On Sunday morning, we rose for a smaller breakfast for once as we had plans for a large lunch. At 11am, Camille’s uncle and his wife picked us and Lucette up and we drove the hour drive to “La Barillette,” a fondue restaurant situated on the top of a mountain range directly across from the Alps. Although it was cloudy, we were able to make out Lake Geneva and some of the mountains in the distance. The drive was a winding road through beautiful forestry before opening up at the summit to a pleasant meadow.
At La Barillette, we shared a plate of sliced meats and wines before digging into the main dish, cheese fondue. This being Corinne’s first fondue, the family was curious to see her response. Thumbs up (obviously). We ate until with were full, and then of course, we ate some more. Dessert was had (Tiramisu for Camille and a Café icecream sundae for Corinne) and the sights were taken in before heading back down the mountain.
Once below, Pierre-Alain (Camille’s uncle) engaged us in a tour of the area. We stopped in the small lake front ville of Nyon, starting at the Chateau (castle- each small town has one) and descending down to the lake front, weaving through a flea market of assorted antiques and souvenirs. At the end, we walked back up towards the chateau and stopped for a cool beverage on the terrace.
From Nyon, we headed back to Geneva. On the way, though, we passed through the small village of Collex-Bossey, the place of origin of Camille’s family. We viewed the old farm (since renovated) where Camille’s great-grandparents once lived.
From Collex-Bossy we drove to the childhood home of Camille’s mother and family. We walked through the grounds and Pierre-Alain told us stories of his sneaking girls in through his bedroom window and climbing the huge tree in the back yard.
From there, we made one more stop at the airport shopping center to see the Swatches before hurrying back to Lucette’s house as an important bicycle race was ending. We chatted in the dining room while Pierre-Alain watched the race intently in the living room. After it ended, they headed out and we settled in for dinner.
Lucette reheated some Potato Gratin (even more delicious after soaking in all the cream) and prepared some baked/fried apple bits. We ate until we could eat no more, and then settled in for some tele before heading to bed.
Monday morning, we slept in again until 10:30 before lazily beginning our morning routine of breakfast, showers and preparation. We took the bus to the hospital as Camille had a meeting with the doctor she was originally going to do research with. He proved to be an incredibly nice guy and will be a much appreciated resource for future connections. Corinne came along and sat in the park people watching and playing games on her iphone in the sunshine. Upon reuniting, we took the bus back into downtown Geneva as Corinne needed to return something at H&M and Camille needed to stop at Swatch to see if they could prepare her watch (they could not). We walked from the main street to the river front and sat in the park utilizing the free internet until it was time to return home.
Once home, obviously Lucette had prepared us a meal so we sat to eat the array of treats she set out: a plate of cheeses and meats, a large salad (complete with carrots cut into the shapes of tiny rabbits and flowers), and some potatoes. We finished and cleaned up before packing our things for our next adventure.
Just after 5:30, Bernadette came to pick us up for our 3 night stay at her place in the small town of Coppet. She toured us around the town and we passed by her husband’s butcher shop before heading home to prepare dinner. We weren’t especially hungry but the aroma of the beef stew and mashed potatoes was too hard to resist.
After dinner, Camille taught Corinne how to play chess. After a win for Camille and a stale mate, we made skype calls home before retiring to our bedroom. There, we stayed up for hours taking advantage of the internet to plan our journeys in the upcoming month. Finally, growing tired at around 3:30am, we packed up and fell asleep.
No comments:
Post a Comment