#bolugoestoswiss: Boltigen

Mkay. Last month when I went to Switzerland for Rob's birthday, I was able to explore a little bit more of the land of Cheese. I got to hit 3 more new places! Today I'm going to share you one.

For his birthday, Rob rented a chalet by the Swiss Alps, in a small little quiet town name Boltigen. The area was nice, green, peaceful and so pretty. The cows were seriously close to us. 

Peaceful, right?

Well, not so peaceful on Rob's birthday eve. We were drunk. SUPER drunk. And LOUD. First, let me show you the Chalet that we rented.

Cute right? Now, we got there late Friday night. The area was pitch dark, so Rob and I had a problem looking for the chalet. As I waited in the car, Rob was searching and actually knocked on the door of the neighbor. Once he found it, he approached me with a weird face, "Uh, we are about to get cozy. All 11 of us!" I was like, "why?" "Oh you will see!"
Now you see the chalet above, right? You see that the left half and right half have different windows/curtains. We both found out that we aren't staying in a "whole" chalet. We were staying in a half chalet. The left was our place. And the right is our neighbor. Meaning: WE SHARED A WALL. Meaning: THEY WERE FUCKIN PISSED AT US FOR OUR LOUDNESS for the whole weekend. And we all didn't know realized until the next morning. One of Rob's coworker/friend said Hello to the neighbor in the morning and she gave him the nastiest stink eye. Oops.

Our shenanigans:

See this fire stove thingy?

This chalet was built in the 1600-1700s. Meaning, no central heater. So drunk Rima spent 2 hours trying to build fire. All I did was made ashes because the woods were damp -_- So yes, 2 cold nights indeed.

 Lots of screaming

 Oh yes. Lots of more screaming and drunk screaming and table banging. Thanks to a whole bottle of Absolute Vodka, Patron and unlimited bottle of wines. Crazy.

Neighbors were piiiiisssseeeeddd...

It was not a silent night!

The half chalet was actually pretty small. I'm surprised all 11 of us were able to get cozy. Whoever owns this chalet really maximized its spaces to the tee. Mind you, only 1 bathroom, which includes a mini room for the toilet, a shower and a tub, with a curtain dividing it from the kitchen (yep) and a door to the dining room.

Rob in front of the entrance 

Hallway entrance to the chalet, leading to the kitchen

The kitchen. The stairs leads to upstairs. Behind Laurence is the curtains to the bathroom. To the left of the kitchen was my room, pictured below.

This was the biggest room in the chalet. The door on the left there leads to the dining room.

 The dining room was right NEXT to the wall that we share with the right half of the chalet. And yes, this is the table that we banged on all night. Door on the left leads to the bathroom.

Fun fact: The tub doesn't work. And all 11 of us wanted to use it together as a hot tub. Not pictured is the shower.

 This door is so ancient. It was hard to open.

Rooms on the second story.

 

 

 

To the people of Boltigen: Sorry for disrupting your quiet night.

Yet, we had so much fun #sorrynotsorry

xoxo,

Rima

#bolugoestoswiss: Zurich

Ah Zurich. Z-Town. Future New Home.

After going back twice a month apart, I can say that I am in love with this town. From roaming around the posh Bahnhofstrasse, being amazed by the 3 churches, enjoying the view from Lindenhof park, or just getting lost in translation at Coop & Migros (their supermarkets), the town is plain amazing.

View of Zurich from Lindenhoff

Zurich HB Train Station

Be prepared to be swooned by posh brands

 

The 3 Churches: (l-r) Grossmunster, Fraumunster & St. Peter

The 3 Churches in the gloom

Even Zurich has their locket bridge!

Lindenhof Park

Zurich Yacht Wine Tasting! 

The French guy on the left is Jeremy, Rob's coworker. Expert in wine!

There is such more than this to Zurich. Pictures can't justify!

Tips:
* If you're planning to be there for 1-3 days, get the Zurich 24 or 72 hours pass! It's worth it. It covers intercity trains, cable cars/trams, busses, water taxies AND museum entrances.
* Zurich is very litter-free. You will see recycle bins and trash bins everywhere. Near markets, the bins are segregated into types (i.e: wine bottles, beer bottles, plastic, batteries, etc).
* When you go shopping for groceries, it's smart to bring your own reusable bags. They do supply plastic bags, but they are the thin, cheap ones that rip easily. Also you bag your own groceries.
* Sunday is considered "resting day" and if you're stuck with no food or in need of emergent groceries, Zurich HB's ShopVille is open 7 days a week. I warn you, their Coop/Migros will be jam-packed with people!
* Go grab some to go food, a bottle of some brewskies, and head on to the Lake. Bring some extra bread and feed the swans and ducks. Entertainment for days... yet so peaceful.
* Thirsty? Carry around an empty bottle and refill them with waters from any fountain around town! They are drinkable! Oh and super fresh!

I was in Zurich last year and was really impressed with this amazing town. Who would've thought that I will reside there next year?!

More Switzerland towns coming up!

Tschüss,
Rima

December.

I can't believe it's already at December. We are at the edge of 2014. In 30 days we will say goodbye to the good ol' 14 and say HAAAAAY to 15. Honestly, I think (and I know a lot of people do) that this year went by waaaaaaaaaaay too fast. Like literally, I felt like I just celebrated New Years 2014 in Cancun in the comfort of my hotel bed while Rob was passed out sleeping fighting his hangover jetlag from Asia.

This December will be a little busy. I will be working like a maniac. Putting a lot of hours in the ER. You seriously will get a kick working in the ER during the holidays. This article in the Huffington Post really sums it up on what I'm and will be dealing with in the ER during this month. Oh what joy. 

Another joy that I'm having is that I'm making some little extra cash by baking some brioche. I had 3 orders this past weekend and now I have more lining up! Yay. Seriously, brioche is the best bread ever. 

Some sad news (well, for me) is that I won't be able to The Pillow this month. Or next month. I won't see him until February and it's slowly torturing me :( Yes, he still does send me daily selfies (as requested and it's actually a series) and we Facetime as much as we can. It's sad that I won't be spending the holidays with him. And I've been listening to sappy Christmas music (cue Blue Christmas, Baby Please Come Home and All I Want for Christmas is You), so it's not helping. Le sign.

Oh well, let's celebrate December and end 2014 with a bang. I won't be traveling this month *womp* but I'm excited for January when I visit the motherland for 10 days! Woo.

Bisous,

Rima

The Christmas Tag

So I was browsing around (according to The Pillow, browsing around is my favorite pastime), and I read answers of the Christmas Tag on Milk Bubble Tea. It's the end of November (for crying out loud!) and I'm trying to get into the Christmas spirit.

this was my church youth's Christmas Gift Exchange. Theme: Villains of Christmas.

1. What is your favorite Christmas Movie/s?

I have 2! Love Actually (I watch this annually), Bridget Jones's Diary & The Holiday. Rom-Com setting in Christmas season? Yes, please.

2. Do you open your presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning?

Well, since my family don't really celebrate Christmas, but when I get gifts, I open it whenever, usually in front of the giver.

3. Do you have a favorite Christmas memory?

Not really. Depending on my schedule, I sometimes join my family at Grandma's and we just feast and chit chat and watch TV. Quality time with family are always precious. Also my first Christmas with The Pillow. I was working in Laguna Beach and headed to his apartment for our fun dinner (consist of rice, cucumber and rotisserie chicken. Super fab!). This was in 2010.

4. Favorite festive food?

Baked goods. Any one of them. 

5. Favorite Christmas gift ?

Rob gave me my first jewelry gift, a heart necklace. He's so sweet.

Christmas 2010

6. Favourite Christmas scent?

Cinnamon & Pine!

7. Do you have any Christmas Eve traditions?Watching Love Actually under the blanket while drinking something warm... or wine!

8. What tops your tree?None. We haven't had trees since I was a little girl. If I had one, I want bunny ears.

9. As a kid what was the one (crazy, wild, extravagant) gift you always asked for but never received?
Honestly I don't remember. I probably begged for a bike.

10. What's the best part about Christmas for you?Spending time with the people who I care and love deeply. Eating great food while catching up with friends. Being thankful that Jesus was born (even though I don't believe He was born on Dec 25th) to forgive me with my sinful ways of life. Listening to Christmas songs while baking. Giving back. Cuddling.

1 more month til 2015!

- Rima