still tired. I made myself maccroni and cheese for lunch and then hung out in my bed all day. We had a staff night in, movie watching spree as well. It was a good 2ish days off. I did lots of sleeping which is good, since my 6 day working streak begins tomorrow. Yippee.

11/8/10

Adeventure day, destination: woodcarvers and abseiling in the gorge. We had a lovely walk to the woodcarvers. I took lots of photographs of the flowers around the woodcarvers and around Cafe Blatti. There were so many, it was unreal. The weather was nice, it was sunny, but not too hot. We hiked with a group of girls from Montana (US) and Tokyo (Japan). They were lots of fun, and I was teaching the Japanese girls a few campfire songs. We sang a song about a moose, they did not know what a moose was, so one of the girls drew a picture so they could understand. It was neat. We then hiked to the river to have lunch. It was very crowded by the river and I sat on a rock, listened to the river rush down and heard children play and splash rocks in the creek. Next stop, was abseiling. I brought my camera into the gorge and took tons and tons of pictures. I even discovered new options to my camera, so I was having fun. We finally finished repelling and then it was time to head back to the chalet. On our hike back, the sun came out and it was alot warmer than the morning. I took a nice refreshing shower, uploaded my blog and some photos and then it was dinner time. It is Alex's last night in Switzerland, she went to Basel for the day to go to lots of art museums, but we are going out in Adelboden tonight. She will get a taste of my nightlife scene I have been experiencing this summer. Emma, Alex, Elaine and I all went out and it was tons of fun! Ciao. (I am pre-posting my adventure out, but none the less, this blog post is done!!!) I am finally caught up on all of my blogging.

10/8/10

I woke up around 8am in the tent with Alex. I was on guest services for the day since it was on-site day. I am on program for this event. We had the opening ceremony this morning by the flagpole, then we finished in the kitchen and then it was morning meeting time. I helped out with the BBQ lunch and I even helped Christoph with the actual barbequeing of the bratwurst. We had a staff lunch together to gather to say goodbye to Megan, since she is leaving in the morning. After lunch I had a break to hang out with Alex and catch up on my blog updating. I finally completed all of my blogs from the last five days. I have been on the go and very busy since I left for Venice and I have a visitor at the chalet which is tons of fun! Renee and I made a cake for Megan during/after dinner and we had a miniature party in the Music room to say goodbye again. It is becoming more of a reality to me that I am leaving soon since she is leaving tomorrow. It is crazy to think that this summer has flown by and I am leaving in 15 days! After our gathering, I was off to bed in our tent with Vietti!

9/8/10-Evian/Geneva!

I went to two countries in one day! First, we arrived into Lausann,e which is a city located on Lake Geneva or Lac Leman (French version). We then hopped on an underground metro to take us to the lake so we could take a steamer boat across the lake to France. We went to Evian, which is famous for its mineral water and it also has a famous masters golf course. We walked around and saw many gardens and flowers; we even walked around the centre ville. We were hungry so we decided to stop and have a crepe to eat. I had a banana caramel crepe. We were trying to hurry and pay since we wanted to catch the next boat. But, as we were running to the boat station, we heard the boat’s horn and saw it depart form the port. Darn, we missed that boat. And the next boat was leaving in an hour and a half. So, we decided to lay in the park and sleep/sun bathe. It was actually very nice to sit still and relax. We did make the second boat, thank goodness. And our next destination was Geneva! We arrived in Geneva, got lost around the train station and then finally found the trams. We went to go see the United Nations headquarters. It was closing when we arrived, but it was still cool to see the building and take some photos. Our next stop was the Jardin Botanique (Botanical Gardens.) I really enjoy walking through such pretty gardens, as where I live they are few and far between. I even got to do some reading. I then realized as we were walking that Alex’s jacket that I had 


attached to my purse was gone (it probably fell off somehow). So, we got back on the bus and went back to the last bus stop and walked backwards. Luckily, since we are in Switzerland someone picked it up off the sidewalk and left it hanging in the bushes. Horray, we found it. We even got questioned by a French lady asking, in French, if it was my jacket, it was kind of hard to explain what happened, so we continued walking. We then took the tram over to the old town part of Geneva, the oldest part of the city. The architecture and gray-toned buildings convey Geneva’s history, a severely punitive Calvinist past. It was in 1535 that the Protestant Reformation arrived in Geneva. We also walked down to the lake to see the premier sight of Jet d’Eau, the world’s second largest fountain about 140m, which is Geneva’s premier symbol. We also saw the Flower clock in the Jardin Anglais that has around 6,500 flowers. It was fun to ride the tram around the old town as well as walk the sights. On our way to see the fountain, we even saw a really cool church, with golden domes. Geneva is Switzerland’s second largest city; I read that it is the world’s healthiest city because of the prevailing north winds that blow all the air pollution away. It is also a very international city as it has around 250 international organizations based here. And, the International Red Cross started in Geneva. How cool is that? Well, we then hopped on a bus to take us back to the train station. We did not want to get back to the chalet at midnight, because then I would be tired for the next few days. We actually missed the train stop while we were on the bus, because we couldn’t see the station. We got off at the next bus stop and ran to the train station, and made it to our train just in time. It was a good day =).

8/8/10- Staff day out.

It was staff day out today!!! And, we did not know where we were going until we arrived. We were instructed to bring warm cloths, a swimsuit, water proofs, money, a packed lunch and random stuff like balloons, rubber bands and colored paper. We had staff breakfast and the senior staff made croissant rolls and other fun breakfast treats. We then were transported to Kandersteg. Hooray. We went up the gondola to the Glacier lake, it was very cold outside when we arrived so I was not very interested in actually getting into the lake. But I did lay on the shore, next to the lake. After we relaxed and had lunch by the lake, it started to rain so we went to the restaurant for shelter. After the short rain shower passed, we walked to the alpine toboggan slide. We each had three runs. We sat on a scooter type machine, which lifted you up to the top of the slide and then you rode all the way down. It was so much fun!! After our gondola ride back down, we headed over to the Kandersteg International Scout Center for an official tour. Although I had seen the outside of KISC, it was nice to get a tour and see all of the buildings and facilities. The outdoor campsite was huge, it was very lively and loud, the campfire circle was also very big too. We got the chance to see doors and windows of the top secret Switzerland military base. It is located within the mountain and is best accessed through the tunnel by a train. It was pretty cool spotting a door in the mountain. We then headed back to the chalet, we met up with Alex along the hill up to the chalet. Her phone did not have service and she wanted to get to the chalet before it was dark, thank goodness I ran into her. We then walked up the hill to the chalet. We relaxed for a bit and our surprise dinner was BBQ! We had burgers and spiced chicken that was on a stick, it was so yummy! It was fun relaxing and conversing with everybody. Alex and I are going to stay in a tent for the next 4 nights. Luckily, there are tents at the campsite that are already built! We are sleeping in a red German tent that resembles a tee-pee. Christoph was very nice and drove us over to the campsite, we pulled mattresses from camp house and we had bedding, blankets and pillows galore. It was very high-class camping if you ask me. Christina slept over with us as well, so it was a slumber party! We are traveling on the 9^th so I went to bed after I packed my bag and got clothes ready for the morning! Goodnight all.

7/8/10-Venice.

It was bright and sunny in Venice when I opened the curtain of the hotel room. After breakfast, Alex and I set off to St. Mark’s Square because we wanted to see St. Marks Basilica. We only had to wait in line for about 20 minutes, which I thought was kind of shocking. I brought a cover up since I was wearing a sleeveless shirt and Alex and I didn’t have backpacks so we were allowed to enter, I felt so prepared. St. Mark’s Basilica is often referred to as the Chisea d’Oro (church of gold) and the inside of the church was richly decorated. The entire ceiling had figures with a gold background made of individual mosaics, it was phenomenal to even think of how long it took to construct and how they even completed the basilica. Its had a Byzantine style and it is decorated iwith gold or mosaics in every corner. We paid extra to see the Pala d’Oro, a golden altar screen, that is located behind the altar. On the screen it has emeralds, sapphires, garnets, amethysts, rubies and pearls. It was absolutely beautiful; it is a rare treasure in my opinion. We also paid to go into the treasury which houses skulls and bones underneath glass, pkus there is chalices, goblets and Gothic candelabra. The floor of the church was immaculately designed as well. The mosaic combinations were beautifully combined, each very unique and different. Out next stop was Museum Correr that was located just across the square. It was a very diverse museum, it had a Civic/army exhibit, an antique exhibit, an archeological exhibit, a historic exhibit and a contemporary exhibit. It has paintings and the history of Venice from the 14^th and 16^th centuries. There was even a place with sculptures and robes once worn by the doges (chief leader of Venice). The museum was very nice. Next, we rode the ferry over to the Peggy Guggenheim Collection. When we arrived at the boat stop, Alex and I got a slice of a coconut and the fruit juice had been dripping on it for hours, it was yummy. The museum was very comprehensive, yet a brilliant modern art museum. I have never been to a museum quite like it. The collection of art was located in the former house of Peggy. She loved contemporary art and was given and collected a number of paintings and sculptures throughout her life.  Once her collection was large enough, she wanted to showcase it and she decided on Venice. My favorite artists were Pollock, Picasso, Dali and Ernst =). We then wandered the streets around the museum. We found a traghetto stop and decided to ride the gondola across the canal, it only cost 50 euro cents. We then wandered our way back through the small alley ways of Venice, we had lunch on the go as we were ‘window shopping.’ It was time to go back to the hotel to get our bags and head to the train station. We got on the infamous ferry boat and 40 minutes later, we arrived to the St. Lucia train station. We grabbed dinner to go, since we were not arriving to Switzerland until after 9pm and train food is very expensive. I got my last piece of pizza before we finally departed from Italy. We made it to our train on time and we were off toward Switzerland. We stopped in Brig and Alex stayed in a hotel their and I went back to the chalet. The chalet was not taking visitors that night because the next day is staff day out. Horray, I made it back to the chalet around midnight and I was so tired I went straight to bed.

6/8/10- Venice =)

I woke up early to take a shower, but our bathtub only had a door for half of it, so taking a shower was interesting. But, none the less it was accomplished, and we even had a bidet in the bathroom. We had complimentary breakfast at the hotel, so that was nice. They served fresh coffee and apricot croissants and nutella! Yum. We then departed for the day. We were going to visit the surrounding islands of Venice, aka be on a boat for a very long time. Our first destination was Murano, an island famous for glass blowing. All of the beautiful Venetian chandeliers and glass pieces are made on this island. We even went to a shop where we got to see real live glass blowing in action. The master that was there was a master in making animal glass pieces. We saw a duck and a fish that was created; it was really cool and mesmerizing. I even got a few glass pieces as well. Next stop, was Torcello, often referred to as the Mother of Venice. It was a very ancient town, with old stone bridges, grassy meadows, and a lagoon that runs right through the island. They even have a ‘Devils Bridge’ in Torcello, which was said to be built in one mysterious night, it has no barrier, it is just a bridge. We walked all the way down to the Cattedral di Torcella, which was founded in AD 639. It was a very old church, but it was also very pretty. There were even vineyards nearby the church, they had very interesting sculptures among the vines, and some sculptures had no heads. Next stop was Burano, we passed this island on the way to Torcello and decided to go since all of the buildings were brightly colored. Burano is world famous as a center for lace-making, but that is not the reason that I wanted to go there. It is a very charming island with houses of cobalt blue, sunset yellow, peach, grass green and barn read. We walked around, ate lunch by the canal and even had a gelato after that. It was a very cute island and I really enjoyed all the colors. Our next stop was Isola di San Michel, which was the former prison island, but is now Venice’s cemetery. It started in the late 1800s when Napoleon demanded that bodies be buried across the water, rather than on the Venetian island. The cemetery was laid out in a very precise manner, some areas were in alphabetical order by last name, the crosses were grouped together as well as the grave stones, there was a religious section and a military section, there were even walls of names with flowers, and it had individual rooms for families too. It had trees, plants and flowers all around and there was even a church, but it was closed by the time we reached that island. The weather could not have been better today, but as we were wandering through the cemetery, the sky starting booming. It was thundering quite loud and it was somewhat scary as we were on an island that was solely for burying the dead. We still were walking around, but it started to rain lightly, so we decided we should head back to the boat station. Thank goodness we started to head back, because in a matter of minutes we were experiencing a torrential downpour. We were under cover on the boat dock and the rain was going sideways. The boat dock was rocking back and forth, it was crazy. We hopped on the 3^rd boat and headed back to the main land. We even saw some crazy Italians that got into a yelling match and an older lady fell as she was trying to get onto the boat as people were pushing each other to get off, it was crazy mad. We walked around northern Venice, we saw a church and the area were Venetian residents reside, so it was cool. It was still sprinkling and the air was getting cooler. Alex and I were some what wet from the crazy wet boat ride to the main island. We decided to take the ‘tourist boat’ back through the Grand Canal, which is basically the main street (well river) of Venice. We passed by the Rialto Bridge, the Academic Bridge, the Ca’ d’Oro (the House of Gold), the city’s market, Ca’Pesaro (beautiful baroque architecture), the Punta della Dogana de Mar (it is an old customs landing stage from goods from the 16^th century onward), museums along the canal and lots of gothic architecture as well. The boat ride was a lot of fun. After we got off at San Marco, we went to the hotel to change for our evening attire, as we were slightly cold and still wet. I was sitting on the bed, and the room started rocking and I still felt like I was on a boat, it was a very weird feeling. But, it was only when I was sitting down or standing still that I felt this way, so I wanted to get walking again. We then road the boat over to the Castello area, we landed at a beautiful garden and watced the sunset and looked at the sky post-storm was phenomenal. We walked along the canal and finally found a street filled with cheap places to eat. We had a nice dinner and I had a yummy pasta dish. We even had a ‘Bacardi beer’ although it was just a sweet mixed drink, but oh well. We then walked along the canal to go back to the square. There are lots of people selling fake bags along the street and as we crossed over a bridge, they all quickly picked up their fake bags and ran off, probably before the police came. It was funny to watch. When we arrived at the square, it was a Friday night so there was lots of live music at all the cafes in the square. We watched three different bands perform and we even watched the bell ring by the statutes at the top. It was fun. It was a long day and we were both very tired and still feeling a little funny from the boat, so we wanted to go back to the hotel. We wanted to wake up early to see the church and some museums, so getting rest was nice. And during the day I got approached multiple times by random tourists asking directions to places or what not, I guess I look like a Venetian and not an American or something.

5/8/10-Venice!!

I departed Switzerland at 7:54am and was due to arrive in Venice around 2:40pm. I went on the same bus as Moushira, as she was departing for Egypt to go home. It was a long train ride, but I enjoyed some sleep, music, reading and eating. Along the way, I saw small Italian towns, vineyards sweeping across the mountain, and numerous lakes along the way. I love traveling on trains by myself, so I really enjoyed it. But, as soon as I landed, the Venice train station was jam packed with tourists from all over the world. I then needed to get Euros and purchase my Rolling VENice pass (the youth transportation pass). Once I purchased that I was on my way to meet Alex. Venice is a city built on about 118 islands, so therefore the only form of transportation is by boat. And, when I arrived, it was raining, so there were umbrellas galore and many people just wanted to get on the boat. The line onto the ferry boat was very long and I finally got on the 3^rd boat that came to the train station stop. It was absolutely crazy, it was as if we were sardines squeezed into a can. But, after a 30-40 minute boat ride, I finally arrived at Piazza San Marco. I took many photos along the way. I walked about 5 minutes over to go meet Alex, we had some difficulties finding each other because there were so many tourists. She told me she was on a bridge, well that was helpful since I crossed about 5 bridges until I finally found her, but anyways it was fun none the less. We met at a more recognizable column instead. We then walked through narrow streets, weaving in and out of people wearing hats, cameras and carrying many shopping bags and suitcases, until we arrived at our hotel. Hotel Anastasia was located in Campo Barozzi, just West of St. Mark’s Square, which is the number one tourist spot in Venice. I was able to put my bags down and change into more appropriate attire. Alex and I then set off to wander the streets, alleyways and canals and search for a place to eat as well. We walked around for about an hour, it was fun kind of getting lost through all of the streets, but we always eventually found water. We stood on a bridge and watched the gondolas pass by, it was a lovely evening, and the rain had stopped. We finally found a restaurant, and all we were in the mood for was some pizza and wine. We ate at a place that was very dark inside, with bricks and black walls. It was really nice and we conversed with our waiter about the Italian language. We were the only ones in there since we were eating kind of early and most people don’t eat till 7-9pm. Alex and I sat and conversed, laughed, told stories and reminisced on the past, and two hours later we finally finished eating and left the restaurant. It was a lot of fun! We then wandered the streets some more, until we ended up at Piazza San Marco. We decided to climb the Campanile di San Marco (the bell tower). It has an interesting story; in 1902 the bell tower tumbled to the ground, so the Venetians had to re-build it in order for it to be safe for people to climb. The view from the top was beautiful; I could see churches, the surrounding islands and red roofs all around. After our adventure to the top, we went and watched the Grand Canal and saw many boats pass by. We did some more wandering until our feet hurt and then we walked back to the hotel to go relax. We watched an episode of ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’, before quickly falling asleep. That was my day in a nutshell. Ciao!