Our First Visitor!

Sorry its been awhile since I've posted a blog, but I've been busy entertaining our very first visitor!!  Suzy, Travers' sister, came to visit us over a week ago, and she just left this morning. Boo.  We had an amazing time though and she helped us break-in our hosting skills here in Geneva.

She arrived on Wednesday, and Travers and I took the #5 bus from our house to the airport (about a 30min ride) and met her outside of baggage claim.  We had learned on his trip to Germany that travelers can get a FREE bus ticket before you walk out of baggage claim (remember this for when you come visit us and you'll get a free ride from the airport). It was a teary-eyed Bonjour and lots of hugs all around.  We were so happy to have our sister here to show her our new home.

For Suzy's first full day visiting us, we took her out of Switzerland and into France to Lac Annecy. Travers had a holiday from work for Ascension Day (points to whoever can tell me what this holiday is for), and so we rented a car and after a few navigational errors by yours truly, we made it there in about 45 minutes! 

The town of Annecy is very beautiful. We went to the Old Town (La Vieille Ville) which has the most to do and see and its right on the lake. Its your typical european city with archways and stone walkways, creperies, glaceries, and fancy restaurants all throughout.  We took in the town with all the neat nooks and crannies, and made it out to the lake to see the gorgeous views of the surrounding mountains.  We had a delicious lunch at a restaurant called Rive Gauche, where we all practiced ordering in french.Travers tried a dish called a Tartiflette, which is a traditional french dish with potatoes, cheese and meat (what more could a guy ask for).

We ended our day with a drive around Lac Annecy. It took us awhile to find the right road that leads you all around the lake, but once we were on it, we saw some beautiful views of the lake, the mountains, and other parts of Annecy outside of Old Town.  We were exhausted by the time we got back home, but with it being such a short distance to travel, it was well worth it.

Come Friday, we were all exhausted, but we made sure we had enough energy to take Suzy to two of our favorite places: La Clemance and Chez Ma Cousine.  La Clemance, as you know, is our favorite cafe/bar in the Place du Bourg-de-Four, and Chez Ma Cousine is a cute restaurant there where you can get a delicious half grilled chicken, a salad and fries for 15CHF (a great deal in Geneva).  It is a definite must for anyone visiting us.

Saturday, we took the train to Montreux, a town at the other end of Lake Geneva, that is called the Swiss Riviera.  Naturally, it is right on the lake, with absolutely breathtaking views of the mountains across the way.  We got off the train after a little over an hour's ride, and walked along the lake to Chateau Chillon, a famous castle in Switzerland that was home to the Counts of Savoy in the 12th Century, and also made famous because of Lord Byron's poem The Prisoner of Chillon.   It has a self-guided tour, with lots of walking, but well worth the 12CHF entry fee. After the walk there and the tour, we were ready for lunch so we headed back towards the heart of Montreux to find a nice place to eat and see the rest of the area.  Travers and I will return to Montreux in July for the Jazz Festival that takes place all month long with over 300 artists and bands performing, so I'll be sure to write more about Montreux then.

Sunday - the day of rest.

Monday - another day of rest. haha.

Tuesday, Suzy and I went on an adventure of cheese and chocolate!  With an early start, we boarded a train to Gruyeres to go see the cheese factory.  It's not a straight shot from Geneva, so there were several transfer points along the way, but each part had great views of Switzerland, the lake, the mountains, and the greenery. 

We arrived in Gruyeres around 11am and knew that the cheese maker was on his lunch break until 12:30p, so we took our time and headed into the town of Gruyeres, a walled in city that overlooks several valleys and mountains.  The town is not very big so by the time we finished walking through it, it was time to head over to the cheese factory, La Maison du Gruyeres.  We took a self-guided audio tour and learned all about how cheese is made. We saw some being made right in front of us, and got to take some home with us! Yumm Cheese!

We then made our way via train to Broc Fabrique, where the Maison Cailler, Chocolate Factory was calling our names. If you're not familiar with Cailler chocolate, you'll definitely be familiar with Nestle, who partnered with Cailler in the 1920's.  The second Suzy and I stepped off the train, we could smell the chocolate. It permeated everything and smelled so delicious.  The tour at Cailler is sort of similar to a theme-park ride. You walk from room to room where the doors open and close for you, guiding you along. In each room, there are different things to look at and a voice comes on the speakers to tell the story of chocolate and Cailler.  It was a 20 minute tour, then you get to walk through other parts of the factory on your own, seeing the chocolate actually being made, and coming, finally, to the best part of the tour, the tasting.

Now, I like chocolate, but I don't consider myself a chocolate eater. I don't ever sit and eat chocolate bars one after another after another. But something about this tasting room makes you want to do just that.  There were probably 12 different types of chocolates, if not more, all perfectly lined up, ready for us to taste. We started at the beginning, of course, with the regular milk chocolate, moving onto the milk chocolate with hazelnuts, then to dark chocolate, and so on and so on. I went back to some for seconds, and put a few extra pieces in my purse for safe keeping. It was pure sin, but SO worth the slight belly ache I had afterwards, while Suzy and I rolled ourselves back to the train station and back to Geneva.

Our last night with Suzy was spent in traditional swiss fashion: eating fondue at a small restaurant called Au Vieux Carouge. It was recommended to us by someone who helped us with our relocation process and he definitely knew what he was talking about.  I called ahead to make a reservation (all in french, by the way, hooray me), because the restaurant has about 10 tables total. It is cramped and noisy, but its all a part of the experience and well worth it.  We got seated in a corner table and after seeing that the menu was all in french with no explanation of what each fondue actually contained, we decided to ask. The waitress, also the hostess, and owner, did not speak any english whatsoever. So with the little french I could speak, we got an order of the Moitie-Moitie, which means half and half. It is half Gruyeres cheese and half Vacherin cheese, and it is SO delicious. The three of us devoured the entire pot and probably a loaf or two of bread in the process.

All in all, I would say Suzy's visit was a success. Three days travelling outside of Geneva, four days exploring in Geneva, and lots and lots of chocolate and cheese. How could it have been any better?

À bientôt,

Megan