Two Thousand Eleven

When I started this post, I intended to only focus on 11 events. I wanted to call my post "11 for 2011", much in the way I called last year's year-in-review "10 for 2010."

But you know what?  12 months, 7 countries, 4 road races, and 1 move across the Atlantic is a lot to condense into 11 bullet points. So I didn't. 

I know this is probably lengthy, and yeah, maybe boring too, but I hate the thought of forgetting any of the awesomeness that was 2011, and I know someday I'll look back on this post and smile.

So, without further ado: 2011. 

January

-Skiied in the new year at Craans Montana. Discovered an undying love Fondue Neuchateloise, Alpine skiing, and Swiss snow. 

-Spent the remainder of January making soup, imaging beads in gels, and wishing I was skiing while actually studying every free moment for the MCAT. 

-(Finally) took the MCAT in London, and rewarded myself with a trip to the Museum of Natural Science (why yes, I am a dork) and a West End Play. I love London. 

skiing in the new year

london. one of my all-time favorite cities. 

February 

-SKIIIIIIIING!

-What with the MCAT out of the way, decided to fully concentrate on skiing as much as possible: a trip to Interlaken with the Hamners, another trip to Interlaken with some EPFL friends, and my first foray into cross-country skiing, which ended in an absurd amount of bruises. 

-I also ate a lot of cheese, imaged more beads in gels, started my med school application, and thought about running, but decided it was entirely too cold. All in all, it was a great month.

interlaken with friends!

interlaken with the hamners!

adventures in cross-country skiing. 

wine and cheese. yum. 

March

-Probably the winner for the busiest month of year.

-Finished off the ski season with a fantastic trip to Saas Fee. While the trip wasn't perfect (no hot water), it was sunny and snowy and made me wish I could always live 2 hours away from perfect skiing. 

-Lisbon! In retrospect, one of my favorite cities in Europe. Sunny skies, gorgeous castles, ocean views, and a crazy-awesome garden. I also ran the Lisbon Half Marathon, my first race in almost 3 years, and re-discovered my love for long-distance running. 

-Budapest! A great conference in another awesome city. Highlight of the trip: The Hungarian Opera House. So, so cool. 

saas fee. perfect skiing. 

sintra! a wonderful city just outside of lisbon. 

me + ben, capa de roca, portugal

hungarian opera house. 

April

-Recovered from the craziness of March: lots and lots and lots of time in lab. The microscope becomes my new best friend.

-Springtime in Switzerland! Hikes, picnics, and day trips! I also begin training for the Geneva Half Marathon, which I stubbornly decided would be run in two hours or less. 

awesome rope swing on a trail near lausanne. 

paddle boating in annecy. 

annecy, france. 

May

Visitors!

-Kathleen and Zack visit Lausanne! Lots of fondue eating, sight seeing, and day tripping. We also took a trip to (where else?) Interlaken, which included a Lake Thun cruise and a canyoning adventure!

-Mom and Dad visit Lausanne! Dad, Ben, and I ran the Geneva Half Marathon (sub 2 = success!), spent a gorgeous weekend in Annecy, and took a wonderful mini-Vacation to northern Italy.

-Frantically tried to finish my research, accepted a job at Duke Hospital for the following year, and prepared my med school primary application. 

kathleen and zack visit lausanne!

canyoning in interlaken!

geneva half marathon-- a great race and my current PR!

cinque terre, italy. 

June

--Took one last Swiss adventure to Interlaken (I'm obsessed), where Ben and I attempted to climb Schilthorn and were thwarted by snow. 

-Submitted my med school application, returned to the US of A, moved to Durham, set up a new apartment, and went to a wedding. A bit less glamorous, perhaps, but still crazy busy. 

one last swiss hike. 

July

-SECONDARIES. Wrote approximately 3249238049238234092389 essays for med school secondary applications. 

-Fantastic road trip to Mississippi for a wedding! Decided that a) Mississippi is very far from North Carolina and b) I have the best friends in the entire world.

-Spent a gorgeous weekend at Ocean Isle with Ben and his family. Sun, sand, and jigsaw puzzles.

ben + me, riding a trolly in jackson, mississippi

August

-Signed up for the Kiawah Marathon, and somehow convinced four friends to do it with me!

-A bit of traveling: to Houston, to finally meet my new baby niece, and to Charleston, to visit Ben.

(Apparently, I didn't take any photos in August. That's unfortunate.)

September

-Dove head first into my research, and loved it. Transplant immunology is fascinating. 

-Interviews! I began interviewing for medical, and proceeded to get even more excited about the next four years. 

-Celebrated my three year anniversary with Ben with a zip-lining adventure.

ziplining! 

October

-More interviews, more travelling, more research. Busy Vanessa.

-Durham Ramblin' Rose Half Marathon! Four minutes shy of a PR, but considering the hills, a fantastic race. 

-Mom comes to visit! Delicious dinners, movie watching, a little shopping, and seeing the fantastic musical Rock of Ages. Good times.

a great day trip to hanging rock state park with my sweet friend hannah.
it's not the alps, but it's still super lovely!

durham ramblin' rose half.  hilly course.

November 

-Re-learned how time consuming Marathon training is. Also re-learned how much I love long-distance running. 

-Hosted some of my best Duke friends for a weekend in Durham-- lots of yummy food, late night chats, and cheering on Duke basketball. 

-A wonderful Thanksgiving in Kentucky with Ben + my family.

forever duke. 

December

-KIAWAH ISLAND MARATHON! 26.2 is awesome. It's tough, but it's awesome. 

-A wonderful Christmas in Kentucky chased by New Year's in Charleston. Amazing, amazing year.

kiawah island marathon. 26.2 miles of amazingness.