Spain to Switzerland

Well...here we are back again!!! Since our last update our days have been pretty much packed. So here is an update of the last two days in Madrid and our trip so far in Switzerland.

Our las two days in Madrid were filled with history, food, and of course Sangria. We went to the famous Prado Museum which was HUGE. You could stay all day there just looking at the amaying paintings of painters from long long ago. The famous original Flaming June was there and I mention it because it is a favorite of my sisters. Unfortunately we were unable to take pictures inside but I did take one of the sign in the front. After this we went sight seeing in the Prado area and was able to see the fountain of Neptuno which was beautiful. All of this pretty much took up most of our day because we were in the museum for hours. The next day we pretty much just paid bills and made sure we were ready for switzerland. It was also our travel day. Another thing to note is that we both got sick for the first time on this trip at the same exact time. It couldn t have come at the worst time because we had to travel that day. Thank God it wasnt too too bad and we were ok by the next day. Bobby actually took a little longer than me getting better but were ok now.

Our trip to Switzerland was smooth. We were met by my friends boyfriend Maarten who greeted us by getting us a drink straight off the flight. My friend Cassandra came shortly after and we set off to a nice dinner in town along with a cool bar later in the night. Afterwards she showed us where we were going to be sleeping and provided us with a little care package as well to make sure felt comfortable complete with towels, bowls, cereal, juice, fruit, the works. We really were treated so very nicely and feel extremely comfortable here in Switzerland. The next day Cassandra showed us around and made sure we knew where to go and how things were done here. She made sure we were paying attention by giving us little tests throughout the day. She wanted to make sure we were listening because she was going away for the weekend and didnt want us to get stranded. THANKS FOR THAT! So throughout the day she took us to old town here in Switzerland where we had an amazing lunch. Also, that night her boyfriend came home and cooked us a very delicious meal which you will see in the pictures post. That night we went to a wine bar where we met up with some of Cassandras friends. They were all very nice and invited us to a wine tour while Cassandra was out of town. We drank wine and had some olives and some good olive bread while we chatted up with our wonderful company. Good food and good company obviously mean we had a great time.

The next day we had some pretty crappy weather for the first time on our trip. It was raining all day but Cassandra still managed to show us around some more and gave us last minute things before she left for the weekend. She was testing us all day!! That night I helped Cassandra make a fajita dinner and we set off to visit some more of her friends. This night we met two guys who were from Africa and an American who was living and working in Africa. We learned a little about where they come from and they learned a little bit about us Americans. It really has been quite the experience to meet individuals from all different walks of life. We have broadened our horizons tremendously just since we have been in Geneva, Switzerland. There are many people for all different parts of the world. It was a plus that we knew someone here to give us this experience. Again, obviously it was an awesome night. This night we actually slept over Maartens since Cassandra and him were off for the weekend. As a matter of fact they let us stay at his flat (apartment) for the weekend which was very generous of them!!! THANKS AGAIN.

Ok so now for yesterday when we visited the wine vineyards. I must friend start off with OMG this was one of the best experiences thus far on our world trip. Bobby and I had never experienced something like this and with the views and the company that we were with, it made it an experience we will never forget. We started the day off at around 2:30pm where we met up with Cassandras friend that we had bet during the wine bar two nights before. When we got there they helped us to buy our train ticket and we were off to the vineyards by 2:45 pm. When we got too our stop we met up with some other people and we got on a bus to make it to the actual vineyards. On the way there we were taken away by the views of the mountain side and the many vineyards along the way. Wait till you see the pictures. When we hit our first vineyard we started to get bottles of wine without hesitation. Since we were a big group we kinda skipped the tasting part and went straight to it. The first vineyard was really nice and we enjoyed some creamy cheese and toasted bread to help us out a little. Our stroll to the next vineward was only a five minute walk away where we went to get more bottles of wine. Here we sat down where we enjoyed more views andreally just talked to day away with the new people we met. All together we met some more Americans, some Italians (who we will meet up with again in Rome), a man from Ecuador, a woman from Spain, some French, and a girl I met who was from Kenya during a bathroom break. After the second vineyard we were starving so we hit up a third place where we had dinner and enjoyed the company of yet some more people that we met. Of course we drank more wine and by this time of course we were feeling it a little. Before the night ended we went to a bar in town and had belgium waffles with chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream. We couldnt have ended the night more perfectly. Thanks to everyone who helped us have a great time.

Well it is the morning after the vineyards and a mild hangover is here with the help of some tylenol. So till next time.....


Some things to note:
1. In Switzerland you greet people with three kisses starting from the right cheek to let cheek and ending at the right cheek again.
2. In Germany it was two kisses.
3.The Swiss also enjoy a siesta like schedule in the means that some restaurants and stores close midday and open again later in the day.
4. We learned it is very hard to get housing around here because housing is limited.
5. It is EXTREMELY expensive here in Switzerland.