This year we celebrated the new year on January 1, 2010 by hosting a little get together with some good friends. Highlights included Paula’s fabulous Bloody Mary bar, and a delicious spread of honey baked ham, fried chicken, collard greens and black eyed peas. Happy New Year!
Paula's tasty Bloody Mary bar is just the thing to welcome in the New Year
We rented city bicycles for the weekend and biked over the border into neighboring France where we then took a (rather scary) cableway up to the top of Mt. Salève (1380m). Mt. Salève is the first ridge of the Alps rising just southeast of Geneva. Fortunately, it was a clear day and from the top we had an extraordinary view for miles over the entire city where we could easily see the lake and even the famous Jet d’Eau fountain! There are also footpaths galore up top (which become cross-country skiing trails in winter), which we hiked along for a bit. We then settled down to enjoy a tasty picnic lunch on the mountain side, where we had fun watching the paragliders run and jump off over the cliff’s edge only to suddenly plummet down… before catching the next breeze and rising high up in the sky.
Paragliders on Mt. Salève looking out over Geneva
We enjoyed the first weekend of May visiting Budapest (map), which is the capital city of Hungary. Budapest is a huge modern European city that has been around since Roman times and is centered around the Danube River. The river actually splits the city into two separate cities (Buda on the West bank and Pest on the right bank). Famous sites include the Buda Castle and the Chain Bridge, which crosses the Danube, along with plenty of old statues and interesting architecture.
The Danube River and Chain Bridge in Budapest
Hello folks! It seems we’ve gone an entire month without an update, and that’s because we’ve been busy traveling around and visiting new exciting places. So in case you were going through PandaBytes withdrawal, fear not! We have several exciting updates on the way.. starting… now!
La Gruyère is a district of Switzerland just northeast of Lake Geneva, where we ventured to for a weekend trip at the end of April. The area is well-known as a popular skiing destination and also a great place to get a peek of Swiss countryside life. And without a doubt, the region contains some of the most breathtaking pre-alpine landscape I have ever seen, and you can easily picture Heidi (from the popular children’s stories) playing about on the lush green mountainsides.
Last Wednesday we spent a fun April evening at the huge Stade De Geneve (Geneva Stadium) where we watched the local soccer team called the Servette FC play against the FC Saint Gallen. FC stands for “football club”, which makes sense once you realize that what we’ve been calling soccer in the US is more commonly known by the rest of the world as football. And from what I can tell, American football is not very big over here… instead they have rugby, which is basically the same sport, but without all the protective gear and more blood and guts 
Hi folks! It’s been a bit since our last update, and Spring is now in the air! We’ve been staying active here in Geneva, enjoying the lake, the weekend farmer’s markets and continuing with our weekly French lessons, which have been going well. At the beginning of April we also made an all-to-brief trip back to Chicago for a week to run lots of errands and catch up with friends and family. Unfortunately, a week just isn’t enough time to see everyone and we were a bit sorry to have to go!
Last Saturday we took the Geneva Coach Station bus south over the Swiss border into France and visited the charming city of Annecy (map) for the day. With it’s many canals, storybook castle, flower-filled parks and a pristine lake surrounded by mountains, it’s easy to see why people fall in love with Annecy. While there, we enjoyed walking throughout the old town, taking a scenic boat tour on the lake, relaxing in the park and enjoying some of the local delicacies (we had some of the best crepes of our lives at a little Creperie we found.. check the pics!).
There must be something in the water here.. I’m not sure how else to explain it, but there is obviously something at work here that makes these normally reserved Swiss folks want to get out and SALSA! It’s true. I was a bit surprised at first to find out that there were so many Latin clubs here in Geneva, and you do not have to look hard to find a salsa night going down every night of the week. What was going on here? What was this mysterious dance and why was it seemingly so popular? I began to have more questions than answers…
I’d like to talk to you today, about something that has changed my life recently. An experience in culinary bliss unlike anything else in the world. I’m talking of course, about fondue. In Switzerland, fondue is a pretty big deal. The Swiss love it, which is good, because I love it too
If you have yet to experience the magic that is known as fondue, or don’t know what I’m talking about, here is what the Fondue Wikipedia entry has to say:
Fondue is a Swiss communal dish shared at the table in an earthenware pot (caquelon) over a small burner (rechaud). The term is derived from the French verb fondre (to melt), in the past participle fondu (melted).
Diners use forks to dip bits of food (most often bread) into the warm semi-liquid sauce (commonly a cheese mix). Heat is supplied by a wicked or gel alcohol burner, or a tealight.
While cheese fondue is the most widely known, there are other pot and dipping ingredients.
Yeaaaahhh, that’s right. A big bowl of melted cheese. You dip bread into it. That’s it. So simple, yet so perfect.
Two weekends ago Paula and I went out for some tasty fondue at a restaurant in Plainpalais, Geneva after venturing around the expansive Parc des Bastions. It was an experience we will not soon forget… and even though I’m still full, I’m looking forward to going out for more fondue again soon!
Insider Tip: Don’t drink beer with fondue or you’ll explode… white wine is the way to go 
I’ve posted a new Picasa album full of pics that we took during our first week in Geneva, Switzerland last December. We spent the week looking at apartments and wandering all around the city trying to stay dry and out of the snow. Check the link below for the first pictures of our new apartment in Eaux-Vives, downtown Geneva, Old Town and more!
Adam
Last night we ventured out into the cold around 8pm in search of someplace nice to sit down and eat after a long day…. our prospects looked like we would be settling for Italian food (there are a LOT of Italian restaurants in Geneva!). Well, as we lucked out, we came across a decent looking Tapas restaurant down the street called La Bodega that was still open, and much to our surprise was getting more full by the minute. So we sat down and had a look at the menu, but I knew right away that we absolutely had to order what I saw that other guy eating when we came in.. which was an ENORMOUS platter of shrimp, fitters, fried calamari, and various other meats. Mmmm. Tapas.