Last Weekend

Yeah, yeah, like always I'm super behind. I don't have a real excuse, but I do feel like I was very busy this week. I only worked a day and a half but I spent my days working around the house. Yard work, laundry, cleaning, you know tedious crap that has to get done yet no one ever wants to do it.

So, here are few pictures from our weekend with our friend from Ohio. It was so wonderful to see her and to just be able to relax and enjoy playing host and hostess. You know how some people are just difficult house guests? Demanding, needy, well not her. She's fabulous. She goes with the flow, she loved Ally, and she loves France - c'etait un week-end merveilleux! (it was a marvelous weekend).

We kicked off Saturday by collecting her at the train station, stashing her bag in our car and finding a parking garage on the left bank...or was that the right bank? I can never remember - the side with the Old City. We took in the key tourist attractions - namely the Jet d'eau, Jardin Anglaise, and well...that's about it. We wandered through the old part of the city and stopped to sample some cheeses at the open air farm market. We came away with a load of the most delicious cheese and some dried meats (they seemed to be Italian products, but who knows really!). I think our growing hunger was feeding our spending habit because we then
picked up a sack of cherries that we devoured as we strolled through the streets.

To be completely truthful with you DH and I are the worst tour guides of Geneva. We get lost every time we're there. We couldn't find our way through old town with a compass. It's pitiful but true. And we have a tendency to argue about where we are and which direction we should go. Usually we're both wrong! Last weekend we gave up trying to look like we knew where we were and what we were doing and just walked till there was something we wanted to stop and see. It worked fairly well. We found this random arch and staircase. I don't think you can read the name, but it is Passage des degres de poules, literally something like 'passage of the degrees of chickens' - who knows what that's supposed to mean. Or maybe I'm translating it completely wrong. Wouldn't that be great if someone left a comment saying, "you idiot it says, passage of the bearded ladies."? That would be great.

We had nice lunch in the old town - where we were seranaded (sort of) by wandering street musicians . We got their backs, but I can't complain. Hey, we weren't going to pay them and I'm sure they can spot the tippers a mile away. We, obviously, look like the cheapskates we are. hee, hee, hee. At least DH and I do. After filling up on Fondue, Tartiflette, and Taboulis we wandered some more till we found a great little restaurant on the tiny island in the middle of the mouth of the Rhone. We sat out on the terrace overlooking the water and relaxed and chatted over a nice cafe. aaah, heaven. The sun shining, a shady terrace overlooking the water, a cool breeze blowing (luckily it was nice out we had thought it was going to when we left our house that morning), good conversation, and a hot cup of strong coffee. What more could you ask for? Once we had our fill of Geneva we beat a hasty retreat to our place to avoid the masses that would be descending for the Lake Parade later that night. I haven't been but I heard it's a crazy techno rave with floats. Maybe we'll go next year... or maybe we're just old fogees in young bodies.
That evening we cracked some wine -starting off the evening with some bubbly, sparkling wine from Bourgogne. We gave the honor of popping the cork to our guest...or forced her to, whichever way you look at it. Then we had a feast fit for kings - sparkling Cremant and Chocolate cake. You can't get much better than that for dinner at chez Mosslins!

Oh it was so good, my tummy was so full of yummy goodness I didn't think I could get up. But we all managed to take the dog for a walk then crack open a bottle of Cote du Rhone. Yep, it was a good weekend. And if the promise of wine-filled weekends and delicious chocolate cake from the local patisserie doesn't entice you to come visit us I don't know what will!

yummmmm, just look at that luscious cake.....