Spain is having strikes over austerity measures today and our nearest metro route is closed for the day. So with no cheap means to get to the city center, we've been hanging out in The Sant Boi suburb of Barcelona. This blog will detail some highlights of Geneva where we spent our last couple of days. If you can catch a soccer match at Stade de Geneve then do. It offers an intimate setting (only 30,000 capacity). At first it is difficult to gauge how large the city is. It seems to lined with street after street of 7 or 8 story buildings surrounding a beautiful lake, but we ended up walking from one side of geneva to the other in 30 min. You can see most of what the city has to offer in 2 ... read more

Josh and I have arrived safely in the land of neutrality. We had a good time in France with my uncle, and then took three trains for about seven hours yesterday before arriving in Switzerland. Zurich is a german sparking canton, which is tough for me, but thankfully josh is fluent, so e haven't had any trouble getting around. We got in last night and met up with karin and her cousin Steven. We went back to steven's flat and dropped our stuff before going out to a bar and a club in downtown Zurich. I learned two things last night. First, if you want to drink in Switzerland, you'd better be prepared to pay around five bucks a beer and more for mixed drinks. Second, I'm incredibly uncomfortable in clubs no matter where they are. ... read more

Day 2 of Paris was just as great as the first. Jody and I started out the day by strolling over to the Louvre. We are becoming so cultured with every passing hour here on our trip. The louvre was an enriching experience... We got to see the Mona Lisa, one of those cool Easter Island statues, and a myriad of other awe inspring works. The museum is huge and filled a good portion of the day. We then went over to the Arc de Triomph and marched victoriously through its majestic arches. After a crepe and a Parisian nap we took in a street performance and enjoyed the cool evening in front of Notre Dame. Au revoir for today ... read more

We had another busy day in barca today. We started off the day by taking the metro to Parc Guell, which is a park on top of a big hill to the north of the main city. Antoni Gaudi, a crazy architect from the turn of the century had a bunch of work in the park. There were two buildings that were supposed to look like gingerbread houses that were really cool. We also got our exercise in as we climbed to the top of the hill and got some great views of the city. After this, we headed back to the metro station and headed to Sagrada Familia. We got caught behind a big group of Germans as we tried to exit the metro. Josh just barely made it off beFore the doors shut. I ... read more

I'm wide awake and have failed to conquer jet lag. So anyway did you know European milk comes in boxes and you don't refridgerate until after opening? It seems disgusting but I'm sure it'll taste great with my frosted flakes in the am. We did some exploring today around our neighborhood. Every apt building looks like a project but it's a cool barrio to walk around in. We had some cheap dinner for 7 euro at a local hole in the wall. Luckily the waiter/cook/only guy working knew English so I didn't have to stumble through broken Spanish. Jody's favorite phrase this week will be yo tambien at jaja but I'll be doing the same next week in Paris. We're headed for las ramblas and parc montujic tomorrow. Hopefully we can find a cyber cafe and ... read more