Dinner with Emily & Gavin

It was great to see cousin Em and Gav last night. They are on a tour of Europe which went through Geneva and we were very happy they had the time to visit us for dinner. Anyone who has done these types of tours would know the pace at which you are moved from country to country!

They were in high spirits and seem to be enjoying their travels around Europe very much. Peter cooked roast beef - it was too hot for fondue! After dinner we drove them to nearby Lausanne where they were staying the night before heading off to Paris the next morning.

Springtime in Geneva

We have happily spent the last couple of weekends at home, enjoying the beautiful spring weather. Temperatures have been in the high 20's and the gardens are looking gorgeous. Work is going well, we are busy preparing for the annual meeting of heads of statistical offices in June. Peter has got himself a small renovate job with someone from the local tennis club and has been learning to shop for hardware in French at the Swiss Bunnings equivalent. The Schapelle Corby verdict certainly made the international headlines, but we are keeping up with Aussie news through ABC Online anyway. We haven't made it to Roland Garros - just a tad outside our price range! Wimbledon looks unlikely too... maybe next year.

Vogalonga in Venice

Another long weekend and this time a trip to Venice. A definite tourist trap, but wonderful and well worth the visit. The way to see Venice is to just wander the streets and get lost. A gondola ride is a very expensive at 80 Euro for 30 mins, but it's an unforgettable experience gliding down the quieter canals. Our gondolier even sang for us!

The main reason for our trip was that on the Sunday there was a 32 km rowing boat event called the Vogalonga. It started in 1974 and is an annual event that attracts crews from all over the world - even an Australia crew was spotted. Our friend Bob was rowing with a crew from Nyon, a town not far from Geneva. It was an amazing experience to stand on the famous Rialto bridge watching the boats come underneath, and then cheering for the little Swiss boat, which finished in a creditable 3 hours. Well done Nyon!

Paris

Wow, what a city. It was a very quick glimpse as we only had 2 days and 2 nights to look around. Caught the TGV (fast train) there, which takes about 3.5 hours from Geneva and is tres comfortable. Our wotif.com accommodation was excellent and only 25 min stroll to the centre. Managed to cram in the Musee d'Orsay, lots of walking, some French cuisine and an 10 hour bus and river tour of the major sites. Whoever's in the French flag business in Paris, should be doing very well.

Highlights for me were views from Eiffel Tower, cruising down the Seine and all that history. Best of all, we saved heaps to see for next time!

View of Champs de Mars


Peter with the original of our Monet


Jess with Notre Dame in background

Aussie Victory

It's currently a beautiful sunny 27 degrees in Geneva. We joined the local Pregny-Chambesy tennis club last week and today we played in our first Swiss tournament. Met lots of lovely people and had a terrific time. After the round of matches we had a BBQ lunch out under the trees.

Peter played extremely well, in fact he won in his group! See him pictured with his prize of club t-shirt and tennis balls. Don't bother asking how I went. They gave me a t-shirt too, perhaps they felt sorry for me!