Zurich

Hello all.



Hillary and I returned from Zurich tonight around 10:00pm, and already miss it.



So we got up Sunday at 5:30am, and got our shit together. We decided we were way too tired to deal with the Metro, so we called a cab to take us to the train station. After some time of trying to figure out where to get our EuRail passes validated, we finally left for Zurich around 8am.



We had a 5 hour train ride to Bern, the capital of Switzerland, where we had 20 minutes to catch our next train. The view from the train was beautiful, and we saw some of the Swiss Alps, but definitely not as pretty as the ride through Scotland. I don't think we were high enough north for that.



The train ride from Bern to Zurich was only and hour, and once there, we got a cab to our hostel called, The Hotel Otter. I'm not sure if you can even call this place a hostel, because once again, it was beautiful, and decorated very nice.



We didn't really know what to do in Zurich, so we just kind of went out to explore. We found some pretty expensive Spaghetti place, and discovered that the people in Zurich speak German, not English like we thought. The town is nestled in some mountainous region, but the mountains are filled with pine trees, not snow. It was actually really warm and sunny, like 85 degrees, which is the warmest weather we've encountered in Europe. In the middle is some river, whose name escapes me, but the water is aquamarine, and you can see fish swimming in the bottom, and there are swans everywhere! It was so pretty.



To our luck and surprise, it turns out that Zurich that night, was hosting a huge soccer game between Italy and Spain, so the town was FULL of soccer fans, booze, and entertainment. The streets were lined with little carts like a fair, and outdoor bars everywhere. After a while of sitting by the river and enjoying the scenery, we wandered over towards the festivities and found a really cool funk band that was just starting, so we got front row spots. I don't know what it is, but Hillary and I always seem to find the free concerts.



So we watched this band for about 3 hours, while simultaneously watching the people of Zurich get drunk and dance. It was really funny. After that, the game started, and we walked back up towards the ferris wheel, and eventually back to our hostel. You could hear the people chanting throughout the whole city (Spain won, by the way).



After freshening up, we went downstairs to the bar in our hostel and had a really large beer. By that time, it was about midnight, and we were hungry again, so we went back into the streets and stumbled upon some cheap mexican food at a little kiosk which we took back to our room, and watched some annoying Swiss TV for a while before bed.



Zurich is a beautiful town, known for it's shopping. So the next day, we woke up, showered, and checked out and went shopping at some of the boutiques around our place. We had a Starbucks, and we both bought some really cute shoes. Before we knew it, it was time to get to the train staiton, so we called a cab and off we went.



Our stay in Zurich was not nearly long enough, but we felt like we were there at a really exciting time, and had a really nice, relaxing stay. It wasn't exactly my original picture of staying in the Alps, but I guess I'll save that for another time.



To make a long story short, we got back to Paris around 10, and took a cab back to our original hostel. Our room this time around is not as nice, but it will work for the remainder of the time. Once checked in and stuff, we wandered out and got some food at a local bar, which, may not have been a good idea. They weren't very friendly, and didn't appreciate it when we asked for an English menu....but, oh well.



After that, we took the Metro to the Eiffel Tower to see it light up, which it does every hour, but of course, we just missed the last time it sparkles. We got to see a little of it from the Metro window. Once we figured that out, we were disappointed and got a cab back to the hostel, but we got to ride by the Arch di Triomphe (sp??) and see a little bit more of Paris at night.

We are kind of frustrated that the whole time we've been in Paris, we haven't really seen anything, but the innerworkings of the city (which don't seem to work very efficiently). We feel like we spent enough time in London learning things about the city itself, and missed some of the key sites, that's what Paris was supposed to be for!!! So tomorrow the plan is to wake up early and get as much in as possible. Wednesday morning we leave EARLY for Dublin, where we will be reunited with some friends, and I with my roots. I can't wait!!!

Our time is quickly running out here, and, no matter what, the good and the bad, I'm doing my best to soak it all up and make the most of it.

I miss you all, and will see you soon enough!

Peace and Love from Paris <3