Interlaken, Switzerland

Had an amazing weekend up in Switzerland - the trip was organized by some eccentric Australian with an office in Florence; he spends his weekends carting study abroad students off to either Interlaken or Sorrento. Not a shabby day job.

Our bus arrived in Interlaken around 1am last Thursday morning, giving us almost three full days to enjoy the place. We certainly took full advantage of that: Friday afternoon my friends and I ... (drum roll) went SKY-DIVING!

Absolutely incredible and breath-taking (hah, literally). I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Saturday Michelle and I rented a scooter car and tooled around to see some spectacular waterfalls and a lot of the Swiss countryside. We were smack dab in the middle of the Swiss Alps so of course the entire area was absolutely gorgeous.

On Sunday I rented a bike and cycled around Lake Breinz, the lake east of Interlaken. As seems to be a trend on this trip, I got much more than I bargained for. Rather than just a scenic bike ride to pass the morning, I ended up mountain biking up and down hills, on gravel, etc. It was tough but very worth it. The last half was more open and much more scenic, giving me the chance to enjoy views on my whole way back to Interlaken, returning just in the nick of time to squeeze in a shower at our hostel before busing back to Florence. All in all I biked 40 kilometers! Whew.

This last week in Florence has been full of seeing sights that I didn't get around to earlier, wrapping up school and welcoming Jenna in town. Highlights of the past few days include Carmina Burana at the Boboli Gardens, multiple trips to Hemingway (Florence's amazing chocolate shop - drinks, platters, milkshakes... decadent and wonderful), and aperitivo at La Dolce Vita.

All of my apartment-mates have already left town, and as of tomorrow Jenna and I and another friend will be doing more traveling of our own! Let the adventures continue...