I’ve been having those moments where everything goes tunnel vision, the person in front of me is glowing, I’m entering a strange dimension where everything is surreally unreal. It’s the most beautiful space in the world and it lasts only a minute or forty five or however long the conversation goes. … More Until You Aren’t
Before visiting, I intuitively knew that I would like Italy. I didn’t know I would love Italy. But it’s settled: I love Italy. At night, the air smells like smoke and salami. I have tomatoes in every meal. There’s cappuccinos and pizzas and pastas a’plenty. Instead of planning anything, we took the ferry to Como … More Dreaming of Olives
We took the ferry to Cernobbio, a quiet town on Lake Como. Beforehand, we had a leisurely breakfast overlooking the lake. Every morning, our kind waitress set up the table with an obscene amount of food: fruits, bread, cereals, salami, cheese, croissants, cucumbers, and more. Because it was a small hotel, we felt guilty about … More A Day in Cernobbio, Italy
We almost went to Milan yesterday, but changed our mind after the train was late. Without anywhere in mind, we walked around Como, consuming pasta and chocolate and pizza and salad. I paired olive oil with fat Sicilian olives and promptly entered the gates of Italian cuisine heaven. After some frantic Googling, though, I was devastated to find that you cannot bring fresh olives through customs. Today we successfully visited Milan, taking the ferry and then the train. … More Daytrip to Milan
Lake Como, Italy, is quite possibly the most beautiful and magical place I’ve ever seen in my life. I have almost no words to describe it. The beauty. The food. The nature. The mountains, the lakes. The way the air smells. It smells familiar – it reminds me of China somehow. At night, the smell of firewood … More Amore, Italia!
At 11:53 PM NYE, we stood on the hotel terrace, looking across the lake and shadowy mass of mountains. In the afternoon, we had taken the train from Switzerland to Italy. The hotel desk person had informed us that fireworks would start around midnight. At this point, though, there were two distant fireworks – behind … More Happy New Years from Italy 🎆
With the two day Swiss Travel Pass, we decided to visit Mount Rigi. Located in the Alps, Mount Rigi “towers majestically between Lakes Lucerne, Zug and Lauerz.” It was a peaceful journey there and back. We took the boat from Lucerne to Vitznau, and then rode the cogwheel railway – Europe’s first mountain train – … More Queen of the Mountains
It was drizzling when we walked to the Lion Monument, a lion statue “nestled in a rocky grotto in a charming park setting in Lucerne. The ten-by-six-metre work was created in honour of the Swiss Guards who died in the Storming of the Tuileries in Paris in 1792.” Next door was the Glacier Garden, a … More Rainfall at Glacier Garden
As we sat in the pews of Church of St. Leodegar, a Roman Catholic church in Switzerland, the priests began to sing. Their voices were resonant, accompanied by the pipe organ. My eyes widened. We had just rolled into the pews when they set up the program. We were accidentally attending my first Mass – … More Christmas in Lucerne
We arrived in Switzerland by train yesterday. The French countryside was beautiful. From a distance, we could see the Swiss mountains, illuminated against the sun. An hour or two later, we were barreling through a valley, at times cutting through the mountain base. There were lakes, forests, villages, marshes – images, posts I’ll share later. … More Merry Christmas from Switzerland
On the train from France to Switzerland, we watched the sights pass by us – lakes, marshes, mountains, towns. The French countryside was lovely, living up to its dreamy depictions of old bucolic towns and vast green spaces. We had the entire carriage to ourselves. There were no lines or security or crowds, a stark … More Train to Switzerland
We arrived in Lyon, a beautiful city in southeast France. Straddled between the Rhône and Saône rivers, Lyon was a refreshing mix of new and old, industrial and nature. Looking across the river, I immediately felt lighter. Compared to Paris, there were fewer crowds and less smoke. Overall, it was slower and easier to … More Hills of Lyon are Alive
And there she was, Miss. Mona, small and elegant, watching hundreds of bodies clamoring to get close to her, a sea of iPhones raised in the air. “All this for that?” le beau captioned his Snapchat. When I looked up her significance, all it said was: she was a realistic painting by Da Vinci, and … More The Louvre
Our trip to Paris was partially redeemed by a day spent in Le Marais, a charming, cobblestoned neighborhood filled with shops, restaurants, hidden courtyards, and historic landmarks. We bought a small box of chocolates, and discovered a floral and bustling Eataly. We walked to the L’Hôtel de Ville, the city hall of Paris, France. … More Stroll Through Le Marais
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