Istanbul (Not Constantinople)

My last weekend trip of my semester abroad was to Istanbul, Turkey. Although I don't think it's the traditional European destination, it was one of the main places I wanted to visit during my semester abroad. Apparently, the rest of the Geneva crew wanted to see it too because I went with a group of five other GSGers and two other groups had already gone for spring break. By the end of the semester, all of but one of us made a little trip to good ol' Constantinople.

Istanbul was so different from all the places I had been during the rest of the semester. The first two days reminded me of my summer in Jerusalem actually. It was pretty reminiscent of that summer when I went to the Grand Bazaar, the merchants were extremely aggressive, just like they were in the Old City of Jerusalem. Although, I didn't feel quite as unsafe as I occasionally did in the Old City. But I just think that's because it was constantly jam-packed, while the Old City had some empty corridors. Also, we had a guy this time. Sadly, that does make a difference sometimes.

Generally, my time in Istanbul was very enjoyable. I finally got to see the Hagia Sofia, which I had heard about since Western Civ at UHS.

We saw the beautiful mosaics of the Blue Mosque and got some pretty cute photos with our headscarves.

Ventured over to the largest mosque in Istanbul....

Wandered through the Grand Bazaar and bought plenty of presents for the family back home....

Ventured over to Asia for a quick stroll...

Watched some dervishes whirl...

Ate some kebabs...and then some more kebabs

Out of everything, I think one of the coolest experiences from our time in Istanbul was sleeping on the roof of our hostel. Our hostel was located in the old area of Istanbul, right by the Hagia Sofia and the Blue Mosque. So close in fact, that you could see the Hagia Sofia from the roof. It was so cool to wake up to the 5am call to prayer and then later watch the sunrise behind the Hagia Sofia.

Classy Day Drinking: Les Caves Ouvertes

On Saturday, we went on this magical wine tasting adventure: les Caves Ouvertes. This was the 26th year of this wine tasting event, which invites amateurs to try a large variety of wine from the vineyards surrounding Geneva. It included free transportation (both train to the countryside and buses from vineyard to vineyard) as well as unlimited wine tasting for the whole day for a mere 5CHF. Now, if you know anything about Geneva or Switzerland, that is a crazy good deal. A single bus ticket in Geneva in 3CHF, probably a ticket to the countryside roundtrip is at least 30CHF, and the vineyards? Well, I'm not sure if wine tasting is normally free (I believe places in Napa are), but the difference between this and that is that they are very aware that everyone at this event is getting drunk and not exactly buying their favorite case of wine after the visit.

The event was a far bigger deal than I had realized when Alice had mentioned the event on our Facebook group. I thought it would be similar to our wine tasting adventure in Montpellier, which was very small (just the group of us), sitting around a table, pretending to taste the horse or raspberry in the wine. In other words, I thought it would be nice, but snobby.

However, this was far more of a party. When we got on the train, the whole thing was jam packed as groups of friends yammered away. Exiting the train, hoards of people drifted towards the vineyards where we found an already packed tent full of wine. At almost every stop, we met some drunk new friends who had certainty taken advantage of the unlimited wine situation.
For me, the best part of the whole adventure was being able to see the countryside and vineyards outside of Geneva. The last time I wandered around Switzerland, there was still snow on the ground. But this time the scenery was so lush and green with beautiful blue skies. Well, beautiful blue skies until our last stop, when it started pouring....

After we took the train home, we stopped by Chez Ma Cousine to get dinner. My family friends in the area said it was by far the best deal in town and I have to agree. 14CFH for half a chicken, salad, and potatoes wouldn't even be a bad deal in the US. Our tipsy sells devoured all our food but I left my wine glass untouched and offered it up to the table. After all that wine all day, I didn't think I could handle anymore. 

In general, the day was quite the success. I spent a grand total of 25CHF for the whole day including a little train ride, wine all day and a half chicken dinner. I'm pretty sure that's a good deal everywhere! As per usual, this experience had inspired me to do something back home. And now I really want to drag my brother to Napa during my two weeks back home now that I can drink legally in the states! 

PS. Check out my friend Faith's blog! She went on this adventure too and has muuuch better pictures than me (and sometimes I steal photos of myself from her blog because I hate asking people to take pictures of me)

Five Miles in Geneva

 It is rarely nice here and I even more rarely do any form of exercise. So when the day before I left for Istanbul was beautiful outside, I just had to go for a walk. I walked from my dorm room in Champel up around the old city, around the lake, into a beautiful park and magically found myself in a loop that brought me right back to the Cité. The whole thing was five miles (I was user my iRunner app). It was so lovely to do some sort of physical activity and I got to see and enjoy more the of the city I have called home this past four months yet have seen very little of. 

Follow me on instagram! 

It's honestly the only photos I take ever.

I take it back, don't. There would be no reason to read my blog besides my witty comments & critiques.

Why Is it Awkward Turtle not Awkward Giraffe?

Looking outside my window, it looks like a pretty nice day in old Geneva. Unfortunately, it's been raining all week and even this seemingly nice day is forecasted to rain for a bit. I'm still determined to go outside for a bit because tomorrow it is forecasted to SNOW. SNOW, it is almost the last week of May and it's going to SNOW. I thought it was bad when it snowed on April 17th in Hamilton, NY. Geneva, Switzerland apparently takes crazy weather to a whole new level. I blame global warming.

While I'm wasting away inside and procrastinating, I decided to post some pictures from one of the few days I got to hang out in the park in a cute skirt....which is one of the few dreams I had about my life abroad. Unfortunately, due to the weather and workload here, my park time has been limited. Hopefully, I'll be able to make up for it as I constantly sip Banana soy milkshakes from Hammie Whole Foods this summer on the town green. BYE PAYCHECK! 

I bought this skirt from Topshop while I was in London for my burfday. I decided to splurge a bit since it was my 21st birthday and basically bought a whole new wardrobe that I just wear on constant repeat. I was torn between this skirt and a denim circle skirt, but this one had giraffes on it so I clearly had to choose this one.

Outfit--Button Up: Banana Republic, Skirt: Topshop, Sandals: Sam Edelman

sup.

Photography: Morgan McCollum (well, not the giraffes)

There's a Fish on my Fish: Sushi at Uchitomi

Yesterday, I got sushi with Zoe after our final class with Hofmann and Krause. I vowed I would never get asian food while I was abroad, but apparently I crave that shit way more than I thought. Zoe and I already had a sushi craving this past weekend, when I looked up this place online. If you look up "Sushi in Geneva" a bunch of results pop up that are essentially a million Americans or Brits desperately craving their favorite cuisine from home. They are also craving the prices they had a home, but settling for whatever they can get.
One highly recommended sushi spot was uchitomi. It was described as good quality and cheap. I got two pre-made rolls for lunch and a water bottle, which came out to about 21chf. That's Geneva for you! It also goes to show how desperate people are when it comes to prices if they consider that lunch price reasonable and even cheap.

Look at this artsy angle of my sushi that makes it look absolutely amazing. Look at that spicy tuna! YUM!

 

oooo there's a fish on my fish! This is actually what they put the soy sauce in. It cost 20¢ extra -__-

I got a spicy tuna roll and a tempura roll (I finish things I don't like as much first). 

The spicy tuna was actually pretty good, the tempura roll could use some avocado or some kind of moisture

This is a more realistic picture of my sushi, basically a lot of trash.

Isn't it funny how food looks better close up while people always look gross and pimply

This is Zoe coming back to the table with two 20¢ soy sauce fish

I forgot to mention that my 21ch lunch was held in a grocery store. Oh Geneva.

Ô Calm: Monday Brunch in Geneva

It's the third week of May and it's 59º outside and raining. I feel that for this late in the year, I should be enjoying beautiful weather as I sit in a park shining with sunlight.... not this March weather. Well, I guess at this point in the year, I also shouldn't have the majority of my schoolwork to complete for all my courses either. Despite that, I have still left almost all of my essays to do.... sometime in the future? I guess I deserve this weather. Maybe the gods are trying to keep me inside so that I'll do work. Clearly, they don't understand the temptation and distraction of Hulu. I have a TV problem.

Yesterday, which was Monday and the last day of my four-day weekend, was a pretty nice day. Well, a nice day for March, not for May. It was just a little chilly, but looking outside it seemed nice. Thankfully, I didn't spend the entire day inside on my computer procrastinating, only part of it. In the morning, I went with Keith, Zoe, Alice, and Tara to get brunch. Although I thought we were going to the same brunch spot that Zoe’s family brought us to on the island, we went to another restaurant called Ô Calm.

The restaurant was pretty cute and had quite a home-y vibe. In fact, it could have easily been someone’s house. The kitchen was literally a kitchen I’ve seen in plenty of my friends’ homes—even with that island that I’ve played pong on. Moving into the main dining area, it looked kind of like a living room. My favorite element were the bookshelves, I don't quite understand why not every café has a library/book component because it adds a certain level of charm or coziness that can't be rivaled. 

However, when we got there, the whole dining/living room area was too full to accommodate  group of five and they offered us a table outside. When we walked outside, I was almost glad that there wasn't enough room for us inside. Despite the slight chill factor , sitting outside was a very enjoyable experience. I actually think that the patio was my favorite aspect of the whole restaurant. Probably because it vaguely reminded me of the outside seating at Zazie (only Zazie is slightly cuter with flowers everywhere), and I relish every opportunity I spend time outside these days. 

 

 What I was disappointed by however was the food. Now, the rest of the crew seemed to think it was really good and were impressed by the wide selection of jams and spreads. But I can get that at Migros and put it on some toast myself. I can also make better scrambled eggs, the pancake wasn't even near the best pancake I've had in Europe (let alone the US), and my cappuccino was gross for practically the same price as Boreal. So basically, I could have either made it myself or gotten the same thing in Geneva. Yet I paid 27F. WHAT!?

 Now, you should all know that I'm allll about my brunch and I'm willing to go pretty big for it. For example, at the formerly mentioned Zazie, I have easily dropped $27 several times. But do I leave Zazie upset? Of course not because not only do they have a great ambiance, but they also have absolutely AMAZING food. My $27 brunch at Zazie would have beautifully poached eggs sitting on prosciutto, covered with heirloom tomatos, and with a side of home fries with garlic. Not to mention the fluffy pancake for dessert and the latte the size of my face. 

Ultimately, ô Calm was cute and it was nice to get brunch with the crew instead of just staying inside. But I'd rather go someplace else (even in Geneva) for brunch  next time. I'm for ambiance and all, but you're going to have to give me something a little bit more to demand that much dough....even in a city as expensive as Geneva.

Wow, this post made me really want to get Zazie when I go home. Expect a post, hopefully from the patio, within the next two weeks.

Where the Beer Is Cheaper Than Water: Praha

During our Eastward trip, one of our amazing destinations was Prague. While once upon a time Prague was the major destination for the 'alternative' study abroad student who wanted to go someplace off the beaten track in eastern europe, these days Prague has become quite a typical study abroad choice. Known for its cheap beer, party culture (as well as its amazing communist history and velvet revolution), Prague really seems like a perfect study abroad destination.

We of course did not have a perfectly stereotypical 20-year-old trip to Prague, but rather one unique GSG experience. Ok well, parts of it were pretty stereotypical. The first (and pretty much only) stereotypical part of our experience in Prague was our free walking tour. Well there are two little details about surrounding this walking tour that did make it rather GSG specific. It was the very first thing we did when we arrived in Prague after arriving from Berlin at 15:26 (Rutherford time right there) and traversing town to check into our hotel. Of course our tour was scheduled at like 7, and with barely enough time we ran across town to make it to the tour.

And when I say we ran, we ran. Literally, our professor was running ahead, as the rest of us ran desperately behind him. For the end of the leg, I was in the front looking out for his blue jacket in a sea of tourists and occasionally looking behind me and waving my new Liberty handkerchief to show the rest of the group the way. So that was the stress element, classic GSG. The second detail is that the tour was supposed to be geared towards revolutionary Prague aka the Velvet Revolution to solidify our studies in our Democratization seminar. We're cool.

Our tour guide was this quirky little nerdy man who was not nearly as engaging or funny or amazing as any of our tour guides in Berlin. But he tried, so I guess I'll give him that. But his generally overly theatric tour style just made me think he was trying too hard and gave me horrible flashbacks of the drama kids in high school. During our tour around Prague, we noted the beautiful Baroque architecture that just made me think of Disney Land (well, I guess that makes sense. Classic princesses were probably from that era), saw one of the most disappointing tourist sites in the world (Prague's cookoo clock), and looked at a statue that looked like a Death Eater (a reference that merely made me a stage two nerd) commemorating Mozart's opera Don Giovanni. 

By the end of the tour, I had completely tuned out the tour guide. All I remember is at the end of his tour, he tried to say that he was very close to the Velvet Revolution because his parents were going to go to the movies that day around where the protests started but then I think he pooped his pants so then they didn't. So basically, he pooped and ruined their chances of being a part of a huge historic moment in Prague. However, I'm pretty sure he presented this picture in a positive light. I don't know how he managed that. 

So while we only partially listened to our guide as he talked about pooping his pants, we were all either completely zoning out or taking pictures of each other. Look how cute we all are! By the way, if you are wondering who the random dad looking guy in the blue jacket is. That is my professor!

After our two hour walking tour, we were famished (reminder, we had also just arrived from Berlin that afternoon). Strangely enough, our first meal in Prague was Mexican. We were already rather far into our semester abroad, and we were beginning to crave some Mexican. However, I really don't trust Mexican food in Europe and I guess no one else really did either because none of us had had some good mexican food for months. However, multiple people had recommended this one Mexican restaurant in Prague as some of the best Mexican food they had ever had that also required reservations weeks in advance. It was probably the reservation requirement that convinced me that this restaurant was legitimate. Nothing says it's good like competition and lines! 

Due to our hunger level and our cravings for Mexican food there is no photo evidence of this meal. However, from what I can remember, it was pretty good. I think I had a steak burrito and a virgin strawberry daquiri (don't yell at me, this meal was covered by Colgate and they wouldn't pay for alcohol so I opted for a completely free meal rather than an overpriced margarita on a Sunday night). But what I do remember is the nachos or how quickly those nachos disappeared. Literally, the moment they set those nachos on the table (or was it even as it was still suspended in air) we all stood up and went for it. Within a minute (probably 40 seconds), the entire plate of nachos were devoured. We still look back at that moment with shame. 

The next day, I woke up in a boat. No, I didn't get shit faced drunk off the cheap beer on a Sunday during a school trip. But rather, GSG was staying in a BOTEL (Boat Hotel). When we were first told about our accommodations, everyone greeted this news with excitement. I however was not so pleased. What was so great about a botel? Let me tell you, there was nothing great about staying in a botel. I'm pretty sure this just gave them an excuse to provide lackluster beds and tiny rooms that made you motion sick. Yea, don't do it, total tourist trap. 

But after we got some free buffet breakfast (ok I'll admit the breakfast was pretty good), we headed on over to our first real meeting: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. The security for this place was as intense as the UN, requiring my passport, security, metal detectors, etc. Apparently, their old building had been bombed so they had increased their security. Apparently people think that their message of spreading democracy and Western values is propaganda or whatever.

Our meeting was a lot more boring that I was expecting. Honestly, my meeting with a rep from Al Jazeera the year before was far more interesting. But it was 12:30 and we had the rest of the day free in Prague! One of my friends best friends from high school was studying abroad in Prague, so I decided to be a creeper and asked her for some almost local recommendations. This was her response: 

Mama coffee, standard cafe, cafe savoy (very nice need reservations), clearhead or maetrea (sister restaurants probably the best in prague), lokal (if you want to try traditional czech food).

Since I was only in Prague for a couple days, I decided it was best to try the regional specialties so we headed over to Lokal. I can't quite remember what this was called, but it was some sort of beef (right?) stew. I looked up the restaurant and they also recommended the bread dumplings. Now I was really excited for the dumplings, mainly because they reminded me of Chinese dumplings which I'm absolutely in love with. However, that's not exactly what they were. Instead, it was pretty much just really spongey bread that soaked up the sauce really well. Good, but bland and not what I was expecting. However, note the beer that is to the side of my photo. Yum yum yum! Really after all my travels in Europe, I'm such a wine and beer drinker. 

Also, after going around all of Europe tasting all of their local dishes, I don't know why everyone makes fun of americans for our eating habits. HELLO! Where do we think we got these habits?? All of europe's delicacies are sausage (aka hot dogs), potatoes, and fried dough! How they aren't all obese is beyond me. 

Generally, my time in Prague was amazing. The colorful architecture, the communist history, the beautiful Jewish cemetary, even the botel...ok maybe not the botel. Like the rest of the cities I visited on my Eastward trip, I wish I had been able to spend more time there and get a better sense of the culture. Also, I would NOT choose to visit on a Sunday after all that traveling and would opt for a crazy weekend because honestly, all the kids who study abroad there say the nightlife is killer. So here's to next time!