Spring, Seattle, and School

Once again, I find myself at the end of another quarter of school; overwhelmed and exhausted, but making progress. I can hardly believe that my first year of graduate school is two weeks from being over!! It is truly astounding how quickly time flies.

So far, May has been a great month. I have my internship in Geneva all set up, plane tickets home have been bought, train tickets to visit Seattle are in the bag, and international flights have been purchased.  I'm only lacking my Swiss visa and housing upon my arrival (slightly worrisome...) to be fully prepared. Well, and still I have to pack up my apartment, complete my final papers and projects, pack for another séjour in Europe, etc., but things are moving forward! I was able to run away with some Korbel folks and go for a great hike outside of Boulder a couple of weeks ago, as well as make a weekend visit to Seattle to see Kris. The following are photos from my times of relaxation: 

The view from a hike at Mt. Sanitas, near Boulder.

Mid-hike

At the end of the hike

It was so nice to be in Seattle for a few days. Such a treat, as it is every quarter, to see Kris and spend quality time adventuring with him. We are old people and both have wine club memberships, so a quarterly occurrence is to drive out to Woodinville, WA, to pick up our wine shipments and get in on some amazing free wine tastings at the Chateau Ste. Michelle and Columbia Valley wineries. Me + Kris + wine = my idea of heaven!

A couple of Kris' friends were on a road trip and had a few nights in Seattle as part of their agenda (the same friends we met up with in Breckenridge when Kris came to Colorado for Spring Break). We met up with them at Ray's Café on the waterfront in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle, and Kris treated me to a most delicious dinner. The sunset and scenery was just gorgeous that night, and it was excellent to hang out with his friends again. 

The view from our table!

He's so handsome :)

We then went out in Ballard-proper for some tasty drinks and fun conversation.

This car repair shop is right across from Kris' condo complex. I loved this sign :)

On the Sunday of my visit, Kris surprised his roommates and I with tickets to see Rodrigo y Gabriela play at the Paramount Theater! What a great show. I love their music and had heard that they were fantastic in concert, and boy oh boy, were they ever! We all had a great time watching them play. Such talented musicians!

Of course, after the show, we went out for a drink and then I was craving Dick's hamburgers. I cannot
visit Seattle without visiting a Dick's Drive-In! The best junk food ever!!

I was also able to see Nickel Creek in Denver early last week with a friend of mine. That was the third time I'd seen them play live in ten years. They are such an amazing group and incredibly talented musicians. I LOVE live music and was stoked to see two great concerts in three days!!

Here's to two more weeks of grad school struggles until I'm back home with my family, with Kris, and then on my way to Switz, via Toronto!!