say CHEESE

well, France was fast. and other than having the worst bed I have (not) slept in on this entire trip, it also had the best pub I have been to on this trip. as well as a supah cohl Cathedral of Notre Dame. and a wonderfully amazing night city scape.

as we drove in to France, we could not help but notice how often we drove through pockets of... stank. after determining it wasn't either of us nor a problem with our car, we accredited it to the big trucks we were passing and the cheese they must be delivering.
and during our dinners in Strasbourg we saw (and smelled... again) where the cheese ended up.
now, I love cheese... and pretty much anything dairy really. but a little part of me throws up a lot when simply thinking of all that cheese being consumed in such a small area.
*gag.
swallow.

and onward I march.

so we exited Strasbourg France faster than Moses out of Israel... 'cause you know, he didn't have a car. and even if he did, he surely wouldn't have hit pockets of autobahn at speeds of 185 kilometers per hour.
and now we come full circle back to Zurich Switzerland - where the Starbucks is twice as much as in California and the endless river is clouded with swans.

tonight we begin the strategic packing of the luggage and then cross our fingers and hope it arrives in San Francisco with us. if only I had a larger purse to stuff all of my designer jeans in JUST in case. : \

in other news...
...an inexpensive dinner for 2 in Zurich cost us $70 USD. what. the. hell.
...hello front desk? yes you had mentioned the mini bar was free but, I only see a coke, a beer, and a bag of M&M's. oh - the beer was a mistake? it's $13? thanks.
...yes I exaggerate. but not by much.
...leftover photos from 3 weeks, 10 hotels, 3 languages, 6 countries, and 10 cities below. free souvenir to anyone who can guess the correct city for at least 3 photos. and I didn't say GOOD souvenir.

french. I don't get it.

of the 2 nights I have spent in France I have had Italian food twice, Belgium beverages four times and French fries?
neh. nein. and not ever.

which is sort of the opposite issue I had in Bruges. where soup - for my non-speaking english, german, french throat - was non-existent after 2pm but fries with 99 different sauces was as common as a Ford with a gun rack in Texas.
oh Bruges... and your airy wafles (served only at certain cafes between the hours of 2:15 and 4:30 in the afternoon). you make everything so beautifully complicated but in the end, I still like you. the 48 hour beer festival that I missed 24 hours of thanks to me sleeping in the hotel due to my sickness was a dream come true (once I was awake from my sick napping).

I spent a majority of my time tapping my toes at the Trappist beer booth waiting for people to get out of my American female way.
and after snatching up as many cardboard beer coasters as possible, I ran off with my friends to have the bestest half a roasted chicken that I have ever had and that wasn't because of all the beer I had beforehand either. it. was. GOOD.
exit Bruges, Belgium. arrive Strasburg, France...
where all the stores close at 6 and restaurants don't open for dinner until 7 which leaves exactly 1 hour for happiness.
a Rochefort at pub number 1 and a Cuvee at pub number 2 can only be answered by a vegetarian pizza for dinner.

in other news...
...so many churches so little time.
...am I the only one that sees an issue with a jewish man leaving a contribution for a catholic cathedral?
...4 weeks of no-gyming means at least 8 weeks of gyming to get back in shape. : |
...olympic triathlon = 0.9 mile swim; 26 mile bike; 6.2 mile run. hmmmm.