Zurich, for a moment

A few photos taken during a quick visit to one of my favorite cities. Zurich, Switzerland: Always lovely, even on a drizzly, cold, wintry-mixing December day.

The skies may be gray, but Zurich is somehow always postcard-perfect.

I love wandering the narrow streets lined with shops and cafes. Zurich is the perfect walking city.

This hotel with creative holiday decorations caught my eye…

… as did this advertisement for the “McRaclette Bacon,” Micky D’s with some Swiss flare.

Till next time, Zurich!

(More Zurich photos and travel stories here.)

 

Getting to Know Nairobi, Little by Little

Nairobi.

Huge, sprawling, urban, fascinating, enticing, intimidating.

I’m at least 85% sure I’ll end up living here someday.

I don’t know much about Nairobi yet. But we’re getting acquainted, Nairobi and I, cautiously, little by little.

And I think I like it here.

A few things I’ve figured out so far:

• There is a gigantic national park full of animals within the city. How cool is that?!
• Malls are a popular hangout spot, whether for shopping or a movie or meeting up at a nice cafe for tea, dinner, or drinks. The suburban 90s kid in me is very much okay with this.
• Traffic ranges from easy-peasy-breezy to mindblowingly horrific.

Here are a few snapshots from around Nairobi:

 

Nyayo Park, and a monument in the park

 

A display of gourds just inside the Nairobi National Museum. I definitely recommend this museum for a crash course on Kenyan history, from distant past through colonial era and independence to the present! There are botanical gardens and a snake park adjacent to the museum, and while I’m no fan of snakes, I did enjoy watching giant turtles stroll along.

 

We did some Christmas shopping and enjoyed black forest cake and dawa (hot water with lemon, ginger, and honey- AMAZING when you’re feeling under the weather after a long flight) at Java House in one mall, uber’d over to another mall to watch The Last Jedi, then met some friends for dinner at yet another mall before heading home after midnight.