jersey

I'm spending my last two weeks in Europe before Christmas in Jersey for a work project. And no, not the Jersey Shore! Jersey is the largest of the channel islands in the English Channel. It is not part of the UK, but everyone speaks english and british pounds are the currency (technically Jersey Pounds, but they are equal in value and both are accepted). See map below - its just off the coast of Normandy France. When I got assigned on the project, I definitely had to do a google search

I arrived on Sunday afternoon and went for a run along the beach (after lunch at TGI Fridays, sometimes nothing but American food will do).

Then I went into town and walked around a bit. There was a large Christmas festival going on and then a Christmas parade!

For such a small island, the parade floats were very extensive!

curling

Our team at work went curling last Friday. It was a lot of fun. None of us had ever played, but there is a curling rink just on the outskirts of the city and the owners taught us the basics and then let us have at it. It was a lot of fun! I don't think any of us will be curling olympians anytime soon, but its a fun game because anyone can do it.

The winning team with the trophy

zurich christmas

The past couple of weeks Zurich have been absolutely beautiful (but cold)! All the Christmas lights are lit on the streets, the shops are staying open late, and it snowed!

Jelena, Daniela, and I had dinner one night followed by glühwein (mulled wine). It was so good - definitely hit the spot on a freezing cold night!

Peanut butter Christmas cookies I made:

The courtyard in the Deloitte office covered in snow: 

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

I didn't have time to go to Germany for the German Christmas markets, so I went to the Zurich Christmas market which was at the main train station. I perused the stands, but didn't buy much. The Swarovski Christmas Tree is beautiful:

Credit Suisse Christmas Tree: 



minneapolis

I had to go to Minneapolis for a few days at the end of November for one of my clients. It was weird going "home" where everyone spoke my language and the road signs and restaurants and stores looked familiar, but not being home.

I was travelling with my boss and we went to the Mall of America one night to do some Christmas shopping (I mostly bought stuff for myself - woops!)

Thursday night, we met up with my cousin Janelle and some of her friends for drinks. I didn't get any pictures with Janelle, but it was great catching up!

Friday, I got chipotle for lunch - yum!!!

 And Friday night I met up with my college roommate Jordan. We had dinner, went for a drink with her friend, and then went to see Janelle's improv show, which was so much fun! Saturday Jordan and I did more shopping and had a great time catching up :)

six month mark

I feel like I keep saying this, but time is flying! November 29th marked 6 months since my family dropped me off at the Cincinnati airport. I really can't believe it. Here is a recap of the countries I've visited in the first 6 months:

1. Switzerland
2. U.S. (2 trips home and Minneapolis for work)
3. Germany (Konstanz and 2 trips to Munich)
4. Liechtenstein
5. Holland (Amsterdam)
6. Ireland
7. UK (Belfast)
8. Czech Republic (Prague)
9. Spain (Barcelona)

I'm sure this travelling will slow down over the next few months due to work and winter and the holidays, but I will definitely continue to take advantage of this opportunity to travel throughout Europe while I am here!

barcelona

Thanksgiving is just not the same when you (a) have to work, (b) aren't with your family, (c) don't get to run a Thanksgiving morning race with your friends, (d) don't go out partying the night before knowing you will regret it when you have to wake up and run 6 miles, and (e) don't stuff your face with turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and of course pecan and pumpkin pie!!!

Needless to say, I was a little sad/bitter/hungry all day at work. My fellow American expats commiserated with me (Alayna and Kristin). The only thing that got me to 3pm was knowing that I was going to be able to leave then and meet Candice at the train station and head to the Basel airport to catch our flight to Barcelona!

I'd never been to Spain before so I was really excited! We spent our first night in Barcelona at a nice restaurant with our own Spanish version of a Thanksgiving feast: chorizo croquettes, paella, and sangria!

Friday morning we went and toured the city.

We went on a gondola ride over the bay (which of course Candice freaked out on because of her fear of heights). We walked along the beach a little bit and saw some truly amazing sand castles.

My favorite was the Sagrada Familia (Holy Family) Church. I think it is the most beautiful church I've ever seen (and I've seen a lot of churches during my travels). The church was started in 1882 and is still under construction. It is expected to be completed by 2030. The one side of the church is the passion scene:

Rick Steves told us about all of the symbolism built into the architecture of the church which is really cool.

The other side of the church is the nativity scene:

Barcelona is just so pretty, I couldn't stop taking pictures.

Our next stop was the Picasso museum.

Then we went to Olympic stadium:

We walked Las Ramblas many times during our weekend. I liked it best in the morning (less creeps and pickpockets).

Saturday morning I got a 10 Euro manicure which was amazing. Then we spent the day relaxing on the beach.

Unfortunately, I had to prepare to facilitate training on Monday morning, so my beach time was more work than relaxing...

 

For our last night in Barcelona, we went for some more paella and more sangria (its just to yummy). The restaurant we went to was really lively and they gave us free champagne, so we couldn't complain.

So, not my typical Thanksgiving weekend, but I really can't complain! A tiring, but awesome week and a half travelling with Candice. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends (and ate some turkey and stuffing for me!). I have so much to be thankful for this year.

my first visitor

After Prague, Candi came to visit in Zurich for the week. We of course tried to squeeze as much as possible into the few days she was in town. Sunday night we got sausages at Bellevue. Monday night we walked through Niederdorf and had dinner with Alayna and Luca followed by Movenpick ice cream and a walk along the lake.

Tuesday night we went to Zeughauskeller with Mychele and John, which of course meant we had to get the big flaming beers.

Wednesday night Candi and I both had our first raclette. It was amazing. The best Swiss dish hands down. We did it at my house with the help of my Swiss friends Jelena and Daniela. This was a wonderful pre-Thankgiving feast. We even ate turkey with our raclette, but its not the same on top of a potato covered in cheese.

 Candi ensured me that she enjoyed her time in Switzerland and she was a great trial ("low risk") guest. We were both beat by Thursday (Thanksgiving). More to come on our next adventure later.