today.

just touring ire-land

& loving it

chasing after the lucky charms

ireland.
it will {never} be the same after the irons sisters are through with it

seven days of vay-cay
of beauty
dublin. galway. cliffs of moher. cork

it will be a wonderful trip

our {red} hair will finally pay off

we just watched the movie -leap year-

to get us prepared for the

land of the IRE

there will be many stories to come

xoxo

sista.luv

she is here

f-i-n-a-l-l-y

but, time is already flying

and it needs to {slow} down

we have had the best time already

we are on day -5- and i'm enjoying/loving our sister time

i will let her give you an update of our time so far

------------------------------------------------------------------

Bonjour!

Sister here with my very own column in Chels’ blog. I am not the experienced blogger like Chelsea however I will try my best to recount my time here.

Day one was my travel day.

Due to the unfortunate natural disaster in Iceland, however, it turned into a travel nightmare. I was rerouted to Frankfurt, Germany after 10 hours in the air. At first I was somewhat excited since I had never stepped foot in Germany and it was on my list of places to see sometime in life. Well not anymore! I had the worst time finding my way through that place with no help whatsoever from the Frankfurt Airport staff. I did cry… but only once… and finally made it to Geneva at 7:45p.m. after a 3 hour wait in line, a missed shuttle, and no lunch. But Chels was there with Swiss chocolate and a big hug which was all I needed to forget about the travel horrors and gear up for a fun time in Switzerland!

Day two.

While the kiddos were at school, Chels and I went on a run around the beautiful Lake Geneva. This not only showed me what a wonderful place Geneva really is but also what a wonderful life Chels has here. Everything is SO COOL! It is very fitting for her. After our run, we set out across town to do some more site seeing, coffee drinking, tube riding, and of course picture taking.

On our way, we came across a book sale in the middle of the city. Old books, new books, red books, blue books.. they were all there and more importantly, they were all cheap! We both bought ourselves an old book but for some reason not had any time to start them!

Day three.

My traveling finally caught up with me. After coffee out with the other aupairs and a few rounds around the flee market, Chels and I made it back home with some time to spare before the kids got home from school. I took a nap with the intension of getting up to help with homework and nightly bathing but somehow managed to sleep until 9a.m. the next morning. I don’t know how I did it!

Day four.

After my great night of sleep we were ready to take on the city once more. We got up for another morning run around Lake Geneva, rushed back to the house, and got ready for our tour of the United Nations.

u.n photos

Of course, we sisters were a little late. We missed the English tour by a hair. So we made our way across the street to the Red Cross Museum. What a good trade off! The museum was lined with pictures upon pictures of areas of conflict, hunger, and poverty around the world. Of course it was sad but we both thought it was an equally beautiful exhibit.

At four o’clock we were back on duty with the kids. They get home from school with a lot of energy to burn off so we take them to the Botanical Gardens to let them run off some steam. They found an old, hallow tree trunk that has turned into everything from a jungle gym, to cliffs to jump from, a slide, and the perfect fort. I will admit that it is pretty great.

That night.

The kids were in bed by 8p.m. so we headed to the local pub called Mr. Pickwicks for some serious Name That Tune. The Irons sisters didn’t contribute much but we had a good run with the ABBA and 90s categories. ABBA Gold was our childhood. Dancing Queen, Waterloo, Mama Mia, Take a Chance on Me, MoneyMoneyMoney, Chikatita, etc. They were all there. I got to meet a bunch of the aupair crowd and eat the best fries and fry sauce combination in Switzerland.

Ok. We are all up-to-date.

More to come!

---------------------------------------------------

so there you go

an update through another's eyes

tomorrow

we are off to adventure in the ALPS

we are off to interlaken

hiking & exploration in the GREAT outdoors

xoxo

with love from europe

the b.u.g.

let’s play doctor:

got the travel bug? looking to explore the world? always think about distant places?

well, chances are you are a travel addict.

once the travel bug {infects} you

there is no going back-

you are a traveler for life.

------------------------------------------------

everything i do revolves around travel

i have the bug. i’m addicted.

i enjoy traveling from place to place

picking up stories along the way.

------------------------------------------------

here are some signs you might be a travel addict too:

(if you answer {yes} to more than 5 of the questions i have diagnosed you)

you start all your stories with “when i was in…”

you always ask “where people are from?”

your favorite iPod playlist only has songs related to traveling and seeing the world. “i can go the distance” types of songs haha

you don’t have paintings or decorations on the wall, you have collected post cards

you spend an hour {each day} reading travel blogs & travel websites

when you think of prices, you value things in terms how many days in your next destination it costs

you pretend you are a travel writer {uhhh yes that's me}

you plan trips for next decade

when people ask what your hobbies are, you can’t say a sentence not containing the word travel

your travel bucket list is 3 pages long

coming back to your home-base is more like a vacation from traveling

on your home-ward flight, you’re already planning your next trip

once home from a weekend trip, you’re already booking your next trip

films. make you want to travel

books. make you want to travel
music. makes you want to travel

every day brings a new destination idea

you work to -- fund -- your next trip

BIG one… thinking about all the places you {haven’t} been makes you feel anxious

when you’re not traveling ---> you fantasize about traveling
------------------------------------------

so i put this list together because i answer {yes} to ALL

------------------------------------------

i have a friend that always calls me the world traveler

his name is mathew innes

whenever we chat he always asks:

where are you off to next chels

even when we were at school at USU

he always asked what my next plan was going to be

------------------------------------------

we know {i} caught the bug

watch out it is contagious

and if you have it too…

well come on

lets live the adventures together

ash.. just get here already

t-minus {12} hours till i see my lil sister



can you tell
i am excited?

if you just realize

i stole these .sweet. glasses off a girl for the pic

i forget where i am some days

life puts you in a routine

day {in}

and

day {out}

you do the same thing

sometimes forgetting to look -and- realize where you are

i am in europe

i am in switzerland

i am lucky
-------------------------------------------------------------
i am nearing the {three} month mark
time seems to be flying
-------------------------------------------------------------
dear time,
s-l-o-w down, you're moving to fast
xoxo

s-t-a-r bucks

-starbucks-

i admit it.

i support starbucks.

even when i’m on a different continent

i still enjoy the sweet taste of starbuck’s products.

i'm here now.

i love sitting on the second floor in the comfy oversized chairs. i love the acoustic music playing from the speakers, not loud enough to completely drown out other things. i love listening to bits and pieces of other random conversations even though some are in a different language. i love the sound of fingers on the keyboard of other people sitting beside me with their laptops. i love role playing or making up conversations in my head for the couple that is at the table to the left of me. i love observing a person smile as they take their first sip of their caramel macchiato.

-----------------------------------------------

i love it all.

and that is why i come to starbucks.

on the back burner

blog.

you must feel neglected

i made a lot of time for you at the first part of my adventure

but lately i have slacked

i am {sorry}

so please forgive me

i am going to be posting daily

----- for a bit -----

<> i have lots to tell

<> i have lots to write

<> i have lots of ideas

ummmm yea

------------------> get excited

.. globe .. trotter ..

.globe trotter.

(noun)

someone who travels the world widely and often

sign me up.

ode to amy lyn

today.

it's a sentimental day for me
i have a very best friend getting married today
& i am missing it
she is gorgeous
that is a fact

the photo above was from the summer of 2008

they are in .love.

we had matching bed spreads {freshman} year
& since then
we've been
unseparable
best friends for life
love you a.l.j

updates

{one}
this young lady will be in my arms in about
one hundred and fifty-eight hours
but who is counting??

----------------------------------------------
{two}

i just recently found out that this little guy & i
have been -sharing- the same tooth brush for who knows how long
<> short story:
i walked into the bathroom tonight to make sure he was brushing his teeth
------ our convo ------
me: jacob why are you using my tooth brush
jacob: huh uhhhhh.. this is mine
me: no, that is my tooth brush
jacob: well it is in myyyy mouth
me: well gross, i use that every day
jacob: oh me too hahahahahahahahahahaha

(i recall a couple days ago he was punished for eating worms after church)
at that point i threw up a little in my mouth

& just for the record----> it was mine first
but he is a {cute} kid

----------------------------------------------
{three}

how many of you bloggers can say you have had {ethiopian} food

?.?.?.?.?

not too many of you

geneva is home to many cultures

quite the m-i-x

we have all types of restaurants that i have never heard of
so last friday i went out for ethiopian food

it came out like this

& then uncovered to reveal

{this}

it was delicious

so flavor-ful
so good

i split with 3 girls

that white thing was a hard boiled egg-- i passed that aside

and the other parts were chicken. beef. pork. rice. veggies
-----------
the best part:

you eat with your .hands.

it was awesome

so authentic

needless to say

i'll be back
-----------------------------------------------
{four}

after the dinner

some of us decided to have a night out in geneva

so

we went to a karaoke bar

fellow au pairs from all over

iceland. uk. usa. austria. germany. canada

we had a great night

full of laughs

full of good times

what a {fun} break from our jobs
and four of us decided to attempt to

wow

the

crowd

so we sang BARBIE GIRL

yup

that's right

out of all the songs

{we chose that one}

embarassing??? no ----> it was hysterical

this picture .above. was not fake

how could we have faked those faces

we were so into it
----------------------------------------------

{five}

i had visitors

my first ones

come one.

come all.

kelly & kim are friends from i.d.a.h.o

they are making their way through europe & made a stop in SWITZ

we had a great time

i loved showing them geneva

we went out for fondue

we went to some chocolate shops

we went on a hike in the alps

i think they enjoyed themselves

& i was sad to see them leave today

it was fun to have some american girls

we laughed lots & had a great time

----------------------------------------------

so there you have it

5

updates for you

enjoy

with love from europe

xoxo

to my mum.

her name sounds similar in all the {different} languages

mom. american
mum. english (u.k)
mutter. german
mama. spanish
madre. mexican
maman. french

happy mother's day
a .mom. is the greatest human being on earth
i absolutly love mine
she does it {all}
xoxo

pope ben, i'm chelsea

torino.
5.2.2010
uhhhh long post


for some reason
i have a problem of bringin' the rain
i guess it enjoys {following} me


walking around the streets of
northern italy


bella. bella. bella.


inside this cathedral

i know i will do an {insufficient} job

describing my past weekend to you readers

the experience, to say the least

was amazing

i tried to google & use the thesaurus

for words that exceeded the meaning of "amazing"

but {nothing} was good enough

-----------------------------------

i took a weekend trip to torino italy

the main objective: to see the pope

il papa --- in italian

mission accomplished

he was speaking to the youth

there were 25,000 people in the square

& in the surrounding streets

they had jumbo screens

& speakers everywhere for all to hear

------------------------------------

one of the best parts of my day:

the {hour} leading up to the pope's appearance

in order to keep the crowd occupied:

<> there were several youth groups and performers from all around the world

<> they were singing and performing to common church songs

<> all the youth were dancing and singing along

<> i was meeting young adults from all over this globe

<> it was one huge party (church party) haha

**the last song that was sung before the pope arrived was

--when you believe--

from the prince of egypt

now i'm going to try to tell this part the best i can

if you get goose bumps then i {did} a good job

haha if not well then you just had to be there

- so this girl probably 16 started the song

she sang in italian

she did the 1st verse & then the chorus

beautiful even though it was in a different language

everyone knew the tune so they knew the song

- then for the 2nd verse, this american lady sang

she was black &had the most powerful voice

she performed her part in english

- and then the part that is in hebrew

"a-shi-rah, a-shi-rah....."

sung by a little girl

- then the big finale chorus came

& i think all 25,000 people knew the words & joined in

------------------------------

"there can be miracles

when you believe

though hope is frail

it's hard to kill.

who knows what miracles

you can achieve

when you believe

somehow you will

now you will

you will when you believe"

------------------------------------------

it was a moment

we all shared one of {those} moments

i heard every language joining in to sing about one great thing

miracles

everyone knew the words to this song in {their} language

the girl on stage: hebrew

the four young boys next to me: italian

the couple in front of me: french

angel and sonsoles (the parents i live with): spanish

me: english

i can't believe i didn't record it

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

i will forever be sad

-----------------------------------

after the performances were finished it was time for pope benedict to arrive

the pope rode from a mile away

through the streets of torino

lined with people- babies to the elderly

all in attendance

he rides in s-t-y-l-e

.the pope mobile.

{informal} name for the vehicle used by the pope when making outdoor public appearances

it is a glass box on a car

bullet proof

so that was the one thing between me and the cute old guy

---BUT---

it was sweet

we were inside the square

we were lucky to get in

where the live music was

where we had a good view of the pope while speaking

AND he drove directly by on his way to the stage

we were right against the barricades

we are talking front row

it was crazy

{i have a better photo where he is looking & waving right at us}

on a different camera, so i will post it indvidually soon

everyone was raising their flags

or banners

we were giving these upon arrival into the square

------------------------------------------

i don't know why i thought his talk would be in english

ah hahahahaha i am still laughing about it

it was in .italian.

& though i didn't understand what he was saying

i felt the vibe he was sending out to the young adults

so........

when i got back to geneva

i read his speech online

i loved it

so here i am

after a day in the {pouring} rain

wet. frizzy. hair.

but with this sweet bandana that they gave all the youth

it says "youth and the pope" in italian

what another great memory to add to my list

xoxo

with love from europe