And more photots here and here.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Halloween is near
Lately, I have had some anxious dreams.
For example, I dreamt that I forgot to pick up my Halloween costume before flying off to the murder party. My heart was racing like mad when I woke up.
Just the day before, I had this dream where I am running like mad to return to shelter because the person I was somehow following did a U-turn and started running after me. And for some reason I know that he was going to explode. Again I was panting like I had run for real a 60m sprint.
For the costume, I understand my impatience to get to the party. For the other one...
For example, I dreamt that I forgot to pick up my Halloween costume before flying off to the murder party. My heart was racing like mad when I woke up.
Just the day before, I had this dream where I am running like mad to return to shelter because the person I was somehow following did a U-turn and started running after me. And for some reason I know that he was going to explode. Again I was panting like I had run for real a 60m sprint.
For the costume, I understand my impatience to get to the party. For the other one...
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Tartiflettes and Génépi
About 1h30 by bus from Geneva, we got to Annecy, a pretty small clean old city with a pleasant paved old town area and canals that lead to the purestand cleanest lake in Europe: lake Annecy.
The idea of the trip was to window shop and eat. So we wandered about the Sunday market, making a mental note of the different cheese stands and the million types of saucissons. It was quite painful to walk past all the food and not being able to make a decision on what to buy. We were quite reasonable though and didn't even taste a single sample!!
Getting lost along the small streets, we were really looking for a place to sample the local fare: tartiflette. To those unaccustomed to the dish, it is not something you would eat if you were on a diet. Made of potatoes, and usually bacon and cheese (Reblochon) it is quite easy to make. I have made it a few times myself, because trust me, my pants size didn't increase by itself.
1-cook the potatoes and bacon a bit
2-put in a baking pan
3-put the cheese on top
4-cook in the oven until its melted and all gooyey
5-serve hot
We eventually found one restaurant calle the 'Munich' that served tomatoe tartiflette and goat cheese tartiflette. As you may guess, those were just additional ingredients....Imagine eating potaoes and bacon and 500g of melted cheese....feels good and heavy. We had to sit for an additional 30min chatting to digest and be able to move.
About 15minutes alter though, we stumbled on an ice cream shop that had yummy sorbet: I had a scoop of grapefruit and another one of passion fruit. We kept on walking in order to discover more shops, and so I discovered Génépi in one of those tourist trap shop. It was the perfect digestif after 800g of good food.
By 4pm we were by the lake and embarked on a 30min cruise. The weather was nice (about 16C) and no wind, so we sat outside, which was a mistake because once the boat picked up speed, the wind froze my face and the sight of the beautiful autumn leaves became secondary to protecting my eyes and nose from icy winds.
After that less than warm experience, nature blessed us with a beautiful sunset reflected on the white rocks and cliffs surrounding the lake. The setting sun reminded us of the time and so we hurried back in the shopping area for a crepe and cider before heading back to Geneva. We weren't really hungry, but it would have been a crime not to have one.
Annecy will definetely see a bit of me in the future.
The idea of the trip was to window shop and eat. So we wandered about the Sunday market, making a mental note of the different cheese stands and the million types of saucissons. It was quite painful to walk past all the food and not being able to make a decision on what to buy. We were quite reasonable though and didn't even taste a single sample!!
Getting lost along the small streets, we were really looking for a place to sample the local fare: tartiflette. To those unaccustomed to the dish, it is not something you would eat if you were on a diet. Made of potatoes, and usually bacon and cheese (Reblochon) it is quite easy to make. I have made it a few times myself, because trust me, my pants size didn't increase by itself.
1-cook the potatoes and bacon a bit
2-put in a baking pan
3-put the cheese on top
4-cook in the oven until its melted and all gooyey
5-serve hot
We eventually found one restaurant calle the 'Munich' that served tomatoe tartiflette and goat cheese tartiflette. As you may guess, those were just additional ingredients....Imagine eating potaoes and bacon and 500g of melted cheese....feels good and heavy. We had to sit for an additional 30min chatting to digest and be able to move.
About 15minutes alter though, we stumbled on an ice cream shop that had yummy sorbet: I had a scoop of grapefruit and another one of passion fruit. We kept on walking in order to discover more shops, and so I discovered Génépi in one of those tourist trap shop. It was the perfect digestif after 800g of good food.
By 4pm we were by the lake and embarked on a 30min cruise. The weather was nice (about 16C) and no wind, so we sat outside, which was a mistake because once the boat picked up speed, the wind froze my face and the sight of the beautiful autumn leaves became secondary to protecting my eyes and nose from icy winds.
After that less than warm experience, nature blessed us with a beautiful sunset reflected on the white rocks and cliffs surrounding the lake. The setting sun reminded us of the time and so we hurried back in the shopping area for a crepe and cider before heading back to Geneva. We weren't really hungry, but it would have been a crime not to have one.
Annecy will definetely see a bit of me in the future.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Thursday, October 08, 2009
Jazz a Geneve
I was surfing for concert venue when I stumbled on AMR. Got to the concert page and saw a trio playing Thursday night. I tried to talk some of my colleagues into joining me in an evening of jazz, when one of my colleague pointed out he was going because his brother was playing there on that night.
I guess Geneva is such a small town that it was worth it after all to ask if he knew the saxophonist who bear his name...LOL
It was a night of magic, in a cute non smoking (*) venue. The saxophone was at times whispering, then exhilarating in a fugue, Bach style, with unimaginable sound. The bass was consistently melodic, with classical guitar and Segovia inspired touches, and the drums were just as punctual and supportive as ever, with its own melody and breathing sounds.
They played all kinds of atmospheres: from children's sounds, to melancholic views of a traffic packed bridge on a sunset, a beautifully sad remembrance to an old friend...
I also found some known tunes among the improvisations: oscar peterson's night train, Satie's gymnopedie's tones played as a bass line.
It made me travel through time and through my emotions, and mad eme relax from an uneventful day, bringing me home smiling with a peaceful satisfaction, and 2 CDs.
Soundbites here.
Steve Swallow – www.wattxtrawatt.com
Ohad Talmor – www.ohadtalmor.com
Adam Nussbaum – www.adamnussbaum.net
(*)Geneva once voted to ban smoking inside public places. But then the referendum was apparently unconstitutional or toor esticting, so the result of the vote was cancelled. This weekend, they will vote again for all sorts of things. As a results, some venues are smoke free by putting a sticker at the door advertising so, and some are just smokey, by putting a sticker outside claiming prohibiting smoking is limiting liberty...so much propaganda everywhere...that will be topic of another post!
I guess Geneva is such a small town that it was worth it after all to ask if he knew the saxophonist who bear his name...LOL
It was a night of magic, in a cute non smoking (*) venue. The saxophone was at times whispering, then exhilarating in a fugue, Bach style, with unimaginable sound. The bass was consistently melodic, with classical guitar and Segovia inspired touches, and the drums were just as punctual and supportive as ever, with its own melody and breathing sounds.
They played all kinds of atmospheres: from children's sounds, to melancholic views of a traffic packed bridge on a sunset, a beautifully sad remembrance to an old friend...
I also found some known tunes among the improvisations: oscar peterson's night train, Satie's gymnopedie's tones played as a bass line.
It made me travel through time and through my emotions, and mad eme relax from an uneventful day, bringing me home smiling with a peaceful satisfaction, and 2 CDs.
Soundbites here.
Steve Swallow – www.wattxtrawatt.com
Ohad Talmor – www.ohadtalmor.com
Adam Nussbaum – www.adamnussbaum.net
(*)Geneva once voted to ban smoking inside public places. But then the referendum was apparently unconstitutional or toor esticting, so the result of the vote was cancelled. This weekend, they will vote again for all sorts of things. As a results, some venues are smoke free by putting a sticker at the door advertising so, and some are just smokey, by putting a sticker outside claiming prohibiting smoking is limiting liberty...so much propaganda everywhere...that will be topic of another post!
Sunday, October 04, 2009
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Polyglot
• adjective knowing, using, or written in several languages.
• noun a person who knows or uses several languages.
— ORIGIN Greek poluglottos ‘many-tongued’.
From the online Oxford English dictionary
Last Friday I realized how mixed up my brain connections were when I hopped into the shuttle and found my Italian and Spanish colleagues. Because they were aware I understood Spanish, they went on chatting away and making plans for the evening. I enjoyed the fluidity and running sound of the language, and was trying to switch my brain slowly to it.
Then syddenly I was even included in the conversation.
S:'Angie, vienes?'
Me:'うん, Si, たぶん (tabun)...'
My brain:'what the.., how do you say maybe again?'
N:'We will have dinner first and the others will join us for drinks or something'
Me:'OK. どこで？I mean, dónde?'
My brain:'just pick one and stick with it damnit, it's been a long day and am seriously cansada'
S:'no lo se. buscaremos para un lugar y le diremos.'
Me:'OK, see ya later then. じゃ ね.'
My Brain:'Get away now, hear the silence'
S, N:'Ciao bella'
Driver:'Bonne soiree'
Me:'Merci, a vous aussi'
My brain:'Don't look back or you'll have to say bye again and who knows in which language it will be.'
I suppose I need to get used to it soon. I will be loosing more hair and my tongue will be tied, and my brain will have many short-circuits and lots of fumbling about. Having TVE, Italian TV, CNN, BBC and French channels at home does not help as I flip channel when my J-drama are not accessible online. Imagine if I also understood Swiss-German!!!
Listening and understanding fills me with joy and brings a certain satisfaction and wonder to the everyday chores and encounters. However speaking is an excrutiating exercise of the brain that hopefully will keep it fit in the long run.
• noun a person who knows or uses several languages.
— ORIGIN Greek poluglottos ‘many-tongued’.
From the online Oxford English dictionary
Last Friday I realized how mixed up my brain connections were when I hopped into the shuttle and found my Italian and Spanish colleagues. Because they were aware I understood Spanish, they went on chatting away and making plans for the evening. I enjoyed the fluidity and running sound of the language, and was trying to switch my brain slowly to it.
Then syddenly I was even included in the conversation.
S:'Angie, vienes?'
Me:'うん, Si, たぶん (tabun)...'
My brain:'what the.., how do you say maybe again?'
N:'We will have dinner first and the others will join us for drinks or something'
Me:'OK. どこで？I mean, dónde?'
My brain:'just pick one and stick with it damnit, it's been a long day and am seriously cansada'
S:'no lo se. buscaremos para un lugar y le diremos.'
Me:'OK, see ya later then. じゃ ね.'
My Brain:'Get away now, hear the silence'
S, N:'Ciao bella'
Driver:'Bonne soiree'
Me:'Merci, a vous aussi'
My brain:'Don't look back or you'll have to say bye again and who knows in which language it will be.'
I suppose I need to get used to it soon. I will be loosing more hair and my tongue will be tied, and my brain will have many short-circuits and lots of fumbling about. Having TVE, Italian TV, CNN, BBC and French channels at home does not help as I flip channel when my J-drama are not accessible online. Imagine if I also understood Swiss-German!!!
Listening and understanding fills me with joy and brings a certain satisfaction and wonder to the everyday chores and encounters. However speaking is an excrutiating exercise of the brain that hopefully will keep it fit in the long run.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Run with me
The clock has struck 2pm and am desperately fighting a nap urge!
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Clocks
Wednesday, September 09, 2009
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
Get a Swiss knife!!
And so I have settled slowly in my life in Geneva and really enjoying the walking distance to naywhere around town. My colleagues are not far, but far enough to enjoy some privacy. We got to do walk tot he sunday market at Plain Palais, tan at the lake, anf jog in the morning in thesun.
I even got the startled look of my colleagues when I told them I was missing a can opener: get a Swiss knife, they all said in chorus...
Since all shops close at 7:00pm, except your persistent newsagaent, I will have to wait until Saturday to find a Swiss knife that suits my taste...I also received 2 tablets of chocolate at work as a welcome gift, as well as a red and white mug. The chocolate re-appeared quickly around my waistline, and the mug is being used as my cereal bowl when I am waiting to find an apartment and receive my boxes from London.
I could get used to being drunk at 8:00pm and stumble back home 15min later by foot, on heels and paved roads..hehehe
I even got the startled look of my colleagues when I told them I was missing a can opener: get a Swiss knife, they all said in chorus...
Since all shops close at 7:00pm, except your persistent newsagaent, I will have to wait until Saturday to find a Swiss knife that suits my taste...I also received 2 tablets of chocolate at work as a welcome gift, as well as a red and white mug. The chocolate re-appeared quickly around my waistline, and the mug is being used as my cereal bowl when I am waiting to find an apartment and receive my boxes from London.
I could get used to being drunk at 8:00pm and stumble back home 15min later by foot, on heels and paved roads..hehehe
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Quality of life
These past 3 days, I have been doing work I am not usually doing, such as testing tools for the new office, preparing materials, and also geting my paperworks done for the new job. it might be the heat, or the fact that I actually have to use my brains, but I have been very exhausted everyday around 4-5pm. It is not the fact that I wake up at 6:30am everyday to catch the bus at 7:40 and to start at 8:00. I actually enjoy waking at that time and have my 15min walk in a fresh crisp morning along the lake.
After work, it has been a countless visit of flats, with other homeless people. I am also discovering different areas of Geneva, as well as cute little restaurants.
Having my colleagues from London with me helped ajusting to the environment. I am among the priviledged ones who can communicate with the locals as most of them do not speak French, so they are also using me as guide. It will take time for all of us to adapt to the new life here, especially the 'no shopping after 7pm' rule: By Friday evening we had nothing to eat at home so it was the perfect excuse to try out a restaurant in town, and even an ice cream joint.
I suppose it is a pretty town. But I am sure there are prettier towns around, with the same al fresco atmosphere. What is suprising is the fact that it is a landlocked place with the atmosphere of a mediterranean city and rythm.
For now, my main concern is getting my apartment, as although I am smack right in the middle of town, across the 'Jardin Anglais' it would be good to have all my 35boxes with me so that I can fill up 2 wardobes and get my own kitchen ustensils...not to mention all my adapters...
After work, it has been a countless visit of flats, with other homeless people. I am also discovering different areas of Geneva, as well as cute little restaurants.
Having my colleagues from London with me helped ajusting to the environment. I am among the priviledged ones who can communicate with the locals as most of them do not speak French, so they are also using me as guide. It will take time for all of us to adapt to the new life here, especially the 'no shopping after 7pm' rule: By Friday evening we had nothing to eat at home so it was the perfect excuse to try out a restaurant in town, and even an ice cream joint.
I suppose it is a pretty town. But I am sure there are prettier towns around, with the same al fresco atmosphere. What is suprising is the fact that it is a landlocked place with the atmosphere of a mediterranean city and rythm.
For now, my main concern is getting my apartment, as although I am smack right in the middle of town, across the 'Jardin Anglais' it would be good to have all my 35boxes with me so that I can fill up 2 wardobes and get my own kitchen ustensils...not to mention all my adapters...
Sunday, August 23, 2009
First impressions
This morning I awoke feeling out of place, staring at the big window, though the stores and on to the balcony and rooftops. After enjoying the fresh morning air, I ventured out, in the quiet empty streets. Across the river Rhine (le Rhone), I walked into the Paquis area, across the Cornavin station, looking out for restaurants and the look of buildings. From 10 till 11 I wandered through small streets, with the sound of morning mass fromthe nearby churches. I met loads of tourists but also small furry dogs and their masters...and they keep the streets clean of poo.
Then along the promenade, I then saw the water jet. After finding a public toilet, I decided to cross over again and explore the Eaux-vives area, on the south banks.
Going through the Jardin Anglais, I got to see a small fountain and gazebo.
Walking along rue des Eaux-vives and to the park, I stopped for a snack at a bakery. It is good to know which places are open on weekends.
In the park, I came across many toddlers and their parents, at the jungle gym or just roaming the green grass. I got lost for a bit but soon ended up near the tennis club. The it was time to get back to the flat, along the lake, past baby plage, and using the many drinkable water fountains around town.
Then along the promenade, I then saw the water jet. After finding a public toilet, I decided to cross over again and explore the Eaux-vives area, on the south banks.
Going through the Jardin Anglais, I got to see a small fountain and gazebo.
Walking along rue des Eaux-vives and to the park, I stopped for a snack at a bakery. It is good to know which places are open on weekends.
In the park, I came across many toddlers and their parents, at the jungle gym or just roaming the green grass. I got lost for a bit but soon ended up near the tennis club. The it was time to get back to the flat, along the lake, past baby plage, and using the many drinkable water fountains around town.
Before going home for a nap, I took a detour towards the cathedral on the hill behind the flat, and found the recommended restaurant 'chez ma cousine' and a plaza with lots of restaurants. I got sushi to go and rolled down the hill happy, noticing the pharmacy and post office on the way.
Tomorrow, I have to get a deodorant before going to the bank...
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Doing groceries in Migros
I am missing my local Sainsbury's where I can pick among at least 3 brands of each item...but I have stocked up for the weekend and located a pub brasserie nearby.
Arriving in Geneva
The flight was uneventful and I forgot my maroon cardigan upon unboarding. I had to buy a CHF2 token with my credit card, to be able to get a trolley and put my 4 suitcases on it.
Hopped into a cab adter picking up the keys, and was dropped 100m away from the flat because it is in a pedestrian shopping area. the driver very kindly dragged 2 of my suitcases, then I took the lift to the 6th floor, to end up climbing the stairs to the 7th floor.
I am in Geneva, and all I want now is a cold shower!
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