Our incredible friend and host, Zoé met Matt and I at the Genève airport
when we arrived – dancing and squeaking with the joy we were feeling, but couldn’t
express through our exhaustion. Mom and Ed wouldn’t get in for another hour, so
we went to sit at a restaurant in the airport. We had café and quiche, and
learned our first French phrase of the trip, “poser un quiche.” It’s a slang
saying, and we won’t repeat its meaning in polite company (I’ll say only that
many of you are familiar with Matt’s love of toilet humor).
Caffeinated, we returned to await Mom and Ed with as much enthusiasm as
Zoé had to greet us. As they strolled down the “nothing to declare” lane after
baggage claim, we danced and shouted and hugged. We managed to squeeze all the
luggage into the car that Zoé rented for the day. It was a feat, as usual, but
we prevailed!
In the car, Zoé taught us about how to tell where a car is from based
on the license plate. A Swiss flag emblem on the left, and then a two letter representation
of the canton (similar to the states of the US). GE for Geneva, VD for Vaud,
where we would go later that day. Most importantly, she taught us to watch out
for the French cars, who commute in to Genevè frequently, and to yell, “Bleh!”
as they pass.
Zoé took us to her flat to drop off our things. It is a beautiful
place! (Photos forthcoming) We all
changed, washed up a bit, and were off to adventure! Our first stop was the recycling center – a series
of trash bins on the sidewalk – where we raced to see who could empty their bag
into the appropriate bin first. Zoé and Ed claimed a win, though I think it was
an unfair contest due to Zoé’s experience.
We hopped back into the car and were off for a leisurely day exploring
some small towns outside of Genève. First
stop was Zoé’s hometown, Coppet. She showed us the outside of the castle where
her parents were married (it’s closed in the winter – can you imagine heating
this whole place?).
We walked through the town, looking at the flowers that were in full
bloom, including snow drops and winter aconites. Zoé and her countrymen are disappointed with the ill effects of climate
change they are experiencing – there should be snow, not flowers!
We walked along the edge of Lac Leman (popularly known as Lake Geneva –
a misnomer attaching only the name of the largest city along the lake), chased
seagulls, and watched the ducks hunt.
We moved along the Lake to Nyon. We stopped in a café for some café. Zoé ordered a “tea gourmand” (literally meaning “greedy”), which is a tea that
comes with a couple little desserts. We enjoyed a chocolate mousse, a crème brule,
panacotta, and île flottante (“floating island”), a dessert made of egg whites.
Our last stop was after a quick, ziggety-zaggety trip up the nearby
mountain, Jura. With a small overlook stop at Saint-Cergues.
On our return trip to Zoé’s flat started with playing our license plate
game again. One by one, we all fell asleep in the car while Zoé drove us home.
After a short nap at the flat, we prepared a beautiful dinner and
welcomed Zoé’s mother and brother, Corinne & Poulet (Romain). We had a
wonderful soup of Zoé’s creation – pureed white carrots, corn, potatoes, and
pumpkin with fresh Egyptian pepper and cumin.
We also dropped in some delicious gruyères to melt in the bottom. Then on
to a salad of endive, cherry tomatoes, and lamb’s leaf. We also had not guacamole
– avocado with tuna, pink pepper, garlic, cumin and lemon – and hummus made
with lentils as opposed to chickpeas. We
finished with another amazing Zoé creation – crushed bricelets (wafers made for
Christmas infused with orange flower), pear and banana compote with dried merengue,
and homemade, dairy free whipped cream. Oh, and topped with chopped pistachios. All of this with a beautiful organic red
wine.
We ended the night playing greedy with Corinne and Poulet (Zoe taught
them after her last trip to visit us). We tried to keep quiet for the neighbors….Not
much success but no complaints. It was a fantastic start to the trip!
