Chiara and I spent six days trekking around Budapest and Lake Balaton with a good snowboarding buddy of ours, Gergely. Neither I nor any other of Gergely's other coworkers in Vail can pronounce his Hungarian name correctly (GAER GAY), so, throughout the week, we called him Greg, Gergs, Gergö, and Gergerly for the humor of it. We were THRILLED to add Gergely to our 2 man traveling team, and it was endearing that Gergely was as excited as we were for our visit! He was an excellent host, tour guide, and companion throughout the trip: He always had great ideas of places to go and things to do, and he was HAPPY to show us around, which was the best part. :)
Over the week, we were busy! We started off on the wrong foot--immediately getting a fined for buying the wrong ticket in the Metro (in a city that supposedly never checks tickets...so why buy them, they say...). We got turned away from the tourist office because the lady had "too many tourists to help." haha. We got caught by security after passing a fence, hiking across a former moat, and sneaking into a castle (it seems the best time to go is when it's closed). 
And, did I mention the political protest? One night, we were trying to catch the night bus, when we found ourselves in the midst of police in riot gear, a car that was being hosed down by a firetruck, and rumors of being tear gassed. We had quite a unique experience in Hungary.
Gergerly took us to the outdoor bars and hot spots at nighttime, where we danced and danced and danced. There was quite a nightlife in the city of Budapest.
"I am Greg"
Visiting Venice was a lovely one and a half day stop the way to Hungary. Venice is a beautiful city built on 117 small islands, composed of 150 canals, and 200 alleys. It could be the perfect romantic getaway...provided you visit Venice with someone to be romantic with. However, waking up in a bottom bunk bed in a hostel dorm room, having a cold shower and a so called coffee and croissant "breakfast" was not the way I prefered to wake up in Venice. But, once we hopped on the vaparetto and found two outdoor seats, the best way to view Venice's famous Grand Canal (without dropping a Ben Franklin on a personal gondola ride), my energy was restored.
We gave ourselves a self-tour from our guidebook and enjoyed the charming buildings and fancy architecture. Then we visited the main sights...the Rialto Bridge, Basillica San Marco and Doge's Palace, the Galleria dell' Academia, and even wandered around Carnnaregio, the Jewish Ghetto, the college campus area, Santa Margherita.
We'd strolled by once, but forgot to take a peek inside because we'd found too many cool streets nearby. Though we were lucky to escape the morning rain showers, we did not escape the resulting flood in St. Mark's Square! We, determined to go inside, removed our shoes, rolled up our pants, and waded across St. Mark's square in ankle deep water! I enjoyed the humor of the situation and am proud that we are probably one of few tourists to have a photo like this:
The other day, Chiara, her sister Lidia, and I followed a car-full of their Swiss guy friends to Bergamo, Italy to watch an Italian National soccer match. Just like most good road trips, most everyone was alert and excited on the drive there, and sleeping during the car ride home. We visited her friend's uncle, Uncle Primo, which is about one and a half hour drive away. We sat in their garden and drank real Italian red wine, and then had a dart match in the lawn. Later, we drove through the tiniest streets along castle walls to go to dinner at an outdoor tent. A man was rambling on the microphone, leading a game similar to Bingo (and probably begging for money to support their cause). We played a few rounds, and Chiara even won three bottles of wine. We had finished dinner before I even thought about asking what the purpose of the event was...I'd figured it was some church fundraiser or something, but it turned out to be a political party for Italian Communism! What a surprise...
Back in Switzerland, I also had a couple nice dinners with Chiara's family. Her parents were super sweet and her dad taught me all about the three basic kinds of cheese: formaggio, formagella, formaggini. With some tutoring from Chiara, I am now a cheese expert. I giggled when I asked Chiara to categorize Cheddar cheese, and she returned a disgusted look and said, "That cheese is orange!" Apparently my orange cheese is not up to Swiss standards. I then taught Chiara about the three kinds of cheese in my life, plastic sandwich cheese, nacho cheese, and cheese whiz.
Though I have only seen a little bit of Switzerland so far--Ticino, the Italian part, is only about 5% of the total population--it has been great. It's BEAUTIFUL, just BEAUTIFUL here. Chiara's 
house is located in a valley, and her backyard has the most gorgeous view of mountains and Swiss villages on the mountain. The mountains are a bit different; they look much steeper than Colorado mountains, they're covered in "bushy trees" instead of "Christmas trees," and they seem HUGE because the towns are located at a much lower elevation than the mile high city back home. I think the mountains are actually smaller than the Rocky Mountains at home...I'll have to look that up.
Apart from the cleansing surroundings of open air and mountains, the town is also super clean, and I love the city cute buildings and cobblestone mainstreet.
It was really fun to have a drink at Fun bar in the city center, found in the small side streets of Bellinzona, just below the night lights of the first castle.
Tommorrow, we are off to Venice, which means tonight is for hurriedly packing, booking hostels and (things we should have done weeks ago, had we KNOWN where we were going). It's all been a bit spontaneous, which I guess is the way I like it, because it's the way most of my friends seem to do it. Though I have been doing a little bit more sleeping than usual (which is to be expected when one has changed as many time zones and borders as I have in the past two weeks), but there has been plenty to do in Bellinzona, Switzerland!
in the U.S. for one week, between my flights from Asia to Europe, was, well, gone in 60 seconds. There was much to do on my agenda--aside from the routine chore of laundry: spending time with my family, visiting a few friends, dealing with the pile of mail, unpacking, repacking, and shopping for a few last minute essentials...it was all on my *to do" list. Though it felt a bit busy, I`m glad I got to touch base and enjoy the comforts of home for a short time.
The highlights: Having a family dinner, going to the Taste of Colorado with my brother, and shopping with Mom (and Dad too); Catching up with some friends from Vail; Being reminded of the specatular scenery in Colorado, something I often take for granted, on a drive through the mountains; knowing exactly where to get what I`m looking for, sleeping in my own soft pillow-top bed; having all-access to my cell phone and internet; driving in my car with the music blaring and the windows down; tasting fast food favorites like Chick-fil-a and Taco Bell...yup, home is sure great.
It`s surprising how long ago and far away Korea feels already. I had to think long and hard about how to count to ten in Hangul when my mom asked me how. On the other hand, I can`t help but think "eol may eh yo" when I want to ask the price of something, or bowing my head when saying goodbye. Dude, living in a foreign country messes with your head! I`m so confused. Okay, so, no longer do I feel normal wearing ruffles and lace embellished tops, or half-cardigans to cover my shoulders...hell bring out the bare shoulders and miniskirts! WELCOME TO AMERICA!
Though I`ve been reasonsably successful refusing to feel jetlaged, my body didn`t expect the total change in diet. My friend asked me what was different about Korea, and the first thing I though of was the food. I haven`t seen a food I used to eat in Korea...besides a few servings of rice and the lettuce in my salad (though the lettuce I used to eat was wrapped around a hunk of grilled meat and not chopped up in a bowl). I haven`t eaten anything pickled or fermented, no red hot pepper paste or kimichi or cloves of raw garlic. Now, all of my food is served on my own plate, no sharing with anyone, and no side dishes. Even though my stomache still craves the sin of all junk food, ramyun (Korean ramen), I have to say, there`s nothing like good home cookin! All I have left from Korea is a few Green tea cookies and a bottle of soju, and that is okay for now.
A few things I have noticed about being back in America:
*Americans are really friendly. I`ve made quite a few friends with strangers lately...between simple business phone calls, retail clerks and fellow travelers in the airport, I`ve found myself talking to several strangers and receiving a number of random warm smiles from my fellow Americans. It`s nice being able to talk to whomever I feel like again, or evesdrop on a random conversation.
*America is huge. Everything, from the size of our steaks, to our "personal space", to the physical size and shape of people, to the distance between buildings and towns; WOW, America feels really big and spacious.
*America is a marketers paradise. The way marketing is integrated into the fabric of our lives is really getting on my nerves. When I`m suck on an airplane, watching a movie with cheap headphones on a screen in the middle row, the last thing I want is to be sold a US Airways credit card. No, thank you! Hell, it`s bad enough we Americans can`t trust our waitresses "favorites", as they`re usually reccommending the most expensive thing on the menu. Nor, can we take advice from the sales reps at retail stores, exactly how much commission do you get paid if I walk home with this? I`d almost rather be back in Korea, where sales people blatantly shout a pitch the moment you barely glance at an item, at least they don`t mask their true intentions.
*America is diverse. With the number of skin and hair color combinations, and the great range of shapes and sizes, WOW, it`s great. The mix of people, restaurants, and products is never dull. Then again, whomever thought it`d be a great idea to invent eight different kinds of Herbal Essences shampoo and customize them into eight different hair types is certainly ill.On another note, I arrived in Switzerland this morning, and have spent the day sleeping and catching up with my good friend from Vail (2005) Chiara. More on this next time. :P
