12.27.2017 Geneva/Carouge: Post Christmas

Hoping the holidays have gone well –

We see from here that #45 is now in Mar a Lago, reveling with his pals and cronies.

We’re far from home, but never far from the news – or sort of news. Al Jazeera and CNN actually do a pretty good job of including the US in the news, but definitely a much more worldview, which is refreshing.

For those who were worried, I’m fine. It was a 24-hour thing. Actually all of us who got sick were better in 24 hours. Whatever it was — it was awful, messy, painful, but alas, short-lived. Didn’t feel short-lived while it was happening. In any case, that really shot the 26^th for all of us. It also rained a lot that day so it was dark and gloomy (like my stomach). Yesterday, the 27^th was leisurely. I worked a bit in the morning; Mike and I strolled a bit in Carouge – which is a delightful “village” that edges the actual city proper of Geneva. You can walk to downtown Geneva in about 20 minutes or take the tram which runs about every three minutes and rambles through town and across the river into the center of the city. The town of Carouge describes itself on its city website this way: “Right over river l’Arve lays the town of Carouge, a Mediterranean style hamlet modelled after Nice. This former trading town is now commonly referred to as the “Greenwich Village of Geneva” for its many boutiques and studios where artisans and craftsmen of every ilk can be observed plying their trade. The bohemian vibe carries on into the night with a plethora of cafes, jazz bars and nightclubs.”

Mike headed over to Elizabeth’s to hang out with her and friends who came for Christmas from NY; I headed downtown – first to exchange a gift and later to meet up with Julia at one of the rather upscale (very upscale) department stores (Bongenie) – directly across from Globus, another upscale department store with an amazing food department). Prices in Geneva are truly off the top and out of range. The Swiss always talk about going to France to shop — since it is such a quick drive and prices drop considerably (for everything). Anyway, I met up with Julia at the café at the department store, called Wild Girls Café (which had a great and politically correct logo), where we ate healthily — quinoa bowls and fresh juices and some herbal tea ($65) – and somehow as we lingered and talked (and baby with us) we never noticed that it had been pouring outside. Turns out the group that was at Elizabeth’s house had decided to go to the old town to stroll around and visit the cathedral (we had been there several times before) and they got caught in a downpour.

The baby drew a lot of attention in the restaurant — just 13 days old and already out and about and eating fine food! Then Julia and I headed upstairs in the store to the nail salon to get manicures. Tried to interest Mike, but he was not so inclined! Anyway, while waiting at the salon wound up in a long conversation with an Iranian woman whose family fled in the 80s and she was raised in Vancouver, but after getting married moved to Geneva (which she does not particularly like – tooo boring and thinks that the Swiss are too materialistic). She has two teenagers – 14 and 18. Because of these reasons she didn’t think that Geneva was a great place to raise a child. (I got the sense that she definitely prefers Vancouver!)

Following the most expensive manicure I’ve ever had in my life (!!) – Julia took the baby home and I took the tram back to the hotel to get a bit more work done. We then all convened back at Elizabeth’s for a nice meal (veal roast, roasted vegetables, and an amazing bread pudding made with panetone). Got back to the hotel around midnight and sorted out our packing since we fly to Bordeaux tomorrow (Thursday) end of the day. Tomorrow (Thursday) will be bittersweet as we will all go up to the mountain in France to scatter Richard’s ashes. Hopefully it will be clear and maybe some sun.

More tomorrow, probably from Bordeaux.

Fern