Dad visits and Madrid!

Well, for those of you that don't know...My Dad was originally scheduled to visit me in December, but there were some complications and he wasn't able to make it. I was very much looking forward to seeing him, so I was a little down when he wasn't able to come and I know he was too. Anyway, it turns out that he was able to plan another trip out to see me. He came to Switzerland in late January and spent about a week here. Unfortunately, the airline lost his luggage, and he had only the clothes he was wearing. Thankfully, they were able to locate the suitcase and ship it to our hotel in Geneva, so he was without his suitcase for just one day. He was only able to see one of my matches against a lower ranked team in our league. BUT, my coach gave us 2 days off that weekend and we were able to book a flight to Madrid, Spain! I was very excited because I had been to Barcelona and loved it, so I thought Madrid would be a neat place to visit as well. We stayed in Geneva the night before we flew to Madrid, so I was able to show him around a little. Everything was smooth sailing on the way to Madrid until we had a make an emergency landing for a passenger that had a medical problem. We had to land in Toulouse, France, for about 45 minutes before we were en route to Madrid. We arrived in Madrid around siesta time, so almost everything was closed. We found a Hard Rock Cafe and had a good meal and some drinks. After, we walked around all of the big plazas and stopped periodically for drinks or a snack. We found this neat tapas market that had everything you could imagine...olives, fruit, potatoes, bread, seafood, meat, desserts, and bars that served a sorts of different drinks. It was a food lover's paradise where you could sample little bits of delicious food. The next day, we woke up early and walked all over Madrid. Unfortunately, it was Monday, and all of the big museums were closed. But, we were still able to see and do lots of things like taking a stroll in Retiro Park, visit the Palacio Real, Plaza Mayor, and walk around the streets of Madrid. We made a stop in Plaza Mayor where there was a headless street performer, needless to say...I had to take a picture with him haha. I've seen all sorts of street acts here in Europe, but this was the first headless one, so it was a must! We also sat down outside at a restaurant called Las Cuevas and enjoyed a nice late lunch, where we shared a pitcher of sangria and some good food. Later that night, we asked our hotel for dinner recommendations and we figured we'd have to walk pretty far, which was perfectly ok with us. Luckily, he said that the best seafood restaurant in all of Madrid was just 2 doors down. We went and checked it out...and it was the real deal. It had all of the fresh seafood displayed in the entrance and had waiters everywhere. We sat down and must of had 3 different people helping us throughout dinner. There was even a designated wine server that would refill your glass after a few sips. We had some soup, salad, and sauteed shrimp to start. When our fish was ready, the waiter presented it to us and then proceeded to de-bone the entire thing before setting the plate in front of us. The fish was probably the best fish we've ever had! We had such a nice dinner, indulging in good cuisine and conversation. After dinner, we took the metro into downtown and walked to San Gines Chocolateria. This place is famous for serving chocolate con churros. We sat down and split 1 order, we dipped the churros in the chocolate, which was like hot pudding. It was so tasty! It was a great way to spend our last night in Madrid :) My Dad and I enjoyed Madrid so much, but had to head back to Geneva the next morning. He spent a few days in Switzerland, mainly just hanging out and watching some of my practices, before he headed back home. It was so nice to see my Dad...as I haven't had anyone close to me come visit this season.

The Puerta De Alcala

Dad in Retiro Park

Plaza Mayor

The headless man in Plaza Mayor

Puerta Del Sol at night

Lunch at Las Cuevas

Palacio de Telecommunicaciones

Chocolate con churros at San Gines

Innsbruck, Austria and Annecy, France

Ok everyone, so I have been slacking a bit on keeping up with my blog...I'm sorry! I have just kept pushing it aside for quite awhile, and now I have so much catching up to do. Well, I've done a lot since Christmas time (my last blog entry), that I don't even know where to begin. I will start with celebrating New Years in Innsbruck, Austria. I have a friend that I played club volleyball with in high school who now plays in Innsbruck, and she also happens to be close friends with our setter, Taylor. So, after all of the Americans returned from our Christmas vacations, we practiced for a few days and then packed up the cars to drive about 5-6 hours to Innsbruck, Austria. The drive was absolutely beautiful and when we arrived in Innsbruck, we saw that the town was nestled in between some enormous mountains. We all stayed in my friend Emilie's apartment and had a blast all weekend. Another friend, Becca, who I also played club volleyball with in high school, came down to Innsbruck from Finland (where she currently plays volleyball). We spent time walking around the old town area and saw some really neat buildings and scenery, while enjoying some gluvine (hot spiced wine). When it came to time celebrate the New Year, we all went out and joined the huge party in the streets of old town. It was freezing, but there were so many people, so it wasn't too bad. After midnight, we then headed to a big club where we hung out the rest of the night and had a great time. The next day we had to make the long drive home again, but spending that short time in Innsbruck was well worth the drive.

Em and I walking around Innsbruck

The streets of Innsbruck still had some holiday decorations

Some cool buildings in the old town

The 7 Americans from my team, VFM

Emilie, Becca, and I (we played together in high school)

After Innsbruck, we had to 'get back into the daily grind' of playing volleyball again. It was a nice two weeks away from volleyball that we all definitely needed. In mid January, we had a Saturday match, so some of us decided to make a short trip to Annecy, France. We drove about 2.5 hours away to Annecy, which is about 30 minutes past Geneva. We stayed there for just one night, but did plenty of walking around the neat little town. Unfortunately, we didn't have the best of weather, so the sightseeing wasn't as picturesque as it could have been. It was very rainy and cloudy, so we couldn't see much of the lake or the surrounding mountains. But, we knew how beautiful it really was because we had all researched it before deciding to travel there. Annecy is also known for having several canals that run throughout the old town. There is a really neat old prison called the Palais de l'Isle, which is built on an island in one of the canals. We walked up and down all the old streets, stopped at patisseries along the way for cafe au laits and baked treats, had a nice dinner, and went out for a few drinks after. The next morning, we had breakfast at a creperie where we had galettes (breakfast crepes), and then walked up to the Chateau d'Annecy and walked along the lake. Despite the weather, Annecy was a nice and quick getaway for us and I'm happy we had to opportunity to explore the old French town.

A big canal, the Chateau d'Annecy, and Palais de l'Isle

Lac d'Annecy

In front of the Palais de l'Isle (old prison)

One of several canals in Annecy

Jill and I at the creperie

Annecy and the Palais de l'Isle at night