Cousin Bonding like Never Before :)

Last weekend (I know a little late, I'm sorry!) my cousin Kate from Wales came to visit for the weekend! I honestly couldn't stop telling her, "I feel SO spoiled I have gotten to see you 2 times in 3 months!!"  I hadn't seen Kate in 5 years until August of this summer at her sister's wedding so I loved getting a full 48 hours just us two...definitely some major cousin bonding :)  Friday afternoon I got to leave work early to go meet Kate at the airport.  There is nothing better than picking someone else up at the airport, which is something I haven't gotten to do for SUCH a long time!  I brought her back to Rue Muzy to get settled before we, along with Mags and Lauren, had dinner at Chez ma Cuisine.  We feasted on chicken, salad, pommes de terre, and wine before making our way to the "outside bar" for drink before making our way home.  The next day I showed Kate around Geneva in a typical visitor's fashion.  We hit all the major spots, took tons of pictures, and even stopped in this cute cafe for some of the most delicious hot chocolate I think I have ever had!  We lazed about for a while before meeting up with Mags and Lauren and taking the boat over to the other side of the lake.  We had decided to pay a visit to Les Bains des Paquis after a co-worker had highly recommended them.  Little did we know what we had gotten ourselves into...lets just say we all took our friendship/cousin relationship to the next level.  There was a sauna, a hammam, a turkish bath, and a bitterly cold Lake Geneva involved.  I will let you fill in the rest. All in all, a memorable night to say the least--but SO much fun!  We came home, concocted a feast of food and while our intention was to go out dancing, we ended up all cuddling up and watching The Dark Knight!  The next morning we woke up, made the Fair Scones Mom had brought with her and enjoyed a completely lazy morning.  I took Kate to Parc de Bastions, where the outdoor ice rink was just set up!, and some other final "must sees" in Geneva before having an early dinner at Chez Marino.  We chowed down on spaghetti and pizza and reminisced about our perfect, cousin's weekend.  I am very much looking forward to my weekend in Wales (it's next weekend, I cannot believe how quickly time is flying!!) and loved seeing Kate and getting to catch up and spend more time than usual with her!  Definitely a memorable weekend, filled with lots of laughs, delicious food, and cousin bonding.

Chocolat Chaud de Aure

Cousin bonding at its finest

Aventures en France

I can now officially say I have attended a professional hockey match.  Last Friday, a big group of us from the program received tickets from the program to Geneva’s pro-hockey team’s match against the Lakers—ironic huh?  I went out with a group of girls I haven’t previously gone out with before and had an absolute blast!  Even though we were in Switz, I considered us to be “all-American” fans.  We sipped beer, munched on snacks, and obnoxiously cheered on our home team, who came out victorious with a score of 2-1, from the official fan zone!  Now that I consider myself to be an incredible hockey fan, I am planning on dragging everyone at school to a Sharks game.  I feel like that is just something we have to do and check off our Santa Clara bucket list sooner rather than later!  The next night, the girls and I went out for drinks with some of the physicists and engineers they had met at the CERN Halloween party the week before.  We ordered what are called “Beer Towers,” which are 5 litres a tower and are essentially a self serving tap.  They were a really cool concept and a fun way to have drinks and share conversation with some very intelligent and interesting people.  There were a couple of Americans, an Italian, a couple Austrians, and a Spaniard.  Definitely an interesting night to say the least.  I called it an early night seeing as I had an early morning football match the next day!  I played in my first game with the club from Antilly (I think I finally figured out the name of the town and club!) and while we unfortunately lost, I had a blast playing defense the entire second half!  I definitely felt rusty but it was such an incredible feeling being back on the pitch in a competitive game.  I found myself having constant flashbacks to my high school seasons and how I never thought I would play competitively again. Funny how life can surprise you like that :)

After the match--uniform colors look a little familiar... :)

Geneva's biggest hockey fans! 

This past week has flown by and I feel like there’s no slowing down.  With 4 weeks left to go there is SO much to be done and crammed in, but in a way that I can still enjoy.  This weekend, we took a spontaneous day trip to Annecy, France.  It was just our luck that there was a “Festival de Caillon—un jour de couchons” also known as a pig festival!  We ate our way through Annecy:  from fresh out of the oven baguettes, to freshly pressed apple cider, to raspberry jam filled pastries, to some delicious soup with bacon, to lemon and sugar crepes accompanied by dark hot chocolate—I was in food paradise!  We wandered around by the gorgeous lake shore and popped in and out of cute little shops.  Yet another perfect “fall escape”—sunny day, gorgeous scenery, and delicious food…away from Rue Muzy!!  

Fresh, early morning baguette!

Les Couchons!

Flowers in Annecy

Lac d'Annecy

Today, we had another early morning and quickly found ourselves on a bus heading back towards the border.  We crossed into France and caught the first “téléferique” up Mont Salève.  Danny, Mags, Steph, Lauren, and I were skeptical as we ascended into the wall of fog.  Much to our pleasant surprise, the sun was shining full force as we got off the gondola.  With views of Mont Blanc and the surrounding Alps, we couldn’t have been happier.  We even sat in on a Tibetan monk meditating in the monastery that sits on top of the mountain!! What a rejuvenating way to start the week. 

View from the top

Reminded me of Andrew and the science museum in Boston!

Tibetan Monk Meditating 

Everyone keeps avoiding saying the dreaded phrase “we have 4 weeks left,” but this is definitely something we all must confront in the very near future.  All my remaining weekends are planned out and time seems to passing more quickly than ever before.  More so than ever, I am trying to absorb every experience like a sponge.  It is hard to believe that the time has come when saying goodbye to friends and my home for the past 4 months will be here before I know it.  For now, enjoying the simple things and day-to-day routines is more vital than ever.  I am genuinely able to say I am looking forward to the holiday season at home and what I know will be an epic return to the Clara.  But for now, cheers to the last 4 weeks of what has been a life changing and monumental experience in my 20 years of youthful living!

Weekend Bliss Take 2

This is long overdue, I know, but my weeks have been consumed with late nights at work and what seems like continuous exhaustion.  I spend way too many hours a day at my internship looking at a computer screen editing documents, sending emails, and researching documents online.  None of these are completely valid excuses but nonetheless I have had an overdose of screen time these past 3 weeks.

Last weekend was definitely one of my "highlight" weekends from abroad (as was the one before that!).  Friday afternoon, Mom and Paula (one of her best friends and colleagues form work) arrived in Geneva for a long weekend of Swiss adventures.  They had been in Norway for the week meeting with a university and thought since they were on the same continent, they had to come visit...no complaints on my end!!  Friday night after meeting up with them in their hotel, which was conveniently a 3 minute walk away, we caught a train to Nyon where we met up with my Uncle Michael's childhood best friend, Tony, who has been working in Geneva for some time.  Tony took the 3 of us out to his country club for what turned out to be a lovely and relaxing evening.  We feasted on soup and salad, risotto, venison, lamb, and lake fish along with a bottle of smooth, red wine.  Our conversation was very engaging and we ended up finding out Tony had closely worked with the father of a guy I went to school with for years!  The world only continues to get smaller and smaller...overall, a nice relaxing night and we were all so happy we finally got to meet one of Uncle Michael's closest friends.  I hope to see him again and meet his wife before leaving Switzerland.

Swiss Wine Tasting..."It's 5 o'clock somewhere"

That night, I cuddled up with Mom and Paula and we all quickly drifted off after our pleasant evening and delicious meals.  The next morning, we went to my favorite cafe called Celine et Sebastien.  Seeing Mom and Paula try and navigate the French language was quite humorous to say the least.  I ordered them their coffees and sandwiches before running back to change for the day.  The 3 of us explored the Saturday Farmer's market, tasted wine before noon, and munched on freshly cut meats before heading to the train station.  We arrived at the train station and ran into Danny, who was planning on coming on our day trip!  I hadn't seen him at home so wasn't quite sure how we were going to meet up but, as we were buying tickets there he was buying his as well!  He debriefed us on what seemed like a wild night at the CERN Halloween party as we waited for our train.  We all caught up on our 2 hour adventure to Broc-Fabrique, our first stop on what turned out to be an epic day of food consumption and other memories.  We arrived in Broc and quickly found ourselves in front of the Cailler (Nestle) chocolate factory.  We signed up for our tour and had about 20 minutes to wander the shop and movie theater.  We decided to watch whatever these "movies" were and I could hardly contain myself from laughing hysterically.  There were all these commercials, often with sexual undertones, that were made in such an old school style.  You couldn't help but laugh.  Before long, our "Sublim" tour was boarding and we were first in line!  This tour was also slightly laughable, but in the best way possible.  I felt like I was in the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland as we were ushered through various rooms that a) smelled of chocolate b) had animated figurines and c) somehow managed to educate everyone on the history of Cailler and chocolate in general.  The best part by far was the tasting room at the end of the tour.  Danny and I were determined to try every sample and while I'm pretty sure he succeeded, I was too full to make the final tastings.  Instead, we managed to smuggle out several pieces to eat later on in the day.  When we finally had a bag to put the chocolate in, my hands were smeared with melted chocolate.  Of course, instead of wiping them with a napkin or washing them in the bathroom, I licked them clean :)

Train to Gruyeres

SO. Much. Chocolate.

From the chocolate factory, we took our little alpine train back to Gruyeres itself.  We arrived just in time for sunset and it couldn't have been a more spectacular view.  This was a prime example of what many artists evoked in their Swiss landscape paintings--the sublime.  Everything was beyond picturesque and looked like a backdrop had been placed in front of us.  However, everything was totally and 100% real.  Switzerland never ceases to amaze me.  We watched as the sun dropped from one of the castle ruins just at the top of the hill where Gruyeres lies.  From there, we quickly found dinner!  How me managed to eat what we did after the chocolate factory amazes me.  Mom and Paula shared a pot of fondue, Danny ordered a Gruyeres risotto, and I had Raclette!  There was nothing that we ordered that was not delicious.  We couldn't stop commenting on how incredible everything tasted and what a perfect day we had just experienced.  We were all sleepy on the train ride home but were kept entertained by Angry Birds on Paula's phone.  I stayed with Mom and Paula again so we could be up and ready to go for a day of exploring Geneva.

View from Broc, heading to Gruyeres

We grabbed coffee at another cafe because a lot of stores, restaurants, etc. are closed here on Sundays.  Mom and Paula stopped by Rue Muzy and finally were able to meet the girls, who were doing the day trip we had done yesterday, today.  Next, we headed up to Old Town where I gave Mom and Paula my Art History schpiel and showed them the Cathedral, the granary, la maison Tavel, and many of the other sites we visited during my Art History course.  Mom and Paula played on the children's toys in the square where the longest bench in the world sits.  It was absolutely hysterical watching 2 grown women enjoy themselves SO much on 3 various playground toys.  We couldn't stop laughing and don't worry, videos were taken!  After that we visited the Reformation Wall in the Parc de Bastions and made a coffee pitstop at the cafe in the park.  We had such good, open conversation and it felt so natural having them here in Geneva with me.  Next, we made our way to the Botanical gardens, which were just as beautiful as last weekend.  By this time, it was getting late and we made our way back to Eaux-Vives.  Paula left Mom and me to unload all my goodies (Mom really spoiled me with all the treats and clothes she brought over with her!) and have some mother-daughter time.  We then had the most fabulous meal at the Italian restaurant around the corner from my residence.  I had been dying to try their food since we got here and finally, 9 weeks later I did!  It was well worth the wait.  We gorged ourselves on Caprese salad, green salad, and a 4 cheese pizza with parma ham on top!  Then, because of the delicious dessert we saw the man eating next to us, we ordered strawberry sorbet which paired nicely with the warm sables the man who sat next to us offered us.  We had engaged in conversation with him throughout our dining experience and we quickly found out he was the owner of the building I'm living in!  He was so sweet and when we went to pay our bill, he had taken care of it for us!  We couldn't thank him enough and he offered me such kind words from a "father's perspective" and wished me a wonderful rest of my time here in Geneva.  We seriously couldn't have had  a more perfect weekend and I definitely feel recharged after seeing family.  While it was incredibly hard to say goodbye, Mom and Paula coming was just the boost I needed to get me to the end!  While I have never been homesick while I have been here, I definitely was getting to a point where I was starting to truly miss people from home.  I cannot wait to see them both in December, and I know the time from now until then is absolutely going to fly by.

Getting to show people who are such a big part of your life a place where you now call home is such an amazing experience.  This is some place neither of them have been and it was truly an incredible experience letting them into something that I have taken on without any connections to home.  While I often feel like I do not know Geneva that well, it is times like these that I realize I know enough...for now.  I am able to comfortably navigate what 3 months ago was a completely foreign place to me.  And now, I can offer an insider's insight to some of the most spectacular areas of a place I will always be able to call "home."

Weekend Bliss

This past weekend was not only the perfect fall weekend, but also a refreshing and defining “Geneva weekend.”  Starting with an epic Muzy bonding night in the basement and continued at Java, our first Geneva club experience, and ending in the Lavaux vineyards today—this weekend couldn’t have been any better. 

After a completely lazy Saturday, which was much needed after an endless first week at our respective internships, Danny, Steph, Mags, Emma, and I hosted a scrumptious American-style brunch on Saturday morning.  We might as well have called it lunch seeing as we didn’t get started until noon.  Our first course was prepared by Steph and was the most delicious caramelized apple and Brie omelette.  Yum.  Next came the preparation of my contribution—Mom’s famous Blueberry Buckle.  Conversions were tricky and I definitely made up my own crumble recepie but it turned out divine.  The smell filled the kitchen and I felt like I was waking up the morning after Prom or some other high school event where everyone stayed over at our house afterwards.  The smell also made me nostalgic for May Birthdays and other family functions when Buckle and/or coffee cake is essentially a requirement.  While that was in the oven, Mags and Emma concocted delicious French toast on a fresh, French loaf of bread.  We even managed to scrounge up some maple syrup.  Yum again.  Finally the buckle was ready and we literally attacked the pan with our forks.  Community buckle for the win.  We devoured the whole thing, after having planned on sharing “leftovers” with late morning straglers.  So much for that plan!  Yum yet again.  By this time it was nearing 3pm.  Where had the day gone?!  We quickly dressed and met down to continue what will now be referred to as “Learning to Love Geneva Day.” 

Personally, I would reclassify this as a “re-learning” day for me, seeing as I have never doubted this city, but have also had the opportunity to explore a lot of the surrounding area due to art history.  Nonetheless, since the majority of our party (Steph, Mags, and Danny) classified Saturday as the above name, we’ll reference that title from here on out.  After a pit stop at our favorite little café around the corner from Muzy (to pick up coffee, NOT more pastries or other delicious food items that reside in the walls of this café), we hopped on the 8 bus and reached the end of Saturday’s line by Nations.  While we have inhabited Geneva for nearly 2 months now, we all loved playing tourist and snapping the UN flag, emblem, and broken chair pictures as we made our way down to the botanical gardens.  From there, we couldn’t get enough of the changing fall leaves that were everywhere to be seen.  We kicked, threw, and crunched our way all the way to the various green houses (note to self:  do not attempt to take pictures in the tropical fruit/climate green house…also, you will not last more than 2 minutes in that place, get out while you can!) and an “artery” park that is home to a party carousel and various exotic birds and foreign animals.  While we were looking/talking to a young fawn, the cutest grandparent couple approached with their blond haired granddaughter, who of course had the most adorable jacket and pink bow in her hair.  All in French of course, the grandmother described to her granddaughter why the fawn’s nose quiverd and why his ears perked up so quickly.  Definitely a touching moment that made me wish I was with my grandparents or had a little munchkin with me to explain the “little things” to about animals.  Adorable moment to add to the day.  By this point we were starting to fade and so was the sun.  We made our way across the stree to our final destination of the Garden Observatory down by the lake.  We “ooed” and “ahhhed” at the red and golden ivy-clad manor that overlooked the lake.  After  snapping what was probably our 100^th picture of the changing colored leaves, we finally made our way back to central Geneva where we picked up some apple juice that would quickly be heated up upon return to Muzy, poured in mugs, and carried down to the lake and sipped on as we watched another incredible sunset over the Jura mountains and Lac Leman.  When we were thinking our night couldn’t get much better, we came home and watched Crazy Stupid Love as a nightcap.  While this time we weren’t “oohing” and “ahhing” over the beautiful, Fall leaves we all definitely “oohed” and “ahhed” over Ryan Gosling!  The movie was entertaining and the perfect way to end a perfect, Autumn Saturday. 

Sunday was yet another magical day in Switzerland.  We had an early morning that started off with a brisk walk to the train station followed by an hour train ride into the Vaud region, more specifically the Lavaux vineyard region.  We had been told to prepare for  a 20-30 minute walk to the Daley vineyard after disembarking the train but let me tell you—none of us were prepared for the hike UPHILL that seemed like we were climbing Everest.  The vineyards of Lavaux have been there since the 13^th Century and literally cover any and all ground in the surrounding area, regardless of how steep they are.  We definitely experienced this first hand.  However, none of us were complaining when we were greeted by Jean-Christophe Piccard, our host and resident winemaker, and his adorable dog Dartagnan.  We wandered the vineyards as JC made final preparations for our tasting.  After a tour of , we were all cozied up in the cellar area of JC’s home where we sat on wooden stools around three wooden tables.  In total throughout the day, we sampled 6 varieties of wine all from the Piccard vineyards—a vineyard that is currently in its 4^th Generation within the family.  Our sampling menu in order of consumption:

(1) Unfiltered, 3 week old Chasselas--for the upcoming line of production

(2) 2010 Lavaux Grand Cru, Dalley Villette, Chasselas

(3) 2009 Charmillon - Pinot Noir, Gamay and Garanoir blend

(4) 2009 Alunisense Plant-Robert

(5) 2009 Trait D'Union

(6) Fantasie d'Automne

We were all feel pretty good after these generous "samples" and the snacks were much appreciated!  We all left in the cheeriest moods and in love with the Daley vineyards.  To bring an end to our day, we spent an hour and a half walking along the lake back to Lausanne where we boarded the train back to Geneva.  All in all, this has been one of the most laid back, cultural, and best all around weekends abroad.  Getting to spend time with the majority of our group and enjoying the incredibly lucky fall weather we have been enjoying was priceless.  Everyone bonded on a whole other level and conversations were had with people I haven't gotten the chance to have "real talks" with.  Definitely a win of a weekend, and the wine wasn't half bad either :) 

1 Down 7 to Go

WOW.  As much as I do not like to face the reality that this is the truth, we have 7 weeks left and I can say without a doubt they are going to fly.  While this past week was challenging in terms of getting into the swing of an internship work week, getting up early and wanting to go to bed early too, finding time to visit with people after work, etc.  it truly did fly by.  Friday was definitely an epiphany kind of day--I attended a work meeting where I could understand the witty yet scholarly "work" jokes, I was assigned my first "big" project along with another intern during a meeting with one of my supervisors, and all that was asked of me truly made sense and I felt like I had a purpose and could finally meaningfully contribute to office affairs.  The assignment I will be working on all next week includes performing a systematic review of adolescent friendly health services and compiling information into a document that will be sent to the Regional Office in Bangkok and used as a scholarly article.  WOW again.  I think it finally sank in that a lot of the work that will be asked of me does play a part, however large or small, to the WHO and to addressing the needs of adolescent health.  Who would of thought I would have such an incredible opportunity at the ripe old age of 20?!  All in all, week 1=success.  Definitely getting into the groove of office life and starting to see where I will truly be contributing.

The work week couldn't have ended more beautifully.  My supervisor (who is the best!) sent us home early to enjoy the amazing fall weather we were treated to yesterday.  I somehow rangled up enough motivation to go for a run--something that is hard to do when it is as brisk as it has been, but totally necessary when pastries have been consumed at work every day this week.  While it was freezing outside, I loved every second of my run.  The sun was beginning to set, the air was crisp, and the leaves crunched beneath my feet as I purposefully crunched on as many of them as possible as I ran down by the lake.  Anyone paying any attention to me as I ran must of thought my stutter steps or extended strides looked ridiculous as I made sure to crunch on the crunchiest looking leaves:)  As I turned back by Geneve Plage, I had decided it was necessary to turn back a little earlier than I would have liked seeing as I couldn't feel my rear end, bottom lip, or hands, the trees were beginning to turn dark as the sky became brilliant with light.  The mountains were sillhouted in the pink/orange glow of sunset.  The Jet d'Eau's water glistened as it came cascading down and the 6 visible airplane's jetstreams looked like shooting stars in the sky--taking off and landing at the Geneva Airport.  It was one of those "movie moments" when an amazing song blared on my iPod and I soaked in the true beauty of where I am living.  I couldn't help but smile as I made my way back home, following the lakeside path on a gorgeous Friday night.  I remember thinking in my head "pourquoi pas" or "why not" as I purposefully went out of my way to crunch leaves, take another glimpse of the sunset reflecting on the lake, and reflected on my first week at the WHO.  Maybe it was in this beautiful moment that these revelations came to mind but I seriously couldn't think of a better way to approach these last 7 weeks abroad.  Why not?  Why not go out tonight and explore Geneva's nightlife even if I'm tired from a long week at work? Why not go to the vineyards Sunday even if I have a write-up to do and an article to read?  Why not give my internship tasks my all?  Etc. etc. etc.  Hopefully I can maintain this attitude, especially in terms of motivating myself in the work place!, and carry it back home with me in December:)  I don't know if any of that made sense to anyone else but me, nonetheless wanted to share...even if it sounds kind of dorky!  Why not, right? :)

"Real People" Living

Monday was Day 1 of my internship at the WHO!  I was a combination of nervous/anxious/excited to get the first day under my belt and I survived!  My supervisor, who is such a nice man, just got back from Thailand and had a lot of personal affairs to attend to so I spent a lot of yesterday independently reading, discussing what I read with him briefly, and heading back to the library to continue reading articles published by our department.  We are still finalizing what my project for the next 2 months will be so I am eager to get going on that, whatever it may be!  I was able to sit in on a department meeting, which was fascinating but there are a lot of terminology I found myself jotting down to look up later.  Everyone I met in the department, including other interns, is incredibly friendly and I look forward to getting to know them on a better level in the weeks to come!

Today was our first day of our Controversies in International Health course.  Essentially, this week is “syllabus week” all around.  I look forward to next week’s class, which will hopefully be more interactive and engaging.  But all the “firsts” of the second half of the semester are over (at least in terms of course work)!  Our professor brought in pastries so I have a feeling this class is going to be a good one :) We have class for 3 hours in the morning, an hour off for lunch, then a site visit in the afternoon.   Today, we visited the UN--something I knew was bound to happen at some point this semester.  We had a guided tour of the complex and visited 3 conference rooms both in the Old and New wings.  My favorite room we saw was the room in the Palais de Nations with the incredibly brightly colored ceiling done by Spanish artist Miguel Barcelo.  The UN is filled with awe-inspiring art work and   

Fall Break Pt. 2

We had another early morning flight to Morocco and found ourselves acting like locals and navigating the Metro in a more efficient manner than upon arrival.  We all could not believe we were not only country hopping but continent hopping instead!  I was eager to be back in Africa and explore a country on the complete opposite end of the continent to Namibia!  We quickly found ourselves experiencing the greatest culture shock of our entire abroad experience thus far.  On our way to our hostel alone we thought we were going to hit other cars, donkey carts, people, etc at least 20 times.  Everything was fast paced like Madrid but poverty was definitely evident as well.  

We quickly found ourselves checking into our hostel, Mama Marrakech.  Owned by a Moroccan/American couple Mama opened on August 1^st of this year.  The hostel is completely homey as soon as you walk in the doors!  Mama, aka Crystal, welcomed us with open arms and sat us down for 45 minutes and gave us suggestions, mapped out the city for us, and locked away our valuables in her personal safe.  

Roof top terrace at Mama's!

Before long, we had a 2 day, 1 night camel tour booked in the Sahara and were on our way to get lost in the endless Marrakech Souks.  Before losing ourselves in the souks we treated ourselves to a traditional Moroccan meal of tagines and couscous—definitely our cheapest and one of our most delicious meals since we have been on the continent!  We quickly immersed ourselves in the fast paced, bartering maddess that is Marrakech's souks.  We haggled prices in French and English, made incredible deals, and came out weighed down with bags of goodies.  There was definitely a time or two we felt harassed and sped out down another alley way away from a shopkeeper.  However, we somehow managed NOT to get lost like everyone said we would!  

Souk Bargains

We came home, showered up, and relaxed on our beautiful terrace and talked with some of the other hostel stayers.  I soon discovered one of the guys was from Seattle and lives on Capitol Hill!  The world continues to amaze me in it's small size and endless connections.  It was fun having a bit of home in Morocco--never can get too far away:)  We called it an early night since we had a 7am departure for the Sahara the next morning.  In the morning, Mama provided us with a delicious breakfast of sweet, crunchy crepes, warm pita-like bread, eggs, and heart-warming coffee!!  We boarded our bus and began our epic 8 hour excursion to the desert.  With multiple stops, some of the most dangerous, twisty roads known to man kind, and a pit stop in the town where movies like Gladiator, Prince of Persia, and Indiana Jones 3 were filmed we finally made it to the edge of the Little Sahara at sunset.  We wrapped up in headscarfs and saddled up on our CAMELS!!!  We rode off to camp as the sun was setting and the moon was rising.  What a memorable experience.

Camels at Sunset

We then were treated to a traditional tagine dinner, Berber tribal games around a campfire, and mint tea before bed.  We couldn't help but walk out to a near by sand dune, bury our feet in the desert sand and bask in the glow of the full moon above us.  Morning came quickly and we were soon back on top of our camels.  Our lead guy had fun with the four of us and made the camels run a little--not the most comfortable but nonetheless a humorous experience.  

We LOVE the Sahara

Chamoux with camp ground in the background

We were so thrilled to be welcomed back to Mama's with a warm shower before heading back to the market square for a quick night out on the town.  The city's square comes to life at night--from snake charmers to food and fresh orange juice stalls, we could have spent all night exploring if we hadn't been so tired.  Seeing as it was our last night we wanted to make the most of it.  We sampled food from the stalls the locals were going to which was a major win.    I think I had my favorite meal that night--fresh OJ, pita stuffed with hard boiled egg, cream cheese, potatoes, and hot sauce...sounds weird but it was incredible!  We then had big, steaming glasses of mint tea and Lauren and Mags picked up a delicious baklava like pastry that was divine!!  We quickly faded and found ourselves regrettably making our way back to the hostel.  We had a big day ahead of us and before we knew it we were packing up and saying goodbye to wonderful Morocco.  

We arrived back in Madrid around 8pm and long story short we locked our bags away at the airport, met up with friends at a club, danced the night away until 4am, and made our way back to the airport for early flights back to Geneva (for Lauren and me) and Barcelona (for Mags and Steph).  I will spare you the details of how we managed to survive this epic/only would happen in Madrid while abroad experience but it was an incredibly entertaining evening.  From sipping on coffee while everyone else around us was slamming back beers, to singing Beyonce with Case, to being in a room that instantaneously filled with fog from a fog machine (I literally thought I was dying...finally caught my breath then it happened again--when is my inhaler when I need it?!)--one of the most epic nights ever!  We finally made it safely back to Geneva after what was the longest day of my life.  The weather definitely has transitioned to brisk, fall temperatures and I couldn't be happier.  I haven't had a real fall for two years now so I felt at home on so many levels after a memorable week abroad.

Tagline for the week:  3 countries, 2 continents, 5 languages, 48 hours.