JFK > ZUR > VCE

Hello, all!

Thank you all for reading! I am thoroughly enjoying your comments so far. Unfortunately, I was not able to capture Yoko on camera before she left. C'est la vie. Because I do not have a Yoko pic for you all, I have included two really good ones in this post.

Now that you have been promised pictures, I will begin to detail the remainder of my journey for you. I will split this post up for you all into a few sections, as indicated by the title. The first will be JFK > ZUR, my flight from New York to Zürich.

In typical JFK style, we boarded the plane on time but then taxied for an hour. Lame. I had, however, slipped myself some Benadryl after I got situated on the plane, so I was set. I slept through take off, and woke up to a very unpleasant sound. What, I asked myself, could be making such a guttural, painful noise on an airplane. I opened my eyes to discover that it was the woman beside me about to be sick. I was mortified. The flight attendants were gathered all around, pressing bags of ice against her face and chest, and I immediately recoiled against the freezing cold window. I will not continue on this subject because it is unpleasant, but - so you know - she did not get sick. Phew.

The flight itself was uneventful, no turbulence or anything like that. The food was mediocre, but that's what I was expecting. I watched Confessions of a Shopaholic, and it was mediocre too. I was, however, impressed by the flight attendants and overall flight experience. I learned during my time on Swiss Air flights and in Zürich Airport today, that the Swiss are a pretty savvy group of people. They know how to sell themselves and sell their products. For example, the intra-terminal train in the Zürich Airport had flat screens with gorgeous pictures of the Swiss countryside while playing soothing nature sounds. Different vendors were giving away chocolate everywhere, and chocolate, combined with the mountain stream running through my head, put me in a very pro-Swiss state of mind. It doesn't hurt that the airport was super clean and well-organized with huge windows looking onto the Alps, my new favorite mountain range.

ZUR > VCE

I was laid over in Zürich from 11:15 a.m., when I landed, until 5:40 p.m., when I left for Venice. During those 6ish hours, I slept; I slept hard. My bags were still checked from my first flight, so I took my purse, wrapped the strap securely around my arm, and crashed on a three-seat bench overlooking the stunning Swiss countryside. It was blissful.

Now comes my favorite part of my whole journey (besides arriving safely in Venice): the Swiss Alps. If I was any good at geography, I would have realized that, on a flight from Zürich to Venice, I would pass directly over the Alps. But I'm not. In fact, I am spatially retarded (Mike and Al - tell them how bad I am if they ask). So, we took off, and the flight attendants were giving out chocolate when I nonchalantly glanced over my shoulder out the window. My jaw dropped. It has been a long time since I've been completely overwhelmed by the beauty of nature. I don't have the words to describe the experience, so I took pictures (The one in this post is the best one I could take through the 17 layers of airplane glass).

After an hour or so, the Alps faded into the clouds behind me, and the Adriatic came into view. Slowly, Venice became clear. A huge smile broke out on my face. I couldn't fight it. Even though the plane could've crashed and burned at that very moment, I didn't care: I had arrived.

VCE

The only leg of my journey that involved some planning was VCE > .... well, VCE. I figured out Wednesday that I required a motor bus, a water bus (or vaporetto) and my feet to reach my hostel on Giudecca, one of Venice's many islands. (I am writing to you know from my hostel, and I will stay two nights here before I am able to move into my apartment.) Surprisingly, this whole process was extremely easy. I arrived at my hostel after an hour on the vaporetto, and I promptly went to the edge of the Grand Canal, that it faces, threw my bags down, and watched the sun set. Sigh. It was so damn beautiful.

With these images, I will leave you. There is another part of this story that I will write about tomorrow. Let's just say that I made a friend on my way to dinner, and we are going sightseeing tomorrow. Did I mention she's friends with my new roommate? GASP! OMG! It's such a small world. Stay tuned!

I love you all, and I will talk to you soon!

Lindsey