Well we've had a wealth of unforgetable adventures that I cannot wait to tell, and TONS of pictures that will give you a far better feel for the experiences than I ever could with words, but unfortunately I can't go into detail at present because I'm using a computer shared by the entirety of our hotel's guests :)
I just wanted to drop in and say thanks for all of the prayers and messages! We have seen evidence of God's goodness - and His hand of guidance and protection - over every single leg of this trip, and when you hear the stories, you'll see it too!
Hopefully I will be able to do some serious updating either Sunday or more likely Monday. But until then, much love and molti baci!
Bekah
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Travel Week Here I Come!
Hello all!
Well papers, projects, and my near-novel of a travel journal are all turned in and I am now homework-free for a whole week! My biggest projects right now are finishing up all the food in my fridge, working on laundry, and packing up. But during my "week off" I will also be doing some serious traveling through Austria, Switzerland, and France on my way to England, and I wanted to fill you in on where I will be when since I'm not sure how much internet access will be feasible.
Early tomorrow we depart beautiful Lugano (sniff!) and will be saying goodbye to most of the half-program participants (double sniff!).
Crystal, Joy and I will then hop on a train and head west toward Salzburg, Austria - which is supposedly a nine-hour plane ride - where we are staying through Tuesday morning. From there we are riding back to Switzerland and staying in Lucerne for two nights which is especially exciting for me because so many people back home have told me how wonderful it is - I can't wait! Thursday morning Crystal will head to Zurich to meet up with the rest of the half-program students while Joy I will catch a train from Lucerne to Paris. That will be a difficult parting! Friday will be our day to see as much of Paris as we can, and then later in the afternoon we will head to Calais for the night. On Saturday Joy and I will catch a ferry and cross the channel to England (!!!!!!), arrive in Dover, then make our way to London and meet up with the London half participants.
The difficult part is going to be balancing sight-seeing and relaxation/sleep. We are soooooo tired, but who wants to sleep in when there are sights to be seen? My plan of action is to sleep as much as possible on the trains so I will be able to see as much of Europe as possible. Thankfully I can sleep just about anywhere ...
... even the cement platforms at train stations :) Hillary snapped this one when I fell asleep at the Arezzo station after our train ran 55 minutes late. I was out!
Anyway, I am not sure what kind of access I will have over the next week, but in London we will definitely have easy access so I will post pictures and share travel stories then if not before. Strangely enough, I am feeling quite good about all the traveling we'll be doing next week and have become quite comfortable with my newly obtained world traveler skills. I am certain it will be full of challenges and unexpected complications, but I know that I am in God's hands and look forward to the incredible corner of His creation that I am about to witness firsthand!
Love and baci!
Bekah
Well papers, projects, and my near-novel of a travel journal are all turned in and I am now homework-free for a whole week! My biggest projects right now are finishing up all the food in my fridge, working on laundry, and packing up. But during my "week off" I will also be doing some serious traveling through Austria, Switzerland, and France on my way to England, and I wanted to fill you in on where I will be when since I'm not sure how much internet access will be feasible.
Early tomorrow we depart beautiful Lugano (sniff!) and will be saying goodbye to most of the half-program participants (double sniff!).
Crystal, Joy and I will then hop on a train and head west toward Salzburg, Austria - which is supposedly a nine-hour plane ride - where we are staying through Tuesday morning. From there we are riding back to Switzerland and staying in Lucerne for two nights which is especially exciting for me because so many people back home have told me how wonderful it is - I can't wait! Thursday morning Crystal will head to Zurich to meet up with the rest of the half-program students while Joy I will catch a train from Lucerne to Paris. That will be a difficult parting! Friday will be our day to see as much of Paris as we can, and then later in the afternoon we will head to Calais for the night. On Saturday Joy and I will catch a ferry and cross the channel to England (!!!!!!), arrive in Dover, then make our way to London and meet up with the London half participants.The difficult part is going to be balancing sight-seeing and relaxation/sleep. We are soooooo tired, but who wants to sleep in when there are sights to be seen? My plan of action is to sleep as much as possible on the trains so I will be able to see as much of Europe as possible. Thankfully I can sleep just about anywhere ...
... even the cement platforms at train stations :) Hillary snapped this one when I fell asleep at the Arezzo station after our train ran 55 minutes late. I was out!Anyway, I am not sure what kind of access I will have over the next week, but in London we will definitely have easy access so I will post pictures and share travel stories then if not before. Strangely enough, I am feeling quite good about all the traveling we'll be doing next week and have become quite comfortable with my newly obtained world traveler skills. I am certain it will be full of challenges and unexpected complications, but I know that I am in God's hands and look forward to the incredible corner of His creation that I am about to witness firsthand!
Love and baci!
Bekah
Friday, June 22, 2007
Another attempt at dinner ... and some silliness!
Well I've made two more dinners since my last attempt and they've been much more successful! The first was a regular pasta dish with pomodoro (tomato) sauce and basil. Finding Parmesan cheese was a life-saver! That bowl of pasta was so tasty I refused to put it down to snap a picture :) Then the night before last I tried pesto again (this time I did not attempt to crush my own basil) and it came out wonderfully. I restrained myself enough this time to take pictures before digging in ...
What really gave the dish a kick was the grilled salmon Hillary contributed. I've loved how much fish and seafood I eat over here! I topped of the plate with a picturesque trio of basil leaves for aesthetics. Miraculously, nothing went wrong and the dinner was a success!
And I had my Tide To-Go pen ready when I dropped pasta on my shirt! Saved by the pen once again - that thing has been one of the best purchases I made before leaving :) It has rescued me from pizza sauce, chocolate gelato, diet coke, and now pesto sauce.
Besides improving my culinary skills, I have also been hard at work on final projects for my art class (I can't wait to show them to you all when I get back!) and enjoying the city of Lugano whenever I get a spare moment (which isn't often, but I'll take what I can get!). Yesterday Hillary and I went shopping and I bought my first clothing items of the trip - be proud! I had withstood the many temptations for over a month and since the Swiss franc is worth about 85 cents in U.S. dollars, I was also getting more for my money. We had a blast trying on foreign fashion and I got some fun new clothes to breathe new life into my now well-worn wardrobe. As silly as it is, just adding a few new fun pieces to the mix excited us more than I can express!
And finally, here are a few shots that express just how tired we are - and how much fun we have when the tiredness reaches new levels!
I love my hall mates (L-R): Joy, Lizzie, me, and Hillary
That's all for now - more later!
Baci,
Bekah
What really gave the dish a kick was the grilled salmon Hillary contributed. I've loved how much fish and seafood I eat over here! I topped of the plate with a picturesque trio of basil leaves for aesthetics. Miraculously, nothing went wrong and the dinner was a success!
And I had my Tide To-Go pen ready when I dropped pasta on my shirt! Saved by the pen once again - that thing has been one of the best purchases I made before leaving :) It has rescued me from pizza sauce, chocolate gelato, diet coke, and now pesto sauce.
Besides improving my culinary skills, I have also been hard at work on final projects for my art class (I can't wait to show them to you all when I get back!) and enjoying the city of Lugano whenever I get a spare moment (which isn't often, but I'll take what I can get!). Yesterday Hillary and I went shopping and I bought my first clothing items of the trip - be proud! I had withstood the many temptations for over a month and since the Swiss franc is worth about 85 cents in U.S. dollars, I was also getting more for my money. We had a blast trying on foreign fashion and I got some fun new clothes to breathe new life into my now well-worn wardrobe. As silly as it is, just adding a few new fun pieces to the mix excited us more than I can express!And finally, here are a few shots that express just how tired we are - and how much fun we have when the tiredness reaches new levels!
I love my hall mates (L-R): Joy, Lizzie, me, and Hillary
That's all for now - more later!Baci,
Bekah
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
An afternoon on Lake Lugano ...
Yesterday afternoon Dr. O took us on a boat tour of Lake Lugano, which took us us all the way out to Morcort where we saw the Chiesa da Sant Antoni. When the time came for the boat to take off, seven of our girls hadn't yet made it - they had hopped off on the wrong bus stop and were frantically running towards the dock to make it. We didn't see them until the boat had already taken off, and sadly waved back at their disappointed faces. Then to our utter astonishment (I mean, we were in Switzerland, a land of timeliness and efficiency!) the captain turned the boat around, circling back to the dock to rescue those those left behind. It was then that we remembered just where we were - Switzerland yes, but the Italian region of the nation. It was so neat to get a firsthand taste of how different values are between the two countries - and yet how wonderfully they sometimes combine in Lugano (Switaly!).
Upon our arrival we literally climbed a mountain to take a gander at the beautiful church along with the accompanying baptistery and cemetery.
As each person stumbled up the last few steps, a natural drinking fountain awaited to revive every parched traveler. It was probably some of the clearest and most refreshing water that I have ever tasted!
After that we went inside the church for a while to take in the details around us. The dark, stone interior was cool and inviting after our sweltering hike up the mountain, and I was happy to sit down on the smooth, wooden pews and tilt my gaze upwards. Intricate frescoes abounded, but because the chiesa was much smaller than many of the enormous duomos and cathedrals we have seen, it was much easier to take them all in and enjoy what I saw piece by piece.
The views outside the chiesa were wondrous - my pictures simply cannot do the sights justice! As I leaned over the wall and looked at the turquoise waters beneath me I felt closer to home somehow. I'm not sure why - maybe the lake and mountains resembled some views my mind recalled from western North Carolina, or even Colorado.
Whatever the cause, I was once again filled with a sense of awe at where I was and what I was doing. It was difficult to grasp it all - I was standing by a mountaintop church in Switzerland. I was a continent away from everywhere else I had ever seen, and yet, I didn't feel so very far away from home. I could have been an hour or so away and I don't think I would have felt any different - and yet, I was in Switzerland. Wake up and grasp reality Bekah!
Next we exited out of the church and over to the gardens that lead to the baptistery. The grounds were beautifully manicured and overlooked an even more magnificent view!
The sky was clearer on this side of the church (I'm not sure why) and the water below sparkled in richer tones, like diamonds. Again, my camera by no means does the view justice!
Joy, Hillary and I were sweaty - and stinky too - but satisfied :) We had made it up the mountain in one piece and the view was 100% worth the climb!
Another shot of Lake Lugano:
Houses on the hill beneath us (and for clarification - this was not the side of the mountain that we climbed! The other side was much higher up and a lot steeper!):
Flowers from the chiesa/baptistery garden:
I had never seen an iris in this color before ... isn't that shade vibrant?
And what would a flower collage be with a sweet and delicate rose ... I love the pale pink edges that surround the yellows and creams.
Sign leading us to the baptistery ...
Here is a shot from inside the baptistry - it was one of the most aesthetically pleasing baptisteries we've seen on this trip (in my humble opinion). The creamy, white marble was lovely, and as tiny as this one was in comparison to say, the grander one in Siena, I thought it fit the location very well. One of my favorite aspects was the light that streamed in from the side windows - it was very subtle, but added a lot to the visual impact of the room.
And here is the gorgeous ceiling! I appreciated the softness of the colors and thought they meshed well with the purpose of the little chapel.
And here are the views that greeted me as I left the baptistery:
A shot of the back of the church:
Well I need to run soon, but as I'm going to be very busy these next couple of days with final projects and such, I am not sure how much more sight-seeing we will be able to do. I would appreciate your prayers as we all wrap up here in Switzerland and take off in our various directions. Eleven of us are continuing on to England after the final travel break and the rest are going back to the States, so on top of the stresses of last minute due dates we have the knowledge that many goodbyes on are the horizon. And, for those of us continuing on, new challenges, classmates, and cultures are ahead as well.
I miss you all greatly and am sorely regretting that phone calls are so pricey! We just got the bills back for May, and it wasn't pretty, so I'm needing to be very careful and stingy with my minutes - and that's been really hard. I think the communication gap has been the most difficult struggle for me over here because I hate feeling the disconnect from those I love. Please pray that God will use this time to loosen my dependence on family and friends and help me really lean on Christ when I get lonely, frustrated, or upset. It hasn't been easy, but I am beginning to see the deep value in this time of "communication separation." Pray that I continue to do so (!) and that I will persevere and be patient in each little frustration that come my way.
Much love and many, many baci!
Bekah
Upon our arrival we literally climbed a mountain to take a gander at the beautiful church along with the accompanying baptistery and cemetery.
As each person stumbled up the last few steps, a natural drinking fountain awaited to revive every parched traveler. It was probably some of the clearest and most refreshing water that I have ever tasted!
After that we went inside the church for a while to take in the details around us. The dark, stone interior was cool and inviting after our sweltering hike up the mountain, and I was happy to sit down on the smooth, wooden pews and tilt my gaze upwards. Intricate frescoes abounded, but because the chiesa was much smaller than many of the enormous duomos and cathedrals we have seen, it was much easier to take them all in and enjoy what I saw piece by piece.
The views outside the chiesa were wondrous - my pictures simply cannot do the sights justice! As I leaned over the wall and looked at the turquoise waters beneath me I felt closer to home somehow. I'm not sure why - maybe the lake and mountains resembled some views my mind recalled from western North Carolina, or even Colorado.
Whatever the cause, I was once again filled with a sense of awe at where I was and what I was doing. It was difficult to grasp it all - I was standing by a mountaintop church in Switzerland. I was a continent away from everywhere else I had ever seen, and yet, I didn't feel so very far away from home. I could have been an hour or so away and I don't think I would have felt any different - and yet, I was in Switzerland. Wake up and grasp reality Bekah!
Next we exited out of the church and over to the gardens that lead to the baptistery. The grounds were beautifully manicured and overlooked an even more magnificent view!
The sky was clearer on this side of the church (I'm not sure why) and the water below sparkled in richer tones, like diamonds. Again, my camera by no means does the view justice!
Joy, Hillary and I were sweaty - and stinky too - but satisfied :) We had made it up the mountain in one piece and the view was 100% worth the climb!
Another shot of Lake Lugano:
Houses on the hill beneath us (and for clarification - this was not the side of the mountain that we climbed! The other side was much higher up and a lot steeper!):
Flowers from the chiesa/baptistery garden:
I had never seen an iris in this color before ... isn't that shade vibrant?
And what would a flower collage be with a sweet and delicate rose ... I love the pale pink edges that surround the yellows and creams.
Sign leading us to the baptistery ...
Here is a shot from inside the baptistry - it was one of the most aesthetically pleasing baptisteries we've seen on this trip (in my humble opinion). The creamy, white marble was lovely, and as tiny as this one was in comparison to say, the grander one in Siena, I thought it fit the location very well. One of my favorite aspects was the light that streamed in from the side windows - it was very subtle, but added a lot to the visual impact of the room.
And here is the gorgeous ceiling! I appreciated the softness of the colors and thought they meshed well with the purpose of the little chapel.
And here are the views that greeted me as I left the baptistery:
A shot of the back of the church:
Well I need to run soon, but as I'm going to be very busy these next couple of days with final projects and such, I am not sure how much more sight-seeing we will be able to do. I would appreciate your prayers as we all wrap up here in Switzerland and take off in our various directions. Eleven of us are continuing on to England after the final travel break and the rest are going back to the States, so on top of the stresses of last minute due dates we have the knowledge that many goodbyes on are the horizon. And, for those of us continuing on, new challenges, classmates, and cultures are ahead as well.I miss you all greatly and am sorely regretting that phone calls are so pricey! We just got the bills back for May, and it wasn't pretty, so I'm needing to be very careful and stingy with my minutes - and that's been really hard. I think the communication gap has been the most difficult struggle for me over here because I hate feeling the disconnect from those I love. Please pray that God will use this time to loosen my dependence on family and friends and help me really lean on Christ when I get lonely, frustrated, or upset. It hasn't been easy, but I am beginning to see the deep value in this time of "communication separation." Pray that I continue to do so (!) and that I will persevere and be patient in each little frustration that come my way.
Much love and many, many baci!
Bekah
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Welcome to Switaly!
Here are some of my earliest pictures of Lugano! I'm off to for a boat ride in an hour, but I wanted to post some pictures real quick while I had some time in the computer lab ...
After we arrived Dr. O took us on a walking tour of the town. I love the combination of the green trees and red park benches.
This spot reminded me of the Old Well in Chapel Hill ... oddly enough, there's a bust of George Washington inside!
Lake Lugano
The stairs of death - but we made it! (L-R): Dr. O, Jamie, Joy and Lizzie
A pretty shot of a nearby park:
The gorgeous park across the street from our residence:
Giresole Residence Hall - our home away from home while we're in Lugano.
Berries! This shot was taken on another one of our rambles about the city:
Beautiful sky and mountains - near the main campus of Franklin College.
Speaking of which ...
The main entrance to the college administration building
Academic buildings on the hillside
Clouds and mountains near the main campus
A pretty little yellow house - I took this picture for my sister Mary! This house made me think of her because she loves yellow :)
Can you tell I love taking pictures of nature more than anything else?
A garden we pass everyday on the way to classes
THE ROOM - We each have our own private rooms!
And private bathrooms ....
And there's a kitchen in the room ...
And a nice big closet tucked away in a nook!
Here is a shot of my first attempt at pasta in my kitchen. To put it lightly, the dish was not a great success. Lizzie did her best to help me, but it was no use. However, I did put basil leaves on top to make it look a little prettier ...
The mess that was made in my attempt ... the clean up almost ended up being more work than the preparation part! Oh well. I've got a few more nights to try again, and there's always cereal to be had if I fail again :)
That's all for now! More pictures and commentary later!
Love,
Bekah
After we arrived Dr. O took us on a walking tour of the town. I love the combination of the green trees and red park benches.
This spot reminded me of the Old Well in Chapel Hill ... oddly enough, there's a bust of George Washington inside!
Lake Lugano
The stairs of death - but we made it! (L-R): Dr. O, Jamie, Joy and Lizzie
A pretty shot of a nearby park:
The gorgeous park across the street from our residence:
Giresole Residence Hall - our home away from home while we're in Lugano.
Berries! This shot was taken on another one of our rambles about the city:
Beautiful sky and mountains - near the main campus of Franklin College.
Speaking of which ...
The main entrance to the college administration building
Academic buildings on the hillside
Clouds and mountains near the main campus
A pretty little yellow house - I took this picture for my sister Mary! This house made me think of her because she loves yellow :)
Can you tell I love taking pictures of nature more than anything else?
A garden we pass everyday on the way to classes
THE ROOM - We each have our own private rooms!
And private bathrooms ....
And there's a kitchen in the room ...
And a nice big closet tucked away in a nook!
Here is a shot of my first attempt at pasta in my kitchen. To put it lightly, the dish was not a great success. Lizzie did her best to help me, but it was no use. However, I did put basil leaves on top to make it look a little prettier ...
The mess that was made in my attempt ... the clean up almost ended up being more work than the preparation part! Oh well. I've got a few more nights to try again, and there's always cereal to be had if I fail again :)
That's all for now! More pictures and commentary later!Love,
Bekah
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
