Gotta love those last minute excursions!

The countdown for my departure from the enchanting land of Italy continues... and it is now officially T - 8 days and counting. Still surreal! Niraj still has more time over here, even though his time is filled with papers and exams.

Keeping with the theme of getting in as much as possible before leaving, there are a few recent travel adventures to share.

Last week I found out that the company I am consulting for was doing some testing in a town outside of Zurich. So I was invited me to meet everyone out there and witness the happenings. Now, who would pass up a chance to go to Switzerland?! So, I took a train out to Basel and also spent a few hours wandering Zurich on my way back home.

First of all, the train ride from Milano to Basel was absolutely breathtaking! The entire way you are winding through the Alps, and I spent 4 hours gazing at lakes, mountains (some still with snowy peaks), farms, and random little villages under perfectly clear skies . It was definitely beautiful country.

Basel is a quaint town, and it is unique because it lies right where Switzerland, France, and Germany meet. We had some time to explore Old Town, ate some amazing fondue, and took in as much Swiss culture as we could. As I mentioned, I decided to stop over in Zurich as well on my way back to Bologna. Zurich was fantastic! Anyone who knows me well and has heard me talk about my travels over here knows that I love the German Brezels (pretzels). I lived off them during Oktoberfest and begged my parents to bring me some when they stopped over in Frankfurt airport, so needless to say I also lived off of those in Zurich! They were so delicious! Besides eating pretzels, I was able to walk across the river and get lost in the curvy, hilly streets of Zurich. Switzerland is definitely quite lovely, and here are pictures to prove it.

The other last minute trip we squeezed in was to Cinque Terre. This area is 5 little cliff side villages right on the Mediterranean Sea... Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterosso. Riomaggiore is the largest of the five, but Vernazza and Monterosso were our favorites. By the time you get out to those two you have lost many of the other tourists and get a real "feel" of the culture and lifestyle.

Each town is a little bit different, and there is a walking/hiking path right along the water connecting all five towns. That part of the country is stunning because you have rolling hills with vineyards on one side of you and the gorgeous blue waters of the Mediterranean on the other side. There were 10 other SAIS students going out that weekend, so we spent part of Saturday exploring with them as well. We walked in between all of the towns, sampled local wine, ate seafood (well, Niraj ate seafood), tried the local pesto (quite delicious), and even ventured into the water. Niraj and the others decided to go all in which was quite hilarious to watch! Here's proof of them all waving to the camera:


And here are the rest of our photos.

All in all, definitely more great adventures and good times to add to our yearly inventory!