I’m a Jelly Doughnut
Just kidding. I’m not a jelly doughnut. In fact, I don’t even like jelly doughnuts- hell I don’t even like doughnuts- well except cinnamon and sugar twisty ones from Shipley’s that are only eaten on summer mornings in Bay City, Texas. But since my Bay City days are limited to Christmas or Thanksgiving every five years it’s safe to revert to my original statement that I don’t like doughnuts.
What does this post have to do with doughnuts? Absolutely nothing. But if you didn’t understand my quote reference, then we can’t be friends. Seriously.
So when G told me that we were going to be temporary Bearleeners (insert Boston accent) for the weekend, I was pretty pumped! Berlin has been on my bucket list for a long time. Pretty much the same reason as usual for all the fabulous places I get to go- G had a meeting there, so I tagged along. It will be a very sad day when I get a job for the sole reason that my getting to travel to Scientific meetings are over. (Just kidding- I can’t WAIT for that day- but I’m trying to see the positive in everything).
We were still living in Zurich at the time, and Swiss German was still pretty fresh on my brain. When we arrived in &*(^%$ freezing Berlin, I had to ask G (seriously) if they were speaking German! I wasn’t aware the difference between the two languages was so dramatic! At least it sounded that way to my phonetically inexperienced American ears.
I have always heard that Berlin is like New York in the 80’s. I’m not really sure what that means, since I was running around in diapers in Bay City in the 80’s, but it sounded cool none-the-less. I imagined a gritty, fast paced, slightly dangerous city with cool art and very cool people. And you know what? That’s exactly what I got. And I loved it.
We stayed in a super cool modern hotel where all the furniture was oversized, and the place smelled like freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. I hate to admit being a sucker for marketing- but I finally gave in and bought one at one point. Berlin is a HUGE party town- so naturally they serve room service 24/7 here.
Our room
One of the walls in the hotel
Lobby
The entrance to our hotel!
Berlin on a freeeeeeeeezing day
Annoyed that I’m taking so long to get ready…
So handsome, my G!
Ready to brave the cold.
The super retro seats in the metro!
Who said Germans don’t have a sense of humor?!
Berlin wall- the following are all photos from the East Side gallery…
Berlin wall… thought it would be much thicker!
Old school sign at the train station
Super mega cool lady on the train… I couldn’t resist! Just to leave you with a little Bearleener taste!
xx
Bal du Printemps 2012
This years Bal du Printemps had a very special meaning for us, because as of January, G is now the official IRP Chair for Spinal Cord Repair at the EPFL. More on the move coming soon! The theme was “Au Pays Des Merveilles” or Alice and Wonderland- and they really went above and beyond- which I sincerely appreciated, because I must have watched the VHS of Alice and Wonderland until my parents lost their minds and the film wore thin. Here are some pictures from the evening, taken from the Irp website.
“Begin at the beginning and go on until you come to the end: then stop”.
Walking through the “rabbit hole” They gave us these little bottles of juice that said “Drink me” before walking in. Great idea!
entrance and check in
decor at the event
I’m Late! No time to say hello, goodbye, I’m late, I’m late, I’m late!
The “Labyrinth” which also served as seating in the cocktail area
Some of the wonderful staff
The White Rabbit and Queen of Hearts!
“Where should I go”? -Alice
“That depends on where you want to end up”. -The Cheshire Cat
“‘What is the use of books, ‘thought Alice, ‘without pictures or conversations’”?
“Curiouser and curiouser!”
“Speak English!’ ’I don’t know the meaning of half of those long words, and I don’t believe you do either!”
“If everyone minded their own business, the world would go around a great deal faster than it does.”
“Why is a raven like a writing desk?”
“Twinkle, twinkle little bat! How I wonder where you’re at.”
“Off with her head!”
“You’re nothing but a pack of cards!”
“We’re all mad here”.
pictures from the venue and how cool is the “rabbit hole” !?
G and I with Philippe Boissonnas, the Secrétaire Général of the IRP and the Queen of Hearts and White rabbit (of course)
G talking science with Marc Ristori, former motocross world champion who suffered a spinal cord injury in 2007.
Me with our good friend Nicole Haas who works for the IRP
Alice and the Mad Hatter getting down at the turntables
the cover for the program
Such a wonderful evening filled with very inspiring people and great fun! Can’t wait until next year!
xx
“Read the directions, and directly you will be pointed into the right direction.”
Mykonos 2.0
In September we traveled (with the whole G-lab!) back to Mykonos, Greece. One of my favorite paradises of all time! G held his annual Lab retreat there- so we rented a house, talked Science for 5 days (I was in the kitchen… this cowgirl does not talk Science!) and spent a glorious few days on the beach.
This was a very special lab retreat- because G made it official that the Lab (and all of our lives!) are uprooting from Zurich and heading to Lausanne. G got offered an amazing position at the EPFL (Ecole polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) so off we go to start a new adventure! Here are some pics from the week!
The pool at the house we rented
Janine taking an early morning dip
Breakfast in the outdoor Kitchen
Early morning in Mykonos
Ed and Q enjoying their coffee
Nico emerges…
Bonjour!
Aya and Nico… so happy to be in Mykonos!
Greek Salad that I made while the Scientists were saving the world
Lunch Al Fresco!
Time for a dip in that beautiful pool!
Team G-Lab
All that food and Science is exhausting!
Beach time
Beach Water Volley
Pool by night with the city lights behind us
Getting ready to open their presents.. (Me capturing the moment on flip!)
What is it!!?
New iPad’s for all the G-lab!
Reading Science articles playing angry birds!
Riding our scooters to the beach
No Hands… (They survived!)
Isa- the artist!
Someone is excited!
Nico- flying into the wind
Nursing a nice little sunburn there…
Q and Pavel- watching the others and thinking very seriously on how not to fall off the tube…
They survived!
Round two… getting ready to go!
So far so good!
Serenity
Kite flying on the beach
Pavel singing Russian Opera at supper- so beautiful. He’s going to sing at our wedding!
Getting ready for our long supper at the house
G-Lab (+ Mama G-Lab!)
Enjoying the traditional Greek Food
Midnight Swim!
Don’t mess with Team France/America in a chicken fight
You will go down!
The old cheerleader days make a resurgence…
Walking to the deserted beach while talking Science
It was hard work to get there
But totally worth it
Fueling up!
Captain Q
An evening at Interni- our favorite restaurant! And where we discovered the best music- which 8 of us went in together to buy half the collection!
Nico at Niko’s!
G with Isa and Lucia in Little Venice
Waiting for Cocktails!
Cocktails and Science… a winning combo!
Who said Science was boring?
Ever the chemist…
The Surgeon and the Chemist… It’s called teamwork y’all!
G-Lab 1.0 It all started here!
Jackie O’s! (I did steal glasses this time!)
Time to go :-(
Adios G-Lab!
G and I tacked on a few extra days for our vacation! No science for 5 days!! (It was a struggle…)
Reading the Hunger Games- finally!
Lounging
Apéro before supper
Getting ready for a night on the town!
The Smallest Church ever!
Saying a quick prayer to St. Christopher to keep us safe during our travels! I wish I would have chosen him as my confirmation saint!
Supper at our new favorite place- Koursaro’s
That’s the place!
Lounging our troubles away!
That’s it for this this year! Hopefully we will be making Mykonos 3.0 a reality soon!
xx
J
Woke up to some beautiful snow this morning! I love Switzerland!
Chinese Starbucks!
We went to an art exhibit and they painted our names for free! (only because we bought some expensive-by China standards- pieces) You can hardly get a meal in Switzerland for what we paid for those!
At the steps of a temple in the Forbidden City
Gold plated ceiling
That’s a big pillar!
These are “chimes” to play music.
An older woman practicing Kung Fu in the park. (Seriously)
Forbidden City
Turtle Dragon! A symbol for good luck and longevity
These large bronze vats were early fire extinguishers
Carved Marble Staircase
In front of the “tree of lovers” because the two trees meet and intertwine <3
Takes smart car to a whole new level
Fried scorpion anyone?
Makes you wonder about where your food has been…
Entrance to the Temple of Heaven
People huddling together for some afternoon tea
“Dragon Pavilions” made for each emperor
The largest and most ornate of them
Inside the “Fasting Hall”
Some crazy trees that looked like they came out of a Tim Burton movie
Temple of Heaven
你好北京！(Hello Beijing!)
Somewhere over the whirlwind of Christmas break, G and I met up in China. When I say whirlwind- I mean it! The month of December and first part of January went something like this:
Zurich—>Frankfurt—>Houston—>Bay City—>Houston—>New York—>Los Angeles
—>Palm Springs—>Los Angeles—>Beijing—>Los Angeles—>Palm Springs—>Houston
—>Bay City—>Houston—>Palm Springs—>Austin—>Houston—>HOME!
Now the question is… where exactly is HOME!? Don’t know if I have made it official- but G and I are moving to Lausanne, which is right on Lake Geneva. So- naturally, I flew into Genève, quickly realized that although we are still in Switzerland- we are not in Zurich! The efficacy in the airport is rivaling that of American ones… Anyway- off to our new loft in downtown Lausanne (which we don’t officially move into until the end of February) for one night of celebration with the G-lab… and then finally HOME to Zurich!!
Ok- back to China… G had some work to do over there- and I got to tag along! I was telling my mom that I thought I should take advantage of this- because- when else am I ever going to get to go to China!? She responded: With G, one never knows! True :-)
So we met in Beijing (me from LA, G from Paris) to be welcomed by a blistering cold, wet country. I am used to cold weather- New York, Switzerland! But this was something different… like get in your bones cold. I’m glad I brought all those warm clothes!
Anyway, I kept a travel journal (which I will spare to all of you, and just go for the highlights) because I was so in awe to be in a completely different country. We are so spoiled that we get to go all through Europe on a regular basis- so it’s been a long time since I have experienced “culture shock” It was a wonderful and humbling feeling, and reminded me why I love to travel so much!
All the buildings look like this!
Of course everything is in Chinese! (Duh. I don’t know why that’s something that struck me as odd… blame it on my stuck up Americanism…) But just to experience it and not be able to make out one single letter was a bit of culture shock!
In the more Westernized parts of town, some of the signs will have English written- but this is only since the 2008 Olympics. Wangfujing Street is the main shopping area. Very geared towards Americans.
The following are some pics from walking up and down Wangfujing:
Candy Shop!
It’s a great mixture of all Western shops and then Chinese markets (See Zara and the Gap?)
This was the other side of the street
Pretty gates to another shopping area
Walking down the street
Close up of one of the buildings
Trash Man
Communism at its finest…
Did you know that 83% of men and women in China between the ages of 15-24 consider themselves fans of the NBA? With 1.3 billion people… Yao Ming is borderline god. Talk about untapped market…
Inside a scary little metal box that served as a taxi…
And my worst nightmare… taking the subway with hundreds of people! We wanted to experience it- which I am glad I did- but I’ll take the 3$ taxis instead of the 20 cent subway. There were literally people standing at each door pushing us is. Makes NY look like a dream boat!
One of the many highlights of China was the foot massages! For an hour and half you escape to heaven! And for 17 dollars… we did it almost everyday! Here we are at the spa rubbing the Happy Buda!
We never actually went- but close to our hotel is a food street market, where they serve all those yummy things which I’ll detail later…
Some close ups of the buildings
Some close ups of the inside of the Temple of Heaven
The Echo Wall- you can stand on one side and say something, and the person on the other side will be able to hear you. I wanted to try it out- but I was by myself and too cold to care…
Couldn’t resist…
For the full effect…
Getting ready to climb the great wall!
Just in case you are neither… you can’t sit here.
Which category should we put G in?!
We made it to the top! (Just kidding- we took the cable car… Mrs. America wasn’t up for an early morning mountain climb…)
I can’t believe I am here!
<3<3<3
We had a fun time sliding down the snow part!
That’s Mongolia over there… This just reminds me of how many places I have never been!
Hello!
The little towers are called “Signal Towers” where officers were placed on duty. They all communicated by smoke signals all the way back to Beijing
It goes on for 5,500 miles! Think about that for a second…
That little black dot is me!
Water break!
Beautiful mountains
Still can’t believe I am here!
There is no exaggeration here… that is really how steep it was.
Me having to stop every 10 steps.
Almost. There.
Not amused.
Getting ready for the final climb- which was actually quite scary! You can’t really tell, but all the steps are uneven and some are as much as 2 feet apart.
Oh thank God
My camera man made it too!
No wonder the Chinese are so small!
Reality hits… I’m on the freaking Great Wall of China with my Love! How cool is that!?
Made it down the steep part! Now to just walk back another mile…
You can’t really tell- but that was a man going up to the top with a donkey carrying supplies. They were selling Water, Coke, Beer etc at the top. Talk about shitty commute.
Once we finally reached the bottom- we were harassed by vendors trying to sell us all sorts of crap. G had way too much fun playing with them.
I guess you can ride a camel to the top? Sounds dangerous.
In the market. Exhausted and starving!
I’ll spare you all the details of the food… but I couldn’t resist this one. (Excuse my bad mani!) I ordered sweet and sour soup, and this was the size it came out in. Once I had 2 bites I asked G if he thought that they put this back into the vat- because no one in the right mind could finish this. When he didn’t hesitate to say yes- that was the end of lunch.
Everything. Everything is fried. We stuck to chicken and pork- which was quite good- but let me tell you some other things on the menu:
Tripe, pig intestines, chicken feet, cow testicles, fish lips… ok stop.
Some of the things I tried (bravely):
lamb chin, duck heart, liver dumplings (I didn’t know thats what it was) stop. Actually not at all that bad- but I can’t wrap my head around eating those things. Glad I tried it… its off the bucket list. Now back to beef!
