On Friday I headed off to Geneva, Switzerland with Curtis. We had a very smooth flight to Geneva. Once we got to Geneva we took the train to our hotel. We were walking around trying to find our hotel at 8:00 so we decided to stop at a McDonald's to get a quick dinner and ask someone where our hotel was. For both of us to eat it was 22 franc! It was ridiculous! I also find it odd that at most European McDonald's and other fast food restaurants you have to purchase packets of ketchup and mayonnaise separately. It is quite unfortunate for ketchup lovers like me to have to buy expensive packets of ketchup, but I have just been skipping ketchup with my fries for now. We found our hotel and it was really nice! We walked around the city for a little bit and then returned back to get some sleep for Saturday. We woke up really early on Saturday morning so that we would be able to watch the sunrise over the Alps by the lake. When we went outside it was awful! It was freezing and the wind was VERY strong! We walked for a little bit and found a coffee shop to sit inside because we were early for sunrise! We got some very good Swiss hot chocolate and decided that we should just head back to the hotel for our free breakfast. We got our free breakfast and went back to bed for awhile. We ventured back out into the city when the sun was out and it warmed up a tad. It was still probably 10 degrees and strong winds, but the sun made it feel a lot better! We walked around a lot and saw the town. Switzerland gives tourists free transportation for the trains, buses, trams, etc. We rode on some of the buses to stay warm and to see a lot of the city. A bus even took us out into the Swiss countryside and then back into the city. We stopped and went to a pizzeria for lunch. After sitting inside for lunch I still couldn't feel my toes so we went back for a break at the hotel again. We went out again walking around, but it was getting dark and very cold! After awhile we starting trying to find a place to eat dinner. We had to walk on the bridge across the lake to get back to our hotel and find some place to eat. This was probably the coldest I have ever been! It was so awful! Curtis even got windburn on his face!
On Sunday we packed up and walked around some more before heading to the airport on the bus. We ended up buying some Swiss chocolate at the airport because it was actually cheaper than what we found in the city. Then we headed to British Airways to check in and get our boarding passes. This is where we starting have a lot of trouble. British Airways self check in machines were not working. This meant we had to stand in a line for over an hour to get our boarding passes. The line was massive! On top of that London had gotten about 2 or 3 inches of snow Saturday night. London freaks out when they get snow. London hardly ever gets snow and when it does the city pretty much shuts down. All flights to Heathrow London were canceled. Luckily we were flying back to Gatwick London which was only delaying their flights. When we finally got up to check in we were told that we had been put on standby. We got in through security and had to hang around for awhile. The screen said to wait about an hour for info on our flight. When that came around it said to wait another hour. Then another hour. Finally, our gate number popped up on the screen. We ran to the gate so that we could make sure that we were put off of standby. We were able to get on the flight! We had to wait around for awhile still though. However, British Airways gave Curtis and I each a 23 franc voucher for food at the airport. I had already eaten dinner so I bought even more Swiss chocolate and goodies! The picture below is what we ended up bringing back with us! Once we all boarded the plane the pilot told us that we had missed our time slot to take off. We had to sit on the plane for an hour! Finally we took off! We arrived safely back to London. Once we spend awhile getting through customs we had to wait on our baggage! We did so much waiting around, but we finally made it home! It is weird coming back to London and just feeling like it is home and being so happy! It is such a wonderful place!
Today I had British Life and Culture and we learned a lot about social class in the UK. I had Art History after and we went to Tate Britain Art Gallery. I saw some very cool things there! I had to do some research on the artist John Everttt Millias. Here is one of his most famous painting which is located in the gallery.
Some things I've learned:
-Switzerland is expensive
-Weather can ruin a trip
-London does not know how to deal with snow
- Swiss chocolate in London is much cheaper
- You can almost always find someone who speaks English in foreign countries
-David Beckham is still considered working class here in the UK
-Kate Middleton is still considered a middle class commoner even though she is a part of the royal family
-The Queen's father died 60 years ago today and marks her accession to the throne
-Londoners think that American democrats are conservatives and republicans are just very conservative
-Even if you become a Knight in England it still does not move you up in social class
-It is much harder to move around in social class here in the UK than it is in the US. The US definitely prides its self on hard work and how much money you can make. It doesn't matter how hard you work or how much money you make, you will still probably be seen the same way.
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