Yvoire, France

A few weekends back we took a day trip to Yvoire, France.  It's a well preserved medieval town built in 1306.  Yes, it's 700 years old.  Crazy!  Seriously, this may be the cutest little town I've ever been to.  Adam had been there once before for a dinner... on a private boat... up Lake Geneva...with work friends.  I'm still slightly bitter there wasn't enough room for me.  Anyway, here are some shots of our time there:

Almost there!  Love driving through the country.

Here's an aerial view I found.

source

The outside of the town.  Basically a very high wall all the way around the city, but now with adorable shops and little homes.  Ah, I love it!

On the lake.  Notice the mean swan.

The castle.

I want to live here.

Lunch and wine on the lake.  Of course we got the dessert sampler.  

 Seeing the sights.  We loved all of the flowers.  Each little shop/apartment had flower boxes.  :)

We also found a hat shop.  'Chapeaux' is French for hat.  Indiana Jones wound up not getting anything.

Even after the dessert sampler...  ICE CREAM!!!

  

... and for laughs.  An example of the 'man-capris' we see frequently.

Au revoir!

Girls in Carouge

This morning I met some new found friends in Carouge, which is an adorable 'suburb' of Geneva.  This little part of town is so charming and good news... it's only an 8 minute bus ride (less on bike) away from us.  I've been to Carouge a few times, but haven't really been able to explore when everything is open.  Today they had a farmer's market complete with flowers, fresh produce, meats, cheeses, and homemade candles.  The weather is amazing today, so we were able to get a little sun too. :)








After the farmer's market we wandered around Carouge taking pictures of the beautiful windows and meandering into shops.  They have such cute little shops.  Sorry, I'm using the words 'cute' and 'adorable', but that's what this little place is... adorable!  I love it!

I've discovered that I'm slightly obsessed with all the charming little windows with shutters. Here's a compilation of all the pictures I took of them today.  

We also grabbed some coffee (Restaurant Cafe Dinette), lunch (Au Vieux Carouge), and hit the M Parc (Migros Parc) which is a giant shopping center (it's the closest we have to a Target, Home Depot, Dick's Sporting Goods, Kinko's, etc.)

I forgot to get a picture of all of us!  :(  We'll have to get one on the next outing.  Au revoir!  

See more CUTE pictures of Carouge!

Caves Ouvertes

Translated, it means "our wine cellars are open and were giving away free tastings all day."  This past weekend we went on the annual Geneva Spring wine tour.  We didn't know Switzerland was a major producer of wine until we moved here.  There are vineyards everywhere!  Although they produce a mass amount, they don't export... just drink it all.  Sounds like we'll fit in just fine.  I planned this weekend "to the t."  I researched the route, each and every vineyard, types of wine, and even made an interactive Google map for access on our phones.  Side note: Our friend Danielle is living here this Summer for an internship, so she was our partner in crime on this journey.   

 

Danielle, Adam, and I set out at 9:30 from our apartment and took the bus all the way out to a spot on the south side of Lake Geneva.  It took us about 45 minutes to find the bus designated for the wine tastings, but for good reason.  I approached a couple who appeared to be American, or at least speak English, with the intentions of asking if they knew where the heck to go.  To our delight they were from North Carolina & Georgia.  Even better!!!  Lauren and Gabe had just arrived the week before and so our group of three became five rather quickly.  Finally stumbling upon the bus stop, we saw it... the party bus.

I felt like a huge nerd accessing my special Google map and spreadsheet detailing 22 wineries, addresses, bus stops, and specialty wines at each.  However, it was well used and appreciated. We were able to make it to 7 wineries, taste about 25 different wines (I've decided Gamay was my favorite), and we all managed to make it back home later that evening.  The entire day (and weather) was amazing.  So much fun and we made new friends!  Yay!

It was so great getting to see the countryside and enjoy the scenery that's just right outside of the city.  We can't wait for the Fall harvest which is a similar type festival, only you can go help pick the grapes.  Cheers! 

Check out the pictures from the weekend.