Perfect middle trip

It’s been about three and a half weeks since I started my European holiday. Sometimes I just pretend that I am in college and on summer break and yet in a way, it is much better than that. I definitely feel that I am appreciating all of this more now than I would have then. The whole connecting with my roots thing is something that I am enjoying more now as well – speaking of, I heard from Jitka (my cousin in Prague) and will be spending July 9 – 15th or so with her in the Czech Republic after leaving Ireland.
Spain and Portugal were beautiful – Kristen and I stayed in Barcelona, Seville, Lagos, Salema and Lisbon. Highlights were definitely Sevilla (but so not the bull fight where neither of us actually realized that we were getting into and left early) and the Algarve Coast/Southern Portugal. I flew from Lisbon to Barcelona to meet up with Dad.
Now we are settling in on our cruise – day 3 – and loving it so far. It has already been the perfect itinerary for the middle of my trip. I have gotten to unpack for the first time and yesterday I even took two showers! The food is plentiful and pretty good and I must admit that it is pretty nice to be back at the gym. We spent yesterday in Villefranche and it was an ideal day spent on the beach, shopping, exploring, taking photos and sampling their boxed wine to wash down a crepe J
Day 5 -Italy has come and gone/ We did Pisa in the first day. The tower was cool and funny to see people taking all kids of crazy photos – our selves included of course. We came upon a bustling Italian café after and stopped inside for a red house wine, pasta dishes and bread with local olive oil. I stopped for gelato and a bit of shopping on our way back.
Day 6 -Yesterday we did Roma! Believe it or not, it has been about 15 years since I have been there and I was happy to be back. It was a process to get to the actual city from where we docked but worth it. Dad and I did the Spanish steps, the Trivi fountain and the Collesium all in just a few hours. The weather was perfect – the sky a perfect back drop for all of the photos that we took.
Day 7 – Santorini – probably my favorite destination thus far. The Greek Islands are like the most beautiful post card you can imagine with white washed buildings every which way. We became familiar with the local buses and ventured into Oia, Fira and Kamari where we sampled local, ridiculous food and soaked in our surroundings.
Day 8 – Turkey! We joined a tour for the first few hours that took us to Virgin Mary’s house where I saw the house she lived in her last few years and drank out of the love, health and money fountains (bring it!). The ruins in Ephesus were something not to be missed and I was glad to see the library, theater and very first advertisement! Dad didn’t encourage me to buy a genuine fake watch but we did pick up a few souvenirs before sitting by the water and enjoying Epes half liters where the waiter wouldn’t tell us how much they were until after we had a few – ahhhh….Europe!
Now we are back on the ship having recently inhaled two dinners (sushi and veggies followed by a magic performance and then pasta while watching the sunset). Bernie is in the house – ha. And I have been reading Bubi’s autobiography and learning so much about her childhood and my roots. Life is grand.

not what I expected...

so I thought that Iwould be roughing it over here quite a bit - eating fresh fruit from markets for lunch, hiking up a storm, staying in places that are a bit questionable. Not so much. Instead, I have stayed at some of the coolest spots imagineable. Case in point - our awesome hotel in Seville - it was music themed, gorgeous tile throughout and in a perfect location. We thought that we were completely and totally spoiled until we checked into our hotel in Lagos. After a 4 + hour bus ride from Seville (which thanks to my ipod and book went by really quickly!), we grabbed the only cab in sight and headed to the Vila Gale Lagos. Behold this sprawling, practically brand new resort with an amazing pool. We were practically drooling when we checked and Kristen actually upgraded us to a sea view room. The town is adorable - glossy ceramic floors, the people are so friendly and just want to make sure that you are loving portugal the country that they are so proud of and happy with, the food is delish - fresh fish, olives, red table wine for under ten euro. Most of the morning we spent at the pool. This afternoon we headed to the marina and went sailing for a few hours. We did a little tour of the grotto which was very cool to see up close and often took the shape of different animals and pointed out by our hard to understand driver. For me, the trip is two and a half weeks in and I cannot believe all that I have seen and done - four plus countries, amazing culture, and perhaps most disturbing -a bull fight in Seville

What Switzerland is like...

Want to be able to paint a picture of where I am for all of those not with me:

-the dandelion fuzzies float through the air

-there are ants all over much of the ground

-there are hills and cobblestone, winding streets

-there are fountains on more corners than there are not - where fresh, cool water flows and people gravitate

-no air-conditioning

-beautiful shutters

-it is so very clean and safe

-the buses run right on time

-people greet you by saying grezie or something similar and then easily switch to english when you say hello

-no one cuts grass because of the wild flowers

-vibrant greens everywhere

-the home have brown sloped roofs that I have never seen before but make me feel at home

It is a very cool part of the world. I found out yesterday that Tina Turner lives just down the road. Looks like I will be staying a bit longer, all trains headed in the direction of Barcelona are FULL, so I will be flying out of Basel bright and early tomorrow morning. There are worst places to be. It is hard for me already to say my favorite place - even with being in almost countries in two weeks, I can say they are all so unique and desirable for different reasons.

bells and trains

My bed in Switzerland is literally just a few feet away from this awesome clock tower that rings every 15 minutes -I love the bells and have gotten quite used to them in my just over two and a half days in Zurich. They are festive and European and welcoming. (Besides, I don't have to fumble to find my watch in the morning - just listen out for the chimes and then I know what time it is and usually it's time to get out of bed at that point).

Jen and I went on a boat cruise of Zurich Lake today and let me tell you it was so nice. Peaceful with postcard scenery everywhere we looked. The snow covered Alps were in the back ground and yet it was 80 + degrees and we were sunning ourselves on board hoping to soak up a little sun. The water was smooth as glass and the clouds looked like airplane writing. It was such a nice way to spend the afternoon. We returned to the neighboring town and had lunch outside before walking back. We stopped at the market and the bakery, showered, did laundry and were ready to open up some wine when Bill got home from work. It was nice to have dinner at home and just hang out - it rained just a bit - we were thankful that it held out until tonight. After dinner and some midget talk, I decided to look into how to best get to Barcelona and all I know at this point is this: it's not going to be easy. Not really sure why it has to be so complicated, only know that I need to be in Spain on Thursday morning. There is an over-night train that I am leaning toward taking although now it looks like it turns into a bus and is more than 12 hours ...so we shall see. I am going to head down to the train station in the morning and see what options I have. St Tropez - so close but so far...

roots and wings

Wow - what a day! Jen and I had a leisurely morning and then took the tram downtown to have Swiss sausages for lunch (in paper with a side of crazy hot dijon mustard and a hardish circle roll, bizarre that people don't eat them as a sandwich but I must do it as the locals do it and so - viola! PS - this is one of my favorite french sayings and I love it for its many uses and true meaning) We popped in and out of stores and churches and had coffee and chocolate by the river. Just before 4 pm, I hopped on the train for 4 minutes and got out in front of Doris Waeber's home. Apparently, we had gotten our wires crossed and she was expecting someone else - this was a bit awkward for the first 10 minutes or so as I stood there trying to explain who I was and how we are related. I loved being about to say I am Gary Waeber's granddaughter - it is has been way to long since I have identified myself that way and it was awesome. She had prepared quite the spread and so after giving me the tour of her place which is adorable and in such a great location, we sat down for tea and treats and to get to know each other. Tea was served on a tea cart. She was wearing red heels and was so sweet. It made me sad for a moment at how much has been lost between her generation (she is 91!) and mine. Doris then gave me the most amazing gift without even knowing it. She pulled out a photo album with Pop-pop's visit to Zurich in 1991 before he got sick and showed me photos that I had never seen before of him so happy and tan and standing in beautiful places in Switzerland. She then showed me this document that was produced by a historian and dates back to 1511 of our most distant relative and include the information on my grandfather, great-grandparents, great-great-grandparents and so on! I could not believe my luck. What a treasure all of this was. And so Doris and I sat on the floor, pouring over these documents and photos and she told me stories that I didn't know about my people and all that they survived and I felt amazed and that I could actually see roots growing beneath the very ground that I was standing on. My great grandfather was a jumper and survived the great SF earthquake in his pajamas. He lost everything he had overnight in the Great Depression - his brother Fritz was Doris' father-in-law or something very close to that. We chatted and ate for hours. She skypes and has a mac - so we exchanged email addresses and plan to keep in touch. This was such a bonus to what I was expecting to get out of this trip and I am feeling so thankful that everything came together as beautifully and completely as it did. What a day!

helllooooooo from Zurich!

I am just over a week in to my trip and let me tell you, it has been truly fabulous! I feel blessed and lucky and am so freaking happy. Yesterday I arrived in Geneva Switzerland and trained to Zurich. I was truly exhausted after little sleep the night before and really could have slept the 3 hours but the greenest green I have ever seen and the super beautiful architecture beckoned my attention and so I watched the countryside roll by...
This afternoon I am meeting a fellow Waeber who has a special place in my heart because my grandfather came to visit her when I was in high school. I called her this morning and she answered and started speaking another language and I was nervous that we couldn't communicate and then she said - sorry - and spoke to me in English and invited me over today to have tea! So in about 4 hours I will arrive to her house which is apparently only a 5 minute tram ride from downtown. I cannot wait!
I am beyond thankful and very grateful to Suzy for putting me in touch with Jen while she was having her adorable little girl - Colleen. Jen and Bill have been amazing these past 24 hours - lending me their cell phone when I am out and about, letting me charge my ipod and my camera batteries, letting me make calls home, use their computer, do laundry...all of the things that I took for granted but after living out of this backpack for only 9 days am so appreciative for!
The South of France lived up to it's hype. The water was gorgeous, yachts filled the sea, the beaches were rocky and it was fairly expensive but so worth it. I have been loving croissants and bagguettes and pizzas and paella....hmmmmmmm...So the whole EAT part of my journey is definitely happening. Last Tuesday a portion of the LOVE section as well :) We will see what happens the rest of this journey.
I am feeling so blessed and like there is no where else in the world that I am supposed to be at this very moment but here - experiencing all of these cultures, surrounded by languages that I cannot understand, reflecting, clearing the clutter and living in the present. Life is grand!
Next up - plan to over-night train to Barcelona on Wednesday and meet up with Kristen in Barcelona on Thursday. Can't wait for our adventure~