Tag: hot chocolate

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sleepless in zurich

So if you read the last post then you know that the train ride to Zurich sucked pretty bad. We boarded the train at 2:30am and that got us into Zurich at around 8:00am. Because we’d already been up half the night waiting for the train, we didn’t get much sleep once we got on the train either. And by the time we arrive in Zurich we were going on about >2 hours of sleep. The only redeeming thing about the ride was that the views were absolutely stunning. The mountains we were riding through were so picturesque.

But anyways, we got into Zurich and becasue it was fairly early in the morning we couldn’t check into our hostel yet. So that meant no sleep for us anytime soon. Instead we opted to keep ourselves awake and do a free walking tour of the city (we even got a free brownie for doing the tour). Lucky for us the city isn’t super big so it didn’t tire us out too much more. And the tour was really great. Zurich is such a beautiful place and the people there were so classy. Literally everyone was dressed to the 9s and I loved it. There were also a ton of pregnant woman….seriously every other woman we passed was pregnant. Must be a good place to raise a family….I’d totally live their one day it was so perfect.

We spent the rest of the afternoon sitting on the lake and enjoying the weather and the sun. And we also picked up some Swiss chocolate..it was just alright…seems I’m a Cadbury girl now. And becasue everything is so expensive there, we decided just to go big with our dinner regardless of price. I think we had some traditional stuff. It was good.

Finally we could go and get some rest after a very long day, but since they were having some sort of festival when we were there, they had multiple bands marching through the streets making it very loud. I know if kept the other girls up for a while but I had my earplugs so I didn’t have too much trouble falling asleep.

The next morning before we headed for Italy we decided to treat ourselves one last time to the best Hot Chocolate in the city. And oh my god was it incredible. It was like liquid gold. And I think in that one cup our trip to Zurich/Switzerland could be summed up: expensive, yet left me wanting so much more…


                     Cheers.

~meesh

Pics here

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a most delicious day

After getting on a train that we weren’t sure would take us to Brussels we were off. No worries it was the right train and we made it to Brussels. And, with a good old fashion map we made to our hostel. This hostel was probably had the best decor, it was so random but so great. Now I’m really only mentioning this night of the trip because in this hostel we had a 6 bed female room. We met our one roomie a nice aussie chick, she was cool. The 5 of us then went to bed without having met roommate 6….well we had quick the rude awakening from her in the middle of the night. So roommate 6 comes back real drunk and with a male to our FEMALE dorm…they were being obnoxious and making a fuss and the aussie said something but they didn’t seem to care. Then he leaves and she proceeds to make a phone call mind you, at like 3 am…and she had the bathroom light on so the whole room was bright. What a b….I was not happy. You’re in a shared room, like be respectful…i’ve gotten ready in the dark before because people were still sleeping the room and I didn’t want to turn the light on.

But, ok moving on. The next day was Courtney’s bday, so we started the morning right by treating her and ourselves to Belgium waffles. Heaven on earth. It was like eating clouds (word for word what I wrote in my journal). Full on waffles we headed out on a free tour with Yas, our guide. He was super chill and the tour was the perfect combo of stories and sites. Two thumbs up. He told us where to get the best fresh frites and 2 euro Belgium beers, the tour finished at the Mont Des Arts, seriously the best view of the city. Mannekin Pis and the Gran Plaz were great too.


            

Photos: mont des arts, mannekin pis, tin tin, gran plaz

We took just about all of Yas’s advice in regards to food and got fresh frites covered in mayo and then 2 euro beer. I’m actually surprised by how much I liked the beer because I don’t drink beer ever. It was called Orval and for that price I should have gotten two, lol. After picking up some Belgium chocolate we relaxed before getting some traditional Belgium dinner, at least i think it was traditional food they eat. But, actually all the food in Brussels comes with frites….like really though, it’s great.


            

Photos: more of the gran plaz and the surrounding area

The night was ended at Delirium a much talked about bar in Brussels as it has over 2000 beers to choose from. I choose the Delirium Red and after accidentally ordering twice and running away before they could yell at me we found a table to sit at downstairs. Clearly I don’t like ordering drinks at the bar. But, the highlight had to be the table of Belgium boys sittign next to us. It was one of their bdays so we all sang together and had a good laugh or two. And we met locals so go us!

Photos: delirium

Definitely one of my top 3 places of the whole trip.

Cheers.

~meesh

Pics here!

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hot chocolate, rain and crappy umbrellas

By the command of my sister to put up a new post, here goes.

So after our day in Paris we headed to Luxembourg. Since it is right in between Paris and Brussels, how could we not stop there for an afternoon. For the ride there we were assigned seats and happened to be in different coaches which was fine until the train stopped for a mysteriously long amount time. And naturally all of the announcements where in french so SOL meesh. But, actually SOL because I did almost get off at the wrong stop….for future reference Metz is not Luxembourg.


   Photos: Luxembourg skyline in the rain

At little behind schedule we finally made it, and we didn’t mind being late because it was raining and it was windy. Aka the weather was just beautiful if you could imagine…anyways we headed towards what we thought was the city center and looked for a place to eat. Unsure of what authentic Luxembourg food is we settled for a chain Mexican restaurant because after that train ride we were due for a margarita or 2.


  

Photos: Nature shots

From lunch we headed to get some hot chocolate because it seems all our adventures revolve around food. But, it wasn’t just any hot chocolate apparently this place is really known for it. After running into some pretty buildings we actually found the place we were looking for, I had some doubts about finding it, as I generally do….Nothing beats the one night we tried to go to the O2 and I was just about in tears because I thought we were legit lost and had no clue where we were going. We were actually like right in front of the place…but I still almost cried, ask Cathy she remembers lol.


    

Photos: closeups around the city

Got to love a good a good digression. Ok, so we got the hot chocolate for takeaway and they had a whole wall full of different flavors but I went for plain chocolate because a lot of the flavors had nuts in them. It was definitely good, but not the best hot chocolate I’ve ever had. Also, since we did get take away we were drinking it outside in the cold wind and rain. And of course since I was trying to take pics at the same time so needless to say I made a huge mess. I got the chocolate everywhere, especially on my scarf. Unfortunately the stain stayed until i threw the scarf out in Italy.


  

Photos: the guard, guarding an important build I assume & a city street

Also, 99% sure my umbrella also broke because it couldn’t handle the wind. And I’d like to say here that I always thought people would carried the big umbrellas that are borderline walking sticks were just ridiculous….well now I know why they do because they can actually hold up to the crazy wind and rain. Needless to say we called it quits pretty early and headed back to the station to wait for the train to Brussels…

Cheers.

~meesh

P.S. Paris photos here …& Luxembourg photos here

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on the edge

Because it seems I’ve turned into quite the procrastinator these days it only makes sense that it would take me like 4 days to get a post up about my day trip adventure this past Sunday.

With last weekend being one of the last weekends in Leeds, we decided to stay local and enjoy the city. Saturday a few of us got our lazy asses together and went into town. We explored some of the arcades in the city center which are just absolutely beautiful. The are detailed and exquisite, so it would only make sense that that is where all the really fancy and expensive shops are (No, I don’t have any pics because it was a miracle that I even made it out of my room on Saturday).

But, this isn’t what this post is supposed to be about. Okay, so Sunday my flatmates and I decided to take a trip to Ilkey, which is about a 30 min train ride to the northwest, I think. The day started great, the sun was shining and it wasn’t too cold. We arrived into town and then headed to the Cow and Calf Rocks, because Ilkley is known for their hiking…..

IMG_4507 IMG_4509 IMG_4500 IMG_4501 IMG_4505 IMG_4503Photos: the town, 26 because my bday

Let’s just say we definitely got our workout in for the day. We made it up there and it was totally worth it, the views were just absolutely stunning and it was the first time I felt like I was in the English country side…you don’t realize how big of a city Leeds is until you get into a little town like Ilkley.

IMG_4499 IMG_4495 IMG_4494 IMG_4498 IMG_4481 IMG_4472Photos: more of the town and the view as we got higher

So we did a lot of exploring and picture taking which I enjoyed until it started raining….and then it started snowing and don’t even get me started on the wind. By the time we got down from the cliffs and peaks we were completely soaked. And I mean like head to toe, my jacket was wet all the way through. So of course we did the most logical thing you do when you’re wet, cold and completely disheveled. We went for High Tea.

IMG_4477 IMG_4466 IMG_4470 IMG_4441 IMG_4453 IMG_4397 IMG_4391 IMG_4416 IMG_4389 IMG_4400 IMG_4429Photos: the view, nature and me hanging sitting on the edge

I actually shocked that they even let us in the way we looked, no offense. Anyways, I just decided to get some Hot Chocolate to help warm me up a bit and because I decided I’m going to go back and have a proper High tea when I’m dressed nice and the weather is good.

After that we headed back home, still cold…when we finally got back it was a mad dash for the shower.

Mother nature may have not been on our side but it was still a great little adventure.

Enjoy.

~meesh

For more photos click me!

P.S. I leave for a weekend in London tomorrow and I’m unbelievably excited. We’ve got the whole weekend planned out for us, so next week I know I’ll have lots to say and lots of pics.

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the not so weekly update 2/14

Since I haven’t done anything to super crazy of late I figured a little update would be good enough.

This past week has been a bit of a roller coaster….

First off on Monday my room light goes out….so I was living in a cave until maintenance fixed it on Wednesday. And let me tell you living in the dark is not fun. You have no idea what you look like when you go to class and it just brings you way down, because you’re just sitting in the dark alone.

IMG_3957Photo: hump-day slushy, this definitely helped me get through the week…

Second off, there is this black cat that is always roaming around right outside the complex (I don’t have a pic for obvious reasons) and each time i see it, I’m like “oh, great…something is gonna go wrong today…” Well, on Thursday I just so happened to see this particular black cat twice……both on the way to and from class. And although nothing particularly went wrong, Thursday was not my most shining moment. But, I did make some awesome news friends in class an ate the best fish n’ chips I’ve had so far.

IMG_3955Photos: yum.

S/O to Bridget and Kate for an awesome afternoon and late lunch at Revolution.

Also, tg I didn’t see that black cat yesterday (you know, on Friday the 13th) or else I think my life would have been over. And speaking of Friday is was probably the best day of the week because we celebrated Galentines Day….Leslie Knope you are a goddess. Anyways the day was everything that is was supposed to be…a day to celebrate 4 girls from Illinois killin it in England.

IMG_3963 IMG_3967Photos: Galentines hot coco and dessert

Then there’s today….v-day…which has been pretty much the source of my “bi-polar” esque mood this week. I’m not really a fan of the holiday, I think it’s a total cope out for people in relationships, like why does saying “I love you” on Valentines day mean so much more than it does on any other day of the year? IMG_3970 IMG_3971 IMG_3972

 Photos: thanks siri…

So I’m obvi spending the whole day in the my room eating chocolates an avoiding people in general. That and I’m always home from school this weekend 1. to spend the day with my family and 2. to celebrate my goddaughters birthday. It’s been really hard knowing that I wouldn’t be able to be there this year. I guess you could say I’ve been a little homesick knowing that that’s where I would normally be right now….

But, I just have to keep looking forward because next week marks the official one month of being in England which is super exciting and crazy. I can’t believe I have lasted this long, lol. So then, let’s hope next week has better things in store….cheers!

& Happy Birthday little e, wish I could be their to watch you blow out your candles.

Enjoy.

~meesh

P.S. I promise I have some more exciting posts to come…

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