Austria!

Shoot! I can't believe it has been almost a month since I updated this!
Since then I have been to Madrid, more Swiss Alps (Leukerbad), and Austria
I will just talk about Austria for this post...
Austria was always first on my list for countries to visit while abroad, because I heard it was incredibly gorgeous and had alps!  My roommate and I left on Wednesday and came back late Saturday night.  We decided to take the train, because it is so much more convenient and nice not have to go through the airport.
The first town we visited was Innsbruck! Home of the Winter Olympics.  This might be one of my favorite cities that we have visited.  It had a small, quaint feel, but also there was a lot to do.  The first night we got there we went to the Christmas market and got some warm wine, but we didn't know what it was until after we bought it! German is so hard to understand!

The next day we went to the Alpine Zoo, which is apparently the highest zoo in the world. We saw some incredible birds, moose, mountain lions, and other fun animals! 

Then we went to the world famous ski jump, built by the woman architect Zaha Hadid.  From the pictures it doesn't look too interesting, but when you see it up close and personal it is absolutely incredible.  I don't know how people have the courage to jump that far/high! Very impressive.

That night we had some German mush for Thanksgiving dinner! It consisted of sausage, potatoes, onions, and a lot of spices.  One of the more unusual Thanksgiving meals I have had, but non the less I was thankful for it!  We wondered around town a bit more and then headed on a train to Salzburg for the next two days.  

We went on a Salt Mine tour! For not liking salt much, I actually loved the tour!  So interesting to see where they mine and we had the opportunity to go very far underground and even over into Germany!

Later in the afternoon we went on the Sound of Music Tour.  I was a bit tired from all the touring, so I might of fallen asleep a couple times... haha! But it was a great tour, seeing all the places in the movie and the different houses they filmed at.

My favorite part was towards the end where we went to the Lake and Mountain Region of Salzburg.  It was one of the most beautiful places! I can't wait to go back there in the future.

Austria is now officially my third favorite country! America first of course and Switzerland second.  I am so thankful to have the opportunity to travel and have these amazing experiences.  I am so lucky to have the most wonderful family in the world and constantly be surrounded by amazing and supportive friends.  I love ya'll (that's my new Texas accent I've been working on) more than you know!  
18 days until I am back in California! Can't wait for the holiday season and to give eveyone huge hugs!
XOXO
Shelayne

Portugal

While in Portugal I wrote some interesting facts/things that we learned and did....

10/16- (Lisbon) 10.5 million people in Portugal, bull fighting here is very different from spain- you don't kill the bull at the end here

10/17- (Caicais) blue with gold is a way to say "icing on the cake", the climates here are alot different than I expected, alot of pines and eucalyptus, things are cheap here! I bought a sandwich for 3 euros... you can't find that in Switzerland. It's better to drink bottled water because there is a lot of chlorine in the water

10/18- (Caicais) one of the most famous bridges in Lisbon named the "25th of April" was made by the same company as the golden gate.  The reason for this is the city needed a bridge to withstand earthquakes.  The bridge is 2.5 km long. I saw a jellyfish! Cork trees are and we're used for alot of things.  Beggars and gypsies are very pushy here.

10/19- (Mertola) drove to our hotel in the middle of nowhere, it includes a pool, ping pong, hammocks, pool table, professor and tour guide arguing, we are 4km away from Spain

10/20- (Mertola) went to an Arabic town in the middle of nowhere, it is very desert like with tiny rolling hills and with dog/cats running around everywhere.  Our professor is insane

10/21- (Evora) 9 years of mandatory school in Portugal 4 yrs elementary, 2yrs middle, and 3yrs high school.  Public college costs about 1000 euros a year and private anywhere from 300-400 euros a month. A traditional dish in Evora is pork and clams

10/22- (Evora) saw a chapel made of human bones, 5000 human skeletons were used to decorate it, it served as a place of meditation, there were peacocks everywhere

10/23- (Guimaraes) the fluffy pine trees are called Mediterranean pines, the Portugal type of eucalyptus have white leaves when they are young

10/24- (Guimaraes) Beware of bedbugs and scabies in portugal, but seriously! They eat a ton of cod here, even though they don't catch it in Portugal

10/25- (Porto) Overall, the people aren't very nice.  Not good customer service and they don't appreciate your business, which just makes our group not want to buy things.

10/26- (Porto) The river in in Porto has two dams that we went through via boat.  One is 17 meters and the other is 35 meters

This travel was an experience I will never forget, but I don't think I will be back to Portugal anytime in the near future.  Time to get better and explore new places!


XOXO

Adventures with Kate!

The last two weekends were filled with so many fun adventures when Kate visited!!!  Angela and I picked her up at the airport and then headed straight to Zermatt for a wonderful weekend exploring the famous Matterhorn, glaciers, and the colorful town.

The following Tuesday, Kate and I ventured 4 hours north from Lugano to a town called Engelberg.  There we explored the incredible mountain lakes and views of the alps from every direction.  We took a rotating gondola to the top of the mountain.  A very cool experience!

For Kate's last weekend we went to St. Moritz! We left Lugano at 5:30am and traveled the same route the famous Glacier Express goes on.  It was the most incredible train ride I have been on thus far.  We watched the sunrise from the train at one of the highest points on the railroad.  We traveled through valleys with beautiful trees that were changing all sorts of colors. It is an incredible region of Switzerland.  We had typical Swiss fondue, did some hiking, and hot tubbed by an incredible glacier.  We are so lucky! 

It was an amazing 10 days with Kate and Angela! So many fun times and inside jokes! Great memories and so many fun adventures.  Anyone else want to visit?  I will host! :)

XOXO

Tuscany!

This weekend was actually the result of a very last minute decision.  We had planned to go to the Cinque Terre, but when we went to book places everything was full!  Then we figured we would stay in Switzerland and explore somewhere new, but when we looked at the weather report almost everywhere in Europe was pouring rain.... except for Tuscany! So we did some research, booked a hostel, and hoped for the best!

We left Friday afternoon for Pistoia which is a smallish town in the Chianti region of Tuscany.  When we got there, the owner of  the hostel picked us up and drove us to the hostel.  This was absolutely the most amazing hostel ever! Infinity pool, private rooms, restaurant, 6,000 olive trees, wine made from the owner, and beautiful views!  We spent the evening eating a wonderful home cooked dinner and enjoying the company of our new Australian friends. 

On Saturday, we got up early and made our way to the train station.  When we got to the train station we had to change our plans up a bit, so we headed to Florence.  We spent a couple hours in Florence, then we had to head back because the owner of the hostel had to pick us up.  Florence was nice, but since I had already been there and there was so many people so I was ready to head back to our Tuscan Villa!

When we got back to the hostel, we had time to lay by the infinity pool for a couple hours.  This is exactly what I needed, some relaxation time.  According to the hostel owner it is Italian law to wear a swim cap in all pools.  So of course we had to abide!

After pool time, the hostel owner took us on a wonderful tour of the area and wine tasting with the Australians we met!  We saw the house where Da Vinci grew up and and beautiful mansion where the locals have events and parties.  Then we headed to a vineyard where he taught us how they make olive oil and wine.  After we headed down to the actual vines where we could pick and eat as many grapes as we liked.  They were so delicious, because the next day they were going to be harvested and made into wine.  Finally, they took us to a table where we had 4 bottles of wine from the vineyard, homemade bruschetta, salami, bread with olive oil, cheese, and cantaloupe.  It was unreal sitting in Tuscany, drinking local wine while watching the sunset.  Once we were done at the vineyard we headed to a local castle that we explored in the dark then back to the hostel! Such a lovely evening!

On Sunday we packed up our things, ate some breakfast, and headed down to the train station.  We jumped on the first train to a town called Lucca.  It is a city that is surrounded by huge walls. There were gorgeous buildings of white marble and elaborate churches.  We wandered into a fun local market and had yummy kebabs for lunch.  Now that we were out of the area by our hostel the weather started getting very gloomy with a couple sprinkles of rain here and there.  Before we knew it we found ourselves running through the pouring rain absolutely drenched.  We were obviously not prepared, but since it was still warm out we weren't that uncomfortable.  

We then hopped on a bus headed to Pisa.  The girls really wanted to get that typical tourist picture, so of course we made it happen... still looking completely drenched.  So many tourists, but the tower was just as amazing as it was 5 years ago.  I got some yummy real Italian gelato and then we made our way to the train station.  Little did we know what was in store for us.....

If there is one word you should know in Italian when traveling around Italy it is sciopero.  Yes, that means strike.  Apparently Italians love to strike about anything and Sunday the train workers felt like striking.  We didn't find this out until we go to the overly crowded train station in Pisa.  We went to buy our train tickets to Switzerland and the guy just laughed at us and pointed us away.  Luckily our group stayed very calm and collected, even though most of us had class at 8:30am the next day.  So, to make a very long story short, we took a bus to the airport, then a hour long shuttle to Florence, then a train from Florence to Bologna, got off at Bologna and saw that our connecting train was canceled.  So within seconds we hopped back on the same train, it took us to Milan where we arrived around 11pm.  From there we were unsure whether to wait for the train that would take us back to Lugano at 5am or take a taxi that would be really expensive.  For me, it is always about safety first and I did not like the idea of waiting/sleeping in the Milan train station as four American girls.  With a little pushing we caught a taxi and finally made it to Lugano at 12:45am! Home safely, I busted out my homework and got a little sleep in time for class in the morning.


This morning I woke up to see snow on the peaks of the mountains around the lake.  Who knew snow could make me so happy!?! I am so thankful to be in Switzerland, such a wonderful country!


This weekend I have some exciting adventures planned!

XOXO

Swiss Family

This past 5 days has been full of family and I have absolutely loved it.  Last Friday afternoon, one of my relatives picked me up at my apartment in Lugano and took me to their house about 45 minutes away.  What a gorgeous view they have from their house, I could have spent all day looking at the mountains.  With my stay with them I was truly immersed in the Swiss Italian culture.  My weekend consisted of amazing lasagna, neighborhood walk, BBQ, hockey game, Sunday morning market in Italy, and a wonderful stroll along Lake Maggiore. So much fun getting to know my family.

                                    Hockey Game                                Italian Streets

Beautiful town in Italy

Yesterday, I took a train right after my classes ended to Zurich to visit more family! What a lovely visit, even if it was for just a day. As I am writing this I am on the train on my way back to Lugano.  I had such a blast being with them and their two little boys.  We had a wonderful Tuesday with strolls around the neighborhood outside of Zurich, more wonderful lasagna, a visit to the zoo, and dinner by the lake in Zurich.  I had so much fun and I will for sure have to come back another Tuesday!

                           Zoo in Zurich                                   What a gorgeous city

 So much fun!

Beautiful Lake in Zurich

Well, time for me to finish up homework. Ciao!

XOXO

p.s. Today marks 3 weeks since I have been here!