Category Archives: Geneva Activities

Swiss movie-going

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Post by Lauren

Sunday was a low key day for us after the big Halloween shindig. In the afternoon, our big event was going to see the Ides of March.

We usually go to the Pathé brand of theaters here in Geneva, but this time, I had spotted that the cinema super close-by actually had the film in version original with subtitles. Usually their films are always French so we hadn’t had an opportunity to go.

We took the short walk down to the theatre and bought our tickets. They were only 33 francs, $40 USD, a steal for Geneva movie-going. We were pleased. However, our love affair with this theatre quickly wore off when Gabe realized that the teeny snack stand only sold candy bars and coke. No popcorn. He’d been looking forward to it all afternoon.

To make matters worse, the traditional ads they have at the theatre continued to play with the big sodas and popping corn, taunting us.

While the movie was excellent, the temptation was rather cruel.

Halloween in Geneva

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Post by Lauren

In Europe, Halloween isn’t such a big holiday. Gabe & I had a few friends over so that we could properly celebrate.

First, he carved a pumpkin, which is a necessity for Halloween. By the way, large pumpkins are sold sparingly at the big grocery store, labeled Gros Halloween, or Fat Halloween.

Then, I made a few “scary” dishes:

Then, a few friends joined us for the fun. Note, most of them came on public transport and got lots of odd looks. Including people who were taking photos of them. Again, Halloween is very strange here, especially to dress like characters (see yesterday’s post).

You are probably wondering who won the pumpkin? Well, the big prize goes to The Girl in the Dragon Tattoo.

Congrats and Happy Halloween!

Friday Hikes in the Swiss countryside

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Post by Lauren

I had taken a sabbatical from Friday hikes for awhile because of my feet, but started back up for the past two weeks. I absolutely love the views walking in the countryside, so was grateful for time outdoors. Here are a few snapshots :

AVUSY, a 50 minute bus ride from center city Geneva:

 

GLAND to ROLLE, a 15-20 minute train from Geneva’s main station:

The great news is that between this and Burgundy last weekend, I have a lot more painting inspiration. I hope people like vineyards 🙂

Gratitute Friday: Painting en plein air

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Post by Lauren

It’s been a great week…..I got to paint 3 times outdoors in the last 8 or so days. I am very thankful for the burst of beautiful weather before we head into winter here in Switzerland.

The first time, I painted on the right bank, and had a glorious view of Mt. Blanc. You have to look really hard at the above photo, but you can see the snowy white mountain range almost disguised by the clouds. Here was the result:

The second time, I did the left bank in the financial district. This little guy kept hanging out after I shared a part of my baguette.

The third time A met me. It was the best time for three reasons. One, I had company. Two, she brought wine. Three, some Americans tried to buy her painting on the spot. An interesting time!

Bon weekend, everyone!

Wine O Clock

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Post by Lauren

Our favorite Geneva festivals are wine festivals.

Reason # 1. Swiss wine is pretty good. And, you’ll have to come visit us to experience it. In keeping with Swiss tradition, they only like to consume their own agricultural goods. This is based on knowing their own are of higher quality (like everything Swiss) and more historically, on WW2 and the refusal to be dependent on anyone else for food. So, by the time they drink their own supply, only 1% is left for export.

Reason # 2. Doing independent wine tasting on your own requires a lot of work. Wineries are only open 10-noon on Saturdays. I have learned customer service and pleasing the public is not on their list of to-dos. So, you’d have to be well-planned to visit more than 2 in one weekend due to the short opening hours. Plus, I am sure you have to be fluent in French for it not to be awkward to show up at someone’s farmhouse ready to taste.

Reason # 3. Past Success. You might remember our first weekend we attended Caves Ouvert , where we met A & A and also D. We were delighted to go 2 for 2 with the A’s for Geneva wine festivals. They hosted an awesome pre-game brunch to lay good groundwork for the day. Sadly, D was not with us but we carried her around on a popsicle stick all day for photo ops. 2 out of 5 (the guys) thought this was creepy. But, all the girls enjoyed the humor in it and we made sure D on a stick had a good time.

Things we learned for next year:

–Don’t show up at noon for the Russin Wine Festival. Things don’t get started until about 2pm-3pm. We wondered around a ghost town Russin until about then.

–Babies aren’t allowed to drink

–If you dress up in a Father Wine Suit, you are likely to have lots of pretty girls pose with you.

–The most important lesson comes tomorrow. Be sure to tune in.

In the meantime, for more facts on Swiss wine, check out Schwingen in Switzerland.

A day at the zoo

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Post by Lauren

I am in a photography group in Geneva. Just like in French class, I’m easily the worst one. Gabe graciously lets me take his fancy camera out so I can look like I know what I am doing. But I don’t. I keep it on the automatic setting. I have no clue what to do otherwise*.

Our leader does a really good job at giving direction and inspiration. Each month we have a theme. This time, we had an outing to the Knie Circus, which is in town. We were during the day so only had access to the zoo part of the circus. At first, I was a little bored. But, with time, I discovered new things to look for based on the enthusiasm of the others. In the end, I wasn’t ready to leave. Here are a few images:

So, moral of story: I have never had so much fun at a circus or a zoo. I think my over-productive OCD personality might finally be wearing down a bit to actually enjoy an activity past a half hour. Kudos to this group and Geneva for finally making this happen.

*If you know how to use an SLR, I’ll trade you skills. Like art skills or making jewelry. Let me know!

Thanks for a Joyeux Anniversaire, everyone!

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Post by Lauren

It was a great 32nd birthday for me. Not only did I awake to great breakfast pizzas made by my husband, but I was surprised later in the day by freshly baked goods by the S’s and an amazing birthday card and care package of treats from them as well.

The day was topped off by the fête fireworks which were remarkable. Gabe jokes that he ordered them especially for my birthday. It certainly is good timing for my birthday to hit this big celebration as they are the biggest display in Europe.

The fête commences

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Post by Lauren

Every summer, Geneva hosts an amazing 10 day festival. Or maybe its 20 days? The “pre-fête” started around July 23. There have been swarms of people everywhere, rides, music nightly on 3 stages and food vendors galore for the pre-fête over the last 2 weeks. We’ve gone there twice for drinks already and to take in the international scene. You could have fooled me and called it a real festival, but it actually wasn’t the real deal.

The real fête started this past Thursday night with a grandiose fireworks display which is actually the petite (or little) fireworks. The big fireworks come at the end of the festival. S hosted a bunch of us at their home for a fabulous dinner and we walked down by the lake afterwards to enjoy the scene.

We have a friend coming in next week so we are really glad we have the entertainment of the festival at the lake to show him!

Swiss Sporting Events

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Post by Lauren

Everyone was off of work Monday for the national holiday. It was the first one Gabe had taken since everyone in the US continues to work (and need things) on his Swiss holidays. We had planned it to be leisurely and imagined it like the tranquil scene below:

However, things got a bit “sporty”.

First, we met up with the group down at the river. Since Geneva has a plethora of yacht owners, they have been talking about taking out their “yacht” on the lake or the river ever since we had met. They had launched about an hour prior, and this is the scene to which we arrived:

We rode around in the yacht (or at least some of us did, as we couldn’t all fit at the same time with the picnic) for a little bit and hung out in the sun. Note the patriotism demonstrated by crew.

After we discovered how strong the current was after all the rain, we realized that it was going to be hard to get the ship back home upstream. Therefore, we had to come up with an alternate plan. It involved Adam scaling the wall.

Once the yacht was aboard land, we came up with an another activity as can be seen below. I was a chicken at first but the group quickly convinced me to partake in the fun.

 

 

Fondation Bodmer & Cologny

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Post by Lauren

Last week, I took two “field trips” with my class to two local Geneva museums. Our professor spoke only in French, so I need to add a disclaimer that this post might not be perfect. Excusez-moi.

The first trip was to Fondation Martin Bodmer, located in Cologny, or better known as the Geneva Beverly Hills. Its a really nice overlook of the lake, in addition to being an amazing personal collection of historical archives, mainly to literature and scrolls, etc. Bodmer was a private collector and this museum only opened as detailed in his will, as an attempt to preserve and keep it in the same place.

Here is a sampling of some of the ‘ ordinary ‘ pieces in his collection :

Original sheet music from Beethoven and Mozart

First editions of Shakespeare’s plays Hamlet and Macbeth

Scroll notating gifts received by Queen Elizabeth I

First edition books – Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales (left) and Dante (right) with Inferno being bottom right

One of the 21 Gutenburg Bibles left in existence

First edition hand scribed works by Plato and Aristotle

Egyptian Scrolls

And, just a five minute walk down the street was Lord Byron’s house in Cologny. The rock below is where he wrote and overlooked the below view of Lake Geneva.

Mary Shelley also came up with the idea for Frankenstein while staying at his home in Cologny. Maybe it was the ominous clouds that inspired it……..who knows what I am going to come up with if it doesn’t stop raining here 🙂