Barcelona Trip

Nice artistic city with lotsa hidden treasures. However, when you're watching out for pickpockets, also be vigilant about where you go and what you touch. I found that some Catalans are tricky with money: No signs, no fences inside an open public park and all of the sudden you were trespassing and had to buy tickets because you accidentally entered from the other side (The guy was rude too. "I don't know if people always do this where you are from." When suggested that maybe they can put up a sign on that other end they got furious. Seriously, that's how you scam! );  I was trying to pick out some bananas and was almost forced to buy all that I touched. The hostels were tricky as well. I was lucky that withdrawing Euro cash wasn't a big problem nor costly to me. Finally, always only order things with prices clearly and consistently labeled.

Aside from those tricky encounters, the trip was still great. The lines at the Picasso Museum and the Sagrada Familia can get crazily long. Buy tickets online to avoid the queue. With the Picasso Museum, you can buy the Artickets (6 Museums for 30 Euro, www.articketbcn.org). With this you can also avoid the queue. I have to say though, MOMA in NYC has better Picasso works. It's still worth to visit the Museu Picasso since it's got works from Picasso's very early years (age 13). You can get a glimpse at how he'd transitioned throughout his long life. Fundacio Joan Miro was just fantastic. If you only got time for one museum, I'd suggest the Miro Museum. Museu Nacional D'art de Catalunya is worth a visit as well. Don't go to the Dali Museum in Barcelona. Take a side trip to Figueres if you're a Dali fan. That's where the real good stuff is. Don't pay for tours for Palau de la Musica Catalana. The ticket is 17 Euro when you can go inside and enjoy a guitar concert for 28 Euro if you research ahead.

Plenty of Gaudi's work in town. Unless you're super rich or an architect, I wouldn't visit all of them. Parc Guell and the fountain inside Ciutadella are open to public for free. Palau Guell is 12 Euro. Casa Batllo and Casa Mila are both around 20 euro. I only went inside Palau Guell and enjoyed it. Can't comment on the other two. Do keep in mind that the lines can get very long, esp. in the afternoons.

Food is just delicious in Barcelona. Avoid the set menu despite the charming pricing. There can be hidden treasures outside the set items.

Finally photos: https://plus.google.com/photos/113880069774612153445/albums/5883832480587264513?authkey=CPSTkJ2mmcXL-QE

Trip planning tips:
1. Most museums closed on Mondays or only open partially.
2. The Magic Fountain of Montjuic only runs from Thursday to Sunday evenings during summer.
3. The Pavello Mies van der Rohe requires tickets (5 euro) despite how open and unclear the sign is. Don't think it's worth 5 euro, but you gotta cough up if you accidentally enter the pavilion ground.
4. Check out the T10 (10 rides for multi-person, 9.8 euro) transit ticket. Way cheaper than individual ticket purchase (2 euro).

Zaanse Schans

Interesting working windmills. The museum can be optional.

Photos: https://plus.google.com/photos/113880069774612153445/albums/5871913643729759105?authkey=CNuhxd-6nL3iXg

Swiss Trip with photos

I got the Swiss Pass (http://www.swiss-pass.ch/en/swiss-pass) for the entire 8 days, so it was roughly worth it. I guess I could have been more aggressive, but it was good enough imo. In short, Switzerland is just one beautiful scenery after another. There is not so much art or architectural culture in its major cities. In most town, you can finish the old town walking tour within 1 hour. The one hour Lausanne I did in 40 min, Montreux in 20 min.

Photos: 
Geneve: https://plus.google.com/photos/113880069774612153445/albums/5877897410170670721?authkey=CJn8jtSX9c2wOw 
UN in Geneve: https://plus.google.com/photos/113880069774612153445/albums/5878122983430667777?authkey=CJzjouKd2YrXvAE

Interlaken: https://plus.google.com/photos/113880069774612153445/albums/5876066103317006689?authkey=CLiqsLj36viLYA
I highly recommend visiting Interlaken. I only spent half a day there, but it's totally worth it to spend more time to visit Jungfrau. There is a very sophisticated rail network around the region to visit different peaks. (www.jungfrau.ch)

Glacier Express (from Brig to Samedan): https://plus.google.com/photos/113880069774612153445/albums/5878120396710762257?authkey=CKS7x6rlp5-92QE
I took the Glacier Express. However I would choose to take the regular train if I am to go again. The food was better than the regular trains since it's got a real kitchen onboard. The food was not so delicately prepared for its price. I guess it's still hard to cook on a rocking train. The seats were very crammed. Felt like sitting on a plane. It's very hard to take good photos with all the reflection from inside the train. The scenery was beautiful. We took regular train back. It was the same route and the indoor reflection is less.

St. Moritz: https://plus.google.com/photos/113880069774612153445/albums/5878128013121870529?authkey=CNr5sYOs2uvZ6gE
It was a lucky coincidence that we stayed at Samedan instead of St. Moritz. The two towns were just 2.7 CHF/15 min away. St. Moritz is just too touristy while Samedan is still small and quiet. You can see the star on top of the church from far away.

Zurich: https://plus.google.com/photos/113880069774612153445/albums/5878129696299951713?authkey=CMW1obKGu-XetAE

Lausanne, Montreux, Chateau de Chillon and Vevey: https://plus.google.com/photos/113880069774612153445/albums/5878132866858646081?authkey=CLP0q5LhtN3fZg
I took the train from Geneve to Lausanne (about 40 min), took the boat from Lausanne to Montreux (about 1.5 hour), walked from Montreux to Chillon, then took the boat from Chillon to Vevey (about 30 min), and finally took the train from Vevey to Geneve (about 1 hour). I would say that you skip Montreux altogether. Montreux is too touristy with all the resorts and casino. The beautiful flower bank along the lake is only for the first 10 min of the 45 min walk to Chateau de Chillon (altho I did the walk in 25 min). If you get off the boat at Montreux, you can wait for next boat to Chateau de Chillon or take the No.201 bus. There's a statue of Empress Sisi at Territet. You can hop off the bus to look at her and hop on the next one on route to Chillon. Chateau de Chillon is highly recommended. It's a complete castle with moat (natural moat!), walls, bastions and a keep. Vevey is a lovely small town with many interesting statues and if you got time, do take the funicular up to see the lake from high above. I'm guessing this is the highest easily accessible viewing point around the whole lake. You can get the boat schedule at: http://www.cgn.ch/en-gb/horaires/timetable.aspx

 (map from cgn.ch site)