Hi, I'm Broken

I'm home.

My feet hurt, my throat's sore, my legs bruised (7 and counting), my head's throbbing, my shoulder's aching, my skin's cracking, my eyes bloodshot, my tonsils swollen, my ears deaf, my arms bitten (3 and counting).

But I'm home.

My laptop charger's missing, my camera's cracked, my suitcase zippers torn, my jeans unraveled, my phone plan's expired, my pajama stained, my water bottle dented, my watch water-clogged, my agenda's ripped, my chocolates melted.

But I'm home.

I now know to the fullest extent what they mean when they utter, "I need a vacation from my vacation."

When I arrived home Monday night, I was in a really bad shape.  Tuesday did not fare much better as I slept the entire day, up until this morning.  I didn't even want any of my mom's homecooked goodness.  I might even pass up a chance to got o Disneyland tomorrow!  When I was on the plane from Geneva to LAX, I seriously thought I was going to die. My one prayer to God was that he let me see my family before I go, that's how bad I was feeling.  Now, I don't feel as fatal but I still feel pretty darn awful. 

I'm just grateful that I was able to withstand the illness for as long as I had, seeing as all my travel-mates were also sick.  

Once I feel a little more up and running, I shall write some nice, long, overdue posts.  Meanwhile, try to guess which places these magnificent monuments and works of arts call home.

I apologize for any crookedness sensed. My broken camera tilts every time I click.  New camera time! What would you recommend I get?

Oh, and in case you didn't get the message; I'm home.  Use this information however which way you choose.

Perdon

I apologize for the lack of updates as of late.  It's not that I've forgotten  about you, I promise. It's not that I've been at a standstill, not doing any traveling/sightseeing/picture-taking/adventure exploring.  It's not that I've been doing so much studying that my brain hurts every time I look at a computer screen. 

No no...it's quite the contrary.  The real truth of the matter is that Blogspot uploads my pictures SOOOOO SLOWLY that each time I want to update, I groan at the thought of the hours I will have to spend on each new post.  That and my lack of a camera forces me to rely on my friends' pictures which just doesn't feel quite as right when posting because it's not my own. And with this time, I could be out having the time of my life.  So that's exactly what I did. I went out and had a good time.  

I celebrated all things Swiss...

I explored secret gardens...I got stuck at Lake Como, a beautiful small town where my future husband, George Clooney vacations at...I actually dressed like a girl on some days and thank God for the picturesque view I am blessed to be surrounded by...

I faked "woohoo spring break!" pictures with my friends.  (In actuality, none of us were even remotely buzzed, much less drunk.  I'll be honest. I had ordered a granita with the intention of it being an alcoholic beverage but when the lady just gave me a plain ol' slushee and I asked her, "alcool?" and she laughed in my face, I found out that a granita is actually a non-alcoholic beverage. It was good though! But non-alcoholic.)

I danced on rooftops...

I visited amazing cities like Berne and Geneva...

and I gorged on delectable chocolates and pastries and veal and cheeses and breads and company.

More in-depth posts will come when I am at a place with a lot of time on my hands and have organized my thoughts and pictures correctly.  I wanted to thank you guys for reading on my adventures and I hope you will continue to do so.  Thank you, come again!

*special thanks to Adena for taking/making other people take all of these pictures except for the last one.  You know me and food shots.  I have to take them. 

Milano, Mi Amor

Update on weekend Milano trip coming up! My camera broke so I've been stealing friends' pictures (thank goodness for Facebook).  Meanwhile, look what I found!

 Two down!

The Devil Buys Prada

Each year, I always try to top my past birthday presents for my mom. I remember when I went away one summer in high school and I forgot to call her on her birthday. OOOooOooOohh...never repeating that mistake.

This year, I not only interrupted her breakfast by calling at 7AM Cali time, but I also purchased the hot little number (seen above) at the first ever Prada store in the world at the fashion capital of the world of Milano, Italy. She had mentioned that she needed a party clutch. Hopefully, she'll like this one. And anyway, Prada never goes out of style. It just becomes vintage.

Hey, I think I deserve this touristy picture outside the first ever Prada store in the world. I paid enough for it!

Icy water melts my heart

I have never been one for outdoor excursions.  My idea of a great vacation used to entail air-conditioned spaces, a nice hotel room, good food, and good shops.  I used to joke that I was allergic to the sun because if I ever stayed out too long, I would start sneezing uncontrollably until my face became a cherry-tomato-ed mess.  Then I found out that it was no joke, I actually am allergic to the sun! 

I'm also not a very athletic gal.  My forte is being the cheerleader of the team and my contribution to victory is supplied by my pep and energy and good team spirit, not my bumbling two left feet, lack of balance and strength, blind near-sightedness, and flailing, uncoordinated limbs.

But I do love a good adventure.  And I've always wanted to try white water rafting.  So we assembled a brave team of soldiers and off we went to tackle the treacherously icy glacier rivers of Chamonix, France.  

It was everyone's first time but we signed up for an intermediate level ride anyway, where the water's flows a little more ferociously. We learnt to paddle hard really quickly. Sometimes we soared.

And sometimes we sunk.

but we always had fun.

I lucked out for photo opportunities when I volunteered to sit at the front.  Here I am hard at work.

It was a really hot day (so naturally my allergies flared up and I couldn't stop sneezing. It got so bad that Jean-Michelle, our instructor asked me, "why are you crying? Are you scared?" before set afloat.) but the water was frrrrrreeeeeezing cold.  And we were forced out of the comfort of our yellow raft several times to learn how to properly fall out of the raft, what to do when you fall over and have to swim down, etc. etc.  My brain is shivering just remembering that icy coldness.

It was worth it though.  All 48 euros that I paid for the excursion was worth it. 

Next adventure to try; paragliding!  Anyone interested in joining me?

Note to self:

-Whenever you go underwater, your ears will get plugged, leading to days of deafness and an unbearable crankiness will be launched upon the poor, unsuspecting citizens of your surrounding area.

-When you go through days without sleep, you will catch a cold and possibly endure splitting migraine headaches.

-Facebook is a fun shenanigan to play with but you should not spend your time in front of your laptop when you have beautiful Switzerland waiting for you to explore.

-When you sit on your camera, it will break the LCD screen.

I hope I learn my lessons.  It's no fun being deaf, sick, unproductive and without a camera. =(

Holy Cow!

I love cheese. No doubt about it. My fridge is always stocked with Cheddar Jack or Brie.  I have a tendency to order the cheesiest dishes at restaurants and my friends call me "cheesy." (Though the last one may not be due to my preference for cheddar)  Therefore, it was a pleasant treat when we headed to the sleepy, quaint land of Gruyere, Switzerland for a tour of the Gruyere Cheese Factory, birthplace of my favorite afternoon-and mid-morning-and midnight-snack.

There, we endured an awfully long and mundane guided tour of the factory, using a listening guide to hear Cherry the Cow narrate the cheese's journey in a much too chirpy Swiss-English accent.

Our ears weren't the only senses tickled. We also worked our noses...

our hands...

and our tastebuds.

After the tour, we ventured into the village near the factory where we were transported to another time...a time of pretty buildings and cobblestone roads. 

Dinner that night was just the gooey mozzarella topping to a splendid Domino's pizza day.  We were treated to "raclett," a meal that consist of meats or potatoes covered with slow melted cheese that were grazed off its original chunk. YUM YUM.  

Happy cheese comes from happy cows which makes a happy Janice.