Suzhou.

Suzhou was the first place I truly loved after Hong Kong. It is often referred to as the Venice of China. Very beautiful. Through these past few weeks in China, there has not been a single meal that I haven't enjoyed. Food is absolutely AMAZING here - ALL the time.

Buddhist dog. Obviously I pet every non stray dog I can find.

Shanghai.

Shanghai was cold and wet. It seems like every new city we visit in China is colder than the last. Hong Kong was such a treat. Shanghai was everything I thought it would be - busy, dirty and wonderful. Ric didn't take as many pictures here,  and he mostly used his polaroid cube. I apologize.

Hangzhou.

After Hong Kong, our 30 day visa started. Hangzhou, Shanghai, Suzhou, Chang Zhou, Nanjing and Beijing.  Let's start with Hangzhou - It wasn't my favorite, mostly due to the fact that I was still in Hong Kong mode and it was very different. The lake was beautiful though!

Hong Kong.

Where to begin. To this day I still catch myself daydreaming about Hong Kong. It was so far my favorite part of this trip. The things I saw, the people I met, the food I ate - it was an amazing experience. Not to mention that it was about 25 degrees every day.

Prague.

"I'll keep a travel blog!" - Emilie Noel, November 2014.

Yea, right. About that travel blog. I didn't realise that travelling meant being insanely busy and or tired which often results in NOT wanting to write. Ever.  So Instead of doing a recap of what I have been doing, I've selected a few of my favorite pictures and will add a punch of posts.

Prague

Prague was my favorite place (until I got to Hong Kong). There was something insanely magical about this city. The castle, the lights, the cathedral, the BEER.

ZU-RICH.

Holy crap Zurich is hella expensive. 6 CHZ for a coffee, which is around 7$ CAD. Not great when you're an addict.

Not the point. We left Lugano and took a 3 hour train ride through the alps. It was absolutely breath taking (I realise I'll be saying this a lot- bear with me).  We arrive at our AirBnB which is a very quaint apartment right in centre town. We immediately head out to explore the town and grab a bite to eat. We went to the Old Botanical Garden and finished our afternoon with some Pizza at Bar Basso (recommended to us by our Host). Zurich is very different from Lugano - people speak mostly German here and are not as friendly. The women are tall with beautiful hair and everyone seems to wear glasses. It's no wonder that you can find a hair salon and an OPTIKAL store on every corner.

The following day we went to the old town and visited the Design Museum. The Swiss sure know how to design proper furniture. We continued to walk around the old city centre. Went to visit a bunch of cathedrals. Ric was even able to capture a photo at 4:20. He was very pleased. We had fondue for dinner (had to) and shared a table with two Americans who were really nice. Every traveller we have met so far have been super chill. It makes it very easy to make friends (especially for the introvert in me).

Some things about the trip to far :

• Conditioner is hard to find - I hate my lush shampoo bars. They leave my hair feeling really greasy so I went out to buy Shampoo and conditioner which was a pretty hard thing to find...Swiss don't need conditioner?
• I am having crazy weird dreams. I think the melatonin pills I've been taking are to blame. 
• The toothpaste here taste like black licorice. 
• Ric and I are both scared of communicating with people. "No you ask for direction...No you do this"
• Parents here are mostly in their late 30's early 40's. It's no wonder with the cost of living being so high.
• Everything is closed on Sundays.. I mean EVERYTHING. It's kind of nice though. Everyone seems to be out and about with their family.
• You have to pay to use the washrooms. 2CHZ. 

Tonight we head out to Prague on an overnight train.  Dobrou Noc!