After about 36 hours of traveling (by bus, train, plane, "cab", and car), one missed flight, 2 delayed flights, a night in an airport, a restless night on an airplane and 4 different airports-we are finally in Seattle. And, boy, does it know how to greet us. We arrived on the most treacherous weekend Seattle has seen in quite a while. The roads are literally an ice rink. I'm not joking. It seems as if half the streets downtown are closed, and the storm's not over, folks. It's 5am (hello, jet-lag), it's snowing and blowing outside, and it's about 10 degrees. Wow.
Fabio graduated from law school yesterday. We were supposed to fly in at 7pm on Friday night in order to make the 10am graduation. We flew in at 6am Saturday morning. Lucky for us it was yesterday, and not today. My parents and brothers and sister-in-law made it across the mountain pass, and two of Fabio's friends and their wives came. Had it been today, it's likely the graduation would have been cancelled, and it if hadn't, I'm not sure anyone could have come. We could have walked there maybe, but it would have taken a long time to walk those 8 blocks.
Fabio's gradutation was lovely. Because it was a mid-year graduation, there were only about 70 graduates. The ceremony was probably the most entertaining I've ever been to. The speeches were short and meaningful, and the student speaker should give up his impending career in law to take a comedy show on the road...seriously, that guy was hilarious. The ceremony was only an hour, and then we all walked over (risking our lives as we skated the 4 blocks) to the Cheesecake Factory for lunch. Fabio and I have been looking forward to eating there for months! It didn't disappoint.
Afterwards, Fabio and I walked back to our hotel and crashed. We put our pajamas on and slept...for 12 hours. I woke up at 2am, and have been awake since. It snowed all night, and is still snowing. You can't tell the roads from anything else, and the few cars out there are going pretty slow. Seattle just doesn't have the equipment to keep up with this kind of weather. The airport has been closed since yesterday afternoon, church was cancelled and I think Fabio and I will just stick around downtown and do some shopping, since the police chief says not to drive unless you have to.
Here's to hoping the mountain passes clear before Christmas! :)
PS: Sorry...no pictures. They are on my mom's camera. Next time I post, I will be the proud owner of a brand new camera, but we have to cross the mountain passes first!
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Snow Day!
I only have time to post a few photos. These are some I took with the school camera. I had a TON more photos on my phone, but they won't download. Very, very sad. I'm SOOOOOOOOOOOOO happy I'll be getting a new camera soon!
As you can tell, we had a snowman building contest. The kids made a "snow alien ship" and a snow family. Cute, huh? The kids were in heaven all day, and the snow came down heavy all day. It was stunning. Everyone was late to school...us bus commuters as well. Half the staff (5 of us) showed up about an hour late (we waited for the bus for an hour at the train station), and most of the kids weren't far behind us. We made the most of the day, and had a blast!
As you can tell, we had a snowman building contest. The kids made a "snow alien ship" and a snow family. Cute, huh? The kids were in heaven all day, and the snow came down heavy all day. It was stunning. Everyone was late to school...us bus commuters as well. Half the staff (5 of us) showed up about an hour late (we waited for the bus for an hour at the train station), and most of the kids weren't far behind us. We made the most of the day, and had a blast!
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Engelberg...and I Have A Bone to Pick With the Swiss
Fabio and I decided to go to Engelberg, a beautiful mountain village, for a Sunday afternoon walk and lunch. People call it "the end of the world" because it honestly looks like you can't get out of the valley, the mountains are so massive and all encompassing. Unfortunately, the weather was pretty gloomy. It was windy, cold and cloudy. The roads were still super icy. The ski resort had been closed due to a storm and the streets were full of disappointed skiers and snowboarders. We didn't take any photos since our camera is still being repaired, but I found some online photos of Engelberg:
OK-here is our bone to pick. I am SICK, SICK, SICK of the rude and inconsiderate smokers in this country, and let me tell you, there are A LOT of them. We were sitting in our cute little restaurant, finally enjoying a meal out (which we rarely do...2 pizzas, 2 waters, and 2 bowls of ice cream cost us 80 francs, about $70). I'm enjoying my ice cream, when all the sudden, I breathe in this nasty, potent smoke. I look behind Fabio, and the two girls are puffing it up big time. No regard for the people sitting right behind them, no regard for the three small children sitting next to them. How rude do you have to be to impose your nasty, fatal habits on others trying to enjoy a meal? And what kind of restaurant owner do you have to be to allow 2 of your guests to make the rest of your guests uncomfortable??? As we were walking out of the restaurant, we noticed a chart by the door that listed all the restaurants in Engelberg. Out of about 50 restaurants, 3 or 4 had no smoking restrictions. Most of them had a "non-smoking corner" or "non-smoking tables". Gee-thanks. I'm sure glad we have a non-barricaded, non-ventilated space to enjoy a meal.
Also-not only are the restaurants pretty much a cancer feast, but don't even try to find any clean air in the railway stations, and don't forget to hold your breath until you get outside. The second you step off the train, about 75% of the people in front of you light up the second their left foot is off the train, and most of the time, they turn and blow the smoke right in your face. I pretty much smell like a smoker all the time. My hair, my clothes...they all reek of smoke. It's disgusting, and I'm thoroughly mortified that such an "advanced" country hasn't figured out yet that smoking KILLS and it's the most nasty and intrusive habit known to mankind.
So, there. Unfortunately, no Swiss peopel read this blog. But I'm thinking of printing this post, and handing it out to people everytime I get smoke blown in my face. I better print out about a hundred. Dumb Swiss. Boo.
OK-here is our bone to pick. I am SICK, SICK, SICK of the rude and inconsiderate smokers in this country, and let me tell you, there are A LOT of them. We were sitting in our cute little restaurant, finally enjoying a meal out (which we rarely do...2 pizzas, 2 waters, and 2 bowls of ice cream cost us 80 francs, about $70). I'm enjoying my ice cream, when all the sudden, I breathe in this nasty, potent smoke. I look behind Fabio, and the two girls are puffing it up big time. No regard for the people sitting right behind them, no regard for the three small children sitting next to them. How rude do you have to be to impose your nasty, fatal habits on others trying to enjoy a meal? And what kind of restaurant owner do you have to be to allow 2 of your guests to make the rest of your guests uncomfortable??? As we were walking out of the restaurant, we noticed a chart by the door that listed all the restaurants in Engelberg. Out of about 50 restaurants, 3 or 4 had no smoking restrictions. Most of them had a "non-smoking corner" or "non-smoking tables". Gee-thanks. I'm sure glad we have a non-barricaded, non-ventilated space to enjoy a meal.
Also-not only are the restaurants pretty much a cancer feast, but don't even try to find any clean air in the railway stations, and don't forget to hold your breath until you get outside. The second you step off the train, about 75% of the people in front of you light up the second their left foot is off the train, and most of the time, they turn and blow the smoke right in your face. I pretty much smell like a smoker all the time. My hair, my clothes...they all reek of smoke. It's disgusting, and I'm thoroughly mortified that such an "advanced" country hasn't figured out yet that smoking KILLS and it's the most nasty and intrusive habit known to mankind.
So, there. Unfortunately, no Swiss peopel read this blog. But I'm thinking of printing this post, and handing it out to people everytime I get smoke blown in my face. I better print out about a hundred. Dumb Swiss. Boo.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Amazon Kindle
OK-I'm totally side-tracked at work, but how amazing is this new little gadget? I am usually one that says, "I love a new book; the smell, the feel, being able to mark in it if I want, curling up on the couch with it...", but this little baby has some pretty sweet features! See THE VIDEOS AND PICTURES HERE to see all the features of the Kindle, and tell me what you think. Do you think it is better than having a book? Is it worth the price (I think around $350)? Will it eventually replace the book? The bag I take to work is pretty heavy since I have about 4 books in there right now, just in case I'm in the mood to read any of them on the train. I never know exactly what I'll feel like reading. Hmmm....I'm going back and forth on this one! Thoughts?
Sunday, December 7, 2008
La Mamma in Svizzera
La mamma (a.k.a. Fabio's mom) came for a long weekend visit. She flew in on Friday night and will be here until Monday. Tomorrow is a Catholic holiday, and we live in a Catholic canton, so, yaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyy! :) We love la mama-Fabio more than me, but nontheless...
Here is what we did yesterday:
We took a tour of Fabio's office on Saturday morning and they have a lovely Christmas tree in the foyer. You'll notice lots of photos with Christmas trees. La mamma LOVES Christmas trees, and she wanted her picture taken with almost every one she saw. Cute. :)
This is a Christmas display in the Zug train station.
La mamma in Luzern. We were pretty disappointed by the weather. :(
More Christmas trees in Luzern. We all admitted that the trees in the U.S. are far better, but they must be better here than they are in Italy, because she loved them!
Last night we headed to Basel for the famous Christmas market. It was sooooooo beautiful and far exceeded my expecatations! We weren't there long...it was cold, and late, but it was wonderful! We didn't buy much (I bought a tree ornament), but there were a million wonderful crafts to see, and tons of yummy food to smell. The photos are super blurry, but hopefully you can make out how charming it was!
La mamma loved this window display. It was mostly Christmas trees. :)
We really don't have any photos for today. We planned on going up Pilatus, but when we got out to where you take the funicular up the mountain, it was closed! We went back to the train station and got a refund so we could take the cable car up instead, but the mountain was completely surrounded by clouds at this point. We walked around Luzern hoping to see the clouds clear, but they never did. :( Boo. We headed back home for a chill afternoon, and it's been quite lovely.
Tonight we are going to have fondue and raclette so that la mamma can experience Swiss food at an affordable price. She leaves tomorrow and we have so enjoyed having her here. She cooked us wondeful food, and made us laugh all weekend. Ciao, la mamma! Ti vogliamo bene.
Here is what we did yesterday:
We took a tour of Fabio's office on Saturday morning and they have a lovely Christmas tree in the foyer. You'll notice lots of photos with Christmas trees. La mamma LOVES Christmas trees, and she wanted her picture taken with almost every one she saw. Cute. :)
This is a Christmas display in the Zug train station.
La mamma in Luzern. We were pretty disappointed by the weather. :(
More Christmas trees in Luzern. We all admitted that the trees in the U.S. are far better, but they must be better here than they are in Italy, because she loved them!
Last night we headed to Basel for the famous Christmas market. It was sooooooo beautiful and far exceeded my expecatations! We weren't there long...it was cold, and late, but it was wonderful! We didn't buy much (I bought a tree ornament), but there were a million wonderful crafts to see, and tons of yummy food to smell. The photos are super blurry, but hopefully you can make out how charming it was!
La mamma loved this window display. It was mostly Christmas trees. :)
We really don't have any photos for today. We planned on going up Pilatus, but when we got out to where you take the funicular up the mountain, it was closed! We went back to the train station and got a refund so we could take the cable car up instead, but the mountain was completely surrounded by clouds at this point. We walked around Luzern hoping to see the clouds clear, but they never did. :( Boo. We headed back home for a chill afternoon, and it's been quite lovely.
Tonight we are going to have fondue and raclette so that la mamma can experience Swiss food at an affordable price. She leaves tomorrow and we have so enjoyed having her here. She cooked us wondeful food, and made us laugh all weekend. Ciao, la mamma! Ti vogliamo bene.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Geneva and Montreux
I sure have been a blogging slacker lately. We have been so busy and tired, that putting the energy into posting has been the last thing on my mind. Right now, I have a smidgen of energy left, so I thought I better post!
Fabio and I left Friday night right after work for Geneva. It was a 3 1/2 hour trip and we arrived by 9:30pm. We stayed in a quaint little hotel by the train station. On Saturday morning, we got up, had a yummy breakfast (croissant with nutella, eggs, cheese, hot cocoa...ahhhh....)
We started the morning with a walk through the English Gardens along the water front.
We walked along a bustling street full of markets and shops all decked out for Christmas.
We took a walk through the charming, peaceful old town. It was full of cafes, antique shops and narrow, cobblestone streets.
Have any of you ever seen the show on The Travel Channel called Passport to Europe with Samantha Brown? Well, I LOVE this show and in the one where she visits Geneva, she eats at this little cafe and she makes a big deal out of how inexpensive it is to eat here compared to everywhere else. Too bad Fabio and I weren't hungry!
We visited St. Peter's church and an archeological site underneath it. The church has been there since the 11th century and the site underneath shows what they have uncovered of the first two cathedrals so far .
They finally turned on the Jet d'Eau on around 11am. It's Geneva's trademark and I was excited to see it!
Around 1pm we headed towards Montreux, on the north end of Lake Geneva. We were surprised at how warm it was (maybe 45-50 degrees), how much it looked like a Meditteranean town with all the palm trees, the steep mountainside that the village was built on, how many people were out on the streets, and how big the "village" was.
There was a Christmasmarket going on with all kinds of crafts, food and activities. We stayed in a fabulous hotel on the water and had a great view. We went out on Saturday night and had dinner and walked around the market and took a ride on a ferris wheel. Fabio and I were both surprised at how long it had been since we had been up in one and how scary it was! The highlight of the night was finding out we got FREE movies in our hotel! We watched 3! That's a record for us...I mean, I don't think we've even watched three movies...ever! :)
On Sunday morning we took a walk down the lakefront to a midieval castle and took an audio tour with an ipod. We LOVED it! It was a real, preserved castle and the backdrop was breathtaking! I'm going to put all the photos in a slideshow since there are so many!
Fabio and I left Friday night right after work for Geneva. It was a 3 1/2 hour trip and we arrived by 9:30pm. We stayed in a quaint little hotel by the train station. On Saturday morning, we got up, had a yummy breakfast (croissant with nutella, eggs, cheese, hot cocoa...ahhhh....)
We started the morning with a walk through the English Gardens along the water front.
We walked along a bustling street full of markets and shops all decked out for Christmas.
We took a walk through the charming, peaceful old town. It was full of cafes, antique shops and narrow, cobblestone streets.
Have any of you ever seen the show on The Travel Channel called Passport to Europe with Samantha Brown? Well, I LOVE this show and in the one where she visits Geneva, she eats at this little cafe and she makes a big deal out of how inexpensive it is to eat here compared to everywhere else. Too bad Fabio and I weren't hungry!
We visited St. Peter's church and an archeological site underneath it. The church has been there since the 11th century and the site underneath shows what they have uncovered of the first two cathedrals so far .
They finally turned on the Jet d'Eau on around 11am. It's Geneva's trademark and I was excited to see it!
Around 1pm we headed towards Montreux, on the north end of Lake Geneva. We were surprised at how warm it was (maybe 45-50 degrees), how much it looked like a Meditteranean town with all the palm trees, the steep mountainside that the village was built on, how many people were out on the streets, and how big the "village" was.
There was a Christmasmarket going on with all kinds of crafts, food and activities. We stayed in a fabulous hotel on the water and had a great view. We went out on Saturday night and had dinner and walked around the market and took a ride on a ferris wheel. Fabio and I were both surprised at how long it had been since we had been up in one and how scary it was! The highlight of the night was finding out we got FREE movies in our hotel! We watched 3! That's a record for us...I mean, I don't think we've even watched three movies...ever! :)
On Sunday morning we took a walk down the lakefront to a midieval castle and took an audio tour with an ipod. We LOVED it! It was a real, preserved castle and the backdrop was breathtaking! I'm going to put all the photos in a slideshow since there are so many!
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Auction For Baby Mia
My sister has been very involved with the story of Baby Mia this past month, and we have all been pulled into it as well. Baby Mia is a 4 month old baby girl who was born with a heart defect, and recently had a heart transplant. The kind of money that this experimental surgery takes is unimaginable, and so, Abbie has started a pretty amazing auction on her blog to raise money to give to Mia's family. If your heart isn't touched yet, first check out Baby Mia's blog:
Mia's blog
Then, check out the incredible auction (home-made blankets and cards, artwork and Swiss chocotate and more) on Abbie's blog:
Abbie's blog
Follow the instructions in her most recent blog post to be a part of the auction! It's simple! And...how could you resist helping this little angel?
Let the bidding begin!
Mia's blog
Then, check out the incredible auction (home-made blankets and cards, artwork and Swiss chocotate and more) on Abbie's blog:
Abbie's blog
Follow the instructions in her most recent blog post to be a part of the auction! It's simple! And...how could you resist helping this little angel?
Let the bidding begin!
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Week With Mom and Dad...and I Want a New Camera! :(
We had a fabulous two weekends with my parents in town. We were able to hang out on the weekends, while during the week they went to Germany. After downloading all the photos today, I had a few minutes of mourning that our camera takes horrendous photos. :( I could spend hours on photoshop, or I could just count these last few weekends as memorialized by shadowy and indistinguishable photos and get a new camera...SOON. Anyway, try and see if you can tell what we did last week. :) Let's pretend it's a game!
After church 2 Sundays ago we went to Bern for a walking tour.
We climbed the tower of the Munsterkirche (church) and this was our view.
A view in the other direction.
We went on a walk around the Swiss Temple.
This photo marks the start of our second weekend excursion. We left Saturday morning for the Bernese Oberland. This breathtaking view was a must-stop along the way.
Lauterbrunnen was a town along the way. It was at the bottom at a beautiful valley. You can see the cliff and the waterfall in the background...the village we stayed in was at the top of this cliff.
This was the view from our chalet in the village of Murren. Pretty stunning, huh?
We took a walk through Murren. November is the quiet season between summer and winter, so we pretty much had the whole village to ourselves.
More of Murren.
We watched the "alpine glow" from our room. That's when the sun sets and glows off the mountains. The moon made it even more enchanting.
In the morning we went up to the Schilthorn (10,000 feet) for breakfast. Here is a view of Murren as we were going up in the cable car.
This was our yummy breakfast on the highest revolving restaurant in the world. The reason why our camera is so lame is because we had two pictures like this. This one, where you can't see the mountains in the background, and the other one, where you could see the mountains, but we were only shadows. Boo. :(
From the observation deck of the Schilthorn restaurant/visitors center.
Another beautiful view, but it was freezing!
Heading back down to Murren and then Lauterbrunnen. This photo was taken with mom and dad's camera. Can you see a difference? I can!
Mom and dad leave early tomorrow morning. We had such a fun time exploring Switzerland together!
After church 2 Sundays ago we went to Bern for a walking tour.
We climbed the tower of the Munsterkirche (church) and this was our view.
A view in the other direction.
We went on a walk around the Swiss Temple.
This photo marks the start of our second weekend excursion. We left Saturday morning for the Bernese Oberland. This breathtaking view was a must-stop along the way.
Lauterbrunnen was a town along the way. It was at the bottom at a beautiful valley. You can see the cliff and the waterfall in the background...the village we stayed in was at the top of this cliff.
This was the view from our chalet in the village of Murren. Pretty stunning, huh?
We took a walk through Murren. November is the quiet season between summer and winter, so we pretty much had the whole village to ourselves.
More of Murren.
We watched the "alpine glow" from our room. That's when the sun sets and glows off the mountains. The moon made it even more enchanting.
In the morning we went up to the Schilthorn (10,000 feet) for breakfast. Here is a view of Murren as we were going up in the cable car.
This was our yummy breakfast on the highest revolving restaurant in the world. The reason why our camera is so lame is because we had two pictures like this. This one, where you can't see the mountains in the background, and the other one, where you could see the mountains, but we were only shadows. Boo. :(
From the observation deck of the Schilthorn restaurant/visitors center.
Another beautiful view, but it was freezing!
Heading back down to Murren and then Lauterbrunnen. This photo was taken with mom and dad's camera. Can you see a difference? I can!
Mom and dad leave early tomorrow morning. We had such a fun time exploring Switzerland together!
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Viewing History From Across the Ocean
I, along with every European I have talked to in the last few months about politics, am thrilled that the majority of America voted for change. Europeans already view America differently. I already feel differently about my own country. People are inspired by how America turned out in record numbers to vote for Barack Obama. I could ramble on about my excitement, but I'll spare you all and just say one more thing. I am optimistic about the next 4, potentially 8 years, and look forward to the changes that will make our nation safer and more unified. O-BA-MA!
Friday, October 31, 2008
Hello, Winter!
Boy, were we surprised when we woke up Thursday morning to this:
I had been sick the day before, and was still sick, but those of you who have been a teacher know how difficult it is to be gone for more than a day. I decided to brave the storm and trek to work. What an adventure.
First of all, forget snow days. Switzerland doesn't have them from what I heard.
:( What's the point in having snow if you can't get a day off school? Poor Swiss kids.
Second, this looks like snow, but it wasn't. It was slush. We don't have snow boots yet and wow, both Fabio and I wish we had them now! Fabio walks all 1/4 of a mile to work, and I walk from the apt. to the bus, from the bus to the train, from the train to the bus and from the bus to the school. My feet were cold and wet and my new shoes were all muddy by the time I got to school. Not to mention my cold/sinus infection was feeling worse already.
When my principal saw me she made me go back home. (I didn't protest too hard.) I trekked back home (And by the way, all the public transport was running late so it took me 2 hours just to get home...sheesh.) I have spent the last two days inside sniffling, sleeping and sneezing. Great fun. But on the bus ride home yesterday, I had quite the winter wonderland show, so I haven't missed out completely. Sorry for the blurry pictures. The bus was super late so the driver was being a little reckless.
This was the view from my bus stop in Lucerne:
My mom and dad come tomorrow and usually we might be disappointed that the weather is so cold and gloomy, but Switzerland just can't be miserable. Even in the winter, it's a wonderland!
I had been sick the day before, and was still sick, but those of you who have been a teacher know how difficult it is to be gone for more than a day. I decided to brave the storm and trek to work. What an adventure.
First of all, forget snow days. Switzerland doesn't have them from what I heard.
:( What's the point in having snow if you can't get a day off school? Poor Swiss kids.
Second, this looks like snow, but it wasn't. It was slush. We don't have snow boots yet and wow, both Fabio and I wish we had them now! Fabio walks all 1/4 of a mile to work, and I walk from the apt. to the bus, from the bus to the train, from the train to the bus and from the bus to the school. My feet were cold and wet and my new shoes were all muddy by the time I got to school. Not to mention my cold/sinus infection was feeling worse already.
When my principal saw me she made me go back home. (I didn't protest too hard.) I trekked back home (And by the way, all the public transport was running late so it took me 2 hours just to get home...sheesh.) I have spent the last two days inside sniffling, sleeping and sneezing. Great fun. But on the bus ride home yesterday, I had quite the winter wonderland show, so I haven't missed out completely. Sorry for the blurry pictures. The bus was super late so the driver was being a little reckless.
This was the view from my bus stop in Lucerne:
My mom and dad come tomorrow and usually we might be disappointed that the weather is so cold and gloomy, but Switzerland just can't be miserable. Even in the winter, it's a wonderland!
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