On a recent trip to Lyon, we drove through the French Jura. We are still in amazement with how beautiful the winter landscape is in this area. It makes a road trip very enjoyable, as you can see below.
Author Archives: lauren
Gratitude Friday: The AIWC
Last Friday, the American International Women’s Club hosted its annual Christmas luncheon. This was my first time, and also sadly my last time as we’ll be leaving Geneva soon.
The AIWC (top floor) on the snowy day of the luncheon.
Anyhow, wanted to reflect on this wonderful organization and how lucky I’ve been to be a part of it during our time in Geneva.
I had researched and found the AIWC before moving from the States, so my first week in Geneva, when Gabe was traveling to Belgium for work, and I didn’t know a soul, I walked up to join. I was greeted by some friendly ladies, Shannon and Paige, who gave me English books and magazines and were so kind.
I took them home and read every word. A magazine in English!!! With activities !!!! And articles about living in Geneva!!! Joy!!
While the club started as an oasis for English-speaking, it became so much more. I joined the hiking group at first. Each and every Friday, I’d join up with several women to hike in nearby Geneva countryside. It was very comforting to have that time to look forward to, for connections and also to ask my silly questions…where do you go to get alterations in Geneva? Where do you buy vanilla extract in Geneva? Plus, it was amazing to not have to worry about getting lost, how to navigate, and to enjoy the amazing scenery:
Hiking with the Friday HIkes Group
As time moved on, I joined several other groups: the photography group, Traveling Gourmets, and of course, took weekly French lessons.
Shooting near Bellevue with the ladies from Photography Group
My Monday French class on E’s birthday
Traveling Gourmets Christmas party
And it broadened…I soon was able to put professional skills to use by writing for the organization’s magazine, helping with PR and communications, and working in teams.
Teaching a blogger class
What stands out to me most is the diversity of women that I now call my friends. The women vary in age from mid-twenties to 93. And I’ve truly become friends with a lot of women from every generation. Not to mention nationality. Since English is just the common denominator, there are at least 50 nationalities represented in the club. Typically, I can be the only American in the group. I’ve learned a ton about different cultures, methodologies, and traditions. It’s been priceless.
With my photography group leader, W, from The Netherlands
We are excited to go back at the beginning of the year to the USA and be closer to friends & family. But, sadly, I’ve made some great friends here in Geneva, and it makes it hard to leave. I’ll miss my time with them, learning and growing. I’m just thankful for such a great experience at the club.
Bon weekend, everyone.
8 Fun Facts about Lake Geneva
I find it interesting that many of our guests have the takeaway that from first impression, Lake Geneva appears small.
Image courtesy of Lake Geneva Region Tourism. This map makes it look small too!
The first few times someone mentioned this, it perplexed me……Lake Geneva is so big. In fact, it takes over an hour at top speed on a freeway to drive to the end of it. Driving around the perimeter on good roads takes about 2.5 – 3 hours.
There is not a bad view driving around the lake.
But, looking more thoroughly, I see where someone could come up with this conclusion from the vantage point of the city of Geneva. Geneva rests at the far west end of the lake, at the very end. Not to mention, the city lies in the skinniest alcove of the lake. Thus, at first glance, the body of water appears that it stops soon after Geneva.
How one might think the lake ends over there on the horizon…..
In actuality, the visible part in the picture above is just this portion. Image courtesy of Google Maps.
So, on today’s blog post, just wanted to clear up this issue by providing a few fun facts on Lake Geneva:
1 – It is big! Specifically, the lake takes up 224 square miles.
2 –Driving around it can add time to your European road trip. The Mt Blanc tunnel costs 48 euros (around 75 USD) to travel through one-way. The tunnel takes 20 minutes. The other option is driving around Lake Geneva, which could add 3 hours to your trip.
Mt. Blanc dominates the lake
3 – It is deep! Because it is an Alpine lake, it mimics the Alps, in the inverse. The average depth of Lake Geneva is 507 feet.
4 – It has dual citizenship in two countries. About 60% lies in Switzerland and 40% lies in France. Multiple ferries traverse the water each day and are often used by commuters. In fact, in the below photo taken in Montreux, we are standing in Switzerland but the Alps in the background are French.
5 – It has contributed to science. In 1827, Lake Geneva was the first place for the speed of sound to be tested in fresh water.
6 – Expensive bottled water likes to call it home. Evian comes from several springs near Evian-les-Bains, France, which rests on the shores of Lake Geneva.
There is an Evian museum on Lake Geneva
7 – It contributes to great French wine. The Rhone flows into and out of Lake Geneva, joining the Aarve River, and down to the Mediterranean. The famous French wine in the Côte du Rhône region sits on the banks of the Rhône, of which the river flow is derived directly from Lake Geneva!
La Jonction, where the Rhone & Arve rivers meet
8 –It doesn’t just go by “Lake Geneva”. In French it can be called Lac Léman or Lac de Genève. In German, you might hear it referred to as Genfersee. In Italian, it can be either Lago Lemano or Lago di Ginevra.
Does anyone else know any other neat facts about the lake?
White Cliffs of Dover
On our way back from Edinburgh, Gabe glanced down from the plane and saw this:
White Cliffs of Dover
The left hand side is the white cliffs of Dover, the chalky cliffs that make up part of England’s Southern coast.
Pretty cool!
Scotland’s Countryside
We thought as long as we were all the way in Edinburgh, we should see some of Scotland’s countryside. We’d booked a small bus tour, a twelve seater, out of Edinburgh on Grey Lines for Saturday. It picked us up at 8:45 in the morning.
Our first stop was Glasgow where we saw the cathedral where St Valentine is buried as well Georges Square. We were then onto Loch Lomond and had the option of taking a boat tour. Although chilly, we decided to take the plunge into the water on the small vessel. We delighted in lovely Scottish views.
Taking off down the river towards Loch Lomond
Chilly mountains in the background
Scotland has great architecture
Why not have a scotch on the boat? When in Scotland….
We then continued to the town of Aberfoyle and onto Duke’s Pass where we viewed ‘the Highlands in Minature’. Our uber-short time in Scotland (36 hours on the ground) didn’t leave time to go to the Highlands, in the North part of the country. Nevertheless, the scenery in the midlands was really neat and we enjoyed the unique animals.
Duke’s Pass. Our driver said not to worry about the ‘slipping’ as we rounded each bend on the icy pass.
Why, hello.
We ventured on to Stirling and had an opportunity to explore. While we didn’t go into the castle, we had a good time meandering around. We tried not to fall down on the rock solid ground and icy paths. And, when we got too chilly, we headed to a local pub for a scotch.
Monument to William Wallace, near Stirling
An icy path leading to Gabe, taking it all in
Beautiful sunset on Stirling castle
While we were continually cold that day, we’ll always have warm memories of Scotland.
Finding shelter in a scotch house
Lights Out in Edinburgh
We never saw Edinburgh when it was truly light……we arrived after dark Friday evening, spent the entire Saturday on a countryside tour which departed before the sun was fully up, and departed for the airport at 8:00 Sunday morning.
But, still, we enjoyed seeing this beautifully historic city. We found it vibrant, active and loved the architecture. Below are a few images:
Walking home at midnight after our visit to the scotch house
Saturday sun rising on our hotel, The Carlton
A view of the Christmas fair down on Princes Street, still with the moon in sight
The city perched on the volcanic cliffs. Edinburgh castle is in the distance…
Edinburgh Castle watching the sun rise over the city
Saturday night at the German Christmas markets in Edinburgh
An early morning walk on the Royal Mile
We had the castle to ourselves. Gabe watching the sunrise before we went to the airport
If you’d like to see Edinburgh at daylight, check out this blog for some fantastic images. If you fancy a trip to Edinburgh, M also has some great tips on off-the-beaten path places to see.
Gratitude Friday: Scotch with Cousins
This Gratitude Friday, we are grateful for seeing family. My cousin and her husband live in Edinburgh. We had wanted to visit Scotland for awhile and it finally happened last weekend.
We had the chance to meet up at their local haunt, the Scotch Malt Whisky Society. The society is a private club which purchases full casks of whisky from local distillers to provide a special and rare taste to its members. Thus, as a member, you can come to the society and enjoy tastes of scotch by the glass, or order them via post by the bottle.
Image courtesy of insidebars.wordpress.com
Because of the agreements with the distillers, they don’t disclose which distiller/brand at the bar. You simply have a guide indicating the characteristics of the whiskies, each given a very creative name.
Image courtesy of insidebars.wordpress.com
We got a kick out of the copy written to describe each. Intense discussions were had on whether or not our whisky tasted like “a fine leather handbag”, “creme brûlée” or “a newly wrapped tin foil pack”.
My taste of “in a sweetie shop”
We were advised by my cousin’s connoisseur husband that if you like something, you have to buy a bottle fast. They have limited quantities and the good ones sell out quickly.
It was very nice to catch up with my cousin. It occurred to me it has actually been about 16 or 17 years since we’ve seen each other. She has been in the U.K. for quite awhile, having met her husband in London. They recently settled in Edinburgh about 2 years ago, finding a nice balance versus the bustle of London. We also enjoyed meeting her hubby and getting to know him. We don’t have a lot of personal contact when we travel, so this was very special.
Good times
We are grateful to the two for showing us such a lovely time in Edinburgh! Although, I will have to fault them for now making Gabe so fond of Jura scotch. We came back from Scotland many pounds lighter…in the wallet.
Bon weekend, everyone!
It’s the most wonderful time of the year
It’s officially Christmas season in Geneva.
My favorite addition is the large Sapine de Noël (Christmas Tree) at Place du Molard. Each morning I walked to the gym, I noted its progress.
Day 1….Tree going up
Day 2….Tree being decorated
Day 3..magic
In our household as well, our tree has been fully decorated. However, it pales in size compared to the one in Place du Molard. While we bought the largest the store offered, I am still taller than it.
Most people don’t have to bend over to decorate their tree. Our fern is also almost bigger than the tree.
Daytime tree with a snowy background
Because we did not bring any decorations with us in the move, we have been accumulating ornaments from some places we’ve traveled, to complement our paper ones we made last year. These include a bike from Brugge, some tiny clogs from Amsterdam, a snowy chalet from Chamonix, a hot air balloon from Chateaux-D’Oex:
Sometimes, when we couldn’t find an ornament, we had to get creative. Take this airplane bottle of Scotch for example. Hey, we had to have something from Scotland!
We will miss going back to the States this year for sure. However, it does feel good to be surrounded by the signs of Christmas already in Geneva.
It’s pretty grand…..Torino
Torino was our “bonus” stop on the way back from the trip to the Piedmont a few weeks ago. Torino, or Turin in English, is actually in the heart of the Piedmont region of Italy.
Our pre-reading in the car taught us that Torino was the capital for the Dukes of Savoy, so it owes its French architecture and grand squares to this portion of its history. However, the books referenced modern-day Torino as industrial and in need of revitalization. With that gleaming recommendation, we decided to do a ‘drive by’ and see how it was before committing to parking.
First impressions driving into Torino
Our books told us public transportation was excellent in Torino, and we saw lots of evidence of it driving in
We were intrigued, so decided to park. After we found a spot, we noticed lots of runners. As it turned out, the Torino Marathon was that day.
Joining hands at the finish.
Marathon set up against the beautiful architecture
We walked around a bit, taking in the lovely streets and squares as well as the liveliness that the marathon was creating with large crowds and loud music.
Palazzo Madama, now an art museum
Covered walkways along Via Roma
Piazza San Carlo and the twin churches, with remnants of the marathon on the piazza.
Palazza Real, a Savoy residence. Another UNESCO site. Woot woot.
The Duomo, where the Shroud of Turin is kept. This has recently been challenged with the advent of carbon dating. Our friends told us that now the challenge is challenged. Who knows.
Inside of the Duomo where the Shroud of Turin rests.
Ruins of the Roman Theatre
Porta Palatina, Roman structure from 1st Century AD
Farewell glance at Torino’s symbol, Mole Antonelliana, as we departed
Our summary – if you are near Torino (within an hour), make it a stop – it has a lot to offer in terms of history and architecture. Otherwise, probably not an Italy destination.
Two Fools at the International Truffle Fair
The idea to go to Piedmont actually got hatched on our way back from Cinque Terre. I was reading our guidebook to learn more about Italy and came across the “Festivals and Events” page. I mentioned to Gabe that the Alba International White Truffle Festival was listed as mid-November. Since the Piedmont is only a 3 to 3 1/2 hour drive from our flat in Geneva, we decided that we’d check into it. And, as it turned out, the last weekend of the fair was our only free weekend in November. Perfect. Booked. Why not?
Let’s back up and say while we like truffled foods, we are not connoisseurs. We have some friends from Singapore who we’d call connoisseurs of truffles, but not us. I can probably safely say the amount of truffled dishes I have had in my life have been less than five. The only time I’d ever seen a truffle was at our anniversary dinner at Le Sesflo in Geneva where they shaved it into my risotto. The rest of the time, it has been truffle-infused or with truffle oil. I can probably say the same for my husband.
Planning the trip to Piedmont, I looked into trying to go on a truffle hunt, with an actual dog (Italy banned the use of truffle hunting pigs a few years ago due to the animals damaging the special truffle producing turf). After researching, I soon found this excursion wasn’t in our budget. Far from it. Like obscene. And you don’t even get to keep the truffle.
Since we can’t afford a truffle hunt, this image is courtesy of theguardian.co.uk
We decided that attending the Alba International White Truffle Fair would be enough of an experience.
Streets of Alba at the entrance to the Truffle Fair
Not knowing anything, we were a bit overwhelmed. There were truffles everywhere. The farmers were proudly standing with their selection, most in glass cases.
Line up of truffle hunters
White truffle display. Yes, the big one is 252 euros. A today’s exchange rate, this is 325 dollars. Takers?
I liked this guy. He kept polishing his truffles on display. We bought some truffled dry pasta and truffle oil from them to savor at a later date.
This is as close as we got to a truffle dog
As we were intimidated, we wondered around looking at other foods of the Piedmont, continuing to take it all in. The vendors were very kind offering samples but my Italian is very weak so I felt bad at not being able to communicate. Just a polite nod and smile.
I’ll point out that this wasn’t a very touristy event. We didn’t see a single other person who was a) there for fun or b) speaking English. They were all there to buy.
Cheeses……
Mushrooms….
In the end, we actually ended up buying a little white truffle. It was a splurge but we are pretty sure we won’t be going back to the White Truffle Fair any other time in our lives.
This is how much truffle we can afford.
We sliced it up so that we could put in on buttered gnocchi pasta.
The Swiss Watch Blog 