January 2010

I am back. I know I left you hanging, but all is well now that I am almost over my cold too. I did take a couple of days to get the laundry done and the house cleaned, and now I can sit down and fill you in on the last week or so.

We were in Geneva over the New Year. The best part had to be the breakfasts at our lovely little boutique hotel which was called the Eastwest Hotel. Everything came in little glasses including fruit salad, smoked salmon, cream cheese, orange compote, etc. while the scrambled eggs came in cute little ceramic pots with lids, or you could order an omelette if you preferred. There was a choice of fresh orange juice or a mix of grapefruit, raspberry and orange. They had the best fruit/nut bread as well as pumpernickel and several other kinds. And then of course there were chocolate croissants among the variety of other pastries. To fill things out, there were several choices of cheeses and prosciutto, and did I mention the cappuccino? If we weren't so full, I am sure we would have stayed there all morning drinking cappuccino.

Not that that is all there is to do in Geneva. The hotels give you a bus pass that took us everywhere we wanted to go. From the United Nations and the three legged chair that was designed as a monument to ban land mines, to the Red Cross Museum. We also found St. Peter's Cathedral in the old town as well as the Maison Tavel which has been turned into an historical museum. And shopping galore! If I didn't know name brands before, I certainly do now. Geneva is very expensive and caters to the very rich - we did a lot of window shopping. This is a good site for some highlights - http://pgoh13.free.fr/geneva.php

We did manage to get tickets to Cirque Eloize - Rain. It was a very bizarre and much smaller version of Cirque du Soleil, but certainly entertaining (even in French). Here is a youtube clip if you are interested - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4a9nvmjzePY&feature=related

Our New Year's Eve was very tame. We found some delightful goodies at a very posh grocery store, which we enjoyed with Jeff when he arrived. After a little walk around the old town we called it a night. There was no chance of missing midnight though with all the noise in the streets. It was hard to believe that we had been out there just minutes before when it was so quiet.

So that is it in a nutshell. I hope everyone has a healthy and happy 2010.

Love,

Laurel