Mountaineers!

Sunday we woke up fairly early (basically on the only day we could've slept in) and went for a hike in the Swiss Alps on Monte San Salvatore. I'm not a hiking fanatic or anything, but I've done my fair share of hikes around Northern Virginia and Blacksburg and thought I'd be relatively prepared to make it to the top without much struggle. Let me tell you, I was very wrong. It was the hardest hike I've ever completed and there were quite a few times when I seriously thought I had to stop and turn back. Fortunately, it was mostly overcast on our way up, so at least we didn't have the sun beating down on us, but I went through my water bottle pretty fast and it was a very steep incline a majority of the way. There were a lot of stairs, which made the hike feel like a million squats and my legs/butt are still killing me.

Some of the us and Brinberg taking a break on the way up...almost at the top!

But reaching the top was totally worth it. At the top of the mountain there was a tall church that you could stand on the top of and the view was absolutely breathtaking. You could see Lago di Lugano and even parts of Italy. The sun finally came out and the breeze felt so good. There really aren't words to describe how incredible it was and the pictures really don't even do it any justice at all.

It finally started raining once we were heading back and near the base of San Salvatore and on our walk back to the Montarina it was raining pretty heavily. We came back soaked, all showered, and then went out to a fancy little family dinner. We went to a restaurant right across our hostel called, Ana Capri, which served Italian food. I got scialatielle nere con gamberetti, pomodorini e basilica (black pasta with shrimp, tomatoes, and basil). Yum! The restaurant has large windows that overlook the town and lake and even though it was stormy, it was a still nice. The only thing that sucks is that water is so expensive, it was about 5 francs at dinner.

Yesterday, however, was less exciting. It was a typical Monday...my roommates and I overslept a bit and all woke up 10 minutes before we had to leave. Class was rough as usual, we have so many readings and projects to do with so little time to do it in, especially because we still want time to explore Lugano. After morning class I went out to the pool to complete my readings for the afternoon and ended up stepping on a bee. So painful! But at least it happened the day after our hike instead of before because I was limping around for a while. It's much better today, the pain and swelling have gone down.

The pool at the Montarina.

This week is going to be a busy one and our internet connection has been going in and out (guess it’ll prepare us for when we have no internet in Rwanda!), but we finally got our train tickets and everything ready for Barcelona next weekend and Oktoberfest in a few weeks, so I’ve definitely got a lot to look forward to!