Hey everyone! This is going to be a Saturday 10! Yay!

1. So I had such a good time going up the Ammertenspitz white blue white trail that I and a few other vollies did anther one! This was a completely different path though. Rather than up to a peak this path was along the side of a mountain. The reason why I think this is marked as a white blue white is because of how much shale and water there was over the path. One wrong slip and you were going to slide down the side of a mountain. However I found this a lot less challenging than Ammertenspitz so that is progress maybe?


2. On my next day off I did something a little less fun. On the staff challenge one challenge is to clean stockli (the staff house) all by yourself. So all the vollies made a chart at the beginning of the season and assigned a week to everybody. Mine was one of the last weeks, this past week to be exact. Let me tell you this was no hour job. It took me all day. I cleaned all bathrooms, living room, common areas, kitchen, and my room. Stockli is like a frat house except for all the beer cans and solo cups. Us girls are tired, we get home and maybe eat something and put away half of what we get out. I am just as bad, no denying it. I think most of the vollies will be happy to have their own space that they clean and keep up (or don't) when they get back home.

3. On my last full week on program I got to go to both Thun and Interlaken! These are two great towns in the Bern Oberland and they are both lake side. In Thun I got to go to the oberhofen castle which is just so pretty. From the castle there are great views of both Thun lake and Neissen, the swiss pyramid. Then in interlaken I got to go to Trummelbach falls, which I have already mentioned in my post on waterfalls, but this time I learned a new fun fact! The valley that holds the Trummelbach  falls was J.R Tokens inspiration for Rivendale! So cool! I also got to hangout with so cool vollies, Alison (my roomie) and Danita!




4. Then on my next day off I went somewhere that I have been looking forward to since the beginning! Geneva! It was a Princess day out, as me and Alison went together :)) (Princess Pollard and Princess Proctor) Unfortunately (like verrrrry dissapointingly) the UN was closed as it was a Sunday. But the weather was really nice so that was good. We went to the red cross museum and up the famous church were you get a birds eye view of the city, the gigantic fountain in Lake Geneva is pretty nice. Later in the day I even went swimming in the lake. Over all, nice day. However as far as cities go not my favorite. I think I must have built it up for more than it was because I found it to be a good city, but no where near amazing. Still very good day!


5. The day after Geneva we had our staff day out! It was supposed to be a surprise, but one of the Adventure park guides let slip what we were doing. And so the staff day out activity was.... klettersteiging! Which is a combination of climbing and hiking! We went on the entsligen one and it was very cool! Unfortunately it was a bit of a rainy day, however it did not take the enjoyment out of the klettersteig so that was nice. After the klettersteig we were suppose to go to the Adelboden pool, but due to weather we decided just to go back to Our Chalet and play games. We watched movies and then for dinner we had burgers and chips! (french fries). It was great I had not had a burger in forever! Then an adventure park guide (Christian) came to dinner. He was there because, actual surprise, we were going to repel out of the chalet attic window!!! So great! The long term staff planned it all and they did a great job!





6. This is now our last event group, event 8. The staff has started to get a little nostalgic because some members will be gone before this event is over with. I have met so many wonderful people this summer, it is hard to see when good things end. I know I have other things to look forward too, but I hate change especially if something is going really well. Not only will I miss the people, but I am going to miss Switzerland. Seeing these views everyday, they never grow less spectacular. Ok getting sad now gonna stop talking about it.

7. Because the klettersteig was such a success on staff day out me and another vollie, Emma G. from Maryland USA, went to go try the Kandersteg one. The one on entsligen was rated a two out of five for difficulty. The Kandersteg one was a high four. So we knew it was going to be more difficult, how much more difficult I do not think I would ever have known until I was actually doing it. This was the MOST terrifying thing I have ever done. It was so crazy scary it is hard to justly describe. So like many other things I will post a video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jJ7WimRyW8

8. After I survived the Klettersteig, Emma and I went to get some ice cream. It started to rain, perfect timing! Then we went off to go see the KISC (Kandersteg International Scout Center) campfire! This was a must see during the summer. The KISC campfires are legendary for their size. It is more of a bonfire than a campfire. Sam, another summer vollie, Emma, and I met up with some of the KISC staff that we had met before sat to watch the campfire. Bosco, one of the KISC staff, said that there was 700 guests, 600 of which were British. So it was not the most diverse campfire, but it was so much fun. The energy was really great everyone was getting into their songs and skits. We got to share a song, which was fun. Here are some pics.




9. Tonight I finally went out to eat. Eating in Switzerland is so expensive. A normal price for dinner is 20 to 40 francs, which are the same as dollars. 12 dollars in the states gets me a pretty decent meal at some decent restaurants. Not so in Switzerland, where the minimal wage is 25 francs an hour. I had Rostii because I heard the traditional way was so much different than the Chalet's. It was really good, but I am so full! It was nice to have dinner out for a change though.

10. Today I made my traditional dish from home, the yummy chocolate chess pie. It actually did not turn out too bad. Most the vollies ate it anyway. Here is the recipe:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chocolate-chess-pie-ii/

Have a great weekend everyone!!!

Hey guys! Happy Friday!

1. So I did it! Hiked to the top of Ammertenspitz! The white blue white trail was crazy, not physically too hard, but wow I tried not to look down at all. It is a good thing the girl I went with was so chill about it because I was definitely nervous enough for the both of us! Not only did we hike to the top, we hiked faster than the predicted time, so that is cool. I can officially be called a keen Mountaineer. That is what the sign said anyway. Here are some pics. And a video if I can figure out how to post it.




(this is what we hiked up!)




2. So these past few days I went to Locarno, the Italian part of Switzerland, with Betsy. It did not necessarily go exactly as planned. First of all it was so rainy and expensive and just Murphy's law all over the place. I spent a good amount of francs to see a movie, 2 Guns, at the Locarno film festival. Really cool right? About 30 mins into the film it started to poor and lightning and thunder. We are sitting outside mind you no cover whatsoever. So we sit like this for 10 mins getting soaked, eventually we try to find shelter around the surrounding areas. There is no room at all, it is to loud to hear the movie, and we missed half the movie trying to find a dry, quite spot. Finally we are like fine lets just leave. We catch a train mind you at like 12:14. Because though the ticket said the movie started at 9:30 the mcs talked for AN HOUR AND A HALF. Then the next day we get up and it is still pouring. look at weather this is the forecast for the rest of the day: 100-80% chance of rain all day. And not just drizzle but buckets of rain coming down. Suffice to say not as successful as I hoped. I did have some excellent raspberry crumble....

3. Meanwhile, as I am on my sad trip, my family is here:


and doing things like this:

and this:


Uhmppphhh. Can you believe they went to Bald Head Island without me? I mean yes I am in Switzerland, but still. The nerve, having fun without me.

4. Also back in NC, lots of people, as I can tell from Facebook, are returning to the Hill after their awesome summer adventures. It seems everyone is gearing to go back to school. And a part of me wants to go back and start this upcoming semester with everyone else. It is a bit sad seeing everyone gearing up and knowing I am going to be absent this time around. It is like missing a day of school, fun, but you kinda wonder what you missed at school and you feel a bit like you might have missed out on something. One of my friends is gear up for freshman year! She is even in the same dorm/floor/side as I was! Good luck to all those in this coming semester at UNC! Hopefully I am not going to be missing anything to big...

5. Finally I just wanted to know if any of you guys have any suggestions for places to visit in any of these countries: Germany (most likely Berlin), Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg. Suggestions can be cities, or activities or not well known areas that you think is worth a visit! You can leave a comment on this post or shoot me an email. I would love to hear your suggestions! Also I will be visiting these places in winter so keep that in mind :)

With that have a good weekend everyone!

(ps when I wrote this post it was Friday, then the internet failed, so it is now kinda a saturday 5..)

Hey everyone!

1. This week I am guest services again! Yaaaay..... So to counter how much time I am spending indoors cleaning and cooking, on my off days I am determined to go hiking around the area. So one day me and a few other vollies, Betsy from Hong Kong and Jana from Slovakia, hiked to Kandersteg! This required going up over a mountain range to get from one valley to another, about a 5 hour hike swiss time. It took about 6 1/2 hours. On the hiking signs there is always an estimated time for different destinations, see below: 

So the time estimates you see on the signs are in swiss time. For example this sign says it takes 3hrs to get to kandersteg. It took us 4hrs and we were going to a closer point in the valley than kandersteg so going into the town center would have been at least another 1/2 hr. These shorter time estimates are due to the fact that the Swiss grow up hiking, they bring their 6 yr olds out and up onto mountains (seriously passed a 6yr old running down the mountain not 20 meters from this sign, notice the height of this mountain pass?) When we got to Kandersteg we ate dinner there and slept over. It is a great place to hang out, I even met a group of boys there with their unit from Chapel Hill! (One was wearing a UNC t-shirt). Then in the morning me and Jana grabbed some breakfast and headed back to Our Chalet on the bus, cause we both had to work that day. Here are some more pictures from our journey:
Betsy and Jana and Kandersteg! 
Adelboden!:


2. We had a special staff night out this week! We got to go to the Circus! It is a pretty famous circus in Switzerland and features no animals. The main acts were clowns and acrobatics. The Clowns were meant to act like goofy children and came in acts between the acrobatics. Clowns are not my favorite, I am not really a clown person, but this little girl behind me found them hysterical, so I think it is just me. The acrobatics were amazing, both girls and boys participating. I was expecting older people preforming, however all the acts were preformed by especially youthful looking folks, and some very attractive might I add. So that was nice. A lot of people compared it to Cirque du Soleil, which is the really famous, amazing Circus that lots of people go to. Including my family! Without me. So I personally do not know how it compares with Cirque du Soleil, but as far as I can tell it was a good show.

(also we got photo bombed... that random guy in the back we have no idea who he is....)

3. This week was a very special week for several reasons:

1. The most diverse group evvver! two groups from Japan, one from Norway, 2 from Canada, 1 from the US, and 1 from the UK. wow! For a place that has seen a lot of North Americans in this particular event the North Americans have been out numbered! 
2. It is the largest group we will have, the total number of guests rounding right about at 100. We are typically comfortable at around 60 people.
3. It was Swiss day! August 1st is like Switzerland's July 4th! It was super exciting, firework bangs starting to go off around noon and continued until 6am (not as cool). At night we made a Chalet precision into town where we sat and listened to an important person speak, about what I do not know I do not speak swiss-german. There were free sausages and bread, which were delicious. There was an alpine horn show and yodeling. Finally after the Swiss national anthem we gathered and joined the parade, which was oddly enough a majority of non-swiss people waving swiss flags. The other groups in the parade included the UK girl guiding group staying somewhere else in the valley and a group of Scottish boy Scouts who brought and played bag pipes in the parade. So it was a bit bravehearty... Then after the parade we sat and watched the spectacular firework display! Then home to bed. 
4. It was also the CHALET'S 81st BIRTHDAY!!! We had a carnival were we did different stations and crafts, games, you name it. At the end of the day we had a huge cake, lots of candy, and the chance to make great smore's! We decorated the place head to toe, and gave out invites with schedules. I think everyone had a good time. My roomie (Alison) and another vollie (Aisling) made the cake! Take a look: 

4. I have been hearing a lot of new information from Nottingham! I now know my dorm, Derby Hall, which is where a friend who went there suggested I stay at and where she personally stayed for two years! It is super central, but also very close to the bus stop so you can get to town really easily! I also now know my classes: American Chaps and Maps: American foreign policy since 1950, American Film adaptions, IPE and the political economy, and Democracy and it's critics. This ends up being 20 hrs credit so I will have to drop one... but I am into all the ones I wanted which is what counts! It is nice now that the summer is barreling to an end to have something else exciting to look forward too! 

5. The last thing I want to mention is that tomorrow I plan on completing my personal challenge! For our staff challenge you have the chance to come up with your own personal challenge which you can then earn points for. Mine is completing a white blue white trail. There are three types of walking trails, road, white red white, white blue white. We only take guests on roads and white red white trails. The white blue white is supposedly a big jump from red. Blue trails are supper exposed and usually falling of them can be very detrimental to health. However, I will be careful and slow up the white blue white path, and it is supposed to be a challenge. I have seemingly developed a little bit of vertigo as I have grown older so hopefully it won't be too terrible... I guess we will just have to see tomorrow! 

New blog post tomorrow, promise!

Have a good weekend everyone!!

Hey Everyone!

It has been a while! But I have been busy...So fortunately for you, two friday posts this time! Yay!

1. Last week I was lucky enough to be picked to go along with the white water rafting group! Every week on program one vollie gets to accompany whichever guests signed up to go white water rafting. It is during the Interlaken day, so we go see the chocolate show in the morning and then we quickly have lunch and then one group goes to see waterfalls, the other to rafting! I have been rafting once before in NC. It was with Girl Scouts of course! Now my water trips with Girl Scouts have sometimes left me wanting. For example when I was in sixth grade I went on a tubing trip down the James River in Virginia. Rather than the water doing all the work, I specifically remember having to paddle my way down the James. Not enjoyable. Though there were a few rapids we went down which was fun. Then the rafting trip I was talking about before in NC, was good, except a college student group of about 100 people accompanied us. Their boats kept getting stuck on rocks and we were almost always waiting on getting them unstuck, enjoyable but not as exciting. This rafting trip though, was perfect! Our guide seemed British, but I later found out he was born and raised, and owned his own rafting company in Uganda. In my boat there were a few swiss German guys there for a bachelor party, an English girl of 12 and her father. The rapids were great, the water was really cold. We got to practice rescuing each other out of the water. This was the first of the many adventures this girl and her father were about to do that week, the others include, but are not limited to, 1. sky diving 2. bungee jumping 3. paragliding 4. canyoning 6. ice climbing. I checked later that day, yep no age restrictions on any of this in Switzerland. No big deal. When we got back to the rafting place all the girls and leaders were telling my what a fabulous time they had and how great their guides had been. We got cheese and bread and a free drink when we got back. Really great I'll post a link to the place we use here in case y'all are ever in Switzerland.
http://alpinraft.ch/

2. That week I also got another chance at the adventure park! I did not do the pendulum swing like last time, but I have gotten pretty good at abseiling down from the bridge! This time because it was not raining we got to rock climb on real rock. I have to say after doing it both ways, I much prefer the real rock. This time after the girls had climbed for a bit I got Betsy (another vollie) to belay while I climbed. Rock climbing is an activity I could really see myself trying to do more of when I get home. Maybe get a pair of rock climbing shoes, they really help, and see what North Carolina has to offer! I have been to hanging rock to climb before (yep with Girl Scouts!). Which was a lot of fun. So I guess I will have to look into it more.

3. This week I got to climb up Bunderspitz! Again! Except this time instead of going during the day, I got to hike up there at night! There was only a girl from Northern Ireland and a mother and daughter from Washington. We normally take up to 18 girls up bunderspitz, but this time the interest was really low. That's okay though, it was better with a smaller group! We started the hike at 7:30 pm and stopped at a cheese hut at about 9:30 there we met a very cool atmosphere. There were several other hiking groups there having drinks. We settled in above were the cows stay, yes it smelled. Then we went back downstairs to have hot chocolate. Then to bed! For four hours... cause we got back up at two. When got up at two you cannot imagine the stars. They were so pretty it was incredible. After working at the Planetarium for so long my fascination with stars, planets, and space has really grown. So it was really great to see the stars so bright. Then we made our way up to the top of the peak, hiking until 6:00 am. Then we settled down to watch the sunrise right there. I ate toblerone mountains on a mountain. The sunrise was beautiful coming up a lot quicker than I imagined. Once we had our full of the sun we headed down to arrive back at the Chalet at 10:30.

4. This week I have been really working on my staff challenge! So I went swimming in a lake. A glacier lake! It was very cold, but also refreshing. I swam for a good while then got a cappuccino, then hiked to another lake, only entered up to my stomach couldn't take it so I didn't swim in that one. Oh well next time. Then I also before going up bundersptiz went to the local swimming pool in Adelboden. This pool is really really nice. It is also really really freeee! It had a trampoline that you jumped of into the water, as an alternative to a diving board. Which I was all over, I love diving boards! Then we just sat out by the pool, I read David Sedaris. It started to rain. So we had to go!

5. I had one more day off before my week of guest services. So me and Betsy went to a valley that was only open to the public around 1913. This was because it was really hard to get to the valley and the three towns until they started to build the rail way through the valley in 1903. The best part about this is that most of the houses and buildings look so different than the rest of Switzerland. They look older and more rudimentary. Another great aspect of this valley was that they have a festival and tradition that have to do with wooden masks. Now they put on a festival to scare non-locals once a year in February. It's great! I will put up some pictures and links below!!!!!!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%B6tschental







6. Like I said this week I am on guest services! Pros: This American life podcast listening time, quite cleaning, afternoon breaks, giving tours. Cons: People, cooking, cleaning up after cooking, and getting up to fix breakfast. Like anything both pros and cons. It is teaching me a lot about how I think working in the hotel business would be. So that is cool.

7. So new developments for the year! I was talking to my roommate here, Alison, about how cool it would be to visit Our Chalet in the winter! All the snow the skiing! It would be a winter wonderland! So we started to look at programs for which we could attend. Then I skype with my friend Arlee, who has grown close with a girl from Manchester while at camp. Arlee says "I want to come visit you and Manchester in England". So I am like "I might go back to Our Chalet in the winter" Arlee "OMGIWANNAGOTOO!!" and I am like "OMGYESSSS!" so now I am scheduled to fly home from Zurich coming full circle this year!
http://www.ourchalet.ch/en/events/20828

8. This week I did the amazing! I finished a book! I started the book because the movie that the book is based off looks amazing, and I really want to see it. So to help with the impatience I decided to read the book and now it was AMAZING. The main character just had a great voice. There are a few things I would like the movie to do differently, the main girl was kinda whiny and annoying in the book so I  hope she is a more likable character in the movie and the ending was really open. But the main character, I don't know how they will do him justice. I think it will come all down to the acting and writing. It always does. I am really hopeful though because the guys who wrote 500 days of Summer also wrote this movie!! And the clips and trailers I have watched seem pretty good, links to both below!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wceaLzbtuDY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItJr9dtRon4

9. Today I went with Alison, and then last minute, one of the vollies friends who is visiting her while she is at Our Chalet had nothing to do, so he came along... Scootering!!!!!!!!! I know what you are thinking what do I mean by this. Well we took a gondola up a mountain, longest gondola ride evvverrr, and then at the top of this mountain we rented scooters and then we rode them all the way down! Multiple times!! It was so much fun, we rode into town and got ice cream and then kept taking the gondola up. Unfortunately I forgot my camera because the views were unbelievable. But there were a view photos captured and I will put those up here!




10. If you have been keeping up with my blog you know that I really miss watching movies. So me and Betsy have decided that we are going to an international film festival in Locano Switzerland, which is in the Italian part of Switzerland. Here is the movie we are going to see!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dP562PeToBQ

Helllloooo!

1. So during the summer Our Chalet has a ton of guests, generally young girls, who come to visit during the summer holidays. Most of these girls do a week of program at the Chalet, activities including two town days: Thun and Interlocken, two hikes: Elsigenalp and woodcarver, one on site day, one day at the adventure park, and one free day! This is a normal week of program for these girls, not including all the night program we do, which includes a night hike to the peak of an alp! However, we also have mini breaks in between big program groups. These are called Education First (EF) groups. These are a bit different to the groups we see during the week because EF is a tour company that not only works with girl scouts/guides, but also school and church groups. The EF tour that we often host has the girls coming from London then Paris and then to Our Chalet as a last stop. These girls have usually had about two weeks of traveling when they get to us and they are often very tired. They stay for 1 1/2 days and two nights. It is crazy how different the two groups dynamics are.

2. Now to say a bit more about Swiss food! We have a traditional dish about 2 times every week, one for EF and once for the program group. It is called Rosti:

I have never had it the traditional Swiss way because here at the Chalet to make it quick and easy we bake the dish rather than frying it. So I believe it would be better getting it out, but it is still pretty good at the Chalet. Another really Swiss dish is called Alpine Macaroni


If you can tell, what makes it Alpine rather than normal Macaroni is the: caramelized onion, potato, meat, and apple sauce (that you pour on top), that accompany the macaroni and cheese. The other big dish that I am sure you have heard of is Fondue which literally means "melted' in Swiss German. They do cheese fondue, chocolate fondue, etc.

3. One of the night programs we offer is international night. This is the night after the guest's first full day at Our Chalet. On this night each unit/troop/group puts on a bit of a show to tell about where they come from. This week we had a few groups from Canada, the USA, one from Scotland, and one from Northern Ireland. This time around we learned/watched a dance from almost every group. Whether it was line dancing from the Michigan girls, or traditional Irish Clogging from the Irish girls we could all stand up and participate. My personal favorite was the dance the Scottish showed us. It was a partnered dance and it was crazy! Here is a video of that dance:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgMcMI0Qmok

4. Have learned a lot of new dances, but also a lot of new campfire songs! Here are my top 5 new fav songs!

• Auntie Monica: (Here it is sung--- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Clu3TX3ZajE and here is the dance that goes with it! This video is quite long, but pretty funny... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uY2V94zwZ8g
• Campfires Burning: This is a song you sing when you are trying to start a fire, or at the beginning of campfire, and it is so catchy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNTSjgXfMk8 
• Land of the Sliver Birch: this I think is a predominantly Canadian song, it is wonderful. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlE9uB_23kw
• Vem Kan Segla? This is a Swedish folk song that one leader who has family in Sweden saw in the Our Chalet book, recognized and sang for us. So crazy though because I recognized the tune! We would sing it in English at a camp that I worked at last year at the closing ceremony as the girls were sending wish boats out into the lake, it is gorgeous in both languages! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTeMmJ_F9LE
• and of course, the Our Chalet song! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xoCHpcNy6Q

5. When guests come to Our Chalet they are told they can try to earn the Our Chalet Challenge badge. They must complete a good amount of challenges to get said badge and the amount of times I have to give my signature is ridiculous. However, we as vollies can complete the staff challenge. With over 30 options and earning up to 80 points the staff challenge is no small matter. The challenge tasks range from having a tea party in baby chalet, to checking out the night life in Adelboden, to trying an extreme sport. They seem to be a list of things not to miss out on while on staff. I am trying to complete mine, but I only have 18 points so far... But don't worry everyone! I have a plan to do three tasks a week from now on! Hopefully I can earn whatever it is you earn when you complete the staff challenge!

Have a good weekend!!!

Hey guys! I got safely back from France a day or two ago! Here is my "Friday" five!

1. For the week before the 5th of July I was on my turn for guest services. I was told that guest services would be something of a break from program, which in some ways it was. However, it was not a break in that it felt like less work, if anything it was more exhausting! I was on site for most of the week cleaning building and preparing food. You are up at 7:00 am to get breakfast ready and done by 9:00 pm after washing up after dinner. The list of activities for the day seems to get longer each day so you never quite finish checking off your to do list. Even so the Chalet looks very clean after a long days of work and program starts to become more of a prize when you don't get to do it every week. Guest services has its purpose, but there was no denying that it was quite a long week.

2. This was the week of the Fourth! It was my first fourth of July out of the states. I like Fourth of July, but I didn't realize how much I would miss going to get food, then piling into the back of a pickup truck and watching fireworks! We decorated the dining hall with American flag colors and themes, put the American flag up on the flag pole, and popped a few fire crackers. The world center manager's husband also had an American folk sing along at a local bistro. The troop of girls from Georgia who attended the second event came and then several of the other vollies too. We sang this land is your land, country roads, and a few girl scout songs before I had to go back to help with dinner. Another vollie from Florida made apple crumble for desert, which was soooo good! All in all a good fourth, but I am looking forward to the next one in the states.

3. Finally my break days were there! After working for six days straight I was super ready for a break, and to be honest a get away from the Chalet. Lucky me, I was headed to France with another summer vollie Emma Walsh from Newfoundland, Canada! On the way we stopped in Basel which is a city in Switzerland that is super close to Germany and France. The Rhine River runs through it and the town center is great! It was a nice stop for the day. We went to the Basel art museum which was having a Picasso exhibit. We saw a lot of Picasso's pieces, I will put a few of the highlights up. We also saw some Monet's, Dali's, and Van Gogh's. Emma and I ate dinner at the Cathedral near the Rhine than went to catch a train into France! We ran through the station grabbed a train to Mullhouse and then had to wait there due to strikes going on. We grabbed a cappuccino (my new fav thing). Finally we caught a train to Belfort and we were in the city that the festival was in!!!!!!!!! Here are the Picasso's:









4. So we got to Belfort and just figured we would go follow others with sleeping bags/the signs in french with the Festival's name on them. We stood around waiting for a bus for a while and everyone just seemed confused. Everyone also seemed to be a bit intoxicated, due to France having zero laws about open containers. Finally we filed back into the train station to find a train with the festivals name, Eurockeennes, on the screen, a free train to the festival score! There was then a shuttle to the campsite, all of these were free! All the French use this one tent, it was all over the campsite, just a sea of them here:



They are supposed to be able to be put up in two seconds. Our tent that we borrowed from the Chalet stuck out like a sore thumb, haha. The campsite was beautiful, it was flat but was surrounded by mountains that looked just like the mountains back home rather than the alps. Emma and I went straight to bed because we were so tired and wanted to rest for the next day....

5. Finally the day had come! We got up planning on going back to Belfort to see the town before the festival opened at 4. But there was no way we could tell to get back to the town so we walked for a bit and found a local bakery had great croissant and coffee. We then walked to the super market and wandered around (so many shirtless/shoe less french boys....). We went and sat by the creek behind the super market and later when walking back from the creek we passed by the Phoenix tour bus! Finally we entered the festival!!! The first group we saw was from Ireland, their average age was 16! Then we got some Argentinian bbq and sat and watch Kenny James, a french rapper that I did not understand a word of! Finally, finally, we started to gather for Two Door Cinema Club. It was a bit of a mosh pit in the front, but the show was awesome. However, everyone was there to see Phoenix. The crowd knew every word and went crazy over the more popular songs like Listmania. Emma and I walked a way that night wishing for a repeat and humming our favorite songs. Pictures from this event I will have to post later because I need to borrow ones Emma took :))