the snow!

This winter has been relatively disappointing, I must say.

When my first semester ended 17 December, it had not snowed in Lugano at all. 

When I tell people that I go to college in Switzerland, one of the first questions I get asked (along with "do you ski?") is "Oh, it must be cold there / does it snow a lot?"

I was so disappointed to not have any snow on the ground before I left...

HOWEVER! 

There was a scare the weekend I was supposed to head home.

My friend had a flight from Zurich on a Friday and was cancelled until Sunday because of inclement weather. Luckily for me, my flight on Saturday went through smoothly and it was just a rainy, dreary day :p

When I was back in the States, there was no snow in Connecticut either!

Two days before I left, there was a crazy snow storm that gave us about 4 inches of snow, but it had melted the next day. I was starting to get upset that I wasn't going to see any snow this winter! Being from Connecticut, I'm used to it!

However, that changed on 26 January (Happy Birthday, Erik?)

I looked out my window and saw this:

It was about 1am and I got a facebook message from my friend Medina. She asked if I wanted to go downtown and take pictures in the snow. I was a bit hesitant at first, because it was 1am and still snowing.. and being right on the lake, it was a heavy, wet snow mixed with some sleet/rain. 

Still, Kaitlin and I agreed, and we all got out coats, gloves, hats, and scarves on and grabbed out cameras!

The following pictures are from that journey! I'm so glad we went, because we all slept so late the next day that it wasn't pretty anymore (the snow was turning brown from cars!) and had stopped snowing.

(Snow on palm trees - so weird!)

(I made mini snowmen and left them all around Lugano!!)

(A snow-covered road - the plows weren't out yet!)

(The scary looking Oz-trees by the lake)

(The lido on the lake)

(A snowy bench)

I am most definitely an explorer of the universe. 

(Snow covered boats!)

(I left this snowman on the wall right next to the lake.)

My friends and I went to BurgerKing the next night, and sadly, he was gone :c

The snow is still here and it's been incredibly cold ever since. 

You may have heard of the deep freeze that set over Europe, bringing snow as far south as Rome. 

Many people were dying, particularly homeless people in countries such as Poland and the Ukraine.

(However, that was not a problem in Switzerland, Lugano specifically, because it is illegal to be homeless here)

Temperatures were consistently between -10°C and -2°C which works out to be about 14-28°F

Recently, things have been warming up (hopefully for good!) Today it was +6°C (43°F) when I came back down the hill after dinner around 8pm!  It hasn't been that warm since the first week I've been back!

I'll be updating later this week with some big news.

Hope all is well with everyone.

-N

The history, the castles, the scavenger hunt

Ciao! I apologize for the lapse in updates. It was recently brought to my attention just how much work I have to do and how little time I have left! It seems like this first semester has been going by... slowly is not the correct term here, because it's been incredibly fast-paced and busy.. it just seems like the first three months have gone by quickly.. and now all of a sudden I have over 50 pages in essays and projects and finals to prepare (excluding all of the draft work that needs to be done) and I have a month to get all of that done.

However, a silver lining in that dismal abyss of paper-writing is.....

I RETURN TO THE STATES ONE MONTH FROM TODAY!!!

That's right, folks. Thirty days from today I will be somewhere above the Atlantic Ocean on my way to the grey and dreary JFK International Airport! 

I cannot wait to see each and every one of you, and am working on some sort of a surprise for y'all... assuming I have enough time to get it done by the time I'm home!!! :]

ANYWAY! BACK TO TRAVEL UPDATES!!! [the point of this blog, after all!]

---

I left off in St-Luc after the bread making, so that takes us to Day 4, when we departed from St-Luc in route to Lausanne!

I have to say that my favorite overall location, in terms of personal experience, was Lausanne. It wasn't just the city itself, or the sites we saw, it was just a collective experience that left me feeling incredibly satisfied with the city. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

On our way to Lausanne, we headed over to the Gianadda Foundation in Martigny. This was an interesting stop because the museum was hosting an exhibit on Claude Monet! There were over 70 pieces on loan to the Foundation, and it was incredible to see some of the works by Monet in person!
We weren't allowed to take photos, but I tried to sneak a few, but they didn't work!

(shh don't tell anyone, though!)
(that last one looks pretty artsy, huh? no pun intended..... :p )

From the Gianadda Foundation, we made a stop at the Château de Chillon.

The Château de Chillon is Switzerland's most visited historic monument, and it was very interested to see the history of a single building, and how various eras of Swiss history affected the building.

There were three main influences on the castle that we learned about; the Savoy's, the Bernese, and the Vaudois (people of the Swiss canton of Vaud). 

One interesting fact about the castle is that it consists of over 100 rooms that have been added onto each other one after the other throughout history.
One of the sites we saw in the castle was the dungeon/prison chambers. We learned of Lord Byron, the English writer/poet who made the castle infamous with his long narrative poem "The Prisoner of Chillon." There is a myth that Byron carved his name into one of the prison pillars while there, though there is no supporting evidence and is more than likely a gimmick to attract tourists. It's still fun to think of someone with such standing, like Lord Byron, and how he may have left his mark on the castle, both figuratively through his poem, and literally through a carving!

The Château de Chillon is located right on Lake Geneva, a strategic advantage that made it easier to defend / more difficult to attack. It also allowed the royalty within to escape through the dungeons onto the lake and sail quickly to France without detection.

I also learned that if you are in Lausanne, or practically anywhere in Switzerland/France that isn't Geneva? You are actually on Lake/Lac Léman! 

From Château de Chillon, we finally headed over to Lausanne where I was (finally) able to reunite with my one true love.....

a venti white chocolate mocha with whipped cream in a mug that you could probably use to knock someone out with.... beautiful, beautiful way to end the night...

Oh! and Kaitlin and I got kebabs, which are great! (check out the post about Bellinzona to see a kebab!)

The next day started off with a SCAVENGER HUNT throughout the entire city! SSB (my Travel Leader; Sara Steinert-Borella) split us into groups and gave us clues to various sites around the city, and things that we had to find out about them that were interesting, and not necessarily related to travel writing, but still very interesting things to know.

I was with my RA, Dani, which was a HUGE advantage because she is fluent in French! We were able to communicate with locals and find out where we were going and had so much fun!
One stop we had to make was to a cathedral, and the interesting fact about it was that it had actually be converted to a Protestant church, there is no saint buried or remains there, and it was not even dedicated to anyone as it was no longer Catholic.

We had to take a photo of our favorite window in the church to prove we were there: 

The city is just so vibrant and beautiful and I recommend that anyone in Switzerland should visit Lausanne!

(Part of a panorama of Lausanne. I edited the two parts different and didn't splice them together, though)

(Dani reading a French newspaper about Occupy Wall Street / Zurich)

(The Lausanne Harbor)

(Mimi, SSB's daughter who was in our scavenger hunt group, chasing the pigeons!)

(Lake Léman/Geneva. Beautiful.)

(at the Olympic museum.)

(Another view of Lake Geneva. The mountains in the background (very faded) is Evian, France! (Like the water bottles!))

(A beautiful shot of the lake.)

(I like this one because of the seagull in the center!)

Well, that sums up Lausanne, very briefly. My group won the scavenger hunt, which had a little added bonus that I'll talk about in the update about Geneva! I think going on a scavenger hunt is a great way to explore a new city. It was great way to adjust to the culture and figure things out on your own. 

Have a great rest of the week! Can't wait to see everyone back home in a month! :]

The French, the Alps, the food, the travel.

Well, I've been slacking with this blog, but the fact that I'm back says something, I feel.

I've been home from travel for a week, and I miss it more than I can explain.

It's a very strange feeling, to take two weeks off from "college" to travel around to different places in the world, but still have it be academic in some sense...

Coming back last week was very strange, walking around campus and having this weird feeling of "oh, I still have classes.. I'm here for.. for an education?! What is this nonsense!"

However! When I did return I was privileged to have this waiting for me:

Five packages were waiting for me when I got home! I'm sure reception loved me.....

Thanks to Mommah, Aunt Ellen, Hannah/Aunt Rani, and Kelly for the gifts, even though it did make me miss you all terribly! (44 days until I come home for winter holiday!)

For my travel, I was on TVL-297 Lausanne, Geneva, and the Alps with (Dean) Sara Steinert-Borella.

It was truly an incredible experience and if you haven't been to Romandy (the French-speaking sector of Switzerland) I highly recommend it. Even if you have, I suggest going back (and bring me with you!) I feel that this trip was very beneficial to me for two broad reasons: 1. I got to experience more of the country that I am living in, and will be living in for the next four years of my life. I think it's crucial to see as much of where you are, to get a better understanding of it and appreciate everything that the place has to offer. That being said, 2: French-speaking Switzerland is drastically different from Italian-speaking Switzerland. The Swiss-French are friendly, they are interested in having a conversation with you, whether it be French or English, and they seem like they enjoy social interaction, to be frank. The Swiss-Italians (or Swi-ties, as we unaffectionately call them here in Lugano) are not so friendly. They are very focused on what they are doing and don't really want you to bother them. So, if you have only been to Ticino, that is not a very reliable impression of the Swiss.

Moving onward, to the actual trip!!

We left Monday, 17 October for St-Luc, which is in the canton of Valais. The bus ride was breath-taking as we climbed into the mountains. We took a route through Northern Italy, as the Swiss pass was already closed because of snow.

(Swiss Alps and the Moon)

(the Simplon-Pass into French-speaking Switzerland)

(you see these kinds of roads in the movies)

(but we actually drove on them in a coach tour bus.)

St-Luc is a beautiful place. Rather than going right to the hotel (La Gîte de Prilet) we took the tour bus up to Chandolin, which is a tiny village with about 100 permanent residents. We then hiked down the mountain to St-Luc, where we were staying for the first three nights.

(chalets in Chandolin)

(a view while hiking down the mountain)

(a view of Chandolin)

The food in French-speaking Switzerland is PHENOMENAL. The place we stayed at gave us amazing food and the portions were huge! Each meal was served with a salad, the main entre (with a glass of wine, of course!), and then dessert. My favorite was probably the lasagne (go figure - more pasta.) but some other notables were: cheese / tomato fondue, pork, pumpkin soup (delicious!), and lamb stew.

The next day, we hiked up to the Hotel Weisshorn, which is in the Swiss Alps! We were 7,667 ft above sea level at the end of our hike, and it was incredible. I'll let the pictures speak, because it's impossible to describe the beauty of being atop the Swiss Alps.

(tvl-297 group photo)

(my RA, Dani, and I)

(Kaitlin and I)

(Kencho and I)

The third day, to wrap up St-Luc was spent with travel Anne Deriaz, who took care of Ella Maillart, another travel writer, up until her death in 1997. It was a very interesting day to spend with an author and learn new techniques for writing, as well as her own experiences as a traveller and a writer.

After our six hour workshop with Anne, we headed over to a local bread-making shop and made wheat break just like they did hundreds of years ago!

That's all for St-Luc. 

I figured I would break travel up into a few different posts, 

since the updates tend to be rather photo-heavy!

Hopefully I'll have time to update about Lausanne, Geneva, and Neuchâtel 

later tonight after my computer graphics class!