Trip of a Lifetime

This past summer I had a the opportunity to travel to Europe and work for a company that does business with my Dad's business. So in June I packed by bags and headed off, by myself, to Switzerland. Needless to say I had no idea what I was getting myself into.

I'm a nerd and think I'm funny.

Did I mention that I went there alone. And that I only speak English, not German or French. When I got to Zurich I was exhausted because I only slept for an hour on the plane. The first thing I had to do was get a train ticket and take the train to Basel, where I would be living and working. This was difficult for me. 1. I had never taken a train, ever 2. I am American and don't know the phrase "Pack Light!" So me and my big hot pink suitcase, hiking backpack and purse and trying to go up and down escalators. Not fun for me, but I'm sure entertaining for the Swiss. Once I got to Basel I was going to be picked up by the lady that I was renting an "apartment" from. Little did I know that she didn't speak any English, and like I said earlier, I don't speak German. So it was an interesting phone call from the most complex phone booth, ever. I then began to feel so alone and HOT! I was sweating like crazy. Again, I'm American and prefer to be in air-conditioning, which is scarce over there. I called my mom and started sobbing, out of exhaustion and feeling alone. (Don't worry, this story gets better and happier) When Mrs. Grandy finds me at the train station and takes me to my new home, I am surprised to find out that "apartment" in Swiss means room.

Literally a one bedroom "apartment"

But the upside of this "apartment" was the view...

Room with a view!

I could see France from my window. I lived in this little village that was on the border or Switzerland and France. Every day on my walk to the bus station I walked by a pasture of sheep. It was very storybook needless to say.

During my time there I got to know one of my co-workers very well. Her name is Sina and I would have been lost and lonely without her! She had traveled to America when she was in high school and was a foreign exchange student, so she knew exactly how it felt to be all alone in a different country. Sina would take me to her Turkish classes, her families house, and showed me around Basel and Germany.

Sina and I in Lucerne

Sina and I laughed a lot and now have many inside jokes. In addition to taking a trip to Lucerne and a few trips to her parents house in the Black Forest in Germany, we also went to a Norah Jones concert in Germany! It was AWESOME!!

The talented Norah Jones

I worked for 4 weeks at SenTec AG. Then during my last week of work my bff Vicky came over and I got to show her around where I had been living. We explored downtown Basel and got to celebrate the Swiss national holiday. Then, Sina took us to her parents house in the Black Forest and her parents arranged for the three of us to fly in a small private plane over the Black Forest! THIS WAS THE COOLEST THING I'VE EVER DONE!!

Yay! She's here!

No big deal! This is our private plane! :)

This was my last weekend in Switzerland. Then Vicky and I were off to PARIS! I was so excited about this trip. We packed our bags and boarded the train (that was really late). Again, the whole not packing light thing was an issue. We didn't know what car to board, and there was a train guy yelling at us to hurry so we just got on the closest one. Which ended up being the car on the opposite end of where we needed to be. So we slowly started making out way with our luggage to the other side of the train. Our first day there we just took it easy and went to McDonald's to get free wifi. Good ol' Micky D's!! Then the next day we began our Paris Adventure! We went to the Eiffel Tower, The Louvre, Versailles and took a night tour of the city. Paris is so fun and we had such a good time together. I'm so glad that we got to travel part of Europe together.

Bonjour! Beautiful day to explore Paris!

The main palace at Versailles

Oh la la! The Moulin Rouge

I hope that one day I am able to travel back to Europe. It was such a great experience and I made so many great memories with great friends!

Happy Reading!