Jessica + Skiing = not friends

Woo! three day weekend, time to go to Italy....So we arrived Friday on post to wait for the bus. Pack up our ski stuff and hit the road, for a 6 hour drive to the Italian Alps. Bus ride was a little boring, but we finally made it after 8 hrs (traffic + snow = not good). Had dinner of this spinach and cheese thing, steak and dessert was vanilla ice cream with a warm raspberry sauce. Of course, first night there, I'm exhausted, so it's time to go out. The next morning, woke up early and got ready to ski! We drive about 45 minutes to the mountain. I get on the gondola and the nerves continue to grow in my stomach, we arrive to the top and oh yea, it's a red mountain. It took about 4.65 hours to get down and only 1,783 falls, but I made it to the bottom. Due to peer pressure, I took the ski lift back up, had lunch (of yummy spaghetti and bolognese sauce) and went back down. This time, a lot less falling, but still a lot of nervousness. I finally made it down, without a broken bone and waited/thawed on the bus for the others to return. We drive back to the hotel and I jumped in the shower. Dinner was pasta, turkey, spinach and potatoes, dessert was this cutie little cake. We were still exhausted, so that means, time to go out. Went to a local bar, which filled quickly with 14 year olds (didn't I feel old?!) and turns out many of them were in the Army. I made it clear to everyone that I was not skiing the next day, however due to many threats, my attitude changed...

The next morning woke up and went to a mountain closer to our hotel, but a lot further up from the ground. I told everyone either 1 hill or 2 hrs, so the first hill I go on, is my favorite, a red one. I did everything I could to NOT ski down this mountain. I walked side by side, when I fell, I pushed myself down (sledding, if you will). No joke, 4.5 ft from the bottom, I fell and a ski mobile drove passed me and after convincing him, he drove me to the bottom (HAHA). It was quite embarrassing, everyone was staring at me, I got off the ski mobile pretending to limp so I looked like I actually needed it. Make fun all you want, he was a good looking Italian man! Anyway, that was my 1 hill, lunch was a big salad and fries and dessert was getting back on the gondola and returning to the bus to remove the horrible ski boots. The afternoon consisted of a few glasses of wine and some studying (they can go together!!). Back on the bus to go to the hotel. Evening was low key, dinner was lasagna, schnitzel and greens beans (i know, such large meals!), had a glass of wine at the bar and then bedtime.

The last day, it was time to shop! There was a cutie market across from the hotel and then of course many stores right downtown. Lots of walking around until the bus showed up. Lunch was pizza (yum!) and then on the bus for a long ride home. We played this game called Botticelli, which ended up being fun (despite my rant) and arrived back on post at 11PM.

Great weekend all around, Beautiful scenery, good food, good times! ;-)

Bonjour!

Well, made it to Strasbourg France this past weekend. A small, quiet little town, filled with beautiful architecture and in our case, rain (at least on Saturday). We arrived early afternoon, checked in and took the tram to downtown. First stop was the Cathedral. It was really beautiful inside and actually quite large. We then grabbed lunch. Went to a little restaurant and had this yummy salad with walnuts, and what they called croutons, with warm goat cheese on top. Dessert was a chocolate and banana crepe. Continued to walk around the town, we crossed Ponts Couverts, saw Petite France and walked along the river. Dinner was light, just some sandwiches and hot chocolate!, and then back to the hotel. I did get a crash course in skiing. Let's see if I actually remember it. ;) Breakfast was pretty good, had eggs, fruit, PAN AU CHOCOLAT (which clearly I was super excited for), coffee, and fresh OJ. Took the tram downtown one more time to go see the Botanical Gardens (which did not exist due to the cold) and the University. Drove home and arrived in Schweinfurt around 6pm. Very low key weekend, but still nice to get away!

Mind the Gap.....

Just got back from a fabulous trip to London! It was a roomie reunion, rockin good time ;). Arrived late Thursday and met Ginger and Matt at Oxygen bar. Became friends with the bartender and per usual Jessica behavior, ticked off some snotty girls. Anyway, Friday morning, we woke up early and did some touristing, went to Abbey Road, and of course walked across it, the went to the British Museum to see the Rosetta Stone, just like my learning software ;), had lunch of Fish n chips, yum! and then made it down to Waterloo to see Big Ben, Westminister Abbey, and the London Eye. Dinner was Dim Sum (yum! again) and then made it to the Tate (Museum of Modern Art) for some evening fun. Saturday, woke up and took the train to Wolverhampton to watch Aston Villa play Wigan. We played Rummy on the way up, which by the way, I not only won, but I had 'biggest comeback', but who says I am a sore winner ;) The football game was scoreless, but it was super fun listening to the fans sing the ENTIRE time. Football is no joke here, its great! Dinner was pizza and bed time for us. Ginger and Matt got to wake up to go run in the Tough Guy Challenge. Yep, a 10k with obstacles, including a mud slide, fire pit and who knows what else. I made the train back to the airport to wait for my awful flight home. However, I did wait with a famous person! (what!?) Yep, Fernando Verdasco, a Spanish tennis player sat right across from me. What a cutie!! haha. No, I do not have a photo with him (sadness). Made it back Monday AM, with great memories and new excitement for France. Cheers!