It’s been forever since I wrote. Last time, you got to hear about all my adventures for the first half of fall break, with Rome, Venice, and Corsica. Now, three weeks later (sorry…) you get to hear about the second week! So I’ll jump right in.

Kate and me! With some of Athens behind.

The middle weekend of break, so right after Corsica, I went to Athens to see my best friend Kate, who’s studying abroad there! It was without a doubt one of the best times I’ve had this semester. Most of the weekend consisted of us just catching up on our lives and walking around the city for a bit, but she did show me around lots of the important sights. Like, of course, the famous Acropolis, including the Parthenon, which was really cool to see in person after hearing about it for my entire life. Another aspect of being in Athens during this time, of course, is all the unrest going on, with protests and riots. There was something happening while I was there too, but they seem to be fairly organized and if you just take side streets to avoid it, they aren’t really dangerous. So Athens as a city was really cool and just completely beautiful, and the food was cheap and delicious, but of course the best part was seeing Kate again, and also having time to talk to our friends back home together. That, and throwing a Frisbee around outside of one of the Olympic stadiums. We both miss being able to play. 🙂

Duomo in Milan

But then sadly I had to leave… So I met up with Molly in Milan, Italy on Monday night for our second week of break. Milan was a really cool city, for the one day we were there (except for spending an hour trying to find our bed and breakfast..) and it was amazing for once not to have an itinerary for the day. We literally just took the subway to the cathedral and started wandering! Well, started wandering after I got attacked by flocks of pidgeons because some insistent peddlers shoved bird seed into my hand. An experience I wouldn’t care to repeat.. Anyway. So in our wanderings, we found plenty of Italian food, gelato, and coffee, as well as really old books, an American bookstore, and a hundred more peddlers. But then we came to a fortress, and after looking at old columns for a bit we walked into a gigantic park, complete with ponds and fall-leaved trees and statues. Needless to say, we spent the rest of our time here. And on the swings we found on the side of the park.

The Parliament Building

Next! Switzerland. Yes, we got around rather quickly. So we spent the night in Bern, the capitol city, and with the lights on the buildings it was just beautiful. The next morning we walked around the city for a bit and got some Swiss chocolate (naturally). It was really cool for me to see the city, since I’m interested in all that political stuff, but as far as tourism goes, it was terrible.. Which is fine, because we were only there for a few hours before leaving to Guggisberg, a miniscule country village which happens to be where Molly’s ancestors are from. Despite our lack of money issues (lunch consisted of french fries) and transportation headaches, the village was beautiful, and everything you’d expect from the Swiss countryside. We could see the Alps distantly in the background, smell and hear cows, and gaze out over all of the rolling hills. And of course, Molly was incredibly super excited the whole time to be walking where her family walked many years ago. And when I say incredibly super excited, believe me, she didn’t stop smiling or making gleeful noises the entire time! It was definitely a day well spent. Except for the part where we didn’t get to our next destination until 2 a.m. It happens. So to read about our time in Austria, see the next blog, coming soon!

Hello, Moomoo