That Awkward Moment When You Realize You're Poor - Geneva

Now, Switzerland wasn't necessarily at the top of my list of places to go while I'm in Europe. It was simply that one country who tried to stay neutral about everything and was also where people hid their money to avoid getting heavily taxed. But despite these preconceptions, I was more than ready to see what Geneva had to offer.

Geneva welcomes the Wolfpack. (But not really because there were no customs.)

The apartment we stayed in was super fancy. It had a vinyl record player, an elaborate book collection, a decent sound system, a spacious kitchen, a balcony with a nice view, and so much more. It was far too tempting to just chill on the couch and never leave the place, but we somehow found the will power to venture out into centre-ville. (Not on Sunday though, but more on that later.)

Question of the day: Which cheese should we buy?

On our first day in Geneva, we decided to go grocery shopping for our entire stay there so that we wouldn't have to go back to the grocery store every single day. We ended up making trips back and forth to Migros anyway because we all got addicted to the Swiss chocolate and needed our daily fix. Luckily, one massive bar of chocolate was super cheap. Unfortunately, meat wasn't, so we all become temporary vegetarians for 3-4 days.

We set out to explore the city and found an amazing view of the entire ville as well as the Alps. It was breathtakingly amazing.

So beautiful. Then, there's the Alps.

We came across this park where people can play chess and checkers with pieces on the ground, so my friend Emma and I decided to battle it out for the title of chess master. I WON. (Some old man helped me out, but apparently, I had set up the checkmate pretty well.) I could totally be in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. "You there! E-5! Pawn to C-3!" Time to channel my inner Ron Weasley.

Well.... white moves first, and then, we play.

After the park, we just kept walking around until we reached the edge of the water. We walked down the shore, and there was a magnificent view of the blue waters and the infamous Jet d'Eau of Geneva. We were even brave enough to walk out into the water on this little pathway, and luckily, we didn't slip! Then we took this awesome postcard-like photo. Total Kodak moment.

Much love from our Wolfpack to yours.

One of the best parts of our time in Geneva was Master Chef Adena's amazing creations. Here's just one of the amazing meals she prepared for us. Feast your eyes and be jelly.

Mixed veggies and baked potatoes.

I was probably most excited to see the United Nations. I still hope I can work there someday.

Who run the world? GIRLS.

And look at this other bomb meal Adena made us.

Best mac and cheese I've ever had.

We decided to check out this one place (factory turned into a club) that played psychedelic rock, and we didn't even know how to dance to it. But it didn't matter because any kind of move was acceptable at this place.

The club can't even handle me right now.

We had an amazing time dancing the night away, and we couldn't help but be exhausted the next day. But that didn't stop us from heading to the Alps (or at least trying to, and finding out the thing that takes people up the mountains was under repair).

Eating Swiss chocolate on the Alps. #goodlife

After our adventures on the mountains, including crossing the Swiss border into France (it's not as big a deal as it sounds – it's not the US-Mexico border), we were far too pooped to do anything else so we just chilled on our couch and played Quiz Up. Good job, Geneva. You wore us down.

Ain't nobody messin' with my clique.

See y'all in Italy!

Oh, You Fancy, Huh? - Bordeaux

A few weeks ago, the Centre du Californie organized a dinner this super classy dinner for us so that we could experience French fine dining. Needless to say, we were all pretty blown away not only by the presentation of our meal but also by the amazing flavors in the dishes presented to us. Be prepared to be blown away.

But first, here are some pictures of my lovely University of California family at the Automobile Club de Sud-Ouest!

My home away from home. My wolfpack.

Everyone decided to dress up just a little bit. I was still pretty casual. All I had to do was put on a blazer over my button-up shirt, and voila! A fabulous new outfit.

Our lives > yours.

We were all mingling in the foyer for a little bit, munching on some olives and nuts while sipping on some wine. Needless to say, it was a good way to prep us for the amazing meal to come.

Obligatory fancy dinner selfie.

Everyone was being so classy that night. I loved it! (Except this one girl who came to the dinner drunk and was far too tipsy to hold herself together. She had to be escorted out of the dining hall and taken home. I felt bad for Joelle and Nicole.)

But the meal was super bomb. This was our appetizer.

I don't even know what this is, but there's shrimp in it.

And then the main course. I wanted a nice, big, juicy piece of steak, but fish was cool too.

The texture of the fish was delicate: airy with a nice, crispy skin.

And the best part had to be the dessert. It just looked so pretty.

Yup, I wanted another plate.

Here's a toast to fabulous friendships and awesome adventures in Europe!

Not pictured: the other 12 glasses we drank.

The next day, we all woke up really hungry and decided to make ourselves a huge brunch. 

If you can't take the heat, stay out of the kitchen.

And the beautiful end result were these amazing, delicious omelettes. Throw in some slices of bacon and sausage, and c'est un repas parfait!

"Do you like cheese?" "Why, yes, I do. My favorite's Gouda."

I think living in France has made all of us a little bit more domestic. We're all going to come back to the United States ready for marriage. Ha.

Or at least we'll be able to feed ourselves.

Bon appetit!

An American in Paris - Paris

I went to Paris two weekends ago, yet I'm barely writing about it now. It just goes to show you how lazy France has made me. I'm just not used to doing work anymore, since none of my classes regularly assign homework. Dare I say it, I miss the academic rigor of Berkeley, but at the same time, I like having nothing to do. It gives me plenty of time to travel to all of these cool places like Paris. Even though I've already been to the City of Lights, I was still pretty excited to recreate the magic from last year's spring break trip.

Thursday, January 23

Kimberly, Adena, and I ordered Domino's Pizza because we were far too lazy to cook. We devoured a large pizza in a matter of 10-15 minutes because we had to rush to Gare St. Jean (aka the train station), which was luckily only a 10-minute bus ride away. But before we left, we had Véronique take a "Bon Voyage!" photo of us.

The Three Musketeers.

Upon arriving at the train station, we met up with our other friends: Maddie, McKayla, and Emma. (These peeps soon became my Paris homies.) We wanted to pee before hopping on the train, but when we got the restroom, we were told by this woman that we each had to pay 50 cents to use the toilet, which is probably the dumbest thing I've heard. Boooooo, France. Boooooo.

It was pretty cool riding the TGV train. The first two hours of the three-hour journey, we were being ratchet on the train, probably disturbing every other passenger in our car. The guy who checks the tickets (conductor? collector? inspector? ticket verifier?) asked us where we were from and was immediately delighted when we said we were from California. He said he loves the West Coast, especially Santa Barbara, which made Kim particularly happy.

As if things weren't already perfect, our train arrived at Paris Montparnasse exactly at midnight. It was a good sign that great things were to come.

We've never been on a train before. #MidnightInParis

I'd say we all slept pretty well. There were three beds, and we had to divvy up among six people. I ended up getting my own bed while two peeps were in one and three cuddled in the other. How did that happen? #cantcomplain

Friday, January 24

The next day, we decided to start off our day by going to the Père-Lachaise Cemetery. Emma was really excited to see the graves of Jim Morrison and Edith Piaf. The cemetery was huge, and there were some pretty steep hills. Plus, the cobblestone streets were hurting my feet. Kim wore heels (not the best idea she's ever had), and the streets were slowly taking a toll on her. (Bro tip #179: Don't wear heels when you're planning to walk around all day on the cobblestone streets of Paris.) We also met this group of Russians who were drinking vodka by Jim Morrison's grave. Apparently, it's tradition to drink three cups of vodka at someone's grave (just cause). At least their vodka was of good quality.

I see dead people.

McKayla also introduced us to her awesome friend, Gabbi, who goes to UCLA but is studying at King's College in London this semester. She and I have some mutual friends from Berkeley.

Who knew cemeteries could be so much fun?

After the cemetery, we enjoyed a nice 30-minute Metro ride to the Arc de Triomphe. The Metro in itself was an interesting experience. Never a dull moment on that thing. We were always afraid that the doors would shut on us. (Read as "I was always afraid that the doors would shut on us.")

Anywaysssss. Arc de Triomphe.

Oh, so touristy.

After that, we got these bomb, overpriced macarons from Ladurée. Five cost me a little over €9, more than my lunch that day.

Of course, no visit to Paris is complete without a visit to the Eiffel Tower!

Reunited and it feels so good.

It looks just as gorgeous as it did last spring, especially when you're looking at it from Trocadero. I ended up taking this really funny but not-so-nice Snapchat. Basically, I stare into the camera and taunt, "Taking selfies in front of the Eiffel Tower. Jelly?" And then I point and laugh at the person watching the Snapchat. #hilarious

At this point, we were already pretty darn hungry, but everything around the area was expensive, not that we expected anything less. Anything around or on the Champs-Élyseés costs an arm and a leg. OH! And we quickly learned to ignore anyone who's trying to get you to sign a petition. All they want to do is steal your money. They're persistent though, those pesky children, but you just have to stand your ground. No means no, kiddies.

After our delicoius (and most importantly, cheap) lunch, we journeyed to the Notre Dame Cathedral. Kimberly, Adena, and I all had a moment inside that church. There was this amazing children's choir singing, and it's what I would imagine angels would sound like when you enter heaven. We just sat in one of those pews and took the time to thank God for blessing us with this amazing opportunity to study abroad for a semester, to travel wherever our wallets take us, and to develop a camaraderie with such awesome people.

Where's Quasimodo?

Wouldn't you want to pray too?

At that point, we were all getting pretty hungry again, so we decided to text our awesome landlord, Mohamed, for directions to the supermarket Ocean. But when I asked him were "Ocean" was, he replied, "You mean Auchan?" Lol. Americans.

Adena, being the fabulous Queen that she is, made us this fabulous pesto pasta with some bread and salad.

"Adena, you messed up the bread."

And then we checked out the Paris nightlife. Bastille! (That was the name of the neighborhood. The band wasn't actually there unfortunately.)

The party don't start till we walk in.

And the party literally ends when we leave. We Americans are like half the bar. But hey, we were pooped, and we needed to get home before the last metro stopped running. It was a good Friday overall though.

Saturday, January 25

The next morning, we decided to climb a billion and one steps to Sacré-Coeur. I debated taking the little tram thingy, but we decided to brave the steps.

Too much walking for my liking.

Plus, there were these really annoying guys who were trying to put bracelets on us, pestering us, and asking us where we were from. #creeps

View from the top.

After having another moment in the church, we walked down the streets of Montmartre, which is the super artsy neighborhood of Paris.

The best street band ever: Le Presteej. #ProudCDOwner

Those three guys got the whole street popping.

And then, we got hungry.

Worth every single cent.

After that, we decided to channel our inner Robert Langdons (Da Vinci Code) and head over to the Louvre to take obligatory pyramid selfies.

Yeah, I totally didn't look at the camera.

Funny story from the Louvre: I walked up to this guy to ask for directions. "Mona Lisa?" And he shakes his head and replies, "No, my name is Marvin." Dude, I don't care about your name. I just want to know where the painting is! When we finally got to see it, it was pretty anti-climactic because it was super tiny, nothing impressive. #ThatsWhatSheSaid

I can appreciate art.

Fast forward to later that night, we knew we had to see the Eiffel Tower at night, and let me tell you, it was breathtaking to just walk across the Seine River and take in the lights. We couldn't contain ourselves from screaming, "Paris, je t'aime!"

Kodak Moment #347.

Sunday, January 26

It finally rained, even though the weather forecast was telling us it'd be raining all weekend.

We decided to hit up the Musée d'Orsay, and I actually enjoyed it much more than the Louvre. I guess I'm more into Impressionist paintings than Greco-Roman sculptures. Sorry, David.

Getting into museums for free because we're EU students. #winning

Looking at all the gorgeous art made us hungry, and we had sworn to ourselves that we needed to try some crêpes. We went to his one street where basically all the shops were crêperies, so we just walked into one that didn't look too pricey and ate like we were never going to have another meal.

Not pictured: the fourth crêpe. #MURICA

We decided to end our Paris adventures by visiting the Moulin Rouge. We didn't get to go in and see a show, but it was still fun to walk down the streets singing "Lady Marmalade."

Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir?

It was such a struggle trying to write this blog post, which is why it took two weeks. (Oh, who am I kidding? I'm lazy. That's why it took two weeks.) But I've realized that it's not really about the places I go but rather the company I bring with me. Yeah, it was cool to go to Paris. It's fun taking selfies in front of the Eiffel Tower and eating macarons on the Champs-Élysées, but I probably wouldn't have had as much fun if I didn't have Adena, Kim, Emma, McKayla, Maddie, and Gabbi with me that weekend. #ParisCrew4Ever

See you all in Switzerland!