Here is the next installment of the European adventure! I am now seeing the blessing in not blogging about these things earlier because taking the time to reminisce in the midst of this cold winter weather is quite therapeutic! :)
My photos from my time in Switzerland and France (particularly the French alps) are my favorite from the trip. Breathtakingly beautiful scenery that is barely captured by the lens...but I must say some of the photos are stunning!
Laura and I took EasyJet from Amsterdam to Geneva. What we learned: When an airline tells you there is a one bag carry-on limit, they mean it. That one carry-on does NOT include a personal item such as a purse or camera bag. At the gate the attendant told us in her pleasant French accent that we would have to condense our already very condensed bags. Well, our bag's contents were laid bare and the trash barrel was filled as we weeded through our things. And as long as you only have ONE bag, they don't seem to mind if you board the plane with your arms loaded with jackets, cameras, granola bars, and other paraphernalia. I truly wish I had a photo to capture the craziness. We were not the only ones to find ourselves in this predicament. One lady tried to pawn her CD's off on us.
Once aboard we sat back and had to laugh at the absurdity of it all and marvel at our fantastic condensing skills.
We also had to laugh at this little sign on the seat backs:
And once we were in the air, the views were stunning!! Flying into Geneva, with the shrouded alps as a background was indescribable. There is something so thrilling about seeing famous mountains! :)
Lake Geneva as we approached landing
We had a few hours to kill while waiting for my friend Luke to meet up with us. We happily walked around the lake front with our condensed suit-cases, embracing our obvious identity as tourists.
Here is the landmark fountain that we later found out was directly across from the street we were staying on. If we could find the waterfront, we knew exactly where home was.
Watches, banks, and jewelry advertisements galore!
We couldn't have asked for a nicer day to lug our suitcases around!
Swans so fit the aesthetic of Geneva.
Another one of my favorite photos from our trip! We were sitting on this bench resting and this man came and sat down by us to eat his lunch. We noticed in Europe that, unlike the US, strangers have no problem joining you on a public bench if there is a seat available. Their concept of personal space is different. This man spoke a few words of English, broken French, but fluent Italian (from what we could tell!). He did his very best to make conversation with us and enjoyed hearing we were from "America". He pointed out a few things in our travel guide, and got a kick out of the black licorice candy we shared with him, which I had brought from Holland. It was the particularly salty bitter kind. He was not a fan but we had lots of fun making faces of disgust together! I will never see this man again, but these smalls interactions with another human being in a country far away are the memories I cherish the most. It's what travel is all about I think!
The lake water had a turquoise hue to it!
We met up with my friend Luke, who I've known since childhood and whose family are wonderful friends of my family, and explored the old city for about an hour or so before packing up the car and heading the French alps, 45 minutes outside the city.
this photo makes me laugh
It's a challenge to capture cathedrals.
Love this little group of preschoolers with their orange hats. What a brilliant idea. :)
The University of Geneva, where Ellie, Luke's wife, was finishing her masters degree.
The gellato line
Outdoor, over-sized chess
After our first day in Geneva, we jumped in the car for our trip to the alps. Ellie was our fearless driver, a necessary constitution for anyone who drives at speeds upwards of 50mph (the marked speed limit is 45), on hairpin, near vertical roads at times, with no shoulder and sheer drops to one side.
My photos from my time in Switzerland and France (particularly the French alps) are my favorite from the trip. Breathtakingly beautiful scenery that is barely captured by the lens...but I must say some of the photos are stunning!
Laura and I took EasyJet from Amsterdam to Geneva. What we learned: When an airline tells you there is a one bag carry-on limit, they mean it. That one carry-on does NOT include a personal item such as a purse or camera bag. At the gate the attendant told us in her pleasant French accent that we would have to condense our already very condensed bags. Well, our bag's contents were laid bare and the trash barrel was filled as we weeded through our things. And as long as you only have ONE bag, they don't seem to mind if you board the plane with your arms loaded with jackets, cameras, granola bars, and other paraphernalia. I truly wish I had a photo to capture the craziness. We were not the only ones to find ourselves in this predicament. One lady tried to pawn her CD's off on us.
Once aboard we sat back and had to laugh at the absurdity of it all and marvel at our fantastic condensing skills.
We also had to laugh at this little sign on the seat backs:
And once we were in the air, the views were stunning!! Flying into Geneva, with the shrouded alps as a background was indescribable. There is something so thrilling about seeing famous mountains! :)
Lake Geneva as we approached landing
We had a few hours to kill while waiting for my friend Luke to meet up with us. We happily walked around the lake front with our condensed suit-cases, embracing our obvious identity as tourists.
Here is the landmark fountain that we later found out was directly across from the street we were staying on. If we could find the waterfront, we knew exactly where home was.
Watches, banks, and jewelry advertisements galore!
We couldn't have asked for a nicer day to lug our suitcases around!
Swans so fit the aesthetic of Geneva.
Another one of my favorite photos from our trip! We were sitting on this bench resting and this man came and sat down by us to eat his lunch. We noticed in Europe that, unlike the US, strangers have no problem joining you on a public bench if there is a seat available. Their concept of personal space is different. This man spoke a few words of English, broken French, but fluent Italian (from what we could tell!). He did his very best to make conversation with us and enjoyed hearing we were from "America". He pointed out a few things in our travel guide, and got a kick out of the black licorice candy we shared with him, which I had brought from Holland. It was the particularly salty bitter kind. He was not a fan but we had lots of fun making faces of disgust together! I will never see this man again, but these smalls interactions with another human being in a country far away are the memories I cherish the most. It's what travel is all about I think!
The lake water had a turquoise hue to it!
We met up with my friend Luke, who I've known since childhood and whose family are wonderful friends of my family, and explored the old city for about an hour or so before packing up the car and heading the French alps, 45 minutes outside the city.
this photo makes me laugh
It's a challenge to capture cathedrals.
Love this little group of preschoolers with their orange hats. What a brilliant idea. :)
The University of Geneva, where Ellie, Luke's wife, was finishing her masters degree.
The gellato line
Outdoor, over-sized chess
After our first day in Geneva, we jumped in the car for our trip to the alps. Ellie was our fearless driver, a necessary constitution for anyone who drives at speeds upwards of 50mph (the marked speed limit is 45), on hairpin, near vertical roads at times, with no shoulder and sheer drops to one side.
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