Chamonix!

On Sunday, I went skiing in the French Alps. On Tuesday, I am still sore. The sites were amazing and, looking back over the pictures, they do not do the Alps justice. Unfortunately, Mont Blanc was nestled in a cloudy haze. I think it may be worth returning again later in the year just to look out at Mont Blanc.

Halfway through the day (around fall #26), we took the gondola up to the top of the mountain to have lunch. I had a beer with my potatoes and cream sauce at 9,000ft.

The day was wonderful. The weather was great. The snow was just right. It was the perfect day to fall continuously as little six year-olds zipped by me. Chamonix!

A ride around the lake...

I took the train this morning to Montreux, a small town on the opposite side of Lac Lehman. In a little over an hour, I found myself gazing at a stunning view of the mountains rising out of the lake. The clouds were starting to break as I took a walk along the lakeside promenade. The carefully maintained landscape of the promenade (including the sculptures set out for the annual jazz festival) takes you to the castle on the lake.

Chateau de Chillon was a castle built in the early 13th c. and rebuilt in the 16th c. Most of the present-day castle is how it was 500 years ago. I caught up with a group on a guided tour (in English) and listened to the walls of the castle come to life. I come to find out later that it was some random group on a bus tour through Switzerland and I had come at just the right time. After exploring the castle and the old town of Montreux, I took the train back to Geneva.

I stopped in Lausanne along the way back to Geneva. Lausanne is a comparable city to Geneva in size and number of stores that sell Rolex watches and mink fur coats. I have to say that Lausanne may have the edge on Geneva in terms of architecture and places to go out. But I had to get back to Geneva to get some sleep before I go skiing tomorrow.

Espana on a whim

So it was decided over drinks the night before that I should tag along on a sales trip to Jumilla, Spain. After all, I had been the lead designer. The pictures speak for themselves. We flew into a smallish town, Alicante, and headed out to the site. It was a proud moment looking over the array in construction. Afterwards was a crazy night out on the town. The next morning was an early run along the beach,a quick dip in the Mediterranean, and a visit to the castle at the top of the hill. Not a bad site visit, I must say...

Salon International de l'Auto

Last week I got a free ticket to see the car show in Geneva. I guess this is a pretty big deal. People fly from all over Europe for the opportunity to be put in a crowded hall so that they can push their way through crowds of people and suffocate from the pungent mixture of B.O. and cigarette smoke. Actually, the car show was pretty cool.

http://www.salon-auto.ch/en/

Lac Leman a velo

Saturday I packed my picnic lunch and headed out on my newly acquired bicycle, le skipper! I spent the morning looking for patch kits, etc. to prepare for my journey by the lake. Since nothing was open and I had received the bike only the night before, I decided to risk it. Here's some pictures I took before I got a flat tire out in the countryside and walked the 18km home. Still... it was a glorious day!

Through the bottleneck...

So this is my first post from my apartment, using the mighty 56K connection. I was overwhelmed with a sense of nostalgia as the laptop dialed the number.... bip bop bip bop bip bop beep... scrshhhhhhhhh..ping ping.... It took me back to my youth, when I was careless and free, frolicking through the...

So my night was fun. I met 4 ex-patriots, 3 of which were practically born and raised here. They all had English accents. I just love the cadence of English people's speech. So we talked about Geneva and the people that will annoy you playing music on the tram. We talked about work and travel. American's don't travel like the Europeans do. They had been everywhere. But I held my own with my dashing good looks and charm. Anyway, it was a great (almost no smoke) bar that served some tapas. It's only a few blocks from work so I think I'll spend a few evenings there with coworkers.

If the weather is good this weekend, I'll take some pictures of Carouge, where work is located. It's across the river from Geneva and has a little more European charm than most of Geneva. Alright, time for bed. Ciao.

Finding the nightlife...

So last night I spent in a few nice bars in downtown Geneva. One of my coworkers took me to a place where you can get a beer tower. It's this column of beer about 5' tall and 6" wide with a cute little tap. As there were only two of us, we didn't partake in such an experience. But I think we can rally the troops for this worthy cause.

Tonight I'm meeting up through an ex-patriot site, sindy.ch. Not sure who will be there. I'm just going to show up at a bar conveniently located about two blocks from work and look for the people speaking English. That's in a few minutes, so I'll report back later.

Not too much else to report. It looks like rain/snow this weekend. That means I'll be spending some time writing letters/postcards. If I see snow this weekend in town, I'll be sure to post pics. If I don't see rain or snow, I'll show you pictures of the area around the lake, which is my next area for exploration. Hope all is well back at home!

Le office...

I forgot to take pictures during the day, so you won't be able to see pictures of the snow-covered mountains (but you can take my word for it). Instead, you can see an empty office after hours. Yes, you really are that lucky! Today I got my phone setup and I'll be getting not-sketchy albeit 56K internet shortly. I'll send an email with my contact information. Bike Update: I get to have the PowerLight bike. This bike has had many an owner and many a story. It just needs a little TLC (in the form of fixing the flat tire) and it should be good to go. I get a bike with a legacy and that's money in the bank! (FYI: The bike pictured below is NOT my bike. I have yet to see my alternate mode of transportation, but from what I've heard, it's got a lot of character. I've talked ad nauseam about a bike, but really my life so far has been about exploring the area. With a bike I'll be able go further, faster, leap tall buildings in a single bound... Anyway, another day, another franc. I may meet up with a coworker for drinks/food in a bit. But for you, here are some pictures to chew on. Ciao.


Le hallway


Part of office, looking northish


My desk area


Le sofa rouge



Breakroom

Packed lunch for my first day at work...

So I made pizza in my microscopic kitchen last night. Tres bonne! I brought leftovers for work, but never got around to it because... I had to have pizza with coworkers at a charming place around the corner from work. Not that anyone had to twist my arm in taking my first two-hour...errr... European lunch. Anyway, my first day of real work (spent part of the weekend catching up on email) went swimmingly. I got a lot done and I think I'll be back "on top of my game" by the end of the week.

Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures for this post, but perhaps I can put up some pictures of the office tomorrow. And a picture of my soon-to-be bike. Of course the bike shop was closed today so I have to wait until tomorrow. In the meantime I'll walk to work and listen to my Instant Immersion French sound bytes on my iPod.

Bonjour...... Hello
Bonsoir...... Good evening
Goodbye.... Au revoir, ciao
Je m'appelle..... My name is

I'm off to head back to the apartment. I have a big night of surfing between Desperate Housewives in French or various BBC programs... oh and also cooking something tres bonne.

Today I walked to France...

I have decided that I will make my morning run a run to France. It's about 6km there and back, but I think it's a great conversational piece.

On a more serious note, I'm starting to like Geneva. I'll be honest, I was overwhelmed when I got here. I've spent a lot of time alone. Alone in the apartment and alone walking down the street (not knowing any French). But it's part of adjusting to a new place and a new culture. And this is what I wanted. I wanted the experience that would be the most challenging because that's how I would grow. Looking back at the experiences that made me the most uncomfortable, I realized those were also the experiences that changed me in the most positive way. I'm excited for what Geneva will mean. These are things I will think about on my morning run to France. Ciao.

(These are pictures I took on my walk to France. There is a lot of graffiti in the city with one of the highest standards of living. However, this was the first artistic graffiti I've seen. These pictures were taken basically at one of the many borders between Switzerland and France).

Le ville

Le ville

Pictures are worth a thousand words... So here's about 22,000 words for you.