Les fleurs

I love taking pictures of flowers, whether I know what they are or not! Here are a few shots of some pictures I have taken.

In Grand Lancy, Switzerland, we found this nice spot while on our way to watch a football match:

This was on the way to Versoix:

All around Lac Leman:

I love this ivy-covered building!

On top of the Saleve:

I love this flower, but don't know the name of it:

Near the flower clock in Geneva:

Around Lake Leman, Geneva:

And, around Thonon-les-Bains, France:

Pâques

We just spent our first Easter, or Pâques, in Switzerland.

Weeks before Easter, chocolate bunnies showed up in supermarkets.

Medium sized Easter bunnies

There was an assortment of bunnies at the two major stores, white, milk, dark, small, medium, large, really large... the bunny section went on and on.

 

I saw people send a good 15 minutes in that section, as there were also Easter fish and ducks on display. But anything we saw at the supermarkets paled in comparison to the chocolate shop and bakery displays. They were simply gorgeous. True art was on display, not just chocolate. Unfortunately, as it's difficult to take photos that do not pick up a glare from the window fronts, I do not have any pictures to convey this. You just have to take my word for it. 

Now, I am a huge fan of Cadbury's creme eggs and Mini eggs, and was dismayed to find that they are not sold here (not to worry, as my family visiting from England provided us with many eggs and other chocolates!). So I instead chose to sample the Swiss Easter bunnies and also the Lindt Gold Bunny. Incidentally, I just found out that said bunny has just turned 60 and that it has its own website:   http://www.lindtgoldbunny.com/lindt-gold-bunny/happy-birthday-lindt-gold-bunny.php

Lindt bunnies were all over Geneva, and post-Easter, there were still loads to be found, in supermarkets, tabacs, and even cafes and shops in the airport. 

A plethora of Easter-themed baked goods also surfaced in March this year. I chose to try the Colombe de Pâques, or the Easter Dove Cake. It is Italian in origin, but popular in France and Switzerland as well.

It is similar to a Pannetone, with a sweet bread that has raisins and other dried fruit baked in. The top is covered in large sugar granules and also almonds. I think whether it looks like a dove is purely opinion.

Colombe de Paques, unwrapped

A cut into Colombe de Paques

But it was delicious, and wonderful with a coffee!

Also, in Nyon, near Geneva, we noticed that the fountains were decorated with flowers, flags, ribbons and eggs - Apparently, this is from a German tradition that celebrates the melting of the snow, and therefore, the return of water to said fountains, according to this site: http://www.swissworld.org/en/culture/seasonal_customs/easter/ .

Ryan taking a picture of one of the fountains in Nyon

The picture he took

A fountain at Easter, in Nyon

 It's always great to learn about cultural traditions, whether they are historically important, or they include chocolate or baked goods!

Cranes and Tramlines

Someone once told me that Geneva is a nice city, and will be even nicer when it's finished.

It is beautiful city, with lots of photo-worthy sites: the lake, the Jet D'Eau, the mountains, the Cathedral, and plenty of old buildings and narrow streets. However, it is hard to capture what you see with the naked eye on camera, due to areas of construction with scaffolding and cranes, let alone the 50s style buildings.

Notre-Dame, Geneva. I still have no idea what it actually looks like.

 I have found myself positioning the camera at odd angles, trying to get a crane- or road works-free picture. For example, this view looking down from Route de Ferney / Avenue de France is stunning, but I've found myself angling away (as much as possible) from the road signs and the cranes:

But I have changed my thought on this of late. Instead of thinking of them as obstacles to my picture taking, I think these things are what makes Geneva. It is a city growing quickly, with a very low housing vacancy rate. That means there are loads of apartment buildings are being constructed. The train station is being renovated. The tram and bus lines run efficiently enough to allow for commuters to get to their destinations, without needing to drive.

Carouge

Geneva is very attractive, for several reasons, to international companies, and the expat community is very large. And yet, it is a small enough city that newcomers quickly feel like they have their bearings.

Tramlines looking north to the Jura mountains

The cranes have become part of the landscape, moving around or increasing/decreasing in number from time to time.

The cranes seem to have multiplied in recent months

Admittedly, the road construction does not seem to move along as quickly as it could, and you can find either the lane you're used to being closed, making for interesting (or hair-raising) driving, or that a lane is closed for months, with no apparent work being done. All these things allow us to see the changes occurring within the city, which really makes us feel more involved with our new home.

Rooting for the local team

The Geneva football club, Servette Football club, has made the news lately, after its manager filed for bankruptcy. Luckily, just a couple of days, later, the news improved - the Servette hockey team's owner has apparently stepped in to take over the team. Phew, we'd hate to hear that there would be no more Servette FC.

We have been to two matches; one before moving to Geneva, and one after.  The first match was on Mother's day, where all women had free admission, plus they were given potted mint.  When we approached the stadium, the din inside was so loud, I was sure there were thousands of people inside. Nope, it's just that the Servette FC fans are so supportive, they make enough noise for everyone!

A mainly empty stadium...

...but the Fan's section was noisy enough for all

The fans sang songs the entire match. There was an avid drum player, and a conductor to bring them all together! And I cannot go on enough about how impressed I was with the flag waving. The size of the flag is massive, but it was waved with pride throughout the match, especially when a goal was scored!

Servette scores a goal...

The Servette FC flag

  It was so much fun to watch. We found ourselves trying to sing along with the fans, as their singing was so contagious. We had to buy a souvenir, so Ryan got a scarf.

The next match we went to was at night, and it was against Basel. It was a lot more crowded, and the Basel supporters were in full force. We did not know anything about Basel, so we thought Servette would have a chance. Alas, they lost 4-0, which was disappointing, but it gave the Basel fans a chance to light their flares (up to 10) each time a goal was scored. That was quickly followed by an announcement everyone ignored in German stating that lighting them was not allowed in the stadium.

Fun times at these matches, and we hope to go to more while we live here!

Pack an adapter...

If you go overseas, you are likely to encounter a different power socket from your home country's. It wasn't a big deal for me about 10 years ago (I wouldn't take my hair dryer, for instance; and my sister had given me a battery-operated alarm clock) when I would travel for fun. Now, it's a different story. As I often travel for work, I have to bring my laptop. Plus I am always with my mobile too. Moving to Switzerland meant that we left our electronics in the US and purchased many adapters to take care of our electronics needs.

Before my first visit to Switzerland, I thought European sockets were all the same. Then I took my first business trip there, to Geneva, and discovered that I was completely wrong!

Power socket in Switzerland

So my EU adapter didn't work, of course. I hadn't bought the worldwide adapter at the airport (priced at over $80, I couldn't justify it) and just relied on using the office's power cords.

After moving to Europe, and (I thought) well equipped with both the European and Swiss adapters, I later went onto a business trip to Italy, and encountered a completely different power socket, which made me laugh:

In Italy

 
I think I'm going to have to get the worldwide adapter after all.

A Swiss lunch

We were invited by friends to lunch on a very cold but sunny Saturday. The restaurant was in a nearby canton, just a short drive away from Geneva. We were told that it was known for three things: fondue, Malakoff, and saucisse dishes. We are, of course, familiar with fondue. And big fans! Malakoff is a fried cheese ball, and Ryan loves sausages, so we already knew before stepping in to the restaurant that we'd be in for a treat. The restaurant is near several vineyards.We've made a point to look for local wines when we're in the supermarkets.

A frozen vineyard, Canton Vaud

The restaurant was very cosy and we were quickly seated. Our hosts told us their recommendations, and we started with a Malakoff each, and a bottle of white wine.

Malakoff

The Malakoff is served with a cabbage salad and a gherkin. For history buffs, the name Malakoff is supposed to have come from the soldiers of the French Vaudois army who stormed the fortress of Malakoff during the Crimean war - they named this dish in memory of their victory.

Then it was onto the next course. Being as brave as I am and not afraid of too much cheese, I had fondue. Delicious and simple, we could taste the wine more as we got to the bottom of the pot (we all ate fondue, but alas, could not finish it!).
Ryan had the Saucisse aux choux avec papet Vaudois. Roughly translated, that is a sausage (mixed with cabbage) and a potato / leek dish. He was very smitten. If he's quiet, he likes his food a lot. And he was pretty much silent when eating this!

Finally, we had coffee and I tried the Oriental orange salad with liqueur and lovely vanilla icecream.

The lunch was so decadent. We don't eat like that all the time, so it was a wonderful experience!

Siberian Cold Front

Cold ride

This week, Geneva had a good snowfall. It was so pretty when it happened. And then it got cold. The Siberian Cold Front landed, and it's staying for a while. It's hard to wait at the tram stop for 5+ minutes when the wind chill is cutting through your face!
Amazingly, the weather didn't stop protesters the other morning:

It's interesting to see that the roads and sidewalks are not plowed the same way as in the US:

Braving the commute to work

There's a lot of ice on the roads, at the tram stops, and on the sidewalks. You just have to take it slowly.

Some pretty shots around town: