Walks around Geneva

Swans is Lake Léman

     In order to take advantage of the weather while it is still decent here in Geneva, I have been taking walks with my friend Michelle. The first walk we went on was one that Michelle found in a book called the "Two Rivers Walk" where the River Rhône and the River L'Arve meet. It is interesting because the two rivers have a different look to them. One is clean, clear, and turquoise blue, and the other is dirty, cloudy and light gray. After we reached that point we crossed a bridge and went up a hill toward Bois-de-la-Bâtie. This is also the place where they have a free zoo. Most of the animals are in cages, but they let some birds roam free and my shoes were pecked at by some chickens who thought they were food.
     On another day, we took a walk around the center of Geneva with a walking tour focused on the watch industry in Switzerland. It was interested to be able to see buildings where the top floors were made specifically for watch making. We walked around and looked at not only older clocks dating back to 18th century, but also to different shops that showcased the many varieties of watches here as well as equipment for how watches used to be made. We ended our tour at the famous Flour Clock. The clock is made up of some 6,500 flowers, and the clock's second hand is more than 2.5 metres long - reportedly the longest in the world.
     Our most recent walk was around the area of Carouge. The center of Carouge is made up of small boutiques, which often had locally made products. We ended up going to the Museum of Carouge that had a exhibition of old toys, some from the 1890's like paper puppet stages using light to create shadows of the characters on the stage. The walk was cut short because it began to rain. That is what I come to expect here in Geneva, you never know what the weather will be like. I am mentally preparing for the winter weather.

Local graffiti

The point where the rivers meet

Aggressive duck at the zoo

The top of this building is the typical old style of the region

The flour clock

An interesting sculpture in Carouge

Mini-Adventures in Switzerland

A flag that includes all the cantons in Switzerland.

     The weather has been beautiful in Geneva lately, and so it is a cause for adventures outdoors. On this past Friday, Nuno and I went to go walk around an outside park area and this place had archery so we decided to give it a try. As many of you know archery has been a popular pastime in some recent movies: The Hunger Games and Brave. I turned out not to be so good at it and the cord injured my arm in the process. Nuno was pretty natural at it (I blame video games).
     During the weekend, Nuno, his best friend Fred, and Fred's girlfriend Claudine visited a place called The Grottos of Vallorbe, which is about an hour-and-a-half away from Geneva. It is a beautiful cave formation that is filled partly with water. It was 10 degrees Celcius inside, but the natural beauty of the inside of the caves was worth it. My favorite part was at the very end of the tour which includes a light show accompanied by music.
     Our last mini-adventure was an a 1940's bunker not to far away from the Grottos. It was 8 degrees inside and it was interested to see, unfortunately the tour guide spoke rapid French so I did not understand much. The tour was interesting because those kind of military places are often off limits in the United States. The more I see in Switzerland, the more I realize I have barely covered much ground in Europe, but the future deems itself open to more traveling possibilities.

Me and the target were not friends.

Nuno showing off.

I shot this arrow!

In the grotto, no flash was allowed.

The rock formations inside the grotto

The outside of the bunker, notice the US flag.

A map of the locations of the other bunkers.

School Begins

     Language school started last week. I am attending a school called ELFI (Ecole de Langue Française et d'Informatique). It is a small school with only four classrooms and a common lounge. I am in the middle of the level A1, and then I will continue to A2, B1 and finally B2. My class consists of about 12 people, all girls, but not everyone comes every day. Everyone is from different parts of the world: South Korea, Thailand, Columbia, Spain, Russia, Brazil, etc. so our common language is French. However, each person seems to have a partner who can speak their mother tongue. My partner is a young girl from Idaho.
     I like my teacher, she effectively teaches the many facets of learning a language. Sadly, she is 7 months pregnant due in November, so she will be going on maternity leave. Here in Geneva, mothers get 4 months off so there will obviously be a replacement.
     I walk every day to school, which takes me about 20 minutes (I walk slow). School is from 9 to 12, and we get a break in the middle. During break some of us have coffee or tea and socialize a bit. My french is improving each day and I really try to practice at home with Nuno. Ryder understands some French now too.
     I really enjoy being a student, but a part of me misses the classroom from the other perspective. I am still on a job hunt, so we will see what is in store for me. A tout à l'heure! (See you later!).

The front door of the school

The entrance of the school

My cute little man

Inside the classroom

Martigny, Switzerland

The front of the Foundation Pierre Gianadda musuem

     This past weekend, Nuno and I were dropping off his brother (Toni) and his girlfriend (Luci) in a city about two hours East of Geneva, and on the way back we stopped in Martigny to check out at art exhibition. The exhibit was at the Foundation Pierre Gianadda museum. It featured such artists as Van Gogh, Picasso and Kandinsky. One of my favorite artists is Van Gogh, and sadly they only had three of his pieces. One of my favorite pieces in the show, however, is the oil painting below by Kupka. The museum also had a really pretty sculpture garden behind the museum, as well as a special exhibition of Leonardo da Vinci's journal sketches and models of his inventions.

Frantisek Kupka, Forme de jaune (Notre Dame) 1911

Please do not touch signs are hard to obey

Look at the green trees on the mountains!

The sculpture is exactly what you think it is

Love the colors

The original is so much smaller

    

                                                              

Lisbon, Portugal

   

The Monument to the Discoveries

     Our last major stop in Portugal was Lisbom, or in Portuguese Lisboa. We stayed at a swanky hotel apartment that was brand new. The apartment was very artistically designed and it had three rooms! The first night we ate out at seafood restaurant and had crab, and had a nice conversation with the couple next to us from Tahiti.
     The next day we took another double-decker bus tour like we did in Porto. After the tour, we went to the Oceanario de Lisboa to check out some marine life. It was interesting to see a Bacalhau (it is the most commonly ate fish there). It is said that there is a recipe for every day of the year. After looking at fish, we of course were in the mood for sushi.
     After seeing the sights on the bus tour, we decided to explore one area of important monuments and buildings. We first visited the Torre de Belem. It was a small castle at the edge of the Rio Tejo and it used to be a look out tower and military fortress. We then walked over to the Monument to the Discoveries, which is considered one of the symbols of Lisbon. We took an elevator up to the top to enjoy the beautiful view of the city. Across the way, we headed to a very famous bakery called Pastéis de Belém to enjoy their version of a nata (an egg tart). We then ate lunch of shrimp and clams (dessert first of course). We then walked over to the Monastery of Jeronimos, and then even had time to take a quick tour of the Museu Colecção Berardo (the contemporary art museum). That night we went to a nice restaurant and listened to Fado (a Portuguese style of live opera). I learned the next day on our walking tour that Portuguese men are said to instead of crying sing Fado.
     On our last full day we took a walking tour of the city with a company called Lisbon Walker. I highly recommend. We learned all about the city and its history. We got to take a cable car and ride the Elevador de Sta. Justa that overlooked the city and was designed by a student of the designer of the Eiffle Tower.
     The next day we left Lisbon and headed to Castello da Estrela, Portugal to pick up a puppy for Nuno's friends José and Lily who took care of Ryder while we were gone. We did the trip in two days stopping in Pao, France before finally arriving back in Geneva.

Lisbon's Main Square

In front of the Torre de Belem

Panoramic view from the top of the Monument of Discoveries

Overlooking the old part of the city of Lisbon

The most beautiful gelato I have ever ate

Inside the Monastery of Jeronimos

Nazaré, Portugal

View from the restaurant in Nazaré

     After Porto, Nuno and I traveled further south to a city called Nazaré. Our hotel, Miramar Hotel, overlooked the city and the ocean. The hotel also had a pool that so we immediately went swimming. That night we decided to eat at the restaurant in the hotel. We were presented with a set menu of the typical local food: duo fish soup, sea bass involving with past style coquillettes, dry mackarel with sweet potatoes, conger rice in ¨cataplana,¨ and custard flavored with cherry liquer and pear sorbet with wine. Simply delicious.
    In our stay in Nazaré, we took day trips to local cities heading East. Our first city was Tomar, which was about one hour away. In Tomar, we visited the Convent of Christ. It was built in the 12 century for the Poor Knights of Jesus Christ (the Order of the Temple) was a defense castle focused on religious and millitary order.
     The next day we visited two cities: Batalha and Fatima. Fatima is a religious city with many churches in a large central place that was inspired be a story of three shepard children who saw multiple visions of the Virgin Mary. There they have many mass services for the Catholic population that visit. One thing that I thought was interesting is the local vendors sold wax versions of different body parts that you buy if you have an ailment, and you pray and throw it in a massive fire pit.
    After Fatima, we headed to Batalha and saw the monastery there that had very grandiose architecture. It was included the joint tomb of King John I and Queen Philippa of Lancaster. The Batalha Monestary stood as a symbol of Portuguese independance. And as if our day was not impacted enough, we drove to Monte Real meet up with Nuno's mom and boyfriend for dinner.
    The next day we drove to the cliff in Nazaré overlooking the beach, and then headed to Obidos on our way to Lisbonne.

In front of the Convent of Christ in Tomar

The Manueline Window is an icon of ¨imperial¨

First time eating a barnicle!

In the center of Fatima

Inside one of the churches in Fatima, a very different looking Jesus

In front of the Batalha Monastery

The Balcony of the Unfinished Chapels in the Batalha Monastery

The cliffs overlooking Nazaré

Vila Pouca de Aguiar, Portugal

     For vacation, Nuno planned this big trip for us to go to Portugal for 16 days. We left on the 15th of July and came back on the 31st. It took us 16 hours (with stops) to go from Geneva to Vila Pouca de Aguiar where Nuno was born, and now his mom has an apartment there. On our first excursion there, we went to an old castle called Castelo de Aguiar. It was up on a hill so we could look down on the city. We could see the new bridge they built, as well as the church where Nuno's mom got married. We also ventured to where his grandma used to live and her things were still inside! Vila Pouca de Aguiar is a small city, but it has a lot of history to the beginnings of Nuno's life before he left to Geneva at age 4.
     While we were staying at his mom's apartment, we took day excursions to Chaves and to Mirandela. At Chaves, we were able to explore the castle there and visit the weapon museum inside. We also went to a spa where the water is a natural hot spring coming from the ground that is suppose to be 73 degrees celcius and has natural healing qualities. In Mirandela, it got up to 40 degees celcius (about 104 degrees fahrenheit), so we did not stay long. However, this is the cheapest meal we got in Portugal, for 10 euros we got: Port, Beer, Water, Salad for two, and a coffee. And of course we had to get a ice-cream after. And that covers our first three days in Portugal.

16 hours in the car! Longest for me thus far...

At the top of the castle Castelo de Aguiar in Vila Pouca

In front of the castle in Chaves

The city symbolic shield

Ice-cream in Mirandela

The church where Nuno's mom got married