Runnin' Around Geneva!

Gettin' silly at Versailles, or just pullin' a Jesus and turning water into wine? BOTH. She talented.

*This post is dedicated to D, my danceflo killa and one of the chief crew DABS, who I had to say goodbye to this morning. Miss you already; you made my semester so much more fun/giggly. Can't wait to be reunited in Cali, BAD CHICK ALERT, alarms gon' be ringing every which way.*

Since a family vacation to Lugano, a small city in Switzerland, I have often said that when I grow up, that's where I am headed. After a recent weekend in Geneva, this dream has only become more tempting. SO. GREEN. MOUNTAINS. EVERYWHERE. MUESLI. WHAT IS THIS SORCERY. Basically, it was great, thanks in large part to my host Jean, an elementary school buddy while his family lived in DC for 2 years when his Dad got relocated for his job. 6th grade me would have absolutely died to have seen me spending a weekend in Switzerland with Jean and his amazing family, speaking in French, no less! It was like an out of body experience, but I guess that's the sensation of a pipedream being realized.

In the short time I was there, I got to see the go-to spots in downtown Geneva, and even a food market (les halles) which was super cool, and the jet d'eau, which seemed to serve no purpose except look cool and I am super down with it. I got to go out on Friday and Saturday with Jean and his friends, and everyone was super nice. The nightlife was great, but that could be partly due to my good fortune to be there during an electronic music festival.

I even got a chance to go trail running near Jean's house while he did some work on his documentary, which was absolutely beautiful. Having returned to Parisian concrete and sidewalk-hogging tourists, I miss it all the more. Get ready to fall in love/feel like Heidi--

View from Jean's house, and these pretty purple flowers I am obsessed with

Deliberately misleading Jean into thinking he was framing the water...made for better pictures, if you ask me

"Fait par les enfants du quartier"=tiny humans of the 'hood, hard at work

...urge to picnic

Apparently this is on some list of the most miraculous things in nature, and I believe it! This is La Jonction, where the two rivers meet, and you can really see how they are completely different colors. so cool!

Saw cute trail off path in woods, knew I would get lost if I took it, did it anyways. YOLO.

Running selfies!

Thought maybe this bridge would take me towards home...

...ended up running through some stables instead. Bizarre, but so charming.

The most precious family in the world. Seriously though, I just want to hug them/go climb a tree or a mountain or something

Family dinner just before catching my train. I have been entirely undeserving of the hospitality of my hosts this semester, but I LOVE IT

So now, having seen Switzerland for a 2nd time, I can still say that it is awesome, and I am 100% going back. Everyone was so nice to me, and it was cool to see Jean and his family again (it had been TEN YEARS; his little sister was barely 4 when they moved away from DC! Unreal, considering now she's the coolest Swiss chick I know...also like the only one, but still). It was very different from Paris, but in a good way, and the whole weekend was just another reason why this semester has been so great & continually offering unique and cool experiences I could never have imagined having.

P.S. Dear Paris, I appreciate your concentrated effort at becoming greener like Switzerland, but STOP RAINING.