Lausanne & Geneva

We were very excited to get to Lausanne to meet up with another friend from Bishops who is also an Aussie from the Sunshine Coast, living and studying in Switzerland. Bridgette is a very smart cookie, studying a Masters in Forensic Science (in French no less!). Bridge’s plan of attack to see all of Lausanne, Geneva and surrounding areas was planned to a tee, which was lovely! That night we had a feast of German food cooked by Friederike, a lovely German friend of Bridgette’s. Yum yum, I will never get sick of trying new foods! The following day the weather was a bit average, so we hit up the Olympic Museum for some inspiration. Out the front was a high jump set at the highest Olympic record. Take a look! I would struggle even with a trampoline! I think we all came out thinking we should immediately go into training for the London Olympics, it was actually a really cool museum with history dating back to the early Greek days. 

We headed up the hill to a cathedral where back in the day, every merchant going between Italy, Switzerland, France and Germany would literally pass through the cathedral. It really is a great view over the town as well. 

The next day we took the train to Gruyere, a tiny town with a cathedral and a cheese factory. Gruyere cheese is so yummy, we got to taste it at 6 months 9 months and 12 months, needless to say I loved them all. Cherry the cow gave us an interactive tour before we watched an artist at work, creating kilo’s and kilo’s of the good stuff.

Then we headed to a tiny village two town’s over and stormed Cailler, a chocolate factory which turns out incredible chocolates equivalent in price and quality to Lindt (another Swiss favourite!). The tour through the years from the discovery of the coco beans by the Aztec’s in South America to making chocolaty goodness is probably one of the best tours I have been on (Tess, it sure beats the shitty Cadbrury’s tour in Tassie, hands down!). That was even before we hit up the all you can eat buffet. Now I’m not just talking about a few trays of broken up block choccie, I’m talking about the good stuff…truffles galore! Kim was a mad woman, possessed like the devil. At no point did she ever have less than one in her hand and one in her mouth. For a small lady, she sure can eat her fair share of free chocolate, she even out ate me which was a bit of a shock! After leaving the buffet, she heading back in twice to grab more while the going was hot.

After all that chocolate, we decided to ride it off with a bike ride from Lausanne to Monteux and back to Vevey (about 25km). Riding along Lake Geneva was incredible in itself, but the vineyards that lined the picturesque stretch were like something out of a dream. UNESCO listed (I am lead to believe), they gave the surroundings a near Mediterranean feel, even though there is snow on the mountains overlooking the lake. For anyone who knows me knows that disaster usually strikes when I am on two wheels, call it karma or serious clumsiness but I can’t seem to shake it. Actually I was building up a bit of confidence on two wheels, when I rode down a tiny tiny curb, then BANG, what do you know, I get a flat tyre. Wicked. We happened to be only a few km’s from Vevey, a town on the lake, where by chance we happened to come across a bike swap terminal. So after another scenic lunch sitting on the wall of the boardwalk overlooking the lake and into the Alps, we did a quick swapsey and we are back on the road! Monteux wasn’t far down the road, but we kept on going a few km’s the otherside of the town to Chateau de Chillon. Such a beautiful little spot right on the lake, if it was any further closer to the water it would be underwater! 

Marieve, another friend of Bridgette’s from Canada, had us at her house for a traditional Swiss feast of Raclette. The at home version is slightly different to that found at fiestas where a round of cheese is slowly melted layer by layer and scrapped onto bread or potatoes. We used the at home version, where a heat beam is above a plate which you pile all your vegies and potatoes onto with the cheese on top and pop it under the heat to melt. So good!!! A massive feast not to forget that is for sure. Great wine, great food, great company! 

On the Friday night the girls had organised an International Drinking Games party, compete with flip cup and beer pong. I am happy to report that Marieve and I made a comeback in the beer pong after being 1 to 6 down. Not so lucky in the flip cup however leading my team to defeat, but it was probably the most populous game of flip cup played in a long while! 

A day trip to Geneva bought perfect weather for a picnic in the park and ice cream (I had a cinnamon one) by the lake. First we went to the UN and took in some history about the organisation which was pretty interesting, but having already been to the head office in New York which was incredible, it was ever so slightly disappointing. However a spark to save the world always gets relit after such visits, especially when you see the huge conference rooms all set out in alphabetical order of country, and boxes for the translators to do their work. It really is incredible that such a respected and prominent organisation exists.

After meeting up with Bruno and Bastian (a friend of Brunos from Geneva) at the funky flower clock, we headed for the spurt of water that all the postcards bear. It is like Niagara Falls in that you look at it from afar and think that you can get in close to the spurt no problems, but then you get anywhere in its vicinity and it drenches you like a fish! 

We just so happened to have been in Geneva at the time of a celebration, and there were piano’s dotted around the city for the public to play. Whilst we were having a picnic chilling on a lawn, a random guy was playing the piano, and boy could he play! There was even a small crowd and some applause after he finished. One of the really nice things that sets Switzerland apart from many countries is the people’s respect and care for things that aren’t their own…for example, all the pianos were in great condition as were the train carriages, no vandalism or damage. It is refreshing actually! 

We stopped for a cold beer in a cool little square (thanks Bastian!) and again on the way to the train station, this time with a lemony flavour. Yum!

After getting back from Geneva, we did a quick walk up the back of Lausanne to a wooden tower in the middle of a park and climbed the ever so slightly rocking structure to get a view of the entire town and surrounding villages, Lake Geneva and the French Alps. We were thirsty after the walk (all 20 minutes of it), so had a beer to celebrate reaching the top! 

Being that it was Laruen’s last night (another of Bridgette’s friends from the States) we had a sleepover, managing to pile 7 people into two double beds and a single. What a cuddly night that was! 

Lausanne, Geneva and surrounding areas are incredible, well worth the trip for anyone in Europe. I would highly recommend this amazing place…or was that just the food and company??

Lyon

In Lyon we met Marion, a friend from our Bishops days, who lives and studies in Lyon. When we arrived she told us that Nico, another mate from Bishops, was on French T.V. that night on a game show and had won! So the following night we sat down at prime time (6pm) to watch him again. Unfortunately he wasn’t so lucky the second night, but I was really fun to watch (although we couldn’t understand a word!). In the pic below he is in the pink shirt on the right. Go Nico!

The Old Town of Lyon is much like all the other old town’s in Europe, however the one in Lyon had this bakery, and by bakery I mean one with all different kinds of incredible praline (a specialty from Lyon) which sold out in half a day, and a huge line of people waiting to buy their daily bread. 

On top of the hill which overlooks Lyon is a cathedral (a trend in Europe, no?) which we did a quick climbed up to. On a clear day Marion said you can see more of the mountains which surround Lyon, but even so, it was a very nice view from the top! 

 

We also stopped down a cool little restaurant street for Crème Brulée and Crepes. And then a few days later with Marion for some traditional lunchtime food from Lyon (can’t remember the name, but basically an open roll). I had it with cheese, honey and walnuts, Kim had vegetables and Marion had cream cheese and  salmon. YUM! 

Dotted around Lyon are some really cool murals that you don’t even notice unless you are really looking at them. They are whole wall paintings, some are of people standing on balconies which look incredibly realistic, another is a bookshelf, and also a bookshop. Many people who go to Lyon don’t even know they exist because they are so realistic and not even hidden away in back alleys. We walked past a few and it was only when Marion pointed them out that we noticed. 

There are two canal’s which run through Lyon, so on a day of perfect weather, we grabbed a couple of bikes and rode along them. There are residential boats moored, bars and restaurants, and even one tiny beach! At one end of the city there is a gigantic park which has a free zoo within it (giraffes and all!) and a cycling track where a competition was being held the day we were there. 

 

After riding past the Ayres Rock bar on the canal, we decided that we had to go that night for a sneaky drink. The lining up system outside the boat was very ‘different’, everyone lines about 7 abreast, and the bouncer points randomly and you walk on in. Doesn’t matter how long you have lined up for, just matters what you are wearing! I always have to laugh when places declare they are ‘Australian’, the decoration and ridiculous generalisation's are hilarious. The ‘blokes’ and ‘sheila’s’ signs, T.V.’s playing continuous surfing footage, and the surfboards hanging from the ceilings are contrasts to the sophistication of the French lifestyle. But the French seem to love it anyway.

 

On our final day in Lyon, we took a boat cruise down one of the canals and saw the city from a different perspective. The history and culture in Europe always surprises me, with stories from another era and way of life. Plus it was a perfect day to work on my watch tan!

Nice

At every place we stop, there seems to be 2 or 3 people who are memorable, and who really make the place. In Nice however, it was 9 Israeli guys who offered us their ‘couch’ to sleep on. Actually, it was two beds in their crazy 3 floored, 11 bedroomed house, with million dollar views….literally. Rather a long story, but a good one, just you wait. So after a ridiculous train trip from Barcelona, we arrived in Nice, at the wrong train station of course. A little bit of bad luck later and just when we were about to give up and find a hostel, we asked for directions at a very posh restaurant on the esplanade, and ended up with the manager and the owner with maps and phones out, helping two backpackers at 10pm! How nice! So the owner rang our couchsurfing host and after slight confusion, Ran (our host) rocks up in his tiny car and drives us up to the house. In true Kim style, she starts firing questions at him the second we get in the car. Here is where it gets interesting. The 9 guys were all Special Forces in the Israeli Army, where it is compulsory to go to the Army after school for 3 years (2 years for girls). They are now working in private security (Israeli soldiers are the most sort after security guards in the world) in the summer house of a Brazilian lady whose late husband founded a New York based bank. This mansion is worth 600million Euro’s, is the second highest valued house in the world, and the main staircase is made of Ivory...ridiculous! Built for the King of Belgium in the early 1900’s, it stands between Nice and Monaco and has arguably one of the best views in the South of France.  

The boys house was just across the road (their view is above), but the estate was very big, so the boys had to drive to work every day! Actually one night we were there, a Badger had got into the estate and there was a moral dilemma as whether or not to shoot it (not so long ago there was a 400 euro prize for anyone who killed a Badger)…however after much internal arguing, the Badger lived. Although being Special Forces (we were defiantly staying in the safest house in the whole of Europe!), these guys all had hearts of gold. They played guitar, whist Gilard sang most nights, and every Friday night as Israeli tradition goes they would all cook a big meal together, say a prayer and ate together. Was absolutely beautiful and we were very lucky to be a part of it. Actually we ended up having dinner quite late on this Friday night, because (in Ron’s words) ‘we found out that one of the chicken’s is a turkey, so it will take a bit longer to cook’!

 

That night also happened to be the birthday of one of the guys, Ori, so we hit up their local hang, an Australian/English bar/club in Nice. Completely packed and over filled, we literally had to push our way through the crowd. I did tell Dotan (the guy in the photo who said the prayer) to go all Israeli Special Forces on their arses, but he was too kind and we finally got shoved to the dance floor. 

It just so happened that the Formula 1 was in Monaco on the weekend that we were staying with the boys, so 5 of us took a day trip to see the action…and by action I mean listening to the cars from outside the track. This was a super crazy experience, the cars were so loud, earplugs were being sold even outside the track. So we were sitting outside one of the best parts of the track, when a guy came up to us and handed us a ticket (worth 220 euros no less!) and said that his friend wasn’t going to make it so we could have his ticket. WICKED!!! Amazing once in a lifetime opportunity, right??? WRONG!!! Only problem was that the qualifying round only went for 1 hour. So after all agreeing that each person would just stay inside for 10 minutes so we could all get a look, an American chick did what a typical and completely generalised (but in this case true) American would do, and proceeded be totally selfish and stay inside for 50 minutes of the 1 hour. Thanks mate! When she finally came out, we insisted that one of the guys went in for the rest of the race. He absolutely loved it, which was great.  I poked my head in for a few minutes after the race was finished, and saw what we really missed out on. The track was between and stands and the harbour, where all the yatch’s were lined up, and people were sitting on them drinking champagne and eating caviar (I am sure of this….we were in France after all!). We still got a few beautiful shots, but the atmosphere would have been incredible. 

When we were walking back to the train, all the crowd and cars were stopped at one point on the road, and the Prince of Monaco went past, police escorts and all!

After 3 nights with the boys, we moved to the best hostel in France (apparently) and spent 4 nights there. It was good, but for all the company we met, we may as well have stayed in Australia. The population of the hostel was made up completely of Canadian’s, American’s and Australian’s. One day we did a bit of a look around town, and came across probably the biggest supermarket I have ever seen, a shop by the name of Carrefour. This place was enchanting, selling everything from T.V.’s to groceries, camping gear and everything in between. I invested in a fake Swiss Army knife (maybe I was inspired by the Special Forces??), and spent too much time in the book department where everything was in French. We also hit up the old town, where there was a flower market, and too many specialty shops selling yummy sweets. 

On one of our last days in Nice, we decided to go by train to the village Eze which was on the scenic road between Nice and Monaco, one of the most scenic roads in the world. We hiked up a bit of a mountain, and finally reached the other village of Eze, a little medieval settlement situated on top of the hill. The views were really incredible, and the hike seemed worth it for sure! 

 

As fate would have it we bumped into Gilard (one of the guys we stayed with) at a café in Eze, and he was with 3 other friends (also from Israel, actually some of them were Gilard’s soldiers in the Army), he was showing them around. After a quick coffee we had a change of plans, and jumped in the car with them and went to Monaco for the afternoon. These guys were also, very very lovely people. Basically, I want to go to Israel now purely because of the people, so genuine and truly great! When we got to Monaco we went down to the esplanade and had lunch, then headed up to the casino to check it out. There was a 10 euro entrance (and the smallest bet was 25 euros) so we checked out the tourist bit and left. It was actually really crazy outside, the cars lined up in front of the Casino were Ferrari’s minimum, and as one of the guys said, the Porches’ are the shitty cars! 

The guys had only been in France for a few days and wanted to try out a crepe, so we headed to a café to grab a quick one on the way home. We went into this place, and the person behind the counter didn’t know if the shop was open or not! She had to make a phone call to the manager to see if she should serve us or kick us out. A mother and a daughter from Madagascar translated for us, and in the end we left slightly confused as to what just happened, but worst of all, without a crepe!

All in all, Nice was really incredible, but I have a feeling it may have been very different had our luck been down. That’s couchsurfing for you!