Updated Past Itinerary
- May 14 - June 16 Cagliari, Italy
- June 16 - June 18 Brussels, Belgium
- June 18 - June 20 Paris, France
- June 20 - June 22 Munich, Germany
- June 22 - June 24 Lucerne, Switzerland
- June 24 - June 27 Geneva, Switzerland
- June 28 - July 3 Paris, France
Lucerne, Switzerland--Mount Pilatus
The first thing I have to say about Switzerland is it is much more expensive than the rest of the world. Their hourly minimum wage is 22 CHF (Swiss Francs), which is comparable to about $25/hour. Someone is definitely doing this wrong. Once we got over that the rest of Lucerne was gorgeous!! Upon arrival we got upgraded from our hostel to the hotel. Throughout our bus/train rides to Lucerne, we carried a joke that there was going to be a hot tub as well, a notion that I fully rejected. However, once we got into the lift (proper English for elevator, according to Stephanie Armstrong) there was a sign that said "Jacuzzi Fun." A few tears were shed, and we marched with new found optimism to the Alps.
All of our hiking in Lucerne was based at Mount Pilatus. This name might originate from Pontius Pilate, might originate from its manly shape, might originate from some lose translation to meaning "cloud topped," and might have something to do with a dragon, clearly not quite sure. The two days we were there were overcast to rainy, so we definitely experienced Mount Pilatus in its cloud form. The first day we embarked in the late afternoon and took the gondola up two stops. The woman at the bottom told us it was only 2 hours to the bottom from there, so the goal was to hike up for a bit, then back down. Somewhere along our way we took a wrong turn and ended up taking a longer way down. In a way it was good that our plan failed because we had no chance of submitting and making it back down the mountain, however the alternative was at least 10 mile of walking. We tried taking a bus, that we missed by fifteen minutes. We tried knocking on someone's door who had a car affiliated with our hotel. We tried hitch hiking. The only option was to walk to the nearest bus station. We did however make it back in time for a 15 CHF meal at McDonalds, ordering the cheapest things off the menu, and some Jacuzzi Fun.
On the second day, we decided to do it right and made it to the top of the mountain! Again, we did half the mountain in a gondola/tram but we made it to the bottom for pizza and more Jacuzzi Fun. Once I win the lottery I definitely will be returning to Lucerne.
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| Epic Playground |
In Geneva I met up with friends from home. There is a lot to do in Geneva so I spent a lot of time walking around to see it all. Some highlights are touring the United Nations, visiting the Jet d'Eau, taking a tram up Mont-Salève, and eating chocolate and fondue, which are not quite the same separately. By last night I was very much exhausted for our bus ride back to Paris.
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| What a lovely Art History student |
Paris, France
Last night Stephanie and I took an overnight bus with no air conditioning from Geneva to Paris. There was a cast of characters on the bus. To mention one for the sake of a story, someone tried to smoke in the bathroom of the bus and set off the fire alarm. It is still unclear if any tampering was to be had with the smoke detectors, and honestly it is nice to know they exist! Perhaps the busline will consider in-bus safety descriptions in the future, however I will not be doing that ride again if I can help it!
I am so excited to be back in Paris to redo the fun things I loved and try out some others that I missed. I am here, staying right next to Sacré-Cœur, until I begin my second study abroad experience in Delft, the Netherlands. I actually have some homework to wrap up for that class, but I should have my blog updated before that class begins on July 4th. Thank you for reading and I hope you've enjoyed some of my stories!
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| Sacre Coeur |
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