Seeing Switzerland!

after traveling through 3 countries in one week, i am finally back in my little nook! first i will update you all on Switzerland. this is country is beautiful in every way- the mountains, the lakes, the snow, the green grass, the air, the people... everything!

there were 8 of us that left early friday morning headed for Geneva, Switzerland. we got very spoiled in Switzerland... instead of staying in hostels and figuring everything out on our own, we got to stay with family friends of mary cate who have been living in Switzerland since 1990. Jimmy and Cheryl both attended the University of Florida law school, got married shortly after they graduated, and moved to Switzerland for his job. they never had kids so they enjoy company anytime they can have it! they basically planned our whole weekend and the only task we had was to show up! it was so nice and relaxing to not have to worry about how we are getting anywhere or what to do... we were truly blessed to have this experience. 

this is what i woke up to on the plane! i thought i was dreaming haha
as always, the picture doesn't do justice.

i knew i was going to love Switzerland the moment they gave me something to organize my franks separate from my euros ...
it drives me absolutely crazy when my coins from different currencies combine!

the first thing Jimmy and Cheryl told us to do was enjoy Geneva during the day Friday, so we walked around got some chocolate and lunch and just enjoyed the beautiful day we had!

suze, me, and britt in Geneva

Bel- Air of Switzerland

we stopped in to get something Switzerland is known for... their chocolate!
and i must say it is very delicious!

we found a nice little park to lay in while we waited on our train
it was right next to the river!

their trees were so funny to me!

once we were done in Geneva, Jimmy had told us to take a train and he would me us and transport us from there. once we met us with Jimmy, he took us to their mountain home in Verbier! 

it overlooked the Swiss Alps!!

the view from their back porch...

once we got in and settled he took us to rent our ski's

friday night Jimmy told us to walk around Verbier for a little bit and enjoy the atmosphere and all the festivities they had going on... it is a very quaint little town, and SO FUN! once we were done walking around, we came back to the apartment and Jimmy had dinner ready for us... this is when the spoiling really began!

we woke up early morning to hit the slopes!

Jamie, Mary, Me, Elizabeth, and Susanna
the rest of the group went paragliding!

God's beauty!

me and britt before she went paragliding... so proud of her!

the 3 paragliders! it looked really fun and they also said it was one of the best experiences!

the skiiers with Jimmy!
without him we would have been lost!! we just followed him everywhere!

after we skied for about till about mid afternoon, we packed up and went to their home in Lausanne. i just pictured their home being in some nice little neighborhood in Switzerland... but little did i know they would have the most incredible view right from their kitchen window!

their modern home!

the view out their window...

they prepared a nice appertivo for us... some wine and finger foods!

for dinner we had fondu, which is very common in Switzerland after a day of skiing! 

some more of their beautiful backyard!

they had two puppies... it made me miss Charlie very much!

just some cows on the side of the road!

there were so many vineyards on the side of the mountain they lived on!

they took us on a stroll along the hillside Sunday morning before we left

Team Switzerland!

Jimmy and Cheryl

:)

we saw some of the Olympic Museum

the Johnson's were determined for us to experience as much of Switzerland as we could in one weekend, and they succeeded! we could have never done half the stuff we did without them, and i am very thankful they opened both homes to us. it beats staying in hostels any day! it was so nice to have a little taste of home... even though it was a totally different country, we were around Americans and had home cooked meals which makes all the difference in the world. 

i will do my best to update you all on Milan and Barcelona as soon as possible! the weeks are starting to slow down, but the work is picking up... with a final, paper, and other assignments. we have one more weekend trip to Positano this weekend, then i will be heading home the next weekend. i cannot believe we have come to the final weeks. the time has flown by! but it will be so nice to catch up with you all and see what is going on in everyone's life! 

until next time!