MissDTravels

After spending some time in PA with my family for the holidays I spent a quiet week in Leysin and then headed to North East Italy to visit with two friends from Florida. First, the flight from Geneva to Venice is the most beautiful I've ever been on. You fly directly over the Alps and it is truly breathtaking. Glad I had a window seat! Next, I have to thank my hosts, Kate and Paul (and Daisy Mae), for their incredible hospitality. It was really lovely staying in their cozy guest room, enjoying some K-cup coffee, and snuggling with their adorable dog Daisy Mae. One of the best things I did on my visit was learn to cook Frico, a regional dish, from the lovely and lively Italian, Teresa. Using Montaso cheese and potatoes, we created a filling dish that I've since recreated at home. Oh, and there was wine and blueberry Grappa, too. ;) Now, off to Venice. I really enjoyed visiting Venice in the winter months because there were very few crowds. It is a beautiful ...

It's officially 2015 and the holiday season is all wrapped up. I hope you all had a wonderful time with your family and friends, ate lots of goodies, shared stories, and celebrated a wonderful New Year. To put a bow on my 2014 travel stories, here are some thoughts and highlights from a 48 hour whirlwind tour of the Christmas Markets ( Weihnachtsmarkt ) in Berlin, Germany. I was inspired to visit Berlin before flying to the USA after reading several articles boasting Berlin's 50+ annual markets, the German Christmas atmosphere, and the superb gifts and foods. First, a little history: I visited Berlin in August and my December visit was entirely different. (Not unlike my Dental Tourism November  versus  August Music Festival  travels to Budapest). During my first visit to Berlin, I stayed at a very large hostel with lots of young people and spent my time enjoying a diverse mix of cultural sights and evening events with some local Berliner friends. This time, h...

Earlier in the fall, a group of girl friends and I had decided we would spend our November long weekend in Budapest, Hungary. I had talked up the capital city for its thermal baths, cheap salons, spas, accommodations, and shopping, that now everyone else wanted to go, too. And, of course, I was happy to return to one of my favorite summer 2014 travel destinations and serve as a bit of a tour guide. We booked our flights and an Airbnb apartment and in November off we went with an empty suitcase intended for goodies and a list of beauty treatments we wanted done. And then, on the first night, dental disaster struck. It started with a series of strange headaches followed shortly after by pain in my jaw and then BOOM! - full on excruciating pain on the entire left side of my mouth, both inside and out. It was at this moment that one of my friends informed me of "Dental Tourism" - a subset of medical tourism that was completely unknown to me beforehand. As it turns out, Buda...

In early November I was very lucky to visit Rome with some colleagues to attend a conference. Although the gathering left a lot to be desired (funny how a lack of WiFi can ruin an event focused on technology integration in education), the opportunity to roam around Rome in the evenings and chat with other educators made it all worthwhile. An observation about Rome/Vatican City: We spend a lot of time when traveling looking at eye level - e.g. examining artwork in a gallery, speaking to others, shopping - but what struck me about Rome is the things below and above that vantage point. I'm talking about floors and ceilings. I was really in awe of the frescos, the tiled mosaic floors, and the dome roofs of some of Rome and Vatican City's most iconic buildings. So, along with a few "typical tourist shots" I'm including my favorite floor and ceiling views from the trip here (sorry but you won't see anything from the Sistine Chapel as photos are strictly prohibi...

Travel adventures of the 2014-2015 school year have begun. I decided to spend my first long weekend in Belgium to take a much needed break from school life. I enjoyed plenty of frites (don't you dare call them 'French Fries' here), waffles, and chocolates. Beaucoup des frites. First, I spent one whole day in amazingly beautiful Bruges with a short stop in Ghent. You must absolutely visit Bruges if you're ever in Belgium. Known as the "Venice du Nord" (Venice of the North), Bruges is full of canals, narrow streets, cobblestone, shops, and charming buildings. Canals in Bruges. Charming pops of color in Bruges. In Brussels, I most enjoyed shopping, the town square, and having some time to practice my French with the locals. I also had a local beer (or two) and spent some serious time contemplating Surrealism in the Magritte museum. Brussels main square. A la prochaine, SwissMissD

Although I returned to Switzerland only two months ago, I feel like it has been ages since I went on my miraculous summer adventure. I got so deep into work so quickly (yes, friends, I really do work, I promise) that I just moved on to the next thing without taking a moment to reflect. This became really clear to me when I was on the phone with my mother a week ago. She asked "How many countries have you been to since you moved? Your aunt and I counted and we think it's 11." "No way!" I replied. "It's less than that, isn't it? Let me count." "Italy (x2), England, Spain (x3), France, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, and this past weekend, Belgium. Oh, and Switzerland, of course." I said. It's 10. Mom and Aunt were counting my stopover in Moscow as the 11th, but I never left the airport. And so, it is 10. Not bad for 14 months time. I spent a bit that night going through my photos from the last 14 months of l...

I'm on day 17 of this miraculous journey and quite frankly I need a little vacation from this vacation. So today I took a break. I haven't visited a single point of interest and I haven't travelled more than 3 blocks from my hostel. I sat at a park and tried to even out my shorts tan (I failed, it's cloudy today), I gave my body some much needed "good stuff" (tea, chia seed and yogurt breakfast, mixed nuts, plenty of water, and soon a big salad), and I set about doing some lesson planning for the coming year (after all, I do have to go back to work eventually).  I know a few of you are probably reading this and scoffing. How can I waste a perfectly good day in Vienna ?! Well, I can assure I haven't forgotten how great this all is and how fortunate I am but I'm really just a bit worn out. If anything, I needed a change of pace for the sake of making the last 6 days as amazing as possible.  Why am I worn out?  Firstly, I didn't account for how hard t...