So much has happened since we've moved to Geneva. In the few short months that we have been here, we have almost done and seen as much as we have in the past 5 years! And we have done loads. Why? Because it is so damn easy. Everything is just a hop away! And bare in mind that we don't even have cars yet. I expect that when we do have wheels (soon I hope), we will be ticking off our list of excursions and adventures at a crazy pace.
So, what have we been up to since April?
First and foremost, we found a rental house just across the border in France. YIPPEEEEE!!! We move in at the end of June. I can't wait!
The number of times Mr Fluff and I have slipped and fallen down the steep, ancient stairs in our temporary home borders on ridiculous. Descending those stairs is a fine art. If you lean back too much you end up on your arse. Just like snowboarding.
The most recent fall happened on Friday when I slipped and landed spectacularly on my left side. I took out a bit of wall on the way down, but at least I didn't crack a rib. I'll have some beautiful bruises in the days to come, and some of the skin on my left arm is now stuck on the railing somewhere. Oh well.
Mr Fluff put up quite a show a while ago when he slipped at the top and slid all the way down - like 'planking' on the stairs, except he did it all wrong hahaha. His injured arm and shoulder did not think it was very funny, but I did. I couldn't help it, it was comical!
We've explored a few more places after the Tulips of Morges and our walk on the Plateau des Glieres.
The funniest we thought, was a hole in the wall pizza machine in Bons-en-Chablais. You choose your pizza, pop in some money and 3 minutes later dinner is served. We couldn't stop laughing. Maybe it's not that funny. Maybe we're just weird.
We recently had a marvelous visit from Mr Fluff's Dad; Mr Smarty-Pants (cleverness runs in the family), and took him on a string of excursions. Let me tell you, going on excursions from dusk till dawn and drinking the wonderful nectar from local vineyards every night is not for the fainthearted, but it is great fun.
Mr Smarty-Pants loved it here. I think he may have called it Paradise once. He also said that he had never in his entire life consumed so much cheese, bread and wine as he did in the week he was with us. Actually, neither have we! Mr Fluff happily explained that the reason the French are generally so healthy (and thin) despite what they eat is because they always have a glass (or two) of red wine with their meals. Oh, and they're quite active - what, with all the hiking, rafting, winter sports, boating, paragliding etc. to enjoy, what else are they to do?
Did you know, red wine from Bordeaux is known to cure headaches? Well, according to our new French landlord anyway. So, all week long, we only bought Bordeaux Rosé and reds, and I'm delighted to report that none of us got up with headaches. Guess what I'll be mostly filling our future wine cellar (known as a cave in France) with? Come visit and find out!
We took Mr Smarty-Pants to explore Geneva, Evian, Rolle, Montreux, Yvoire, Saint Cerque and La Roche sur Foron - all near or on Lake Geneva. We also went to Annecy, and Menthon-Saint-Bernard, and drove all around the beautiful Lake Annecy. We visited the magnificent Chateau de Chillon on the north-eastern tip of Lake Geneva, and ventured up Mont Blanc (Chamonix) to a height of 3800m to view the glacier. Unfortunately the mountain was shrouded in cloud and we saw nothing of the majestic glacier. We had lunch up there in the cafe, and it was hilarious.
After walking around on the viewing platforms, taking snaps and marveling at the crazy-ass climbers appearing on outcrops in zero visibility, we decided to have a bite to eat in the cafe. We ordered our food and sat down while we waited for it to be prepared. Soon after I noticed that Mr Smartie-Pants' ears were purple. I pointed it out to Mr Fluff and we all laughed. Then I pointed out that Mr Fluff's ears were even more purple, and that their faces were turning purple too. We laughed. They in turn pointed out that my cheeks were purple. We started giggling like teenage girls. Everything made us giggle hysterically. Mr Fluff was almost in tears! Finally we figured that it must be because we are at such a high altitude, and we are low on oxygen. I said that it was like being in the dentist's chair, high on laughing gas.
It was very funny. Even walking up a few steps made us breathless, and my head felt funny, weird, odd, like when you're flying through the air on the swings at a carnival. Mr Smarty-Pants was not as badly affected - either because he lives at almost 1600m and is more accustomed to it, or because he has a very healthy, fit heart (as he proudly proclaims). Whatever the reason, he handled it pretty well.
On the way down in the cable car Mr Smarty-Pants squealed with delight on tiptoes when the misty clouds parted to reveal the steep descent and the valley below, while half hanging out of the window taking pics with his smartphone.
After descending in the cable car Mr Fluff and I felt perfectly normal again, and we all returned to a normal, human shade.
I'm not going to go into too much detail about what we got up to. I would rather show you all when you come visit. I also have way too many pics to share, so I picked a few to give you a sneaky-peak.
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| climbers on an outcrop at 3800m - Mont Blanc |
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| 3800m mid-station |
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| ice tunnel |
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| holding it up |
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| ice tunnel |
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| protection |
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| to another viewing platform |
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| where exactly does that go!? |
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| a very icy erection |
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| our way down. Yes, it's steep! |
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| glacier viewed from the village in Chamonix |
La Roche-sur-Foron and Geneva...
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| La Roche playground |
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| La Roche - note the roofs |
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| La Roche sur Foron |
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| La Roche |
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| flower clock in Geneva |
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| Geneva |
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| Jet d'Eau |
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| redwoods in our park |
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| section of our park -Geneva |
So then , who's coming for a visit next?
