Swiss part 2

Thought I'd start day 2 out with a spread of deliciousness. And the view ain't bad either.

cows with cowbells! they pretty much just stand there in awe of the mountains.

this fun-looking contraption contains spouting water directly from the glaciers of the alps!

and that, ladies and gentlemen, is the eiger.

a quick stop to enjoy some wonderful swiss coffee

we went on a hike to "the ends of the earth" above is the view of where we came from

and this is looking straight at it. isn't it magnificent?

and this is where we started off our hike

the friendly flags of gimmelwald!

our hostel in lauterbrunnen was to the right in the valley of waterfalls

we actually got to hike up and underneath this waterfall and had a beautiful view of jungfrau

the view from our hostel's back yard

we went on several children's adventure trails...all with gorgeous views such as this

really don't wanna leave, but italy is calling!

the land of mountains and chocolate!

we bought a eurail pass in paris and boarded our first european train. quite an enjoyable experience, much preferred over planes. and the view of the alps from the train was beautiful! we arrived in interlaken and walked around town, stopping every few minutes to pinch ourselves and remind eachother where we were. the swiss alps. miraculous.

try the fondue when youre in switzerland. its really as good as they say. you can see that we enjoyed ourselves.

wandered around interlaken and ended up in unterseen. aparently they are rivals?

playing with the goats.

the gorgeous view in brienz.

the town of interlaken with the jungfrau mountains in the background. stunning.

more amazing architecture.

this is only the beginning.

paris!!!

long story short. we made it to paris. well, maybe that's too short. after missing our first plane, we sucessfully boarded the second and arrived in paris in a few sleepy hours. then we took a bus to a train station in rural paris and sat for what seemed like hours getting on and off trains. with one final attempt to get to paris before we left forever, we jumped on the train and WE ARRIVED IN PARIS!!

there. that's my short story. now i just have pictures because they are worth a thousand words! grab ahold of your seat! haha.

The Notre Dame...took this photo from the cafe where we lunched

and of course the gorgeous eiffel tower:

this is only from the first level. so cool. then, the view of the city from the second level:

the Louvre!

amazing paintings on the inside of the Louvre

the Nike. gorgeous.

the Louvre at night

and the view from the balcony of our room at our hostel. if you look closely you can see the eiffel tower...it's to the right of the capitol looking building.

and then we left paris. off to switzerland by train!

stupid european airports

we began our day with hopes of going to park guell and the beach before heading to the airport. i would say that worked out for the most part. we made it to park guell by metro and lots and lots of stairs and escalators to the top of the city it seemed. the climb was worth it. viewing the city from the park was incredible, but even more so was the park itself.

not a normal park, park guell is another testament to antoni gaudi's amazing under-the-sea architecture and designs. the place is full of meandering paths under arches stretched out like arms from the ground. there is also a huge platform of mosaiced benches held up by massive white mosaiced columns. did i mention that there were a lot of mosaics?

mesha and i were melting under the spanish heat, so we took a lunch break beneath the columns where it was pleasantly cool. then we were off to la playa!

there was a beach bar on the way, so we detoured for a little refreshment and relaxed under the umbrellas in the sand. yep, just like you are picturing. but in case you aren't picturing it the way i am, here is a photo:

then we layed out my sleep sheet (still no towels) and lounged in the sun. on the mediterranean.

this is where the problem began. you see, we kind of fell asleep in the hot mediterranean sun and lost track of time. when we awoke it was cutting it close to make it to our flight for paris, and we still had to go back to the hostel to retrieve our bags...but we booked it. finally arriving at the airport, we tried to check in but those crazy europeans don't run things the way we americans do. you can't show up 10 minutes before your flight and still make it. nope. the gate is closed. you're out of luck. buy another ticket. sorry.

so when's the next plane ride outta here you ask? not till 7am. and it is currently 6pm. well, we don't wanna book another hostel for the night, so sleeping in the airport it is. and believe me, the stretching you see above is quite necessary before sleeping atop the hard metal airport chairs.