Fresh bread

We both love fresh bread, but rarely get it just out of the oven.

The area where we lived when we first moved to Geneva, Grand Saconnex, has an organization called Four a Pain, ("bread oven") that held a Fete du Pain one Saturday.

We thought it would be worth a look to see what was being shown. Ryan really likes the Swiss bread called La Tresse au Beurre, or braided butter bread. It's available in the local supermarkets here. As a Swiss friend says, it's great, but you cannot slice it properly - you just have to grab it and tear off a piece.

The Fete was held in a courtyard of a school. It was a nice sunny morning, not too hot, and there weren't many people there. However, inside there was a small crowd, watching the bread coming out of the ovens:

A tray of the Tresse bread

I got the breakfast plate - so simple, and yet so tasty!

Seeing as it was breakfast, I opted to not have wine with my meal.
There were a few guys grilling out, so Ryan had the "'amburger" which was pretty good, he said.
A lively band played what I call local Swiss music, which got the people dancing.  It was getting pretty lively as we left!

Caves Ouvertes

Every year in May, there is an open house day of Geneva's wineries. Held on a Saturday, locals and visitors are encouraged to spend the day near Geneva, visiting wineries, tasting all there is to offer and having an overall enjoyable day. We contemplated taking the train and using the courtesy shuttle, but our friends were driving there, so we gladly tagged along with them.
Just a short drive and we were in a nearby town, where we found a place to park and walked a couple of minutes to our first stopover place. It had been raining that morning, and we were worried about the weather so we packed rain gear. 5 Swiss Francs was the cost for a glass, and we could sample whatever we wanted.

We noticed throughout the afternoon that a lot of people were English speakers. It's clearly the thing to do if you are Australian/Canadian/British/American!
Or maybe the bad weather scared away the other people.

There were food options available, such as sausages, breads, cheeses, desserts, and meals served too.  We did not sample any as we had just eaten, but probably would go hungry next year.

A very enjoyable experience was cut short, however, due to the weather turning sour. With high winds and sideways rain landing on us, there was very little shelter, and we called it a day a bit sooner than we'd wanted!
It was a great day out, though, and we look forward to trying it again.

(I was too busy having fun and talking to take any photos. Luckily, Ryan did! Our friends kept asking where he was, as he would leave us for periods of time, taking good pictures like the ones on this page.)

Lakeside cinema

For about five weeks every summer, CineTransat shows films lakeside just after sunset. For free, you can bring blankets, chairs, food, drinks, umbrellas, whatever you like really, and enjoy a movie. We decided to go and see Blade Runner (director's cut) in August with some friends - there were 7 of us in total.

Comfy chairs for hire

The forecast wasn't looking too good, so we decided to wait and see what would happen. Ryan volunteered to go early and reserve a large space for us. Thankfully, he took our large umbrella, as the skies opened soon after he ventured out! The organizers, however, told the few people there that the forecase looked as if the rain would go away in time for the movie, and then they proceeded to play rain-themed songs - Here Comes the Rain by The Eurythmics, Purple Rain by Prince, etc.
Ryan gave me updates while the rest of us collected in the apartment, waiting for the rain to let up. By 8.30pm, about half an hour before sunset, we ventured out and found Ryan (Thank you, giant umbrella) had saved a great spot for us. We got chairs, and broke out the cooler for some refreshing beverages.

Before the movie. Notice the "paper" chairs and the robot DJ setup to the left

This was an impressive display and really built up anticipation to the movie!

Only 3 of us had actually seen the movie before. I'd heard good things about it from friends, and I love Harrison Ford and think highly of Ridley Scott's work, so I was looking forward to it. And it was a really good film! It's 30 years old, and it was funny to see the futurist LA (which is only 7 years from now); pouring with rain, and full of buildings so tall you couldn't see the ground; with constant noise and lights, yet it dim and grim.

During the movie, the following really enhanced the experience: the fireworks that went off across the lake and also to the right of us; the moon rising over the lake; and the lightning.

While we stood around discussing the film and the "ambience," Mother Nature decided to do what she had threatened for the entire evening - the rain started and suddenly we were all chased away by a massive storm! We couldn't have been more soaked!

What a great night we had! It is yet another reason why Geneva is such an amazing city in the summer.