Oh hey there. Remember me? In a manner that reminds me a lot of last year, the month of May turned into a total whirlwind for me. The past few weeks have been incredibly busy, and so I've fallen a bit behind on the blog! After the hiking trip in Romania, I was lucky to have some visitors from the US, followed by a few days of work out of town, an amazing weekend in Prague, and a one-day trip to London to see some friends. On top of all this, things at work were very busy these past two weeks, so I am quite happy to have this month coming to a close!
So shall we get to the recap of the past couple of weeks?
Dan and Sarah (and Dan's parents) came to visit Geneva on their way down to Italy, and I was thrilled to see them. This was my first time seeing them since we all moved out of Singapore, so it was really great to catch up on all the latest news in their lives and just hang out.
Saturday was a pretty low-key day. We spent some time wandering around Geneva, snacking on Swiss things, buying up chocolates, and enjoying the beautiful weather. We had a lovely fondue dinner, which they all agreed was the best fondue they'd ever had, but I think they were disappointed that chocolate fondue was not a dessert option!
Sunday we had another brilliant day of exploring and eating. We went to the Plainpalais market in the morning and picked up some cheese, bread, fruit, olives, and wine, and then took the train over to Epesses to have a picnic and a stroll in the vineyards.
We had a lovely time eating our spread of delicious foods and enjoying the beautiful scenery. The terraced vineyards of the Lavaux wine region is actually a UNESCO World Heritage site, but many people have never really heard of it as a wine-making area. Actually, Switzerland in general is not known for wine, but that is because we drink it all! Only about 2% of Swiss wines are exported to other markets because local consumption is quite high, so it's very rare to see Swiss wine outside of Switzerland.
Since it was Sunday, not many places were open for tastings, but a little internet research led us to Vinorama, which isn't a specific winery, but it showcases tons of locally produced wines.
We headed back to Geneva for dinnertime, and then said our good-byes. One of the weird things about expat living is that you develop these great friendships with people over the course of a couple of years, and then suddenly, everyone moves. I guess it's no different than when people move around in the US, but to me, somehow it is. Being overseas, your friend group can be more immediate and intense than at home I guess. It's weird when you don't know if/when you will see people again, so it was SO great to see these guys again. Can't wait for our next reunion already :)
Saturday, I went to Caves Ouvertes! An annual event in the various regions of Switzerland where the wineries open up their doors and invite everyone in for (free!!) tastings, it was a great way to spend a Saturday. Our group had ambitions of also hitting up a barbecue in Lausanne later that afternoon, so we headed out to Caves Ouvertes as soon as it opened. A 10 minute train ride from Geneva and a quick shuttle later, we arrived at our first cave, plopped down our 5 CHF to purchase the requisite glass, and got to tasting.
We wandered around to various caves throughout the day, sipping all kinds of wines that I had never heard of before, much less tried. Some were delicious and some were not my cup of tea (wine?), but it was a really fun day.
After we made it back to Geneva, we all went out for burritos and then went home to re-hydrate. I think I was in bed at 9:30pm? Oh well.. totally worth it!
Today has been a pretty easygoing day - exactly what I needed! I did go for a run with Courtney earlier today, and I was sad at how much running fitness I had lost since the half marathon. I had wanted to run 5 or 6 miles, but we managed to do just under four miles. I'm sure I could've pushed myself a little harder or slowed down and squeezed out some more miles, but I was happy to call it quits when we did. I'm signed up for a 15K in Paris next weekend, so... we'll see about that.
So shall we get to the recap of the past couple of weeks?
Dan and Sarah (and Dan's parents) came to visit Geneva on their way down to Italy, and I was thrilled to see them. This was my first time seeing them since we all moved out of Singapore, so it was really great to catch up on all the latest news in their lives and just hang out.
Fondue dinner!
Saturday was a pretty low-key day. We spent some time wandering around Geneva, snacking on Swiss things, buying up chocolates, and enjoying the beautiful weather. We had a lovely fondue dinner, which they all agreed was the best fondue they'd ever had, but I think they were disappointed that chocolate fondue was not a dessert option!
Wine country!
Sunday we had another brilliant day of exploring and eating. We went to the Plainpalais market in the morning and picked up some cheese, bread, fruit, olives, and wine, and then took the train over to Epesses to have a picnic and a stroll in the vineyards.
Picnic goodies
We had a lovely time eating our spread of delicious foods and enjoying the beautiful scenery. The terraced vineyards of the Lavaux wine region is actually a UNESCO World Heritage site, but many people have never really heard of it as a wine-making area. Actually, Switzerland in general is not known for wine, but that is because we drink it all! Only about 2% of Swiss wines are exported to other markets because local consumption is quite high, so it's very rare to see Swiss wine outside of Switzerland.
Map of the town
Since it was Sunday, not many places were open for tastings, but a little internet research led us to Vinorama, which isn't a specific winery, but it showcases tons of locally produced wines.
Tasting room
Lovely day
We headed back to Geneva for dinnertime, and then said our good-byes. One of the weird things about expat living is that you develop these great friendships with people over the course of a couple of years, and then suddenly, everyone moves. I guess it's no different than when people move around in the US, but to me, somehow it is. Being overseas, your friend group can be more immediate and intense than at home I guess. It's weird when you don't know if/when you will see people again, so it was SO great to see these guys again. Can't wait for our next reunion already :)
Love these guys!
I started to write a little bit about the trip to Prague, but I have SO many things to say about it that it really deserves it's own post. So I will end this post by going a little bit out of order and catch you up on this past weekend.
I was finally in Geneva, and it was a great weekend. The weather could not have been more amazing, and there was a lot of good times had!
Friday night, I met up with Ashley for a low-key girls night. We did the yoga + meditation class at Inner City, and then we enjoyed a drink along the water before heading to Tartares & Co for dinner. We split a caprese, a beef tartare, a tuna tartare, and a cheesecake and both agreed that it was a great meal! I can't wait to go again.
Nom nom
Saturday, I went to Caves Ouvertes! An annual event in the various regions of Switzerland where the wineries open up their doors and invite everyone in for (free!!) tastings, it was a great way to spend a Saturday. Our group had ambitions of also hitting up a barbecue in Lausanne later that afternoon, so we headed out to Caves Ouvertes as soon as it opened. A 10 minute train ride from Geneva and a quick shuttle later, we arrived at our first cave, plopped down our 5 CHF to purchase the requisite glass, and got to tasting.
Early birds
Santé!
We wandered around to various caves throughout the day, sipping all kinds of wines that I had never heard of before, much less tried. Some were delicious and some were not my cup of tea (wine?), but it was a really fun day.
Cute little town
It was such a glorious day
Lots of people enjoying the weather and the wine
At some point, we found an old school bus that had some booths set up inside, so we stopped there for a bit and then ran into my friend Emily! Hooray! As it was already getting late in the afternoon, we decided not to go to Lausanne and to just enjoy some more wine :)
Dishing up our purchases
So beautiful
I felt like a child all day because I was wearing shorts and a tee, and Becca and Katie were wearing cute dresses!
After we made it back to Geneva, we all went out for burritos and then went home to re-hydrate. I think I was in bed at 9:30pm? Oh well.. totally worth it!
Today has been a pretty easygoing day - exactly what I needed! I did go for a run with Courtney earlier today, and I was sad at how much running fitness I had lost since the half marathon. I had wanted to run 5 or 6 miles, but we managed to do just under four miles. I'm sure I could've pushed myself a little harder or slowed down and squeezed out some more miles, but I was happy to call it quits when we did. I'm signed up for a 15K in Paris next weekend, so... we'll see about that.
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