High of 56 Degrees

Gorgeous day in Geneva, everyone was out walking around enjoying the sunshine.  We enjoyed sitting by the lake for an hour just letting the sun hit our faces.  The nicest day in Geneva yet....

Frasier & Kyle's Birthday Dinner

On Friday a group of us met at a Cuban bar to toast Kyle and Frasier's birthdays this week.  We enjoyed mojitos and margaritas that were 16 chf each.  The evening continued with dinner at an Italian restaurant where a birthday cake arrived for Frasier and the meal ended with a toast of Limoncello (a lemon liqueur made from rinds, alcohol, water and sugar).  

Frasier - Scott's coworker and running buddy

Kyle - Scott's coworker and our fellow ex-pat from Portland

Fondue at La Cave

Last night we enjoyed dinner with two new friends, Dana and Tommaso, at La Cave in their neighborhood of Carouge.  Dana use to be the Human Resoure Director at Columbia's European headquarters and we were put in touch through Scott's old boss.  She now works at Yum! Brands (Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut) and has been really helpful by reviewing my resume, offering ideas on vacation locations and things to do in Geneva.  We hope to spend more time with them in the future.

Fun Fact:  In Switzerland they only serve fondue in the winter months.  If anyone visits in the summer, we will still make fondue for you!  We love it.

CD of Wedding Photos

Our CD of wedding photos arrived today!  If you would like a photo file, feel free to email me the photo number and I will send it to you.

Here is the link to the photos:

http://www.pictage.com/589126

Interview with GAVI

Today's interview will be added to the learning experience bucket that I have been acquiring here in Switzerland.  I requested that I  be taken out of the running for the position at GAVI due to my skill sets not fitting their needs.  It is a very interesting organization, but not what I would like be part of during our time here.  Back to the drawing board....

Interview Preparation

Tomorrow at 10 am, I have my first interview in Switzerland.  It is with an NGO called GAVI Alliance.  I practiced riding the bus to their office this morning.  Their office is the entire building below, I know this because I walked right into the building and consequently right into their lobby!  I hope the receptionist doesn't recognize me tomorrow.  They are located over by the UN and where a lot of other non-profit organizations and embassies have their offices.  The bottom photo I took while walking around the block to the bus stop.  It is of Swiss soldiers guarding the Israeli consulate, which happens to be in the building next door to GAVI!

Free Dog Poop Bags

The Swiss are very dog poop conscious, unlike France where we have watched several dogs relieve themselves in the middle of a sidewalk.  They supply free poop bags around our village and in Geneva.  The bags even include instructions.

Pizza

One of our favorite meals to make is pizza. In Portland, we enjoyed going to Trader Joe's for their whole wheat pizza dough, pizza sauce and all of the fixings.  I have discovered Migros and Coop City (grocery stores) both carry pre-made pizza dough!  I made my second pizza in Switzerland last night and it was far better than my first.  I am still learning how to work our little oven and understand the temperature settings.  The crust was not fully cooked with my first pizza and the crust was slightly over cooked last night, third time is the charm though.

Pizza toppings - salami, green olives and mozzarella

Eerie Sunday Night Photo

Car Troubles

We have been having a bit of car troubles the past few days.  Luckily we have a 3 month warranty and we are going to get the most out of it! Please send us good car wishes!  We are hoping we didn't buy a citron (lemon).

Scott checking under the hood

I heart Skype

I love Skype! I just got to talk to two of my favorite people, Bob and Sarah, for a long, long time. The video option is wonderful, I even got to see their newly remodeled bathroom.

Love you guys!

cock-a-doodle-doo

The village alarm clocks. Batteries not needed. Works 7 days a week.

Can't forget the geese!

One month and one day until Spring

Does this winter seem long to anyone else? March 20th is the first day of spring and I personally cannot wait. Per my iphone we should hit a high of 43 on Sunday, but for the next seven days we will still be in the 30s.

Full zipped up on a walk

The L Bus

Almost every day I ride the L bus into Geneva and I love it. The Swiss transportation system is very reliable, clean and safe. Their website also has an English option, which helps me when I am figuring out how to find a new place.

The Soral-Mairie Bus Stop I wait at - it is a 3 minute walk from our house

Happy to be on my way and warm!

Oh George!

One of the many reasons I love Nespresso, their spokesperson, George Clooney.

Training for the Half Marathon

Scott is running the Geneva Half Marathon on May 10th. Our new Sunday ritual includes his long run and my bike ride. My role is to carry water, not get hit on my bike and provide encouragement.

Scott is the small red dot in front of me. Sometimes I get side tracked and he just runs right pass me!

We share the road with other bikers, runners, equestrians, cars, buses and occasionally a buggy!

Hot Red Car

Parked in the street in front of our house on Sunday. Hot....

Anncey, France

We drove to Anncey, France after snowshoeing. Some of Scott's coworkers live in the city and we had heard good things about it. It was beautiful and we walked on the pathway around the lake to the vieille ville (old town). We plan to return to spend a full day experiencing all that Anncey has to offer.

Le Saleve - Snowshoeing

Valentine's Day equals togetherness and what better way to spend the day together than showshoeing! We decided to drive to Le Saleve, the sun was out and we needed a dose of vitamin D. We found a wonderful spot by chance and enjoyed trekking around the hilltop.

Scott on top of the world

In the middle of this photo you can see a lake, see the next blog post about Anncey, France.

Scott enjoying the view

Lunch consisted of various cheeses, salami, sliced tomatoes and crackers

My Unabomber photo or at least that is what Scott thought. Our faces were wind-burnt by the end of the hike.

Geneva is down below

Heather heading back up a very long hill that was a lung and butt burner

Video of the wind blowing around

Happy Friday

Today was gorgeous with blue skies and sun! We enjoyed a walk through a grape field behind our house and then around Soral. Have a wonderful Friday!

The mountain range behind me is called le Saleve. It is located in France and has a cable car that goes up to the top in five minutes. We hope to snowshoe there very soon.