A short week of Work outfits

Thought it would be fun to take a photo every morning before I run up the street to catch my tram, then another, then a bus to the office.  I must admit,  I was pretty monotone last week until I crammed many colours into one day.

Off Early WHoooHooo

This afternoon while working away rather stressed and preparing for the e-mail mountain that will be awaiting my team and I in the peak event season I got a little surprise.  We all did. The founder and president of our organisation decided we could all leave at four.  What a difference 2 hours make.  Anyways,  I would like to leave you with some of my weekend photos in the Geneva sunshine with my friend Louise who was visiting from Manchester.

 Enjoying a quiet moment on my walk home from the post office where I sent my taxes on the last day

  Sipping on lemonade on sun loungers with a childhood friend at Terrasse le Paradis

 Such a view from this little friendly hippy spot

 Terrasse le Paradis from the bridge with the Jet d'eau in the back

  Yum

  Got some heart shaped glasses to show Geneva how much I love her

  I just love the weekend markets everywhere

Bright happy radishes

Dinner at Holy Cow which had extremely friendly and fast staff

 Check out the size of those Burgers

 View of Aux halles de l'Ile Bar in the middle of the river

The Beautiful Louise with her Mango Sorbet

Eeeek Moving in two Weeks!

Bye bye home sweet home since October

That's right,  i have conquered the impossible. I have found another apartment in Geneva (in under a year) and will be moving out of my little chalet haven on the 15th of April.  As this city has too many citizens and not enough space, comparing one another's search has become a very popular bar conversation topic.  Its not much different from my place now but i was sold on the 1) Oven 2) Bath and 3) Mini Balcony... and the wooden floors too!  (Three things which I don't have now)

Great Days Start with Brunch

This Sunday, we woke up to the sun gleaming. The only thing to do on a day like that is to have a hearty brunch and head out to catch those rays you missed while at work. I made scrambled eggs with salmon. It's usually a christmas morning tradition in my family but I can never resist to wait a whole year to eat this again.

Perfect with Glistening Dijon Mustard Seeds

 Breakfast of Royalty!

Venturing to the Animal Park near Jonction in my Elephant Scarf from Next

 My work clothes are ever more finding their way into my weekend wardrobe 

 A sweet and very calm doe in her lovely enclosure (which she shared with her Stag boyfriend)

 My hunky man who I passed on my cold to, sorry I made your nose all red.

We ended the day with a trip to the cinema to see the Hunger Games.  I didn't have the highest expectations but once it had started I was gripping my seat till the end, and can't wait for the sequel. 

For those who would like to make a tasty luxurious brunch:

4 eggs

1 heaped teaspoon of Dijon Mustard

3 slices of thinly sliced Smoked Salmon

A nob of butter

Salt & Pepper

Put a nob of butter in a small pot.  While this melts to bubbly niceness, whisk the eggs briskly in a bowl with a fork adding the teaspoon of mustard and making sure the seeds are equally dispersed throughout the mixture.  Pour the eggs into the pan and stir often.  Cook on a medium heat for 3 minutes and add the Salmon.  Keep stirring for one more minute.  Be sure not to overcook the eggs as you want them to be creamy in consistency.  Take off the heat when still moist and prepare your toast or salad, the eggs will carry on cooking.  Serve with a glass of orange juice for maximum satisfaction.

First Date in this City

On Friday night after work, I met ♥ at the train station and led him through the streets of Paquis to the very sweet and rustic, La crêperie des Pâquis. 

 Dark wood, exposed walls, interesting lighting: perfect for a date with your special someone

Some shots of our French dinner 

 Reading the menus in French and having to order in another language adds to the atmosphere

 I wasn't in the mood for a long meal in a beautiful restaurant as I was still in my conservative work attire. It hit the spot. He was very surprised and happy with the choice of eatery and happily ordered a crêpe stuffed with steak, spinach which was decorated with a fried egg. 

I opted for the "provençale chèvre", a crêpe filled with goats cheese and a tomato and herb sauce.  We topped off our meal with chocolate and chocolate-banana crêpes and for the first time,  I finished main and dessert before my ♥.  I was truly satisfied, so satisfied that I later fell asleep during our movie, the Guard.

A Visit from Mum

My mum came to visit me in Geneva last weekend. The two days were filled with:

• Going for hot drinks in sweet little cafés with mismatching furniture and equally mismatched but beautiful teacups and saucers. 
• Drinking vin chaud outside in a bustling square in the old town. Now begins the season of warming your hands with mugs filled with orange and spiced wine.
• Walking through old Carrouge at night to a restaurant and loving the tree lined squares and classic houses with painted shutters.  I now need to live here, and visit the Market!

On another note,  my ♥  brought me a treat on his 3 hour train journey back from Basel last night.  What a lovely way to start my work day...with a pink cupcake for breakfast.

Bubbly Fondue

On Emma's last day after we ambled around the Geneva old town wishing we were living the French dream of drinking wine everyday and living in a beautiful (and unpayable) town house, I introduced her to the Swiss speciality that is Fondue! She really really liked it, as well as other treats I introduced her to such as spätzle and an abundance of chocolate. She was however surprised at the fact that you rarely see people eating crisps in Switzerland...and that houses and apartments here have blinds 'like high street shops'.

 Our very Swiss Fondue experience

 Dipping her first piece of bread

 Crunchy Cheese at the bottom of the pan

Perfect for a cold day:  Hot cheese and bread eaten outside with a special friend....we were so full for so long that we had chocolate for dinner.

Introducing: Geneva

After only having lived in Geneva for a month,  I had the task of showing my first guest around 'my' city. It was very fun as I was a tourist myself.  It's winter,  and usually dark by the time I finish work, so I've not been able to explore the city yet myself.  These are a few of the things we did on Emma's first ever weekend in Switzerland:

 A brave paraglider taking off from the top of the Salève

 View of the Jet d'Eau from up the mountain

 Happy jumping pictures-a must have

 A studenty statue at PlainPalais

 Biiig breakfasts every morning to get us moving

 Rainbow-Jet d'Eau

 We tried for ages to get a photo of us both with the Jet d'Eau in the background

Such a pretty day in Geneva

Ironic Halloween

Just as ironic it is to celebrate Halloween on the 29th, my friend Emma who was visiting for the weekend from Scotland and I went to an ex-pat party at the Paladium in Geneva as French girls (None of us can speak this language). We sported stripy tops, berets, mustaches and fresh Parisian baguettes -which we waved around in the air- and had people trying to eat them all night long. Success? I think so.

 Two French Ladies

Getting into Character, trying not to eat our props.

 Posing with our Baguettes in a mini Vineyard 

Goodbye Baguette that a million people touched, ate, laughed at