Acting/Directing Class

I hope everyone is having a great weekend! I have class this weekend, and it's the Acting/Directing module. Luckily, I don't have to act OR direct...we just study different performances of plays. Not the most interesting thing in the world, but sometimes it's pretty fun. My teacher is so cool...we all love her! We meet in a big lecture hall in my school, and it's absolutely freezing. I still haven't quite figured out how to work the radiators. I don't think I'd even seen a radiator until I came to England, but they're everywhere here! They're great to dry clothes on, since very few people here have clothes dryers. This weekend, Catherine went to London with her sister and friend, and they're going to see the musical "The Lion King," which is fantastic! Tonight, Marfo and I went with one of our friends from school to see "The Crucible" at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. It was AMAZING. I've seen the movie, with Daniel Day-Lewis and Winona Ryder, and the play was just as good! No one in the audience moved the entire time, because we couldn't take our eyes off of the stage. During the intermission, I was looking at some of the actors' resumes, and most of them have been in British soap operas. A few of them have even been in movies like "Kingdom of Heaven," "Tomb Raider," and "When Darkness Falls." The girl who played Abigail Williams, the lead role, was in a Coldplay music video! Pretty cool! Tomorrow I have class again, but we get a three hour lunch break, so that won't be too bad. My landlord, Jeremy, just got his very first cell phone, or "mobile." I spent about twenty minutes one morning teaching him how to work it. It's really funny! In other news, they've discovered two dead swans near Stratford-upon-Avon, and the bodies have been sent off to be tested for the bird flu! The bird flu has spread pretty quickly throughout Europe, and it's even in France, which is the closest mainland country to Europe. Yikes! Today, Marfo gave me a HUGE chocolate bar from Greece. I tried to decipher some of the writing on the package, and I figured out one word...sokolata, or chocolate! Thanks to being in a sorority for four years, I can read almost every Greek letter, and the sounds are pretty much the same in English as they are in Greek. For example, the letter Sigma makes the "s" sound. Rho makes the "r" sound, Lambda makes the "l" sound, and so on. Two letter we pronounce wrong in English are Chi and Delta. In REAL Greek, the letter Chi is pronounced kind of like "key," and Delta is pronounced "thelta," because they don't have the "d" sound in Greek. I thought that was interesting! Have a great weekend!

Picture from Marfo's birthday

Where is Spring?

Well, the weather hasn't been quite as cold lately, and the sun is setting a little bit later, but it doesn't seem like spring will be here anytime soon! Marfo laughs at me because everyday I make a comment about the weather. It'll be nice going home at the end of March...when I leave England, it will still be cold, but by the time I come back, the weathe should be nice and beautiful. On Tuesday, I had class in the morning. The class is Shakespeare's Women, and there's only one guy in there! I feel bad for him, because I'm sure he's bored out of his mind, but to us girls, the class is interesting! On Tuesday night, a group of us went to Cafe Uno for Marfo's birthday. I learned some new British words! We were talking about clothes, and I discovered tank tops/sleeveless shirts are called "vests" in England. This explains a lot, because one time I was reading a magazine article about a girl who wore a vest and shorts in the summer because it was so hot, and I was really confused. I thought she meant an actual vest, not a tank top, and I remember thinking, "What a random outfit!" Glad that's cleared up. :) I asked what they call American vests, and in England they're called "waistcoats." It makes sense, I guess. Also, in England, they don't give birthday spankings, they give birthday "bumps." People lift you up by your arms and legs and swing you up and down into the air. Needless to say, only small children actually receive birthday bumps! Today I went for a nice walk, and I passed by one of the actors who was in the play I saw Monday night..he was jogging along the river! It's funny running into the Royal Shakespeare Company actors around town. Many of my classmates are huge theater fans, and they think some of the actors are practically movie stars! But some famous people did get their start as Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) actors, like Kenneth Branaugh, Judi Dench, and Patrick Stewart. Tonight, Marfo and I went to see the movie "Casanova." It was pretty good! Since movies come out so late in England, I have a long list of movies that I want to see when I come back home! :) Have a great day, everyone!

Marfo's Birthday

Today is Marfo's 26th birthday! In Greece, they have a different way of expressing age, so in Greece it's her 25th birthday, but she's turning 26th. It's confusing, and she tried to explain it to me once. Her mom mailed her some homemade baklava, and it was DELICIOUS! I loved it! I hope her mom sends some more...maybe for MY birthday? :) Cat and I chipped in and got Marfo a cute purse and necklace from New Look, which is one of my very favorite stores. It reminds me a little of Wet Seal. Marfo has a presentation due tomorrow, so we're going to go out to eat tomorrow night, since she'll be finished with her big project and can relax. She showed me pictures of Corfu, the island in Greece where she's from. It's BEAUTIFUL! It looks a little bit like Italy, and she said it's because they're so close to Italy and they have a lot of Italians living in Corfu. The water surrounding it is just amazingly blue! Tip for anyone thinking about visiting Greece - Marfo says Athens is neat, but it's not really a beautiful city. So if you want to see a gorgeous Greek landscape, take a day trip to the coast or one of the islands. This weekend was nice and relaxing, and not much was going on in Stratford. Tonight, my class went to see "Women Beware Women" performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Swan Theatre. It was pretty good...it's a tragedy play, so everyone died in the end. "The Crucible" is showing at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, and I really want to see it! Before the play, I went to Hussein's, an Indian restaurant, with Hannah and her parents. They're in town from Seattle visiting Hannah, and they invited me to go to dinner with them. I really liked the Indian food...it was my first time to have it! We didn't eat any curry, which surprised me, because it's VERY popular in England. Indian food is to England like Mexican food is to the United States. I have class tomorrow morning, and I also have class this weekend. As of Tuesday, February 21, I only have FIVE weeks until I come home for spring break! Walt and I are going to try to take a trip to Amsterdam sometime in March, so hopefully that will work out! The days are starting to get a little bit longer...the sun actually set at 5:30 today! Gustaf, a Rotary Scholar from Sweden, says that in Scandinavia, they go a couple of weeks without any sun in the winter - I couldn't imagine! But in the summer, he says there are a couple of weeks when the sun stays out 24 hours a day. It's a different world!

I Love London!

Well, I just got back from a fun trip to London! On Wednesday afternoon, Catherine, Marfo, and I hopped on the train to London. The ride lasts about 2 hours, and it's really nice because you get to go through the beautiful countryside. When we arrived in London, Cat and I dropped our bags off at the hostel (Marfo's cousin lives in London, so she stayed with her), and headed to Leicester Square. The three of us really wanted to see a musical, but it's half term (spring break) for ALL of the schools in England, so EVERY musical was sold out. We were sad! Marfo and Cat are HUGE theater fans, so they bought tickets to see "Embers," a play starring Jeremy Irons. Marfo has only been to London once, so we showed her some of the fun sights before dinner. We went through Chinatown and SoHo, and then to Trafalgar Square. A group of students from Mississippi College are studying in London for the semester, including two girls from Madison, so we made plans to eat dinner together. Catherine is from Texas, and was craving some Tex-Mex (there are only about TWO places in England where you can find it, and they're both in London), so the three of us had a wonderful dinner with Mallory Sullivan, Lee Ann Babb, and their friend Pat. It was SO fun getting to see Mallory and Lee Ann! It's always nice to hear a Southern accent, but it's even better when you know the person speaking! :) After dinner, Cat and Marfo headed to their play, and Mallory, Lee Ann, Pat, and I went and hung out. It was so fun catching up! Their program sounds fun but very demanding! They'll be in Stratford-upon-Avon at the end of March, so I'll get to hang out with them some more...hooray! I met up with Catherine and Marfo after their play, which they said was NOT good. It was opening night, and Jeremy Irons forgot his lines THREE times and had to call for someone to read them to him! Wow. We dropped Marfo off at her cousin's flat, and then went back to the hostel to go to bed. Cat and I stayed at Picadilly Backpackers, which was a very nice hostel! Hostels are like dorm rooms, usually with 6 or 8 beds. Most hostels are NOT co-ed, which is nice. Hostels are great for people traveling in Europe on a budget (i.e. students!), but I wouldn't stay in one if I was older. They're very safe and clean, though. Hostels usually run about 15 pounds a night, which is about $25. You'll never find a hotel room that cheap in Europe! On Thursday, we woke up and met Marfo in Leicester Square. The three of us went to Covent Garden and looked around, and then I took them to Camden Town, which is one of my FAVORITE places in London. It's a really neat shopping area, and you can find such an eclectic selection for a really good price. Cat and Marfo stocked up on lots of goodies, but I didn't find anything. Next, we went to the South Bank (southern part of the River Thames - pronounced Tims) to enjoy the sunshine. London is just beautiful, especially from the river! The weather was nice and sunny, and not too cold! Marfo is a huge art fan, so she wanted to stop in the Tate Museum of Modern Art. Cat and I sat outside while she went in for a quick look. We walked around some more, and then ate a delicious dinner in a pizza restaurant in Gabriel's Wharf. After dinner, we went to see "Measure for Measure," a play Marfo and Cat had been wanting to seen. It was pretty good! I would rather see a musical than a play anyday, but this was a modern adaptation, and it was pretty good! England is much more of a play/theater society. Given the chance, most Brits would choose to see a play over a movie. Americans are very much the opposite! That's probably why "Walk the Line" JUST came out here! I'm dying to see it. It'll be in Stratford at the beginning of March, and Michelle and I have made plans to go see it. After the play, we brought Marfo back to her cousin's flat and went to bed. Catherine's sister, Erin, and her friend Andrea flew into London Thursday night to spend a week with Cat, so the next morning we met them for breakfast. Erin and Andrea are in seminary in Boston, and they're so much fun! I took Erin, Andrea, Cat, and Marfo to Monmouth Cafe, my FAVORITE coffee shop in London, which is in Southwark on the South Bank. When Jeannie and I spent a summer in London, we went there all the time. My parents and Claire have even been there, too! We walked around Southwark, and then Marfo, Erin, and Andrea went back to the Tate. Then, we walked across the Milennium Bridge towards St. Paul's. We walked along the Thames, checking out the sights, and then we had to head back to get our bags. Marfo and I caught the 3:00 train back to Stratford, and Cat, Erin, and Andrea left for Exeter to visit some of Erin's friends. It's nice to be back in Stratford, but I absolutely LOVE London! Sometimes I wonder if I should have lived there instead, but then I think that I may get tired of London if I actually lived there. And I would hate to get tired of London! It's a fast paced city, and not for everyone. Cat can only handle it for a little while. But I LOVE it! It's so unique. Everyone needs to visit, at least once! And when you go, take me, too, so I can be your tour guide! :)

Me, Mallory, Pat, and Lee Ann outside of St. Margaret's Hotel in Russell Square, where they are staying for a while in London.

Me and Mallory, hanging out after dinner

Monmouth Cafe, my favorite coffee shop! That's Marfo on the left, putting sugar in her coffee

Cat, me, and Marfo, standing on the London bridge with the Tower Bridge in the background

Happy Valentine's Day!

Today was an absolutely gorgeous day! The sun was out, and the weather was actually a little warmer than usual - very nice! On Monday, I spent the day working on my paper. I also received an wonderful Valentine's package from my family - People and US Weekly magazines, and Girl Scout cookies! :) Yum! I made some more banana pudding on Monday, and it's all gone now! This morning, I woke up early to turn in my paper, and then my class met to read over a play that we're studying. After class, I ran a few errands, then went to a Valentine's Tea Party at Hannah's house. Hannah is from Seattle, and she invited some girls from school over for tea, scones, and all kinds of yummy cakes. It was so much fun! Hannah even gave us tea cups as party favors...mine is adorable! Ellie, one of the British girls we go to school with, and Marfo had never heard of party favors, so we had to explain the concept to them. It's so funny when you mix a bunch of people from different cultures together in one room...you really learn so much and get totally different perspectives on things. A silly example: Sara, a student from North Carolina, and I were talking about the show "Designing Women," and how they're selling episodes of it on DVD now. Ellie asked us what show we were talking about. Sara explained that it's a show about interior designers living in Atlanta, and it's really funny. Ellie said, "Hmm...that sounds a bit bizarre, really." It's true, though...each culture has their own sense of humor, and sometimes the humor is universal, but other times you have to actually be from the culture to get it. There's a TV show in England called "Little Britain," and it's a little bit like "Saturday Night Live," but the humor appeals to the British society, so sometimes the skits aren't always funny to Americans or other foreigners. After the tea party, Catherine, Marfo, and I went back to our house for a bit, then headed to Pizza Express to meet Natalie and Hannah for our Valentine's Dinner. Although Pizza Express may sound like a fast food pizza restaurant, it's actually very similar to Old Venice. The pizza is amazing! Michelle had booked us a table there, assuming she would be our waitress, but they have a rule that employees of Pizza Express can't wait on their friends or family. But she did get to come chat with us every now and then. We had a delicious three course meal, because Pizza Express was offering a cheap Valentine's Special. We ended up staying and talking for three and a half hours! It was so much fun, though. We talked about all of the different countries we've been to...Hannah's been to Israel, Natalie's been to Japan, Marfo is FROM Greece...so neat! Tomorrow, Catherine, Marfo, and I are heading to London to spend Wednesday and Thursday night. We'll be back on Friday afternoon! I'll post then, hopefully with some fun pictures from our trip. I hope everyone has a wonderful day!

More Pictures

This weekend, I've been working on my paper and enjoying the sunshine. On Friday, I met Michelle and Marfo at Costa for coffee, then headed to school to do some research. The weather has been beautiful...still very cold, but nice and sunny. The cold weather here isn't unbearable at all...it gets cold in Mississippi, but usually it's just a cold front and then it warms up again. Here, it gets cold in October and stays cold until April. I heard that it snowed in Memphis and north Mississippi yesterday - fun! Friday night, my housemates and I went to dinner at Cafe Uno for some delicious pasta! I was telling Marfo and Cat that a lot of people my age and younger are getting married back home, and Marfo was so surprised! She's going to be 26 in a week, and she thinks she's still too young to be getting married! She's been dating her boyfriend for nearly 6 years, and she wants to wait a couple more years before marriage. In our culture (well, mostly just in the South) it's normal for people in a serious relationship to get married right after they graduate from college, but that's not the case in Greece! Marfo is from Corfu, an island towards the northern part of Greece in the Mediterranean Sea. She went to college in Athens, and she's fluent in three languages! Tonight, I went to a Rotary Valentine's Dinner at a restaurant in Warwick called The Cellar. My entire host club was there, along with their wives/partners. In England, it's very common for couples to live together for a long period of time and not get married. The vice-president of my host club has lived with his partner, Jeanne, for 20 years and they've never married! They don't say "This is my girlfriend/boyfriend," instead they say "This is my partner." Usually in the States, "partner" is associated with gay couples, so needless to say I was a bit confused at first when I heard about Peter and his partner, or Sarah and her partner. :) Dinner was wonderful...I'm sure you can guess what the two vegetables they served were...carrots and potatoes! Never butter beans, string beans, sweet potatoes, peas, etc...just carrots and potatoes. :) Everyone in my club is SO nice, and I really love getting to see all of them! Since the area where I live is so close to Birmingham, many people in my club have a bit of a Birmingham "Brummie" accent. Mike, my host counselor, and his wife, Judy, have lived in Birmingham their whole lives, so their accent is very thick! The Brummie accent is very distinctive, and a little harder to understand than your typical English accent. Instead of saying "lovely," it sounds more like "Loove-ly." "Mother" sounds like "Moo-ther." It's fun to listen to! Tonight I'm going to post the pictures from our ice skating trip, and also a picture of my host counselor and his wife!

Marfo getting warmed up for the ice...it was actually her first time to ice skate!

Me and Natalie, pooped from a night of ice skating

Michelle and Marfo

My wonderful host counselor and his wife, Mike and Judy Taylor. Tools and I think that Judy looks like a British version of the Chi Omega housemom, Mama Jones!

Lots of Rotary!

Hey everyone, sorry it's been so long since I posted! I've gotten out of the habit since I've been traveling. I'm going to try to start posting every other day again. On Monday night, I attended a Rotary Goodwill Evening in Solihull, sponsored by the Solihull Rotary Club. Solihull is just outside of Birmingham. There were eight other Ambassadorial Scholars there, and we all had to speak for 5 minutes, which wasn't bad at all. I really like all of the other scholars...we've gotten to be good friends, and I love going to Rotary events where I get to hang out with some of them. They are: Jessica from Texas, at University of B-ham; Rebecca from Utah at University of B-ham; Amber from Taiwan, at University of Warwick; Rinko from Japan, at University of Warwick, Clement from Malawi, Africa, at University of Birmingham; Alessandro from Italy (new!) at University of Warwick; Raz from Japan (new!) from University of Birmingham; and Gustaf from Sweden, at Blue Coats School in Coventry. Bianca, my closest Rotary friend, went back to Brazil because her year is over. We still keep in touch, though! A new scholar just arrived from Australia, and her name is Brittany. I haven't met her yet, though. At the evening in Solihull, I talked to two Rotarians who have been to Tupelo! Isn't that funny? Some people don't even know where Mississippi is, so I was surprised to meet people who have visited Tupelo. On Tuesday, I had class, and then Mary Virginia, Tools, and I roamed around Stratford, and then they had to catch the train to London. It was very sad to say goodbye to them, especially my roommate Tools! I talked to her on the phone tonight, and it was weird knowing that she's in the U.S. and I'm in OUR room! She and Mary Virginia made it home safely, though. On Tuesday night, a bunch of people from my school went to eat 2-for-1 pizza at A Hole in the Wall. The pizza is delicious! On Wednesday, I went to a Rotary meeting at my host club, Coventry Phoenix. Luckily I didn't have to speak, just eat and listen! :) I've decided that I don't want to have cooked carrots for a very long time after I come home! At EVERY Rotary meeting I've ever been to, we always have ham/roast with cooked carrots, new potatoes, and sometimes Yorkshire pudding. The dessert is usually always good, though! Today was a beautiful day! The sun was shining, and it was just a teensy bit warmer. Marfo and I went for a walk before our 2:00 lecture, just to enjoy the sunshine. It's been a great day! Catherine and I decided to go to London next week to catch a musical or two, since it's reading week. I'm excited! I would love to see "Mary Poppins." I hope everyone is having a great day!

Re-Cap of the Past Week

Last weekend (before I left for Switzerland) I had my first weekend class of the semester. My regular teacher, Catherine Alexander, has been out with the flu for two weeks, so we had different teachers fill in for her over the weekend. This semester, I'm taking two modules - "Shakespeare's Women" and "Acting and Directing." I'm really enjoying them so far! Luckily, we DON'T have to act or direct in the Acting and Directing class...we just study different performances and directors. Whew! During our weekend class, four students from the University of Essex came to join us. Guess where all four of them are from...the U.S.! They're doing a two-year Acting and Directing program, so they came to spend the weekend in Stratford and attend our class. It was SO fun getting to hang out with other Americans! I'm one of two Americans in my particular program. The other guy, Powder, went to Yale and he's really fun. Powder and I went to lunch with the Americans and had fun talking about the States. I offered them some Nilla wafers that I had brought as a snack, and they were excited because you can't find Nilla wafers in England! One girl, Laura, told me that her parents had sent her some Jiff peanut butter, and one of the other guys said that he really missed Jolly Ranchers. One of the guys, David, is from Nashville, and his wife is living here with him. Marta is a school teacher, and she really misses the American students! English children are pretty wild...I'm always shocked when I read the paper! They beat each other up, stab each other, and most of them dress very punk. It was nice hearing Southern accents. :) One thing we talked about was the word "restroom." In the States, people say, "I need to use the restroom," and in England, people say, "I need to use the toilet." You'll never find a sign pointing to the "restroom," but you WILL find signs pointing to the "toilets." At first, it was hard to get used to saying "toilet" instead of "restroom" or "bathroom," because toilet just sounds kind of...vulgar. We all agreed that "restroom" sounds more polite. This past Friday night, Marfo, Michelle, Natalie, and I went ice skating in Coventry! It was really fun! Marfo had never ice skated before, so it was fun getting to teach her how to do it. I took pictures, and I'll post them soon. Natalie, Michelle, and I are all about equal when it comes to ice skating...we're not the best, but we're not the worst, either! On Saturday night, Marfo and I went to see "The Canterbury Tales" at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. It was really good! The actors dressed in period costumes, but the language was adapted from Old English to modern speech (thank goodness!), and the play was really funny. They even rapped one of the tales, and danced really ghetto...it was great! Tonight, Tooley and Mary Virginia are returning from Italy. They're spending the night and heading back to London tomorrow afternooon, because they fly out of London early Wednesday morning. Sad! And I won't get to spend very much time with them because I have to give a Rotary speech in Solihull, and tomorrow morning I have class for three hours. Hopefully my Rotary event tonight won't last TOO long. In other news, the flu/cold is going around Stratford! Both of my housemates are sick! Marfo and I have been taking care of Catherine this weekend, and last night, Marfo started feeling sick. One of our friends, Hannah, was supposed to go see "The Canterbury Tales" with us, but she got sick, too! I've been taking vitamins and drinking lots of orange juice, so hopefully I'll be ok. I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Lovely Lucerne

On Tuesday morning, Tools, Mary V, and I took the train to Lucerne. The ride was very short...only 45 minutes! Lucerne is an absolutely charming Swiss village. It looks as though no one has built anything new there in over 100 years, but all of the buildings are in excellent condition. There are lots of cute stores, restaurants, etc, and all of the streets are cobblestone. A big lake (Vierwaldstättersee, or Lake Lucerne) separates the town into two parts - Old Town and New Town. In Old Town, you'll find lots of quaint shops, millions of souvineer, watch, candy, shoes, and clothing stores. But Old Town shuts down really early! New Town stays open much later. There's a long covered bridge that goes across the lake...it's so neat! When we arrived, we checked into our hotel and then went to the top of Mt. Rigi in the Alps. To get there, we had to take a boat ride, then take a tram to the top of the mountain. The Alps are absolutely gorgeous. Since it's winter, they were covered in snow and just beautiful. Mt. Rigi has lots of ski resorts that we passed by in the tram on our way to the top. When we reached the top, we ate lunch at a tiny restaurant and watched people sled down the mountain. It looked so fun! We roamed around the top of the moutain and took in the scenery. The weather was much warmer on the top of the mountain than down below, even though the top of the mountain was covered in snow! That's because we were actually above the clouds, so the sun was shining right on us. After a while, we rode the tram back down and caught the boat back to Lucerne. When we got back, we spent the rest of the day looking in shops and buying souvineers. We found Swiss Army knives in every color you could imagine...purple, hot pink, blue, teal, yellow, and of course the classic red. The most common souvineer items sold in Switzerland are: Swiss army knives, Swatches, chocolate, anything with the Swiss flag on it (red with a white cross), and cuckoo clocks. I really love Lucerne...it's so cute! It's such a picturesque Swiss village. That night, we went into New Town to try and find somewhere open for dinner. Guess what we ate...Mexican food! The restaurant was named La Cucaracha (cockroach), which made me think that Swiss people really don't know that much about Mexico, otherwise they wouldn't have named a restaurant The Cockroach. It just doesn't sound appetizing! But the food was very good, and the restaurant was packed! It's VERY hard to find Mexican food in England...I've only seen one restaurant since I've been here! So, it's nice to have a taste of home every now and then. After dinner, we headed back to our hotel, which was very cute and spacious. It's great traveling out of season...you can stay at nice hotels for discount prices! The next morning, I headed to the train station and rode back to Zurich to fly out. I think someone could very easily sneak into Switzerland without a passport. The people at Passport Control barely looked at my passport...I could have had someone else's and they would have never known! They didn't even stamp it, which I was sad about, because supposedly the Switzerland stamp has the Swiss flag on it. Mary Virginia and Tooley didn't get their passports stamped, either! So, if anyone is thinking about flying to Europe without a passport, Switzerland is your best bet! :) I had a wonderful time, and I really do think Switzerland is one of the most beautiful places I've been!

Welcome to Lucerne!

Our hotel


The covered bridge across Lake Lucerne

The Alps!

Tools and me on the top of Mt. Rigi

Me and Mary Virginia

Sledding down the mountain





20 Swiss francs...the equivalent to 16 or 17 U.S. dollars

Beautiful Switzerland!

Hello everyone! I hope you've all been having a wonderful week. I just got back from Switzerland last night, and let me tell you...that is one beautiful country! I had an incredible time! On Sunday morning, I flew out of Birmingham and into Zurich. I highly recommend flying Swiss Air...the planes are nice, the flight attendants are very friendly, and they give you a big piece of Swiss chocolate! Tooley, Mary Virginia, and Dr. Corwin Senko met me at the airport. Corwin used to teach psychology at MSU, and since Tooley was a psychology major, he taught a few of her classes. He moved to Zurich this year to do research at a university. He and Tooley still keep in touch, so he agreed to be our tour guide around Zurich. It was wonderful! Guess who the three of them saw while they were waiting for me in the airport...Mohammad Ali! Yes, THE Mohammad Ali! I have no idea why he was in Zurich, but I'm sad that I missed seeing him! After they picked me up (by the way, they DON'T stamp your passport in Switzerland! We were very disappointed!), we headed to the hotel to drop off my bags, and then to lunch. We ate at a cute little bierhaus restaurant, where a polka band was the afternoon entertainment. It was so fun! We ate wienerschnitzel, which is actually fried veal. It was very good! After lunch, we roamed around Zurich and went to the Grossmunster Cathedral. Many of the churches that we visited in Switzerland were built during the Reformation, so they were made from stone and pretty bare on the inside, but they had beautiful stained glass windows! We climbed to the top of the church to see an aerial view of Zurich. Beautiful! Switzerland is just how I imagined it...cute towns, narrow streets with ornate buildings, and cold weather! The weather was a little bit colder than England, but luckily the wind wasn't as bad as it is in England. After the Grossmunster, we went to a restaurant to try some of the famous Swiss hot chocolate. The restaurant we went to was ADORABLE...it was completely decorated with flowers on the inside, from the ceilings to the floor. I felt like I was in a garden! It was definitely kitschy, but very cute. The hot chocolate was great, by the way! After hot chocolate, we walked along the river and saw more of the town, and then went to...the OPERA! Corwin got us tickets to see La Clemenza di Tito. The opera house in Zurich is really beautiful on the inside! The opera was sung in Italian, but German subtitles were flashed on a screen above the stage. Although some parts of it were a little hard to follow (due to the language barrier), I was very impressed and really enjoyed the opera! After the opera, we went to dinner at a fun, trendy restaurant. Although I didn't have wienerschnitzel again, I did have some great pasta. Then, Corwin showed us some beautiful parts of the city that overlook the river. Zurich is beautiful, and very fun! It a mix of old world, Swiss architecture (think The Sound of Music, even though that's filmed in Austria) and trendy restaurants and shopping. Everyone is Zurich was very friendly, and just about everyone can speak English, which was a relief! Our hotel was very nice...we got great rates since we're visiting "out of season." Our beds had down comforters on them! The next morning, Corwin met the three of us for lunch, and then Tools, Mary Virginia, and I went shopping! There's a really cool store in Switzerland called Globus (it's a chain store) that had EVERYTHING you could possibly want. If anyone ever visits Switzerland, check it out! (By the way, you should DEFINITELY visit Switzerland...it's wonderful!) We also went to H&M, Starbucks, Jemoli, and a really fun toy store. That afternoon, we met up with Corwin, did a little more shopping, and then headed to...SPRUNGLI! Sprungli is a famous Swiss chocolate shop that is a chocolate lover's paradise. Although I do love the English Cadbury chocolate, it just may have been knocked to the #2 spot by the chocolate at Sprungli. We perused through the store, made a few purchases, and then headed upstairs to the cafe for more hot chocolate. We walked around Zurich some more, and then went to the top of the Jules Verne Panoramabar, where you can have food and drink, and also a panoramic view of the city! We walked around trying to find a few places to have dinner, but ended up at...Outback! Yes, the same Outback Steakhouse that you'll find in the U.S.! Ok, it was a little different, but I guess they had to change it up a bit to cater to a Swiss market. It was great, though! I had a wonderful salad...good salads are hard to find in Europe! After dinner, we said good night and headed to bed. The next day, we headed to Lucerne, and I'll write about Lucerne tomorrow. Corwin, if you're reading this...thanks for being such a great host! You definitely went above and beyond, and the three of us had an amazing time! :)

The three Swiss Misses at the top of the Grossmunster Church, overlooking Zurich

Aerial view of Zurich


Cute restaurant with all of the flowers

Inside of the Opera House

Mary V, Tools, and Corwin enjoying the opera

Zurich



Buying chocolate at Sprungli! This random guy walked in front of the camera as I was taking the picture of Corwin, Tooley, and Mary V., and then one of the employees told me that I couldn't take pictures, so this is the only one I got

Mary Virginia enjoying some white chocolate

A popular way to get around Zurich - trolleys! They run on rails and cables