Travels: Ireland + Northern Ireland
“Once in awhile it really hits people that they don’t have to experience life in the way they have been told to.” ~Alan Knightly Fact. There is sooooooo much world…
“Once in awhile it really hits people that they don’t have to experience life in the way they have been told to.” ~Alan Knightly Fact. There is sooooooo much world…
Friday, February 7th three friends and I played in a competitive 4’s volleyball tournament. During our second match of the night, I went to dig a ball, as I have…
I had to break this into to two posts, b/c I just have too many pictures to share. Part I, was the first three days of the trip. This is the rest…
I had no real agenda going into Switzerland, I knew I wanted to see Lake Geneva, Basel, Lucerne and Matterhorn… but beyond that, I was up for whatever – I just told Nola – “Let’s go to places you haven’t been before if/when possible.” While the highlights of Switzerland definitely include the stops below (Interlaken, Lucerne, Basel and Zermatt/Matterhorn).. we did a few things Nola hadn’t done just yet. First and foremost, a ferry ride to Mt. Rigi. GAME ON. I really didn’t care WHAT we did exactly… I wanted good food, good company and SWISS life. We got that and then some… whoop, whooop!
Luckily, as you can see, we had pretty spectacular weather the whole week I was there. For the most part, not a single cloud in the sky! Crazy, blue skies. I think for the first time all year I haven’t religiously stalked the weather. (Note: Any one in the photography business can understand what I mean here. I roll out of bed every day/weekend trying to decide if 30% chance of rain will crush my shoots or not – its a vicious cycle that I often don’t win). But nonetheless, I just rolled with it and the weather worked out perfectly.
On our 3 hour trip/train ride from Wengen up to Basel (where Nola and Christian live), we stopped in Interlaken so that we could break up the ride and to experience THIS city and do fun interlakeningy things! A boaaaaat ride sounded fabulous. You get to see a lot, all whilst taking in the views… all while NOT hiking. HA. I love a good hike, but a day off was a nice [needed] change of pace for me.
Switzerland is one of those places you know is pretty and amazing, but you have no idea how RIDICULOUS it actually is until you see it first hand. I am very fortunate to have friends all over the world – two of which live in Basel, Switzerland. My college volleyball teammate, Nola and her husband moved over there last November and are always up for visitors. (WOOHOOO). I currently get about four weeks of vacation at my full-time job, so I try to plan any of my trips around the “free” holidays as much as possible. So when Labor Day came rolling around this year, I decided to make the plunge and buy a ticket to Switzerland. Turns out a few of their other friends had the same idea… which is just AWESOME. More peeps equals amazing little adventures.
I had a few bumps on my journey to Geneva but it was all worth it. Note: I had a pretty awful reaction to Ambien. ALWAYS, ALWAYS eat before you take it. Otherwise you’ll be the sickest you’ve ever been in your life. Trust me. Not fun. Nor ideal if you sit on the tarmac for three hours only to find out the flight will be cancelled. Let’s just say I threw up pretty much all night. Ouch. Alas, our flight was rescheduled for the next morning. By then, I was feeling better and almost fully recharged. After a 7 hour flight from Montreal, I got to Switzy about 11:30 pm and had to take a few trains out to Vevey, where the rest of the group was staying. I got in about 1:30 am and woke up at this reDONKEY place:
Two months of planning… and it WORKED! 🙂 I have to admit, I am not the best at keeping secrets or hiding anyyyything… so this surprise birthday weekend was a HUGE success.
About two months ago, I received an email from Stacie, Lisa (my BFF)’s other BFF about meeting up in NY to surprise Lisa for her birthday. Welp, you don’t have to ask me twice. After running the weekend by her husband, Kevin, and getting the official OK – plans were in the WORKS. Since Kevin is a NY police officer and works nights (and needs to sleep during the day), we needed to reinforcements to help us steal her away for the day. Kevin enlisted her in-laws to take care of their two little munchkins (4 and 2) so that we could give her a weekend full of relaxation and girls time. Reservations were made. Plans were coordinated. My plane ticket was booked. This was happening!!!