Geneva: Days 2 and 3

Blogging about the rest of my Geneva trip on the flight back to London now as this flight is only an hour. I’m so sad the trip is over but so thankful for the amazing time especially to A and her family for their amazing hospitality and everything!

Yesterday was my second full day in Geneva, and we went to visit A’s Aunty M and Uncle L. A and I both woke up super late, alarm didn’t go off for some reason, ate a hasty breakfast, and then we took the bus to Nations where the UN Chair statue was as we were meeting her aunt there. Before that we also stopped halfway at a Coop near Avenue Louis Aubert and I swear I’d been there before!! The street looked very familiar and somehow my phone got automatically connected to someone’s WiFi named “Guest” and I think that was where my Airbnb was when I visited Geneva in 2014. I wasn’t the one who booked the Airbnb so I didn’t have the full address so couldn’t check but I think I will check when I get back but how coincidental was that! We went to the Coop and I bought about a kilo of Caillère chocolate as well as some snacks and drinks. When in Switzerland of course ...

We then caught the bus again and passed by downtown Geneva and saw the Jet d’Eau from the bus - I had already been a few years ago but weather was so much nicer yesterday as the last time I’d came in winter. We got off the bus at Nations, then walked for a bit and met Aunty M halfway. Aunty M drove us back to her place which was across the border in France as we were meant to be staying over in her chalet in the garden (super nice of them). On the way Aunty M showed us around the area where there were lots of old farmhouses as well as the woods. I love being back in the country side, and it also reminded me a lot of my Workaway experience at the farm in 2016.

Aunty M and Uncle L also have 4 dogs (!!!) - 2 white bichons and 2 golden retters who are absolutely the cutest and also have an abundance of energy. We’d already met the 2 white dogs at the barbecue on Sunday but was our first time meeting the 2 bigger dogs, and all 4 dogs rushed out to greet us once we arrived. We took the 4 dogs for a walk around the woods with Uncle L afterwards and had the opportunity to SIT IN THE BACK IN THE CAR TRUNK WITH 4 DOGS. In A’s words this was a life goal accomplished(!!!) and of course it was SUPER ROWDY but at the same time absolutely hilarious because all the dogs were so excited and chasing their tails and wagging their tails super hard and also sticking their heads out of the window (classic dog thing). We took a walk until the start of the circuit in the forest then we had to go back, but the dogs were literally just tearing around and one of the dogs kept running off but was so funny.

Went back to the house, where Aunty M cooked us a snack (pasta with this sauce made from wild plant which I forgot the name) and had some tea and chocolate, and then we went for a second walk with Aunty M but this time around the circuit. We took the two small dogs with us but they had to be kept on a leash sometimes to prevent them from running off, but of course Biggles ran off again halfway before we saw him in front. Got bitten by so many mosquitoes while in the woods as well but was such a nice walk, and everyone we passed by were really friendly and stopped to say hi.

When we got back to the house it was already past 7 (explains the numerous mosquitoes), then we helped Aunty M to cut some kale from the garden for dinner. We also had sangria, pane con tomate and other snacks while waiting for dinner. Aunty M made this amazing quinoa bowl for us - it has quinoa, brown rice, kimchee, kale, this homemade sauce, avocado, and a soft boiled egg for mine (as A is vegan). I want to put up a photo of it because it was SO GOOD but this mobile version of the site is really limited and can’t upload from phone.

Then we had some nougat for dessert and was too full to have the boiled fruits from the sangria (wish I had the space but I was absolutely stuffed). We sat outdoors in the garden (sheltered) and it rained a bit but was really cooling and refreshing to be so near the mountains with a view of the Jura. After that we went indoors and A had to work on her laptop and I went back to the chalet to wash up and sleep. Was such a good day!

This morning we woke up late again (the alarm didn’t work) and had a small breakfast as Uncle L was making choucroute for lunch. I hadn’t had choucroute since Strasbourg so had been looking forward to it and it was delicious and I had 2 servings!

After lunch I had to leave for the airport so we didn’t do much else except packing, then Uncle L drove us to the airport and A stayed with me at the airport for a bit. Everything else was rather uneventful (thankfully) and I guess my plane is about to land soon so will post this tonight when I get home!

Geneva: Day 1

First proper day in Geneva, but thankfully this trip is going to be chill bc I honestly just need a break tbh. Had a really good sleep - A helped me to set up the sofa bed (which is a double) in the guest room, slept really well, woke up at 7am (body clock lol) but fell back asleep until about 10. Spent 2 hours in the pool until noon and got super tanned, but I think the tan has already faded. I did get sunburnt again, not too bad this time, but I really need to remember to apply sunblock.

We made sandwiches for lunch, then decided to go to the Téléphérique du Salève which is this viewpoint you can get to via cable car. It is really near A's place so we decided to walk there, but it is actually across the border in France so we took our passports just in case. We passed by a small town on the way, but as it is Monday most of the shops were closed. I also forgot how expensive things are in Switzerland - we passed by a convenience store on the way and a bag of crisps cost like 5 CHF. Got some snacks anyway so that we could have a picnic up the mountain.

It was also pretty empty when we got to the cable car station, probably as it's a weekday. There are 2 cable cars and there's one going up every 10 minutes, and a return ticket costs €8.70. The ride itself was only about 2 minutes and it goes up pretty quickly, then when we got to the top there is a restaurant up there as well as a small shop selling ice cream and postcards etc, but the panoramic view is absolutely amazing. We took lots of photos (as always), then went to sit on the grass on the hill. We also saw a sheep there! Its ears were tagged so it probably isn't a wild sheep, and it kept following us around because we had food. Took more photos (I haven't transferred them over from my phone and in general I am too lazy to actually post photos - maybe one day I will), ate the food then went to catch the cable car that was going down. We also saw people setting up for paragliding on the same spot we sat after we left, and one of the guys circled around a bit but then came back down shortly but still looks super cool. Idk if I will ever dare to try though.

After we descended via the cable car we heard thunder and the clouds above the mountains looked really dark and ominous so we walked back quickly. A had to send her dad to the airport and I just stayed in and it started to rain so I took a nap until the evening. Perfect weather for a nap though. After that she made dinner and we ate and watched 2 episodes of Friends and now just chilling. Will sleep soon though so will stop here!

Back in Geneva

The rate at which I am going on these trips far exceed the rate at which I am blogging about them ... Naples day 2 is still sitting in my drafts and here I am, out of London again. I am currently in Geneva this time visiting A and staying with her super nice family! The journey here was rather uneventful, but I’m glad my flight was mid-day instead of some unearthly hour in the morning as I could wake up at a normal time today + flying from Gatwick means it only took me half an hour to get there. I rarely fly from Gatwick but can see why people prefer so. Anyway, after landing in Geneva I came straight to A’s house where her family was having a barbecue so had my second lunch. I also went on a trampoline for the first time in my life!!! And had a swim in the pool before it started to rain. Spent the evening chilling and playing games with A’s sister, then had dinner and A helped me to set up the sofa bed in the guest room. Hoping for good weather tomorrow as it was really warm today but very cloudy. Will hopefully work on finishing at least that Naples post soon ...

Travels + Happy New Year

It's 2015! Been a long time since I last posted, school + winter break was completely packed. I don't even remember how I survived Term 1 with 2 rehearsals a week, 5 concerts, 6 mods and 1 essay due. And there was so much stuff for Music Soc, hopefully Term 2 won't be so bad as it's just going to be opera and strings have one concert and I'm so thankful that I've found a proper concert venue. Was literally freaking out over the past week after having emailed about 20 churches in the vicinity and getting quotes going up to 800 quid a night?! But at last one of them replied and I went to see the church yesterday morning and it was a perfect location. So that's one thing done.

Over the winter break I travelled for about 3 weeks which explains why it's the night before school reopens and I've still not completed my work. I went to Switzerland and Italy the first Monday of Christmas break, and came back a few days before Christmas. In Switzerland we were in Geneva but didn't really do that much, I can't really remember what we did except going around the city center, travelling to Montreux to see le Chateau de Chillon, going up to La Cure and trying to find the Old Town on the last day. Switzerland was really expensive, the cheapest meal we could find around was 17CHF and I'd only changed 150CHF for 3.5 days which was not enough. For one thing the train tickets costed about 40 or 80CHF for a return so a lot of our money went out to transport. Food was also really expensive with the exception of Lindt chocolates so we ate mostly bread and ham and chocolates there. I felt so unhealthy as we didn't eat any vegetables for the whole time so I had to get a coleslaw on the last night.

We took the train from Geneva to Milano Centrale. I really wanted to visit Milan and it was primarily because I wanted to go to the Brandy Melville stores there. Upon arriving at Milano Centrale, we got scammed while buying the metro tickets. It was a lot harder to read and communicate in Milan as opposed to Geneva because the people spoke French in Geneva so I could at least understand and reply in French, but Italian was just foreign. Anyway, we were having difficulties reading the instructions on the ticketing machine and not realising that there was actually an English option when this HORRIBLE man came up to us and offered his help. I was quite confused at that point in time so I stupidly accepted his help. The metro tickets costed 3 euros and I had exact change in coins, but the man claimed that the machine doesn't accept coins?! So I wanted to put in a 5 Euro note and he pointed to the machine where the 5 Euro words were scratched out and said I could only put in 10 Euro. I should have realised at this point he was a freaking scammer but no I don't know what was wrong with me then. So I put in the 10 Euro, he gave me the tickets after they were dispensed when I could've just picked them up myself, swooped away all the coins and handed me back a 1 Euro coin. WTF??? He was still holding another coin in his fingers so I actually snatched it back and then he disappeared with a smirk. And then I realised I'd only gotten back 3 Euros in change which means he just stole 4 Euros from me?! Was completely shocked that things like this could actually happen in public and we couldn't get any help. I later found out it was actually a common tourist scam. Ugh Milan is SO DAMN DODGY but lesson learnt.

The airbnb that we got in Milan wasn't as nice as the one in Geneva as well. The son of the person that I booked with messaged me via airbnb at the last minute saying he had work and won't be around that evening but obviously I wouldn't have had wifi on the train so I didn't see the message until we were like at his doorstep. Thank goodness his flatmates were in so they opened the door for us. I mean the room was pretty decent and all but the whole place reeked of cigarettes so I've learnt to check for No Smoking when booking airbnb. The only consolation was that food in Milan was actually affordable in comparison with Geneva, and I had some extra Euros left over from last year's trip to Barcelona so I was feeling a lot less poor than I had felt in Geneva.

We only had 3 days in Milan so we didn't really do much besides shopping and visiting Lake Como. Lake Como was really beautiful and I definitely spammed a lot of pictures there on instagram LOL. It was quite misty on the day we went but nonetheless the scenery was still worth it. We wanted to visit Castello di Vezio and climbed all the way up only to discover that it was apparently closed in winter ... Also had 2 gelatos there hehe. BTW in Italy if it's a single scoop of gelato it actually means double LOL cause they allow you to mix up to two flavours! And who cares about painstakingly making sure that the scoops are perfectly round balls (ahem sg), the Italians just slap the gelato onto the cone and voila the taste makes up for everything! I think I had 8 scoops in 3 days hehehe.

The highlight of my Milan trip was actually Brandy Melville LOL. Went to both the stores on 16 via Statuto and Via Cesare Baccaria (sp?) and I spent a hundred euros there LOL. The first store we went to actually had this sale basket with everything going at 10 Euros holy shit! I didn't even see the basket at first so I spent a long time looking around because I couldn't bear to leave the place without buying anything. In the end I picked out 2 striped long sleeve tops, one in a navy base with white stripes and the other one vice versa (my problem of having to buy the same thing in different colours). They were only 15 Euros each and actually costed cheaper than if I were to buy it in the US (cause of US tax and shipping and all). So I paid for those and decided to take one last look around and that was when I saw the sale basket. OMG. Apparently it had been there the whole time but I just don't know why I didn't see it earlier! So yes I raided the entire basket and found tons of things from the summer collection that I've been wanting for ages like the Heather skirts and Kaitlee skirts and this blue suede skirt that I've been looking for. So super happy with my buys ^_^ At the other store they didn't have this amazing basket unfortunately, but they had those cute wooden signs in the Brandy Stores and I've ALWAYS wanted one of those. There weren't many designs though and I contemplated getting one of Paris but it didn't really make sense since I didn't apply to Paris for my year abroad which means it won't be relevant to me in the near future lol. The one that I really, really want would be one that says LONDON or one of those proper Brandy Melville ones with the pink wooden heart in the center! There was also this really nice food market next to the Duomo, and lots of shops around the Duomo as well. We discovered shops that were really similar to Brandy - what is with Italian labels taking the American style anyway?? And then walked to this outlet (can't remember where) which was rather disappointing ... Didn't do much on the last day because to be honest Milan is actually quite boring after you've seen the cathedrals and the shopping so we went to the airport a few hours early and used wifi there hahaha -_-

Came back to London for Christmas and didn't really do much except playing Pokemon LOL and had a relatively peaceful Christmas except for the I Hall christmas gathering! Then it was Boxing Day which was quite disappointing this year and the sales weren't that good. I ended up only buying like a bar of soap from LUSH (which wasn't even on sale please) and a down jacket and 4 heattechs from Uniqlo (which I ended up returning 3) so yuppp. Trying to cut down.

The day after Boxing Day we left for Norway! It was absolutely freezing there and I was wearing like 4 layers - heattech, fleece, down, hooded coat (cause my other jackets didn't have hoods). The cold really hurts LOL like my hands were hurting even though I was wearing gloves. We actually reached the airbnb place at about 4pm and decided to laze around and watch tv and not knowing that the Oslo Brandy Melville does not open on Sundays T_T And it also does not open on public holidays i.e. New Year's, and those were the only two days we were going to be in Oslo ugh. This is my major regret lol. We brought food to Norway so hooray for Nongshin instant noodles! On Sunday we went to visit some of the museums, and did I mention it was the first time I saw proper snow! The snow in Switzerland didn't count because it was mainly ice flakes. But WHITE SNOW. SO PRETTY.

We took the train to Bergen the next day and stayed in Bergen for 3 days. It was snowing the morning we arrived and we took a long time to get to our airbnb place because it wasn't that near the city center and the snow from the previous days were knee deep. The place was on the top of a hill so it was quite difficult to climb up as the snow had covered the steps leading up. Some of the snow on the roads had melted so it was more like dirty slush. BUT SO MUCH SNOW. I've never seen so much snow before. 

There wasn't much to shop in Norway, but I got some cute socks from this shop called Cubus and the material feels very soft, almost exactly like Brandy's micromodal material. The highlight of our Bergen stay was the Gudvangen Fjords tour and also NYE fireworks. The Fjords tour took one whole day and it was on a ferry so it was really cold but it was all worth it. We stopped at Flam and had lunch there and walked around the very small town before taking the bus back to Bergen. NYE was pretty chill, the view of the fireworks was amazing since we were at the top of the hill. Travelled back to London on 1 Jan so that was the end of my travelling for now!