Vacances de Pâques

I spent two lovely weeks traveling around Switzerland (and a little bit of Italy) for my spring vacation. I spent around two days in each city and they were all vastly different from the rest. Other than the fact that Switzerland robbed me blind (they still use the Franc...) I would go back in a heartbeat.

Let's start with Geneva...Saw all the touristy destinations and spent a lovely two days with my friend.

Interlaken was my favorite place by far! It is what I generally picture as the stereotypical "Swiss" town. We spent our days hiking around the lake, watching paragliders land and celebrating Andrea's 21st birthday. We even saw Swiss cows!

The third stop was Basel. We spent three days CouchSurfing over Easter. There's generally not much to see or do but it was a nice quiet weekend. The zoo was a lot of fun.

My last stop in Switzerland was Lugano, which is in the southern, Italian-speaking part of the country. This place was crazy touristy and soooo hilly. Be prepared to climb up and down. The lake was very pretty but I do not think I'd want to go back. (Its certainly a Swan-filled country...or so I noticed...)

My final leg of the journey was in Genova, Italy. I didn't spend much time there but in all honesty I didn't get a very good impression of the country. The aquarium was kind of disapointing (its the biggest in Europe but very small compred to Baltimore). It's amazing how quickly you notice the differences between the Italian and the French.

Overall it was a really nice week, despite some of the disappointments. Unfortunetly its back to schoolwork. I've completed two of my five classes and will finish two more once I finish my papers. As much as I love France and speaking French I have to say that I am looking forward to going home. I can't wait to see my family and enjoy the comforts of home. Three more weeks! The depart will be bittersweet.