Yodel-lay-e-hoo!

Hello everybody :) I apologize for not updating, again, as much as I should. It's been a bit crazy.

The week before last was reading week at Roehampton. Yes I did do a bit of reading, not enough, but some. Anyway, my friend Clarissa and I decided to take a long weekend and to make a little visit to our friend Noemi in Zurich. We left from London Gatwick on Thursday evening and arrived in Zurich about an hour later. Noemi, being the wonderful hostess she is, picked us up from the airport and let us stay at her apartment during our visit.

Seeing that we arrived Thursday evening, we didn't really do anything (except watch episodes of our favorite show Chuck on dvd that Clarissa had brought with her). Waking up the next morning, in Switzerland, was amazing. You see, Noemi has a nice apartment on Lake Zurich with a gorgeous view of the mountains. After breakfast on our fist day in Zurich, Noemi had to work so Clarissa an I walked allllllll around Zurich alllllll day long. We visited the Swiss Museum - very cool! I couldn't read about half of what I saw but I still feel like I learned something. We walked along the cobbled back streets and along the river. We saw beautiful architecture and very high priced menus (we searched everywhere for some place to have lunch, but everything was so expensive! We ended up going to Starbucks and having coffee for 7 Swiss Francs. And, even though the Swiss Franc is about even with the dollar, everything was doubled in price. Crazy, crazy Swiss...). Because we couldn't afford anything else, Clarissa and I bought chocolate - something that we weren't going to leave without getting. Finally we met Noemi for dinner. After, we returned home, snacked on chocolate and Swiss Christmas cookies in our pjs, and watched more Chuck :)

On day two we made a quick trip to the store, made some sandwiches, and headed to Luzern for the day. We tried to go to the top of a mountain but the lift was REALLY expensive :( So we resorted to having our little picnic near a lake with the beautiful mountains in the background. Really breathtaking.... Of course, afterward, we found a bakery and had dessert. Then we found a factory and museum where they made glass. Apparently that area is famous for it. We watched them make the glass: they pour the molten glass-stuff into a mold, shape it, blow it, and other stuff but that's what I remember most lol. Anyway, it was very cool. Next we made our way to Luzern. We walked, and walked, and walked, until we finally crashed in Starbucks and took a little power nap. We woke ourselves up, got some caffine, and after a bit met up with a friend of Noemis. We went out for dinner to a little Italian place. Very good. After dinner, we decided to go out. First we went to this American style bar (What are the odds. I go to Europe to get away from America, and end up in an American bar haha...) called Road House. We had a drink and talked for quite a bit, but Noemi and her friend wanted to dance and the music at Road House wasn't very good so we moved on. Next we went to Black sheep, a fun little club that was absolutely packed. I've never seen so many people in one space before! We were probably breaking some kind of fire code there were so many lol. We danced the night away and finally got back home at like 2:30 or 3. Fun night :)

Day 3: We definitely slept in.... We took our time with breakfast, at about noon, and finished our season of Chuck. Finally we got dressed, and Noemi took us to this lovely vineyard near by. The grounds were beautiful. The fall colors were still hanging on and were gorgeous. We walked all around. Some parts of it reminded me of the mountains back in GA in the fall. So lovely. When we finished we returned home for an early dinner of fondu... MmMmMmMm :) Brad and melty cheese with white whine - what could be better?! Following dinner we got our things together and headed to downtown Zurich to hang out for a bit while we waited for our flight.

I loved Switzerland! It was so beautiful. I could not stop staring at those snow capped mountains and clear clean water of massive Lake Zurich. If everything hadn't been so expensive, it would have been a perfect place :) And that is the story of my trip to Switzerland.

The End

Thanks for reading. Stay tuned.

Night at the Opera

Yesterday was a good day. After much confusion, mom and I finally met in Trafalgar Square and walked over to Leicester Square. There we bought theater tickets - after mom confused by the number of 1/2 price ticket stalls and thinking we should be selective in choosing one - for The Phantom of the Opera that evening! So excited. But, seeing the show was at 7:30 and it was about 2:00, we had some time to wander about a bit.

With our extra time I thought it might be nice to show mom Fortnum and Mason, the lovely kind of department store in Picadilly Circus. She loved it of course - the teas, chocolates, pastries, dishes, Christmas stuff, etc, etc, etc. We wandered from floor to floor and had a lovely time. By the time we left it was about dinner time, so we stopped at an Italian cafe for pizza and beer. Good times :) Next we went to Uni Clo! Love that store.

Finally it was time for the show. We get to the theater - Her Majesty's Theater - and find our seats. But, of course, I was sent after some pre-show cocktails :) The show was wonderful. I've always wanted to see it on stage! I enjoyed it so much. I definitely cried a tiny bit once or twice. It's probably my favorite show.

Seeing it was late and dark, I thought it might be best to escort my mom home to Beth's.

That's my latest adventure. Stay tuned. Thanks for reading :)

Granpa Dan and Granma Charlotte's visit to see the Little Prince

For the past week, I've pretty much been living at Beth and Josh's house and it's been great fun. The parents and I have done lots of fun stuff together, like the British Museum, seeing The Mousetrap, going on a Shakespeare and Dickens London walking tour, and lots and lots of great food :) and in that I of course include Josh's infamous macaroni and cheese..Mmmmmm.

The main event, though, of course, has been baby watching. Baby Xavier has been the center of attention. We've all been bonding with him. I didn't think it was possible but he gets cuter and cuter each day. He's a great little guy :)

Today I've finally returned to the real world; back to the dorm and having no food and actually having to do some school work. Oh well. I'll probably go back in a couple days and have some more great fun :)