This past weekend I traveled to Lugano, Switzerland to visit my cousin, Ellie, who is studying at Franklin College. Though getting to and from Lugano was quite the hassle (*I will go into more detail on the commute in my next post), once I arrived I was in complete awe at the beautiful, enormous mountains that surrounded me.
I must say, it was very nice to spend some time in dorms again. The one thing I really miss about Champlain is that people do live on campus, go to the dining hall, and have their own little community. HES is a commuter school and doesn’t offer any of these comforts.
It was very nice to see Ellie, but the weekend we chose was a little awkward. This was the weekend before everyone at Franklin left for their academic travel. Ellie actually left about 12 hours before I did, so the planning was a little off. Everyone was just so excited to be visiting a new place for two weeks. We had a huge feast on Saturday night to use up all the perishable food that would have been thrown away (this included some AMAZING cheese fondue, pasta, cheesy baked potatoes, and so much more).
During the day on Saturday, Ellie showed me the town and the lake right near where she lives. It really is beautiful. The weather wasn’t the best for viewing purposes, but I could get the gist of what it must look like on a clear day. It actually reminded me a lot of San Francisco with the architecture and all the clusters of houses nestled into the mountainside.
I am so lucky to have a cousin, whom I consider to be a great friend, also studying in Europe. I can’t wait to go back again in November!
