Until You Aren’t

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

Dreaming of Olives

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

Daytrip to Milan

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

Amore, Italia!

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!

Queen of the Mountains

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

Christmas in Lucerne

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

Train to 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

The Louvre

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