US-bound: The Epilogue

(Written in the airport) Honestly, I'm not in much of a writing mood, but I have about 3 hours until my plane takes off and I need to do something. I also need to catch up on what I did so I don't forget.

There was nothing quite as glorious as the last Friday on the farm when it rained. Apparently it never rains on the farm during the months June-August. We were all surprised when the menacing clouds actually produced large drops for well over a couple hours. The cracks that had formed in the ground like a desert had actually disappeared. I'm not gonna lie, it was also nice to not have to prune trees for another 3+ hours that afternoon.

I would definitely do wwoofing again. Maybe in a different country next time so I can see different crops and avoid screaming babies. But really, I learned so much from that family. It made me re-discover small pleasures in life: eating a fresh berry from the vine, enjoying bread from flour that you ground yourself, and smelling freshly-picked mint. There's also that satisfying feeling of putting in a full day of physical labor; I'm usually in front of a computer or a book most of the day.

Luckily, we got to see a little more of Italy before we left. We went to Bologna Saturday night and on Sunday we took the train to Venice, where we wandered to St. Marc's Square and back. I wish I could have enjoyed it more, but it was hot and humid, I had to drag my backpack along, and there were so many people! The night was much better though. We wined and dined alfresco in Milan. Of course, we were next to a canal and I think the mosquitos took more bites out of me than I did my dinner. The remedy? A little frozen dacquiri con anana (pineapple) on amazing animal-print sofas. The perfect ending to an awesome trip.

I'm trying to enjoy the fact that I'm in Italy right now, because I know in several hours when I'm home, I'll miss it. I might even think this whole trip was a blur. That would be awful- please don't happen!

There's a small part of me that is ready to go home, especially since I'm getting tired of taking trains, lugging my bags around, and not understanding what people are saying. I also miss talking to friends and family, since I've been cut off. There's the other part of me that is dreading having to job search and figure out what I'll be doing for real. Although if I've learned anything from this trip, it's that life's all what I make of it. I mean, I could have wimped out on some things, like climbing that mountain in the Alps, or biking the 20 km back from Amsterdam when I was about to pass out. Also, some credit goes out to Kate for pushing me to do things out of my comfort zone.

When all is said and done, I'm quite impressed with myself. Despite the fact that I have a slight uneasiness when it comes to change, I wasn't phased by all of the traveling. The fact that I tackled this adventure so well makes me confident that my adventure into the working world will be a piece of cake. Of course, I need to land myself a job first :)

Highlights
moment that I laughed the hardest: when Kate and I were delirious after traveling for 18 hours by train to get to Kandersteg
when I felt most at home: singing karaoke at the bar in Germany hahaha
most awkward moment: sitting next to a creepy (and drunk) Italian guy in a train
most shocking fact I learned: there's a 70% income tax in Germany!
favorite museum: El Prado in Madrid
best view: from the top of the mountain in Kandersteg
place I need to visit again asap: the Louvre
city I'd most likely live in: Madrid or Milan
regrets: none.

Dieci giorni in Italia

The solitude of farm life was quite a change from our new fast-paced lifestyle. It took a day or so to adjust to the fact that we'd be staying in the hills of Bologna without civilization, a computer, or a TV- not that we watched much anyway. Instead we were surrounded by chestnut trees, fields of hay and thorny bushes, deer that made the loudest mating calls I've ever heard in my life, and screaming babies. A far cry (pun intended) from honking car horns!

The family we were wwoofing with (willing workers on organic farms) was extremely nice. It was a young family, with Eszter the mother from Hungary, and Fabrizio the father from Italy. They had Stella, 2 years, and Flavio, 2 months. The good news with Stella was that I could practice my broken Italian and understand most of what she was saying. I'm jealous of her, though, since she can speak both Italian and Hungarian. She's already bilingual!

It's amazing how self-sufficient this family is. They grow and make all their own food, and the rest they get locally from friends (like wine, cheese, meat, etc.). They are happy without owning or doing much. The parents are around to watch the kids grow up. No one worries about high fuel costs, crazy housing markets, or even war.... although I don't know how they would find out about anything since they never see or read the news. I'm already antsy since I don't know what's been going on in the US. What if a giant herd of elephants invaded Boston and ate all of the cannolis in the North End? I have no idea.

After the sixth day, Kate and I got quite into the swing of farm life:

7:30- wake up

8:00- breakfast of yogurt and cookies and home-made jams

8:30-12:00- getting firewood, picking red currants, baking breads and pizza

12:30- lunch (biggest meal of the day)

13:30-16:00- nap time!

16:00-19:00- pruning the chestnut trees, picking and drying mint/herbs/figs

20:00- dinner

20:30-22:30- reading (I was excited because they had 1984 and Agatha Christie novels!)

23:30- bedtime

I should also take a moment and mention that they are amazing cooks. Unfortunately I wasn't a huge fan of their bread since it was dense and dry, but everything else was to die for. Because of their heritage, we had a mixture of Hungarian and Italian cuisine. Eszter made Hungarian cakes with apricots and plums from the trees outside. She also made lentil and barley soups. Fabrizio made pasta fagioli, pasta in pesto, pizza, and insalata caprese. It was great to get a little home cooking during our trip. I think I'm still drooling a bit.

Evaluations (so far)

food: if I HAD to pick a dish? the pasta fagioli! *****

coffee: mmmm espresso ****

beer: Peroni ****

Vespa to person ratio: 1 to 5

language hilarity: if only you could have heard me speaking broken Italian to Stella ****

would I return? over and over again! (I've already been before)

The Swiss Miss

Switzerland was gorgeous. I think I could get used to waking up every morning with a view of the Swiss Alps out my window. I felt like I was living in a commercial for Folgers coffee, Swiss Miss hot cocoa, or Riccola - those throat losenges. Any second I was waiting for the dude in his knickers to blow that horn.

We stayed with Kate's friend Dan, who was working close by at a Boy Scout camp. Basically, what anyone and everyone does in Kandersteg is hike. The first day we took a small hike to a glacial lake. It was so foggy and cold we could hardly see anything, and I'm really glad we didn't go swimming like we planned because I may have lost a limb to frostbite.

The second day we were much more adventurous and took a 2.5 hour hike up into Gasterntal Valley. After grabbing a drink at a cafe (yes they have cafes, restaurants, hotels on the trails haha) we decided to keep going and try to reach the glacier. Basically, we went from our nice wandering hike, to an 800 meter ascent. It got a little miserable for me when my head started imploding because of the high altitude and the "Climb Every Mountain" song from the Sound of Music wouldn't get out of my head. Nevertheless, I perservered with a little encouragement from Kate and Dan, and we reached the top! I can see why people get a rush from hiking. There's nothing more self-satisfying than staring out over what you just climbed and taking in the breath-taking view. If it wasn't for my headache, I would have stood there for hours with a silly grin on my face.

Our last day in Switzerland, we went to Bern (the capital) and Thun. The "cities" were so small and very pedestrian. We just wandered around and saw the Albert Einstein house. We also saw many parks and gardens, glacier lakes, and those typical Swiss houses. Once again, I like Switzerland.

Evaluations

food: we didn't eat out much because it was pricey... but you can't beat that Swiss cheese! **
coffee: cafe latte in a bottle ***

beer: Gurten beer was good, but the "special dark" beer in the pub was surprisingly delicious and not too bitter ****

bikes: too hilly for them

language hilarity: over 4 official languages haha *****

would I return? when I get the courage to go hiking again, yes

Ahhh wine country (aka Bordeaux, France)

I've got nothing but good things to say about Bordeaux. By night, the big town by the river is illuminated and crawling with twenty-somethings trying to get to a club. By day, it was old and majestic with stone buildings and cobble-stone streets lined with cathedrals and shops. Despite not knowing the language, I felt like I could live in Bordeaux too if I wanted.

We stayed with a friend, Gaelle, whom I met in Mexico. She lived on the other side of the river and took us on a quick tour of the city on the first night. The next day was 4th of July!! Um, we were in France, so we did nothing, but here's a pic of a US and France flag outside an army store. THAT'S something you don't see everyday. Besides that, Kate and I roamed the streets, climbed towers, and did a lot of shopping, both at flea markets and this one street in particular that's littered with shops. Now I'm not much of a shopper, but how could I not get shoes that were only 5 euros??

The following day, Gaelle took us to a famous wine town, Saint Emilion. It was the prettiest little French town I've ever seen in my life (ok I know I haven't seen many French towns but it was pretty damn cute). I guess it was also pretty touristy. There were soooo many wine shops with tastings that would leave the amateur's wallet empty. We, however, chose to sip a glass of white wine and take a tour of a Chateau that made the best Merlot known to man. They gave us two tastings at the end of it and if I had $50 and luggage space, those bottles would be mine!

Evaluations

food: galette (like a crepe) with Ratatouille, bacon, and cheese ****

coffee: not too strong ****

beer/wine: Merlot - to die for *****

bike-to-person ratio: 1 to 15 maybe?

would I return? yes, with more money and suitcase space!

Finalmente en Madrid!

I don't know HOW long I've wanted to go to Madrid for. Forever maybe? Well I was finally there! We stayed with my sister's friend Isma, who was as awesome as she made him out to be. (I'm crying on the inside that I never got a photo of him!) He took us out the first night to a couple places for some vino (wine), which was really cheap and gooood.

The next day we went to the Prado Museum which was paradise for me. There were works by El Greco, Goya, Velasquez, Fra Angelico, Peter Paul Ruben, etc. I've learned about these works in my art classes, but standing in front of them was like my dream come true. I think I could have stood in there for days. I even felt tears coming to my eyes. I'm pathetic :)

After that, we just went to a bunch of gardens and parks. We also went to the Plaza Mayor at night and spent 8 euros on a tapa called "patatas brevas" which were basically hash browns I could have cooked myself. I guess you pay for the outdoor ambience. At least the sangria was worth boring a hole in my pocket.

In summary, I can see why my sis likes Madrid so much. I felt very at home here, with all the mom & pop shops and finally understanding the language didn't hurt. From 9pm-12am at any night of the week, people are out on the streets having dinner, playing soccer, drinking some wine or beers, etc. It was a great vibe of people just going out and enjoying life. I think I caught the Spain bug...

Evaluations

food: paella is good, but I've heard it's not authentic. Gazpacho was awesome. And oddly enough, we had the BEST Indian food there! ****

coffee: yummy ****

beer: no good breweries, but I fell in love with that cheap rueda vino ***

bikes: not too many, but VERY few cars in this walking city

would I return? of course!

Me encanta Barcelona!

I can't even describe how beautiful Barcelona was! It was a gorgeous mixture of wooded parks, rolling hills, breath-taking architecture, and a great beach. We stayed in an awesome hostel which used to be a castle, so even the architecture of that was amazing.

We saw soooo many museums- 5 in one day! Gaudi, City of Barcelona, Picasso, Chocolate (which had amazing scultpures), and walked into one of Gaudi's creations, the Pedrera. The Pedrera looked like a cave with crazy rock scultpures on the roof. It was pretty much what I'd want my house to look like!

Lucky for us, we were in Barcelona when Spain won the Euro cup! Unfortunately, Barcelona is not as patriotic as the rest of Spain, so we were not trampled on the streets and cars were not turned over. There was just some yelling and people dancing on their balconies...


Evalutations
food: good gnocchi ***
coffee: from hotel machine **
beer: had some canned beer on the beach :) ***

bikes: it might be too hilly for that
language hilarity: frustrating cuz it was Catalonian and not Spanish... so slightly different **
return? I really hope so!

C'est la vie en Paris!

Paris in 5 hours? No problem with Kate and Sarah! We had a little train layover in Paris so we locked up our luggage and went on a quest to view the Eiffel Tower. We weaved our way around streets, saw the Notre Dame, walked on the Pont Neuf (which wasn't really all it was hyped up to be), and glimpsed the outside of the Louvre and those awesome triangle sculptures. We finally got to the Eiffel Tower and it really was majestic. The line to go up was wayyyy too long so we just walked underneath and then to a patch of grass in front to ogle at it.

I really think the only reason I would return is to see the inside of the Louvre. Paris to me feels about as impersonal as NYC. Also I guess it's because I don't know the language either and it's touristy.

Evaluations
Since I was here only 5 hours, I don't have much to report. It was all so rushed that I didn't have time to sample the good food or coffee. And we all know the French language is fun to listen to. Anyway, I'm in Madrid today and Bordeaux, France is tomorrow so maybe I'll have more to report. Adios!