Monthly Archives: November 2011

Hiking the Saleve

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It was our ‘stay in Geneva’ weekend this weekend, so naturally we crossed the border to France :). Time was of the essence, however, as we wanted to take the cable car up to Mont Saleve and this was the last weekend it was open this year. After seeing the height of the mountain, I’m pretty damn sure I didn’t want to climb up it and apart from a few errant thoughts of how we’d survive if the cable broke, the cable car option seemed best. By the way, I just find it bizarre that we could hop on a bus and 10 minutes later be in France for just $3 (approx). If I did that back home I might be in the next suburb. Now having said I didn’t want to climb Mont Saleve, well, there was climbing! The cable car only gets you so far, but it was worth it for the beautiful views. I felt all Maria-ish and if there hadn’t been people around I would have burst into a chorus of “The Sound of Music”. As it was I did a little run 😉 Have made mental resolve to visit Austria in the spring time and reenact that scene. Of course that means I’ll have to get Chris to watch the Sound of Music to get that particular pop culture reference – he’s going to love that!

After hiking for three hours we finally returned home to a well earned bottle of red and a ragu. I don’t know much about the wines here so I’m making an effort to drink as much as possible to determine the best ones. We’d made a little stuff up the day before by venturing into a *very* expensive food hall and buying some meat for the ragu. You would not believe it, but four osso buco shins cost us $50! It was the most expensive ragu I’ve ever had, but delicious. Note to self: $4.50 for 100g is not actually cheap.

It’s back to France again next weekend – we’re heading for Lyon as it’s pretty close by train. In the meantime, it’s a series of cafes, shops, wine bars and restaurants. What on earth did I use to do with my time back home?

The penny drops

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OK, I’ll admit to being a bit thick here, but I really haven’t understand why people liked to travel so much. I never had the inclination when I was younger and when I finally joined the party I was always happiest when I was on my way back home (and only then could look back fondly). And let’s not forget that the longest period I’d ever been away before was for two weeks and my excursions were few and far between. But last night was a bit of an eye-opener for me (plus I was pretty drunk so that always helps to make the experience a good one). Actually the way that reads you might be thinking I’m about to give details of an orgy or something, but I assure you, that is not the case 🙂

No, it was simply a trip to Annecy which is an adorable little town in France that is my new love. Cobble stones, chateaus, 18th century buildings, lake, segways and a tonne of shops – what more could you want? Oh, yeah and a few hip wine bars like the one we propped up the bar at last night. From the cute French waiter who had been surfing at Margaret River to the world weary wine connoisseur who gave us $150 bottles of wine recommendations, I could stand a bit more of this… Well, my midriff might not stand too many nights like last night but the rest of the growth experience is good!

Edit: the B&B where we stayed: http://www.maison-acote.com/uk_home – a contemporary room tucked into an attic in a lovely old building.

Parlez-vous Anglais?

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My main goal today was to figure out the transport system and make it into the Tourist Information Centre so I could book a bus to Annecy (yes, we’re just popping over to France for the weekend). Somehow I made it into town but then got majorly distracted by one of the Department stores. Two hours and several hundred dollars later I finally made it to the bus station then wandered around for 20 mins trying to find the bus back. I think it might have been easier just to walk. I’ve been making an effort to speak French but the locals usually just laugh at my attempts and I end up having to point to something. It’s very ‘Lost in Translation’ – please call me Scarlett from now on…

Sam’s European Adventure

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I was trying to be so nonchalant about leaving Australia to live in Europe, but that lasted up until I had to say goodbye to Emma at the airport. I’m sure she was gratified that I did in fact miss her, as I’d probably given the impression that I’d miss the cats more than I’d miss her with all the cuddles they got before departure. To cheer me up Emma had taken photos of herself and the cats (including Zumba, who is technically the neighbour’s cat but has decided that he likes living at our place instead) on my laptop. I wonder how the cats will take to FaceTime?.

The flight wasn’t too bad all up. Nice to have a stopover at Dubai, but on reflection, I probably shouldn’t have asked for a bacon and egg mcmuffin at McDonalds. Coming into Geneva was pretty exciting as I had my first look at snow. It was everything I thought it would be – the Alps were beautiful and I can’t wait to get there. I’m just wondering if my long held wish to “see” snow before I die has now been granted by viewing from a plane window? I think I’ll edit that to mean ‘touch’ or possibly even ‘frolic’. The blue skies and crisp white snow at 37,000 feet were picture perfect, but as we approached Geneva we descended through a massive cloud bank into fairly miserable weather. It was about 10 degrees and grey, though at least it wasn’t raining. The important thing was that I made it! Of course that led to a minor freak out as the reality set in of what I was about to do, but hey, Chris is used to tears by now 🙂 He’d also brought chocolate with him, which was very perspicacious of him (he knows me too well).

Where we’re living for the next six weeks is not exactly a pretty location, but pretty central to everything – if I knew where ‘everything’ was that is. At the moment I might not be able to make it around the block and back, but once I start training for the Berlin half marathon, I intend to get to know this area very well. For my first night in Geneva we went out to a tapas bar in Old Town. I love Old Town! If we do stay here I want to live there (lots of bars and shops and beautiful old buildings). The waiter kissed me on the cheek when greeting us which somewhat startled me. As you all know I don’t even greet my family and friends this way (except on special occasions) so if I’m going to be accosted by the wait staff at every place we go, it could make for an interesting time… Maybe I’ll actually be kind of cosmopolitan on my return?

I’ve no idea what the next few weeks hold. For once in my life I haven’t planned it to the nth degree (although I am itching to make a list) and will just wait to see what unfolds. I have a vague notion that I probably shouldn’t eat too much chocolate and cheese or drink too much wine, but I think I’m in the wrong place for that resolution! Stay tuned to see how that works out for me…