Geneva

IT'S HAPPENING!!!

You know when you plan for something months in advance, and never really feel like that day will actually come? 

Well........ It came!!!!! 

Welcome to Geneva, Switzerland!!!!! Land of cheese, chocolate, mountains, and designer watches. Aaaaaaaand last but not least, home to THIS GIRL (pointing at myself) for the next four weeks :). I can't even believe it. 

I'm here for a month, participating in an international exchange for medical students. I'm working at the University Hospital (or L'hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève en français hon hon hon!), in the plastic surgery department. 

As far as work goes, I was thrown right in! The day after my arrival, I got my I.D. badge, picked up my uniform, and was swiftly brought into my first Swiss operation. 

IS THIS EVEN REAL LIFE??!! 

I work 5 days a week, mon-fri, 8am until whenever I am told I can go home. It's a weeeeeeeeeeeeeee bit more intense than I was expecting, (I'm giving a presentation on a research article in a couple weeks!!! Like whaaaaaaa???? I don't even GO here!!) but I'm thankful for the experience and have learned so much already. 

I'm living with a host family in a small community called Vernier just outside of the city. They're originally from Sri Lanka, and are the nicest people!!!! The cute lil mama lays breakfast out for me every morning, with this delicious sugary coffee she makes on the stove. I think they worry about me a little bit when I go venturing off on my own, which is nice, someone to notice if I ever go missing, lolz. 

For my first weekend off, I decided to stay in Geneva and go exploring! My priority for this exchange is to really get to know Switzerland, and to do ALL OF DA SWISS THANGS!! (Plus I have a bunch of Swiss Francs I can't use anywhere else, so might as well spend them am I rite!!??) 

Day 1 of my weekend was spent wandering around the lake. 

"Lake Geneva" (which is ACTUALLY called Lac Léman, who knew!) is just booooootiful. 

Nestled right in the heart of bustling downtown, the lake comes as a breath of fresh air. 

In the middle of the lake sits the famous Jet d'Eau, one of the city's best known landmarks. 

Couples stroll the path around the lake hand in hand, tourists with over-sized cameras pose with the jet, locals relax and picnic in the gardens, I kind of just got lost in it all as I made my way along the water's edge. 

On an unrelated note, roses. 

ROSES EVERYWHERE!!!!! 

It seems like everywhere I turn in Geneva, I somehow run into an exquisite rose garden (even my host family and neighbours all have them!!). The air... just smells so geewwwd!! I can't get enough of it!! 

Before I knew it, like 4ish hours had gone by, and I wasn't even 1/4 of the way around the lake!!! I quickly turned er around, and bee-lined it back to Bel-Air (one of the major bus stops) to meet the other Canadian med student on exchange in Geneva for dinner. 

But first, check out these green grassy loungy things!!!! You'll find them at bus stops, tourist attractions, and in the middle of major squares all over the city. Kids play in them, people lounge in them, I love it!! Makes waiting for public transportation a little more bearable ;) 

At last, it was time to eat! We picked an Italian restaurant at random, a cute little place with a patio along a cobble stone street. It was my first time seeing Geneva at night (I'm usually zzzzzzzzing at a pretty early hour to get to work on time!) and I'm sooooooo glad I finally did! Even though like logically speaking more people are sleeping, in my opinion cities come alive at night! And check out the cobblestone! The ones that lit up said "goodnight" in a bunch of different languages. Neat-o Geneva, neat-o. 

All in all, twas a good first day of exploration. 

LET THE ADVENTURES BEGIN!! 

Toronto Day 3

For my last day in Toronto, Heather and I (#steaknfrenchfries) met up with her boyfriend, Chris, for brunch in Toronto's Distillery District. 

It was my first time exploring this historic neighbourhood, and I COULD NOT wait to get goin'!!! 

YIPEE!!

The Distillery District is absolutely gorgeous. Once the largest distillery in the world, it was redeveloped in the early 2000s and is now chock full of cute little cafés, trendy restaurants, art galleries and shops. 

The streets are "pedestrian only" and are made of traditional brick. Cute red-bricked factories with green windows and doors line the streets. The architecture speaks to a Victorian Industrial era, with pops of modern steel-silhouettes along the way. Twinkle lights flicker in the trees beside an old rusted-out truck. Walking around the Distillery District almost makes me feel like I've gone back in time. 

For brunch, we headed to El Catrin, an authentic Mexican restaurant. 

Can you say, Te-quil-aaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!  

Would ya just look at these two love birds??!!

We arrived a bit early, so we sat and chatted on the patio, huddled by the fire. 

And then at the strike of 11am, we were the first ones to be let in. 

The decor was IMPRESSIVE to say the least! 

I couldn't stop taking it all in.

SO MANY PRETTY COLOURS! 

There was a towering wall of hauntingly-beautiful hand painted skulls in the back. 

Giant black chandeliers dangled dangerously above us.

An astonishingly vibrant mexican mural enveloped the back wall with traditional fabric pillows beneath it. It took 3 Mexican artists 100 days to create the mural, and it is absolutely breathtaking! The ceiling and walls were raw with old wooden beams and exposed brick.

If restaurants look like this in Mexico, get me there!

We started with some bevvies! 

Heather and I both had this mexican-orangey flavoured coffee that I vaguely remember being made in a frying pan. I really wish I could remember what it was called, I can't find it anywhere! 

Apparently you're not supposed to drink it with milk, but we both did. Oops! 

I also had a watermelon marguerita. 

El Catrin has Canada's largest mescal and tequila bar, with over 120 different labels. I HAD to try one!  

I ordered my go-to all time favourite when I go out for brunch, Huevos Rancheros. 

If I'm being honest with myself, it was just alright. 

That being said, I'd have to come back at dinner time and try out the rest of the menu. 

But by the looks of things, El Catrin has a great cocktail menu and a huge heated patio.

On the 3rd Saturday of every month El Catrin hosts 'Mayahuel Nights', with guest DJs, drinks, and dancing until 2am. 

I'd definitely like to come back and check it out another time!

We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering in and out of shops, eating cotton candy, and napping until it was time for me to head back home. 

Thanks for having me, Toronto!  

See you again soon :)