Geneva
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Photogroup Workshop – Theme: Water
When “Water” was suggested for our photography group monthly theme, it would have been easy to head down to the lake but one of our members suggested going to Choulex near Geneva , where there is a nature reserve with a river running through it. It was an inspired suggestion. These are some of the photos that I took.
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Filets de Pêrches
If you go into a restaurant in Geneva area then there is a good chance that one of the dishes on the menu will be Filets de Pêrches – fillet of perch. After living here for sometime, a colleague of my husband remarked that it was a wonder anyone could swim in Lake Geneva, the amount of Perch that was on offer in the restaurants. He was of course alluding to the fact that the restaurants give the impression of offering fresh fish from the lake, when it is anything but. It is imported frozen from other countries. Some restaurants do sell perch from Lac Leman, as Lake Geneva is…
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Schools in Geneva
One of the most important issues when expats move to a new country is schooling. You can out up with a less than stunning kitchen (and you often have to here) or a slightly boring social life but if your children are unhappy in school then the assignment will be a short one. Or of course if you are unhappy with the school. When we moved to Geneva we faced the decision – local schools or international/bilingual schools. Cost was not a factor, as my husband’s company would pay for private schooling for the duration of our stay in Switzerland. Our children were still quite young, just 4 years and…
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Visiting Geneva With Children – City Walk
One of the things that we noticed when we moved to Geneva is that the Swiss are very child-friendly. It is a great place to raise a family. Children are a part of everyday life here and are welcomed almost everywhere. You can go into even the most exclusive restaurant with your children and they will be greeted with a friendly smile. Even going for a meal in the evening is no problem. If you are planning a short trip to Geneva this walk will take you around the main attractions of Geneva without boring the children. Parc de la Grange/Parc des Eaux Vives Geneva is full of parks.…
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Snow in Geneva
Remember the photos that I posted this morning? Look how much more snow we have had since then. It has not stopped snowing all day.
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La Plage Publique des Eaux-Vives
Driving around Geneva recently, I kept seeing these wonderful posters, reminiscent of the Côte d’Azur in the 1950s. I was unaware that there was a beach at Eaux-Vives, knowing only the little beach at Baby Plage that I blogged about not long after we arrived in Geneva. When I got home, I looked up the website from the posters and found that it is an advertising campaign to inform Genevans about the new development between Baby Plage and the Port -Noir. Geneva council recently voted to approve the development which shall encompass a public beach with cafes and a new port with moorings for over 600 boats. The council meeting must have been fun as apparently…
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Avec la bise, lave ta chemise – it is washing day
I don’t think that I have blogged about La Bise, the bitingly cold Northwind that whistles down Lake Geneva from the Alps. Probably because if La Bise is blowing, my fingers are too cold to type. Anticyclones (whatever they are – I am copying from the fascinating Winds of The World section on WeatherOnline.co.uk) over North West or Central Europe push the air through the gap that Lac Leman was formed in, whooshing down to the end of the Lake where some silly fool decided to build Geneva. Gust can reach 7bft, which I have discovered means 60km/h. That is faster than you are allowed to drive in Geneva, I…
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Fète de Genève
We went to the Fête de Genève today, a massive carnival that runs right around the lakeside. Geneva is busy busy busy, lots of tourists come especially for the Fête, and this years Guest of Honour is the Sulanate of Oman. We have heard that they are talking about moving next years Fête from the traditional start on 1st August as it will clash with Ramadam. My son enjoyed the rollercoaster; his sister slightly less so. After the second circuit, she had enough and spent the last couple of circuits yelling that she wanted to get off. After a couple of hours we were exhausted and skint so headed for…
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Escalade and Marmite pots
Geneva celebrates the Escalade each December to commemorate the defeat of the troops sent by Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy in the night of 11/12 December 1602. During that fateful night the Genevoise were alerted to the troops gathering just outside the city walls and fought alongside the town militia. Legend has it that Mére Royaume, a mother of 14 children grabbed the cauldron of soup that she was making at the time and poured it out of the window, killing one of the attackers. To celebrate Mére Royaume, the Genevoise now smash a chocolate pot, or Marmite, that is filled with marzipan vegetables, while reciting “Ainsi périssent les…
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Baby Plage
We visited the fabulous Baby Plage today, the kids had a great time. The playarea is made of tyres and is not a typical Swiss play area. You do have to be careful with as there are no safety nets. In the summer you can buy a coffee in the little kiosk cafe right next to the play area. In winter the cafe is not there so we took a flask of coffee and one of hot chocolate for the kids. We are off to the neighbours for a glass of wine now, to warm ourselves up after our couple of hours in the cold. Featured Image
