3rd Time's a Charm

My third trip to Barcelona in the past 6 months was just as successful as the first two. My parents and I flew in on Sunday afternoon, and checked into an apartment on Carrer d'Arago. The three bedroom apartment was in a brand new building, and walking distance to Passeig de Gracia, so my mom and I could shop, as well as the Mobile World Congress, where my Dad would be holding meetings for the next three days.

We settled in and went to one of my favorite restaurants in Barcelona, Brown 33.  Its delicious italian fusion food, and I have been there all three times that I have visited Barcelona. Its that good.  My parents enjoyed it and it was a perfect way to start our trip.

We're ready to see Barcelona!!

Monday, my Dad went off to the Mobile World Congress for the day, so my mom and I decided to take our time getting ready, then headed off to Passeig de Gracia, to see the city and shop.  We went to all my favorite stores, Zara, Mango, and H&M, and strolled through Placa Catalunya and down Avinguda del Portal de l'Angel, which is another major shopping street that parallels La Rambla.  It also goes right through the gothic quarter, so we were able to see lots of the old buildings and streets. We eventually made our way to La Rambla for a late lunch, filling ourselves up with a variety of tasty tapas and red wine.

Then we went to the Mercat de Sant Josep/La Boqueria, which is a covered, but open air market with lots of stands selling fruit, vegetables, sweets, meat etc...We walked through the stalls, ooh-ing and ahh-ing at all the things for sale, and laughing at a few as well. We settled on a cheese shop and bought some cheese to have at the apartment before dinner.

Yep! Boobs made out of chocolate!

Beautiful fruit and veggie stands

We then realized we were a bit tired, so we headed to Placa Reial to have a cup of coffee and rest our legs. Placa Reial is one of my favorite squares to sit in. Its just off of the bustling La Rambla, but you wouldn't know it as its quiet and sunny and people are just sitting at the outdoor cafes and restaurants.  I have come here each time I've been in Barcelona, and its never disappointed. We drank our coffees and took in our surroundings. We soaked in the last hour or so of good sun, which I was loving as it was a good 10 degrees or more warmer than Geneva.

After thoroughly resting, we headed back to the apartment, stopping at the Carrefour for some wine and snacks to meet my dad before dinner. He surprised us, and decided to ditch his work-dinner and came with us towards Barceloneta and the Port Olympic area to have dinner near the beach at Sotavento. Unfortunately it was a bit too early to be dining near the beach, and most of the restaurants were empty and had plastic screens covering the outdoor patios so you felt like you were in a bubble. The food was delicious though and it was fun for my parents to see a different part of town, but for the future, its probably best to go when its the height of summer and warm enough to sit outside.

Day 2 in Barcelona, my dad went back to the Mobile World Congress, and my mom and I decided to take the train to Figueres to see the Dali Museum.  It was a 2-1/2 hour train ride, so my mom and I got in some quality conversation time. In Figueres, we found the main square to sit and have lunch at a restaurant called Sentits Gastrobar. Again, just sitting in the sun was so wonderful. Its amazing what a little Vitamin D can do for you.

After more yummy tapas for lunch, we headed to the museum and were both awed and perplexed by the art that was on display. I didn't really know what Dali was all about, but after seeing the museum, he must have a crazy imagination. A lot of his pieces were very strange and intriguing, but boiled down to just plain weird if you're not an art buff. We enjoyed it, but I'm curious if we had had a tour guide explaining to us some of his crazy pieces, if we would have enjoyed it more. This is one of the strange but not too strange pieces that I thought looked pretty cool. Could you see this in your living room?

We called it a day at the museum, and headed back to the train station for our 2-1/2 hour ride back. Getting back into Barcelona late that afternoon, we headed straight back to the apartment for our usualy happy hour party of cheese, crackers and wine with Dad.  He had had a long couple of days, so we decided to go to a restaurant we'd seen two nights earlier on Passieg de Gracia, called Divinus.  It was packed inside and had a hustling, bustling feeling to it. We thankfully got a table towards the back, but still had to talk quite loudly to hear one another. The food was delicious as usual though and we all had a good time overall.

Our third day in Barcelona, Dad again had meetings all day at the MWC, so Mom and I decided to go back to some of the shops we had browsed the first day, trying on clothes and buying some as well.  We then walked down La Rambla, all the way to Barceloneta, to have a late lunch along Passeig de Joan de Borbo. As we had walked a TON the past few days, we took our time and had a long lunch, again, sitting outside, enjoying the sun and each other's company.  We decided to keep up our walking, and took some random streets/alleyways through the gothic quarter as we tried to head back towards Passeig de Gracia.
We stopped again at a few shops along the way, and just strolled through the town. We happened to see a building that had some interesting people standing on the balcony too. From a distance, I wasn't quite sure, but after getting closer, it reminded me of the building in San Francisco that has all the furniture hanging from the exterior wall. Strange.

Finally, our 4th day there, Thursday, Dad was done with work and was able to hang out with mom and me all day.  We aren't big on museums, so we decided to take the metro out to Mount Tibidabo, and take the funicular up the mountain so we could see the entire city below from 512 meters up. The ride up was fun, as most funiculars are, but unfortunately, it was pretty hazy/foggy/smoggy and we weren't able to get a very clear picture of the the city below us.

But we walked around and went into the church that sits up there, and enjoyed it as much as we could. I think it was still neat for my parents to see how high up we were and even though the cameras don't show it, you could see most of the city through the haze.



We headed back down the mountain, and walked down La Rambla, something my Dad had wanted to do the entire trip.  It was busy as ever, and we took it all in, but eventually headed to Placa Reial for lunch, to get away from all the people for a bit.

M&D on La Rambla

Me and Dad at Placa Reial

Sangria and Beer were definitely the thing to order. HUGE!

We then wandered aimlessly through the Gothic Quarter, going down streets I'd never been down, seeing buildings I hadn't seen before.  Eventually tiring, we headed back to the apartment to pack and rest since we were leaving the next morning.  We ended our night with a tasty dinner at Can Majo, one of the most recommended restaurants, located in Barceloneta.

We checked out the next morning, and headed to the airport back to Geneva.  I really loved being in Barcelona and I feel so lucky to have been able to spend so much time there in the past 6 months. Till next time Barcelona!!

M&D Come to Geneva

After a few months of planning, my mom and dad (m&d) made it out to Geneva for a visit.  Overall, they had a wonderful trip, with a few hitches here and there, but ended up walking away really enjoying Switzerland and loving our life here in Geneva.

The first hitch started with their flight from SF to Frankfurt getting cancelled. Gotta love the airlines. Luckily they found out before they go to the airport, and were able to re-route themselves on another flight through DC. So they ended up getting to Geneva about 5 hours later than expected, but were still in good spirits, even with the jetlag.  Knowing it was going to be a long flight for them, we kept things simple their first night, catching up, showing them our apartment, and cooking dinner at home.

Their 1st day in Geneva, I took them on the tram to Carouge to walk around the cute town for a bit. Unfortunately, in typical Swiss fashion, most of the shops were closed, and it was still too cold for any outdoor seating. So we walked around and then decided to head back to Geneva. We walked through the Parc des Bastions to see the Reformation Wall. Then strolled around Old Town, up the cobblestone streets, past the antique stores, and stopped at the St. Pierre Cathedral before heading toward Rive for lunch. We went to one of my favorite places, Le Pain Quotidien, for tasty open faced sandwiches and salads.

After a long leisurely lunch, we walked towards Eaux-Vives to stop by Travers' office, then onto the quai to see the Jet d'eau and the lake.  Since they were still a bit jet-lagged, we headed back towards home, stopping at the Coop (local grocery store) for some cheese and crackers to have as an appetizer before dinner.  Dad took a nap, and mom and I relaxed and chatted.

A few hours later, when Travers got home, we had a little happy hour at the house before heading into Old Town for dinner at Cafe du Bourg de Four, a restaurant that Travers and I have wanted to go to for awhile.  We were not disappointed. The food was delicious, the service was friendly, and the atmosphere was lively but not too loud. Its great to have a new restaurant to add to our list of favorites.  After dinner, we stopped in at a bar in Old Town called 22 Grand Rue for an after dinner drink, before heading home for everyone to get some much needed sleep.

Saturday we got up and out the door early (for a saturday) and headed to the train station to go to Nyon, and then to take a boat to Yvoire.  We got to Nyon, strolled through the town which had a farmer's market on the main street, then walked through the castle that sits on top of the hill and overlooks the rest of town and the lake. After finding our way down to the water, we had some cappuccinos at an outdoor cafe and waited for the next boat to take us to Yvoire.  When the time came for the next boat, we bought our tickets and waited. And waited. And waited. Realizing that the boat was not coming when it was scheduled (this being very strange because the Swiss are very prompt with their public transportation), we did some more research on the schedules posted, and called the help line that was listed.  All to find out that the boats did not run on Saturdays during the month of February. Who knew!

So we changed our plans quickly, and headed back to the train station to continue up to Lausanne. M&D had been to Lausanne before about 20 years earlier, so were excited to see what they could remember from that trip.  We caught the train, and then the metro up the hill to see the Cathedral of Lausanne, which gave us wonderful views of the city and lake below.  After realizing they didn't remember anything about Lausanne, we headed down through the Old Town, which also had a farmer's market going on, and found a crowded cafe for a late lunch.  My dad and I each had a traditional swiss dish called Croute, which comes in a small crockpot with cheese, ham, and toasted bread all melted together, topped off with a fried egg. Delicious!

We called it a day and headed back to Geneva to get some rest before our evening plans began.  We made another tasty dinner at home that evening, then our friend Mike came over, and the five of us headed to our friends, Jasmine and Chris' house for their going away party. They were moving to London in a few days, so they had a "garage sale" for all the things they couldn't take with them, and a party to say good bye to all their friends.  M&D were happy to meet everyone, and see who we had been hanging out with these past several months.  Everyone was getting along so we decided to play a game of Celebrity to top the night off. (If you want to know how to play, let me know and I'll send you the "rules").  Needless to say, it was an exciting game, and made the night go much later than anticipated. But everyone had a fun time and we all got to sleep in a bit the next morning.

Sunday was spent packing and travelling.  My dad had a work conference in Barcelona the next week, so my mom and I tagged along with him and I left Travers on his own for a whole week.  We caught a flight on EasyJet mid-day Sunday, and checked into an apartment in Barcelona a few hours later.  Gotta love Easy Jet and the convenience of flying between countries in Europe.  I think M&D got to see a lot of Geneva, but I was happy they were returning at the end of their trip for a couple days before flying home, so they could see even more.

Barcelona and rest of their trip to be continued....

Our V-Day Ski Day

So this post is a little late, but better late than never....

Travers and I celebrated Valentine's Day this year in our typical way, at home, with a nice steak dinner and a chocolaty dessert. He surprised me with chocolates and flowers, which we don't typically like to have on Valentine's Day since its always overpriced. He is a big believer of giving flowers when they are least expected. Well, I guess he got me there, since I was not expecting flowers or candy on Valentine's Day at all.  All in all, it was a wonderful day, but we both wanted to do something more. So we decided that Saturday, we would go skiing, just the two of us!

We have always gone skiing with our friends, and the last time we went skiing just the two of us was 2 years ago in Tahoe, so it was definitely time to make a trip.  We did some research and asked some other friends where the best place to go for a day trip would be.  We got several recommendations, and finally decided to drive to an area called Le Grand Massif, which has several different ski resort areas we could go to. We figured we'd drive to the area and just see which looked best.

After only an hour's drive, we decided to go to Flaine, which was one of the furthest resorts, but well worth it. We finally made it there, found some free parking, and after a bit of a scare, found a ski boot rental place for me to rent boots. I've been trying to find a pair to buy, but after the last pair I bought not working well and giving excrutiating pain to my shins, I am hesitant to invest in another pair too quickly. So I've been renting. But it has become more of a pain as it takes up precious ski time, and as we found out in Flaine, there aren't always convenient rental shops nearby.

So once we got all our gear and ski passes on, we took the gondola up the mountain to ski. Here is a nice panoramic shot I put together of one of the views we got to see from the top.

It was a beautiful, sunny day, and the slopes were amazingly empty. We often felt we were the only two on the mountain!  And with only the two of us, we were able to go down the mountain as fast or slow as we wanted.  The snow was wonderful, and we just had an amazing time.









We stopped for lunch at one of the restaurants at the top and enjoyed the views. It was fun to see people setting up picnics in the snow, just off piste in the fluffy roped off area, taking in the views of the surrounding mountains.











After lunch we skied another hour or so, then decided to stop for some hot chocolate and coffees at a mid-slope cafe.  People were really enjoying the day, sitting in the sun, playing card games, lounging in the beach chairs that the cafe provided.  Skiing here was not all about going up and down the slopes, but really taking in the entire atmosphere, the surroundings, the sun, and just having a good time. It was one of the best Valentine's Day celebrations we've ever had.  And will have to be repeated again next year!

Looks like I'm standing in front a poster,
but, no, that is the real scenery of Flaine behind me.

Frozen Fun

As some of you may know, we have had ridiculously cold weather recently. We had begun to think that we were catching a break with the winter weather here in Geneva, but just as we were getting used to the 30-40°F temperatures, we were hit with temps in the teens. My last post was about a wonderful day of snow. Unfortunately, Travers' dad, Richard, was flying in the next day and that is exactly when the temperatures dropped.  We had thankfully warned him to bring warm clothes, a hat, gloves etc...but even with as many layers as we could get on our bodies, we were still freezing every time we walked out the door.  Richard made the best of it though and we ended up having a great visit with him.

Yummm!

After his flight arrived in Geneva an hour early (unbelievable!) Wednesday morning, we brought Richard back home to get settled in and rest a bit after the long flight. Travers went on to work, and a few hours later, I took him on a walk through Old Town and around the neighborhood, and out towards the lake.  The temperature was in the low-20's at this point but the wind was blowing and our faces and fingers were quickly freezing.  Since we had walked around for a couple hours, we decided to head back to the apartment to warm up and rest. Once Travers got home, we made homemade spaghetti and meatballs

Richard in Parc Des Bastions

The next day was just as cold as the last, but we were determined to get outside and see Geneva.  After a leisurely morning, we put on all our layers of clothes again, and headed away from the lake towards Carouge.  We walked through the Parc des Bastions, saw the Reformation Wall, and then down Rue de Carouge, through the Plainpalais area, and finally getting to the quaint little town. After walking around a bit and checking out the area, we stopped for lunch at one of my favorite little cafes on the corner of Place de Marché. We then decided we were feeling energetic, so started our walk back along the Arve River. We finally hit a wall and decided to head back towards home, barely having enough energy to go to the grocery store and climb the small hill back to the apartment. 

Conference Room in the UN

Richard's third day was the coldest we had had yet. Winds were really bad, and the temperature had dropped into the teens. We decided it was a good day for museums. So we could still get out of the house, but weren't going to freeze too much.  We hopped on the bus and headed to the UN for a tour.  After a jumbled conversation with one of the guards, we were finally pointed in the right direction to the visitor entrance. We made it in just as an English speaking tour was beginning, and got to spend the next hour learning all about the UN and seeing some of the large meeting rooms that you often see on television.  It was pretty informative, but I wish there had been time for more. 

Outside the UN

The one negative part of this visit was this english woman with her two small children who were really cute, but would not be quiet. I had a hard time paying attention to the tour guide as the two girls were running around, squealing, and distracting me most of the time. I occassionally glared at the mother, and another woman shushed them once, but she refused to discipline her children, or respect the fact that we had all paid to get in there and they were clearly distracting everyone.  Richard and I dealt with it though and really enjoyed the tour. I might go back some day to listen again to the tour guide and hopefully avoid any noisy children.


After the UN, we had lunch back at home, then headed to the Patek Philippe Museum in Plainpalais.  We looked at all the beautiful antique watches that were on display as well as a floor full of watches made by Patek Philippe.  There are tons and tons of watches in this museum, most of antique ones look like pieces of jewelry more than watches. And we could clearly see when watch designs changed from more jewelry-like pieces to the standard shapes they have now. 

Love my fur!

Once Travers returned from work, we decided to go out to dinner at one of our favorite steak restaurants, Relais de l'Entrecote. The weather had gotten worse but, thankfully, I had my fur jacket, given to me by Rosemary, Travers' mother.  We braved the wind and cold for the few blocks and luckily got there just before a rush of people arrived and were able to sit right away. This restaurant is fun because it only serves one thing, steak and fries. When the waitress arrives at the table, she doesn't ask what we want, just asks how we like our meat cooked. They bring lots of fries, and lots of steak, and a salad to start. We tried asking the waitress for the recipe for the sauce they put on the steak, but she just smiled and said its a secret.

On the funicular in Fribourg

The next day, Saturday, we had a road trip planned to the Fribourg and Neuchatel regions.  We had an easy drive up north to Fribourg, and after parking the car, took a short funicular up the hill to the main part of town. We walked in the Old Town area, and immediately popped into a tea room to get some coffee to warm us up. I checked the weather on my phone and it said it was 7°F!! We checked out the main cathedral and strolled (quickly) through more of the town, then decided to call it, and headed back to the car so we could drive to our next destination. 

Freezing in Fribourg

Looking down at Fribourg

Freezing in Murten

After a half an hour, we arrived in Murten. We had gotten far enough north by now that the German influence in Switzerland was prominent in Murten. It was a nice lakeside town up on a hill. We parked and walked the main drag, looking at shops and debating on buying more clothes to wear to keep us warm. We finally found a restaurant for lunch. Apparently a lot of the restaurants in Murten are underground in caves. We descended a flight of stairs, and entered a room, lined in stone and big wooden beams. The food was delicious and it warmed us up. 

Delicious Lunch in Murten

Cool restaurant in Murten

Lakeside at Neuchatel

We then drove to the town of Neuchatel which is right on Lake Neuchatel. This was a bigger town, with lots of people walking around. We walked down to the lake, which is almost half the size of Lake Geneva, but just as beautiful. Then we headed up the hill to the Old Town area and we got to see views of the entire city below.  We headed back down the hill, and got a coffee at a local cafe, then headed back towards the car. Our energy levels were dwindling, but we still had two more towns to see. 

At the top of Neuchatel

Looking down at Neuchatel

We then drove to a small town called Grandson where a big castle sits on the side of the lake.  It was getting late by this time, so we just drove through the town, and passed by the castle.  I got a great shot of it while the sun was setting in the background. 

Our last stop was to Yverdon. Another small town on the southern tip of Lake Neuchatel.  We were all exhausted by now, so we took a few quick photos of the main plaza, empty because of the cold weather, and made our way back to Geneva.


It was a wonderful daytrip, and we got to see places that Travers and I had never seen before as well. But we were happy to be home that night, warm in our apartment, with our feet up.


We spent Sunday lazy around the apartment, leaving for a few hours in the afternoon to see the Art & History Museum and planning the last two days of Richard's visit.

Chateau Chillon

Monday, Richard and I hopped on the train headed to Montreux and the Chateau Chillon.  It was about 10°F outside and the castle wasn't any warmer.  But we braved it, and saw the entire castle, maybe walking through it a bit quicker than we would have normally, but it was fun to show Richard one of the most famous castles in Switzerland.  For lunch, we headed to Vevey and found a cute cafe with delicious Chocolat Chaud.  Then hopped on the train again to Lausanne.  I figured we hadn't walked enough in the past few days, that I made Richard climb the hill from the train station in Lausanne all the way up to the Cathedral on the top of the hill. About half way, I regretted the decision as I was huffing and puffing and freezing my buns off!  But we made it eventually, and he got to see some of the great views of the town below and the lake beyond.

Can you find Richard?

Top of the hill in Lausanne

His final day in Geneva, Richard spent the morning walking and shopping around town before we headed out to have lunch with Travers near his office.  The weather had warmed up a few degrees so we headed out to the lake to give him a final look at the water and the snowy mountains beyond.  He left early Wednesday morning and the temperature rose back to the mid-20's.

Day Trip & Day of Snow!

Since we have been so busy the past month, we decided to keep last weekend relaxing and mellow. After staying in Friday night and catching up on some much needed sleep, Shelley, Mike, Travers and I took the noon train on Saturday up to Lausanne for the day.  The main point was to go to the Olympic Museum, that closed just a few days later for a year and a half of renovations. So this was our last chance to see it. I actually had been with my friend Katy over the summer, but enjoyed it and figured it would be fun to go back. And to our luck, the museum was free (a favor they were doing for visitors the last 8 weeks before the renovations begin).

Travers at museum entrance

Top floor of the museum overlooking the lake

We made it to Lausanne, took the metro down the hill to the museum and walked around for an hour or two, learning about the history of the Olympics, seeing some of the torches and medals that have been used over the years. I also saw a water polo cap that was signed by the US Women's Water Polo Team from the 2000 Summer Olympics when they lost to Australia for the Gold. I tried to see if I recognized any of the names, but the signatures were too difficult to read. It was still fun to see though.

We then headed back up the hill to the Old Town and walked up to the Cathedral at the top of the hill. From there, we were able to see the entire town below us and the lake beyond. We then strolled through the town, stopping at a cute bohemian cafe for some coffee, taking in the people walking by. We learned that Lausanne, in contrast to Geneva, is very hippie-ish, whereas Geneva is more conservative. According to our friend, Nathalie, there is a rival between Geneva and Lausanne, where neither city likes the other and thinks they are better than the other.

Cathedral Doors

Small Street in Old Town

On top of the city

After getting our fill of the town, we decided to head back to Geneva and grab an early dinner at one of our favorite Indian restaurants, Little India. We got back into town a bit early (the restaurant wasn't even open yet), so we grabbed a drink at Les Brasseurs, right across from the train station, then finally had dinner, and met up with some friends at our favorite lounge, Le Brasserie des Halles de L'Ile.

The next few days were quiet, as we prepped for Travers' dad to visit. Thankfully he arrived today and not yesterday as we woke up Tuesday morning to the biggest snowfall we've had here yet.  It snowed, and snowed, and snowed. All day long. And didn't stop until that afternoon. Here are a few photos I took while walking with Travers to work that morning.

The Jardin Anglais covered in snow!

Doesn't stop the birds from sitting on their favorite railing

Another shot of the Jardin Anglais

Our favorite tree outside our apartment

I love watching the snow fall down, but thankfully it has stopped today so that Travers' dad won't have to deal with it being too snowy and cold for his visit.  We plan to take a drive this weekend and check out some neighboring cities so hopefully we'll get to see some more snow from the comfort of a heated car.