We all need someone to Lean on, Pis(a)

After Switzerland, we hopped back onto the coach and headed south to Italy! First stop was Tuscany, which was just a quick stop to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa. It was a literal quick stop, we had perhaps 30min there to take pictures and get souvenirs (if we were fast).

We were really excited because it was the second Wonder of the world we were going to see. The place was flooded with tourists like ourselves.

What many people don't know is that the Piazza Dei Miracoli (Square of Miracles) isn't only home to the Leaning Tower of Pisa. In fact, the Tower of Pisa is actually simply a bell tower. In the heart of the Piazza is a duomo, a medieval cathedral of the Archdiocese of Pisa entitled to St. Mary of the Assumption.

Pictured above on the left with the dome is the Pisa Baptistery. It is the largest baptistery in Italy. 

The Pisa Cathedral and the Leaning Tower of Pisa

The majestic Leaning Tower of Pisa herself!

It was only after 5 years of construction when the building had reached the third floor level, did the tower start to lean. This was due to the weak subsoil and poor foundation that led to the building SINKING into the ground. It was then left untouched for a century (wow!), allowing the subsoil to stabilise itself, preventing the building from collapsing.

In 1272, construction finally resumed. The upper floors were built with one side taller than the other. The seventh and the final floor was added in 1319.

tha By the time the building was completed, the lean was approximately 1 degree, or 80 cm (2.5 feet) from vertical. At its greatest, measured prior to 1990, the lean measured approximately 5.5 degrees. As of 2010, the lean was reduced to approximately 4 degrees.

Unfortunately, we did not have time to explore the Piazza. I would have loved to enter the beautiful cathedral. It looks absolutely stunning inside, from the photos you can find online.

We weren't lucky enough to go up the tower either.

We were however, lucky to have made friends on the tour who could help us take pictures! My selfie stick broke :(

Also, I refused to be one of those people who pose like they are pushing the Tower -_-

*****

Since Tusacany is such a short post due to the crazy short amount of time we had there, I decided that I will talk a bit more about our tour package and the people on our tour.

Our tour had around 50 persons and it was mostly dominated by West Malaysian Chinese, with a couple of Australians, a pair of Americans, a few Filipinos, a few Kiwis, a Singaporean and a Thai family, and a solo Tunisian and Vietnamese. And of course an East Malaysian (hola!) and one solo Bruneian, aka my BF.

It goes without saying that the Westerners had their own "gang" while the Chinese had their own. Wt were lucky enough to start making friends as we slowly ventured into Switzerland and to Rome. We got close to two couples from West Malaysia, and we started exploring places together when we got to Rome later on.

We've all seen from reality shows like Big Brother and ANTM where too many personalities are confined into a tiny space, and there is just a clash. It wasn't too bad though but people got on each other's nerves. I especially loathed and cursed those who would leave their things in the coach from the night before to "chop" the seats in front. That isn't fair because it means those slobs can sleep in late and take their time while others who wake up early and ON TIME have to be pushed to the back. I don't want to be racist, but there were people who complained to the tour guide about those who woke up early and managed to get their seats in front. They retaliated by putting their stuff there overnight. I always had the urge to chuck them down to the bottom of the damn coach.

Also, out tour wasn't a young tour like Contiki, so we had elderly people on the tour. I wouldn't suggest this tour to elderly people, because there is simply way too much walking involved. There was one time our tour guide had us dropped at a WRONG hotel, and we had to walk 3 blocks down with our luggage to the right one, making us late for our evening tour in Florence. It became a night tour and everything was closed.

There was also a time where we walked so much I felt so bad for the elderly couple from Australia, as well as a grandmother from Canada. 

Most of the people on the tour were very friendly and harmless. Ive managed to become Friends with a couple of them on Facebook, except for those that I didn't like, who were loud and racist to us Chinese. Sorry. There was one time this Australian guy spoke to us like we were morons and couldn't understand English. I am sorry but my English is probably better than his :)

Christmas is in 4 days, and I am excited! This year, my BF and I are going to spend it in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. Literally anywhere is better than Brunei.

Happy holidays x

Hoi zäme: Swiss Alps!

Our second destination on our Europe tour was the land of fresh air, water and greenery- Swiss Alps, Switzerland!
Mind you- this was our longest coach ride the entire trip, it took around 12 hours from Paris.

However, the only pro of the coach ride was that we got to see the breathtaking views of the alps along the way. We were very excited because we all know of Switzerland's freshness and remarkable beauty of untouched greenery and waters.

We went to a little mountain village called Wilderswil, and stayed in a hotel called Alpenrose Hotel & Gardens.The hotel belonged to the owner of the tour we took.
We really liked the hotel as it was quaint, cozy and had a rustic feel to it. However, we did not appreciate the fact that it had no lifts; but we understood that it was an old hotel and it was not made to sustain a lift. The tour arranged for the younger generation (like us- AHEM!) to be on the highest 3rd floor, so it was quite the gym work to drag our gigantic luggage upstairs. Ahhhh who am I kidding- my bf did it :x

lovely view from our room balcony

The quaint little street outside our hotel

our Expat Explore bus and the hotel. Our room is the one on the right with the balcony

Warm enough to wander around in shorts!

Took a lovely stroll around the very unhappening neigborhood

Train station which we took the next day to Interlaken

In Switzerland, they use the Swiss Francs. Throughout our trip, Euros were used so it was only here that we had to have a different currency ready.

Everything in Switzerland was really expensive. A key chain/ magnet can cost you 10 swiss francs.

Our first night in Wilderswil, our tour guide told us that there was a slight change in plans. Instead of having our included meal in Munich (because of Oktoberfest), we were going to have it in Wilderswil. It turned out to be really good.

Rosti

Rosti, or röschti is a Swiss dish consisting mainly of potatoes.

It was really good!!

The other highlight was cheese fondue! It was sooooo good and I loved it. I also love how there was wine in it. We dipped the bread (as seen above) in the cheese. They had a house rule that if you dropped the bread inside while dipping, you have to buy the whole house a beer, kiss the person to your right, or run around naked in the garden based on how many times dropped. Sadly (or fortunately?!) nobody dropped any bread in the cheese!

Cheese fondue video ;P

Another highlight was this ice beer. 

"a type of strong lager brewed at sub-zero temperatures so that ice crystals form. These are then strained off to remove impurities and excess water."

If memory serves me right, it was 5 Swiss Francs per pint. It tasted really smooth and heavenly. The waters of Swiss Alps are fresh and clean, it is said that you can drink the water flowing from the alps, as well as the taps along the streets. The water used in the ice beer, is that same fresh water that flows down the alps.

We had an optional excursion to go to the top of Europe, which is Jungfraujoch; a 4000m glacier, or to wander around by ourselves. Not wanting to miss the chance of a lifetime, we went to Jungfraujoch.

We took a train up in the morning. The ride took about an hour?

As everyone already know, Switzerland is the HOME of watches. They had watches everywhere.

Photo-worthy moment? yes please!

It was -0.7 degrees Celsius out and it was FREEZING COLD! I remember wishing I had gloves.

I am also aware that my jacket made me look like a potato :(

The top included the Alpine Sensation, Sphinx Observatory and Ice Palace to name a few.

Alpine Sensation:

Ice Palace:

Alas- nobody, not even the tour guide, warned us of the crappy weather conditions up on the Swiss Alps. The weather was so bad, with such strong and vigorous snow that made it impossible to go out into the alps to play with snow, as I had been dreaming of. The moment we stepped outside, the snow was slamming into our faces like little bullets, making it impossible to stay outside for long.

I went back only to read reviews and advise not to go up as it was an utter waste due to the weather.

We were upset out tour guide didn't inform us. That, on top of how expensive the tickets were (charged by our tour). I think it was more than 100 swiss francs for each of us. We suspected that the tour took a good shove at commission from the price they charged us.

My bf embracing the cold for a photo op

insane weather outside

What didn't disappoint was the Lindt chocolate store at the top. It was amazing and it also had little mock-ups of how Lindt chocolate are made, which made cute photo ops.

We bought a couple, and I must admit Lindt chocolate is so good.

p/s Lindt chocolate is a Swiss pride :)

Certified!

We also got to send my best friend and her husband a post card in England :)

You can purchase post cards, stamps and place them in the mail box. They received it only when I got back to Brunei, I think.

After our disappointing trip to Jungfrau, we had a bit of time left so we hopped onto the train and went to Interlaken which was only a few minutes away. I love Interlaken and can totally live there! It is so clean, quaint and has LOADS of Chinese restaurants! I swear- every corner was a Chinese restaurant and there were Asians everywhere, working.

 Of course, Chinese food in Interlaken is very expensive :)

 There were also plenty of watch stores (duh) and other branded products like Longchamp and MCM. I only remember these two because I went to have a look at them.

Somewhere in Interlaken with this beautiful river

I would love to go back to Switzerland again, but probably not Jungfrau again. Maybe Austrian alps, as I heard that that is the next big thing.

We left after 1.5 days, and it was to Italy.

Until then! xx