I am so glad. In the past I have travelled extensively due to work. I am grateful to my boss who had given me the opportunity. So the Europe trip was different this time. And off I am again. I have flewn to San Francisco to do some research for a project. I am currently thinking of maybe going back to graduate school next year…who knows. Berlin offers an MBA in Health Management. That seems to be somewhat interesting. I am also tempted to go back to Korea for a few months to learn the language better. Maybe I will do this before I start graduate school? So many options to choose from. Life can’t be more exciting, lol. I am happy that James is there for me and that he supports me in my life and my decisions. It’s important to have someone you can rely on as a partner. I am so grateful and I do feel very blessed. Life is just too short. After my uncle has died I have realized again how short life can be. By the way I am currently only reachable via my mobile phone. My colleague just let me know that my sister has called me at work because she could not reach me. I have disconnected my land line and have switched to Skype that I have started to use in the Internetcafe around the corner before I have left. It’s cheaper than paying the monthly fix cost for the land line. Technology makes the world go round.

I just wanted to say thank you to Thomas who has taken over JJ to look after during my journey. Mille Grazie!!

1. James and me on the Eiffel Tower
2. Me and the Seine river in the background
3. View from the Eiffel Tower
4. Statue within the Jardin des Tuileries

Paris - the city of lovers. I loved it. Every time I return to it it just gives me this incredible feeling. James and I returned to one of our favorite Pho places within Chinatown to eat. It was as good as last year. I guess we were getting tired of eating European food. We discovered this time close to Jardin du Luxembourg a street filled with Japanese restaurants. We gave it a try. Sashimi and Sushi were pretty good - just don’t order the Udon noodle soup which was not really authentic. Maybe those places are run by Chinese…who knows. We also visited the Louvre, the Sacred heart cathedral (my favorite Place in Paris), Notre Dame… and just enjoyed ourselves strolling along the Seine river in Paris.

~ Tanja and me ~                    ~ James, Fernand and me ~

We had a wonderful time in Switzerland. We rented some bikes and went biking along the lake Geneva and also made a trip to Chamonix a small pitoresque town close to the Mont Blanc before going up 3800m high with the so called ‘Aiguille du midi’ cable car. Of course we also had to try the so famous cheese fondue and took various ferries across lake Geneva.
I took the chance to visit a friend Fernand that lives close by who invited us to a wonderful dinner and who made us listening to incredible stories. We also met Tanja, a former co-worker of mine. She has been living in Switzerland for 2 years now. I can’t believe how time has passed by so quickly. Tanja invited me to some clubbing event at a place called the ‘Sip’. It was short since I did not want to stay that long but it was also fun though I have realized that I am getting too old for this kind of thing…lol

~ Electro car ~                  ~ James and me on the Spanish Steps ~

Ui-uii-uii! Travelling to the country of Pizza and Pasta. Randy as an Italian Pizza lover could not await to finally get there. We arrived on a beautiful and sunny day. Prepared of knowing what the price for the cab fare to our destination (around 35 EUR) would roughly be I went to ask one of the cab drivers for the fee.

‘Could you tell me how much the price to ‘X’ would roughly be?’ I asked him politely. Within the Italian way of throwing his hand into the air he shook his head. ‘I don’t know, but we got a meter in the cab’, he proclaimed. ‘Oh okay. That’s fine then.’
Within seconds we had our luggage stored within a small italian FIAT before taking our seats in the back. Once on the freeway, the driver, who had a very unfriendly way of communicating and a face of a gangster, turned around to let me understand that the fare would be somewhere around 50 to 55 Euro.
‘No way!’, I protested. Quickly I translated the meaning of his words into English to let my companions understand what was going on. James quickly started to protest as well.
‘How can that be? You just said that you did not even know the fare? I could hear the anger in his voice. ‘Yeah, I added, how can that be?’ taking his side.
Of course his English suddenly disappeared and he started to yell some words into Italian at us. Soon as I saw that happening I decided to change our target destination. ‘Well, then go to Termini station instead. Go to Termini station!!’ I reaffirmed in a similar Italian way. ‘What?’ I realized the anger in the drivers voice. Looking into the back mirror my eyes met his’. Those eyes were the most threatening two eyes I have seen within months or maybe even years. But I stayed cool. I quickly explained to Randy and James that any destination within the inside wall of Rome would be a fixed price of 30 Euro as mentioned on some of the information boards outside the airport. James had seen the same boards and agreed. ‘You are crazy’ the guy said. His anger packed him and he speeded up and started to drive like a mad cow. I am sure we could have well reported him for this because none of us felt safe in that car but at that point we did not care.

The next days were filled with sightseeing activities. We visited the vatican, he sistine chapel, the remains of the roman empire and other places. The weather was playing crazy. The temperature scale went up to 28° Celsius. The heat wave totally knocked us off our feet.

Pizza and Pasta. Randy had high expectations and so we went to eat at a couple of places but realized that we never really got great Pizza and Pasta. It was kind of disappointing. On our way to the vatican museum I suddenly saw a Korean add of a Restaurant. ‘Typica Cuicina Coreana’, I read. I got all excited about it. I quickly took a lifesaving picture of that add since it gave the directions too. That night James agreed to give it a try so we went back to Termini station to look for it. Behind Termini station there is some kind of chinatown. The name of the Restaurant is ‘Hana’. Dinner was great. I had Neng myun and Galbi, a Korean ice noodle soup and barbecue. Everything was delicious but then the price was pretty high too. During the next days we also tried another Korean restaurant called Sorabol that was close by. That one was much cheaper and the food was great too. Just the pickles were maybe abit too salty.

These are our tipps for Rome:

- Get an appartment in a nice residential area to experience the Italian life style. But be prepared that the walls could be thin and that Italian mama’s do have a voice when they get mad =)
- When in Rome, do as the Romans do! We took naps during the heat wave until early/late afternoon.
- Have comfortable walking shoes with you. To all my female readers: I know we love high heels but believe me: Rome was not conquered with high heels shoes back then!
- For Asians travelling from Asia I could recommend to bring a mask to cover your nose and mouth. The smog can be pretty heavy outside. Maybe you also want consider bringing an umbrella to protect you from the sun especially during the (late)summer time.
- The cabs are pretty cheap. Don’t hesitate calling one especially if you travel with someone or in a group.
- A daily pass for the public transportation cost 4 Euro which is well worth the investment
- Don’t be surprised. Some of the restaurants charge an extra fee (coperto) of 1-3 Euros per Person for a sit down meal.

Our days in London were quite tyiring since we did a lot of walking. Fortunately the weather was fine for most of the time. For anybody who will be travelling to London for the first time I would recommend to spend abit more money on the accomodation. London is an expensive city but be assured if you want an enjoyable stay be willing to spend a bit more. I would advise you to check some of the reviews on tripadvisor before settling for any room. I am sure you don’t want to be waking up in the wrong area in London or having to deal with mould in the shower or bed bugs in your bed. Some of the highlights we had experienced and some tips, facts and figures we would like to pass on to my fellow readers wanting to travel to London are:

- London eye entrance fee: 15 GBP per Person
It takes exactly 30 minutes to make a round
- Buckingham entrance fee: 15 GBP per Person -
If you are interested in seeing a palace you can do it in other European countries for less money. I believe that even Versailles in Paris has a much cheaper rate.
- Some hotels charge a daily fee for using the safe within your room. So watch out!Our fee was 2 GBP per day
- A daily travel card from Zone 1-4 off Peak is 5.70 GBP per Person
- Peak times are from 4:30 am to 9:30 am
- If you have a lot of luggage do not change at Bank tube station since you do more walking than at other tube stations
- If you are looking for Internet cafes: there are two easycafés one located on Oxford street right across Bond station and another one is located close to Trafalgar Square.The rate is 2 GBP per hour. If you are looking for a better rate get out at Charing cross. There is an Internet café that only charges 1 GBP for 2 hours.

PS: Also remember - when you travel in Europe and you might need to use a public restroom be aware that some require a small fee - which can be anywhere from 20 cents to 2 EUR