day trip to oxford

Feb 23 we took a quick day trip to Oxford. We were able to take a coach straight from London and the ride was just a little over 1 1/2 hours. We spent the day walking around the town and exploring different colleges.

One of the highlights of the day was walking up to the top of St. Mary's Cathedral where we were able to see inside the different colleges and beyond the streets of Oxford. The walkup the steps of the tower was a big challenge and pretty scary as we had to basically pull ourselves up with ropes!

Someone had recommended we punt down the river, but the day ended up being kind of rainy so we decided to opt out of that. We had a great day though and were even able to come home with some Oxford shirts!

barcelona and sitges

The weekend of Feb 15 I went to visit my good friend Brittany from IU in Barcelona. She was a wonderful host and we had a full four days of sight seeing and enjoying spanish culture!

Her apartment was right beside Gaudi's famous Sagrada Familia and near Gaudi's Park Guell. Both places were unbelievable and Park Guell had gorgeous views of the city and sea. In Barcelona we also visited Barceloneta beach where we ate a menu del dias.A menu del dias is where you pick 3 or 4 courses of a meal and a drink all for a set price. We ate outside over looking a harbor. I wasn't really sure what I was ordering and ended up getting chicken and french fries for one of my courses haha! After visiting Barceloneta we walked down to Port Olimpica (another beach in Barcelona). These two areas reminded me a lot of Venice Beach in CA with huge sidewalks, runners, rollerbladers, and lots of people just enjoying the sunshine.

On Saturday Brittany took me to the street Las Ramblas. The street was full of street performers, markets, people, and countless flower stands. We visited a wonderful fresh food markets that had delicious banana, chocolate, coconut smooties. For one euro these drinks were heavenly! After the market we spent the rest of the day exploring the city and visiting Raval, the Gothic Quarter, and a few parks. Oh and I can't forget the great tapas lunch we had too! We ate a tapas bar/buffet. Each tapa had a toothpick in it and the length of the toothpick was the price tag. At the end of lunch the waiter counted up your toothpicks and that was the price of your bill.

Sunday we went to the beach town of Sitges, a short train ride outside of Barcelona. The weather was pretty chilly and windy but the views were still breathtaking! We walked up and down the promenade and explored the small streets of the city. The town looked like it would be a lot of fun in the summer!

a trip to the swiss alps

a week ago now stef and i returned from our adventure to the alps. we both decided we really wanted to go to switzerland to ski so we booked tickets, found a hostel, and left all within a few days! we had an amazing time and made tons of memories i'm sure we will never forget!

we stayed in Gryon, a small village about 1 1/2 hours outside geneva. we had to take three trains to get their including one that winded up and up the mountain. we stayed in a hostel called chalet martin. it was a really cool place. it was very cozy, welcoming, and had breathtaking views.

one day we took the train farther up the mountain to a huge ski resort. we spent the day skiing, falling, and sliding down the side of the mountain. I came home with many big bruises.

all in all our trip was relaxing (a side from tumbling down the ski slopes) and everything one would hope for in a visit to switzerland!

paris

Over the weekend of Feb 8 we went to Paris! We had a great time and were lucky to have amazing weather too! Stefanie has quite a bit of family in France and one of her cousins lives in Paris so we were able to stay in their apartment for the weekend.

During our visit we saw the Latin Quarter, Arc de Triomphe, Louve, Champs-Elysees, Notre-Dame, Sacre-Couer, and even made a night trip up to the top of the Eiffel Tower. We spent lots of time strolling around the city and sitting in cafes drinking lattes and eating croissants.

switzerland

i added a link on the right to pictures from a short trip to the alps!