Fondue, Swiss style…

When you think of Switzerland what comes to mind?  For me it’s cows with big bells, Swiss chocolate and Swiss cheese fondue!

Hubby had fondue with his colleagues a while ago and has been pestering me to try it, but as I pictured it as a winter warming dish that leaves you feeling heavy I kept putting it off (to be honest I was a bit of a sceptic).  Now with winter upon us and the chill setting in it felt like the right time.

So last Saturday night we booked a table at the Auberge de Savièse (http://www.aubergedesaviese.ch/Default.asp?315335D3741663E62683307333D36E) as they specialise in Swiss fondue.  It is situated in the busy Rue de Pâquis in Pâquis.  We had walked past it many times and a few people had mentioned good things about it.  Our friends joined us for the evening.

The outside of the restaurant looks pretty normal but when we walked in and sat at our table it felt like we were transported to log cabin in the mountains.  The interior looks like an authentic Swiss log cabin and even has a cuckoo clock. It feels warm and cosy and you feel miles away from the busy Pâquis area.

The cuckoo clock

Swiss fondue typically comprises a communal fondue dish (usually shared by 2 people) in which a mixture of cheese is melted with wine and seasoning.  Some cornstarch is also added to ensure the mixture does not split.  Other things can be added to the fondue to add flavour and enhance the taste.  Swiss fondue is usually served with bread.

Dipping some bread

They say it is an art to get the ratios correct and Auberge de Savièse seem to have mastered the art as our fondues were delicious!

Delicious...

We ordered one regular fondue for two people and one mushroom fondue for two people and we all four shared them.  They gave us bread but we also ordered some baby potatoes. Then the fun began. Using the skewers we dunked chunks of bread or baby potatoes into the melted cheese.  We impatiently waited for the cheese to cool (burning our mouths a few times when we could not resist).  The regular fondue was tasty and delicious and I really enjoyed the mushroom fondue. 

We ordered a bottle of Swiss white wine as it is apparently what is recommended with Swiss fondue. It is said to help prevent the cheese from solidifying in your stomach and aid the digestion process (we just think they use it as an excuse to drink more wine J ).

For dessert we had some pineapple soaked in kirsch. Kirsch is a clear, colourless brandy traditionally made from cherries.  One again this is said to aid digestion. One word of warning...it is STRONG and takes your breath away.

Surprisingly I really enjoyed the fondue evening much more than I expected.  Yes it is artery clogging good and yes you feel really full after but I also felt content and enjoyed the cheesy flavours more than I thought I would. 

I would definitely recommend Auberge de Savièse.  The fondue was great and the staff were all very friendly and provided great service.  I would recommend booking as the restaurant was fully booked and many people were turned away.

So from a sceptic to a lover of Swiss fondue...who would have thought!

Hello, you fool, I love you…

C’mon join the joyride!

Do these words bring back memories?  They certainly do for me, they remind me of when my sister and I were young.  She always loved some or other group or girl band and before her infatuation with the Spice Girls started she loved Roxette.  As with all obsessions she had posters and their latest CD and as a consequence we both knew all the words to their Joyride CD.  Good times!

So when a friend told me that Roxette were coming to Geneva and asked if Hubby and I would be interested to go we agreed without hestitation. 

The concert took place on Sunday the 30^th October at the Arena Genef.  Compared to some of the concerts we attended in London this was a much smaller venue but still had a capacity for 7000 people. 

The evening was opened by a local Swiss musician from Lausanne, Bastian Baker (http://bastianbaker.com/).  We were all very impressed with his music and really enjoyed his singing.  He is sort of a mix between Jack Johnson and Newton Faulkner – great sound.

Then it was time for Roxette to begin.  We had not realized but it was their first concert in Geneva. 

We all tried to guess what the opening song would be and somehow my guess was correct…Dressed for Success!

Below is the setlist from the evening:

01. Dressed For Success
02. Sleeping In My Car
03. The Big L.
04. Wish I Could Fly
05. Only When I Dream
06. She’s Got Nothing On (But The Radio)
07. Soul deep (medley with SGNO)
08. Perfect Day
09. Things Will Never Be The Same
10. It Must Have Been Love
11. Opportunity Nox
12. 7twenty7
13. Fading Like A Flower (Every Time You Leave)
14. Crash! Boom! Bang!
15. How Do You Do!
16. Dangerous
Band presentation
17. Joyride (no specific intro has been played)

18. Watercolours in the rain
19. Spending My Time
20. The Look

21. Listen To Your Heart
22. Church Of Your Heart

It was a great concert and we had loads of fun singing along to all the songs and listening to some of their newer pieces from their latest album.

You can also read about what the band had to say about their Geneva concert: http://roxetteblog.com/tag/geneva/

Good times!!!

I heart Paris...day 3

By day 3 of the trip we were both exhausted from all the walking around.  Our idea of getting to breakfast earlier so all the food would not be finished sort of worked.  With a lot of effort we got there a bit earlier but a lot was already eaten so I asked for more pastries and they brought some more out.  So with stomachs full of French pastries we were ready to start our final day.

Our plan was to go visit the famous Louvre Museum (http://www.louvre.fr/llv/commun/home.jsp?bmLocale=en).  As it was the first Sunday of the month many of the museums were free (as they also are in Switzerland) and this included the Louvre.  We decided to head there with our bags as we had researched and seem that the Louvre has baggage storage facilities. 

When we got there the queue was incredibly long. There were people everywhere and the line snaked all the way through the courtyard with the pyramids, through the archway and into the next courtyard.  We had no idea how long it would take to get inside but we estimated it would be around 2 hours at least, so we decided to leave the Louvre for another trip.

The Louvre

The long queue

 

A section of the Louvre up close

Instead we took a walk through the Tuileries Garden in the direction of the Arc de Triomphe but lugging our suitcases around was not great. We walked as far as the Place de la Concorde (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Place_de_la_Concorde).  There are 2 fountains and at the centre of the Place is the Obelisk of Luxor.  We found the Obelisk very interesting as it contains Egyptian hieroglyphics. According the Wikipedia the Obelisk was a gift from the Egyptians.  It is a red granite structure that rises 23 meters into the air. On the day we were there, there was even a person dressed up in a golden mummy outfit trying to make some extra money. 

 

Obelisk of Luxor



The hieroglyphics

One of the fountains

The Arc de Triomphe in the distance

With our luggage that was as far as we got.  We viewed the Arc de Triomphe (http://www.arcdetriompheparis.com/) from a distance but this would also have to wait till another visit.  We made our way back to the Tuileries Garden and relaxed next to one of the ponds. 

Relaxing next to the huge pond

We then made our way along Rue de Rivoli looking for a place for lunch. We ended up going to Café Massena for a burger.  Then the time had arrived for us to make our way back to the train station.

A beautifully colourful street

We arrived a bit early so we headed upstairs to Le Train Bleu (http://www.le-train-bleu.com/uk/).  At first I was not too sure about going in as it looks very posh but once inside they took us to a cosy lounge area with big leather couches.  We plopped down onto the couches and enjoyed a lovely coffee.

Delicious coffee at Le Train Bleu

Then it was back on the train home.  We were tired and exhausted from all the walking but really enjoyed Paris and will definitely be going back a few times to see the rest of the sites, try more restaurants and do some shopping.

But at the end of the day there is nothing like arriving back at Home Sweet Home!

I heart Paris…day 2

We started day 2 of our Paris trip with a breakfast in the hotel restaurant.  We arrived towards the end of the breakfast serving time and were not left with too much choice (note to self: get up earlier).  

Planning theday ahead

Our plan for the day – walking around Paris seeing as much as we can!

When we left the hotel we walked past many restaurants as we were staying in a very popular restaurant region. The French seem to love seafood and there were amazing displays of seafood outside some of the restaurants.

Seafood on display

We first walked through Jardin Du Luxembourg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jardin_du_Luxembourg), a lovely garden with a big palace on one side. It is the second largest public park in Paris and contains over a hundred statues, monuments and fountains.

The gardens

The palace

From there we made our way to the Pantheon.  It is a beautiful building with an interesting history (http://www.pantheonparis.com/).  The Pantheon was built under the orders of Louise XV as a monument displaying his gratitude to God after his health had recovered.  It is now a mausoleum and is a burial place for martyrs and brilliant French citizens.

The Pantheon

We then continued our walk...

An interesting wall

We arrived at the famous Notre Dame Cathedral (http://www.notredamedeparis.fr/-English-).  The building is very gothic with gargoyles and magnificent detailing all around the cathedral. 

Pictures of the outside of Notre Dame Cathedral

We were fascinated by the gargoyles as there were so many around the outside and they were quite scary looking. According to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gargoyle) gargoyles were carved with a spout design so that water could run off the building. It comes from the French word gargouille and literally translates to “throat” which makes me think of the gargling sound the water would likely make when running down the gargoyles.  

It was interesting to see these scary looking creatures on a cathedral but apparently they were used by the church to convey messages. It is thought they were used to scare people into coming to church and it is also thought that their presence meant that evil was kept outside the church walls.

The gargoyles

The inside of the cathedral is beautiful with amazing attention to detail.  The stained glass windows can be seen on all the walls and they are all different and incredibly detailed. There are also a number of models of the Chuathedral on display.

Inside Notre Dame Catheral

Beautiful stained glass windows

A model of the Cathedral

And the walking continued...

Tour Saint Jacques

Hotel De Ville

We finally arrive at the Sacré Coeur (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gargoyle) in Montmatre.  Sacré Coeur means “sacred heart” and is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. 

Sacre Coeur

We decided to walk up the 300 stairs to get a breathtaking view over Paris.  This is definitely something I would recommend.

Climbing the 300 steps

Amazing views

Sacre Coeur as it was getting dark

Tired and hungry we walked back towards our hotel and stopped at the nearby Le Rotonde restaurant for dinner (http://www.rotondemontparnasse.com/).  After seeing all the seafood everywhere we decided to give it a try.

The huge seafood platter

The display looked great but we were not used to many of the shellfish on our platter. The prawns and oysters were the best and very fresh and tasty. The rest of the shellfish could have been left off the platter as they were not to our taste.  Good to experience but we will stick to our South African style cooked seafood platter.

12 hours after leaving our hotel we arrived back for a very well deserved sleep...

I heart Paris...

This past Sunday was Hubby’s birthday and he surprised me (should it not be the other way around?!?) by booking us a weekend in Paris!

I had never been to Paris and was super excited about the trip. We left early on Friday morning and got the train from Geneva Gare de Cornavin which goes directly to Paris and takes about 3 hours. Unfortunately due to a technical fault with the train the trip took longer than expected and we were delayed by 1h 30mins but I was so excited I did not care.

Eventually we arrived at Gare de Lyon and we decided to take walk to the hotel as Hubby had seen it was only 10 minutes away (10 minutes by car!). So after about an hours walking, which was actually nice as we saw a lot, we arrived at our hotel.

Finally arriving at Gare de Lyon

We stayed at Hotel Le Royal (http://www.hotelleroyal.com/VERSION-II/english.html).  The staff were very friendly and spoke English well. I also liked the decor of the entrance area with the purples, browns and silvers. 

Our hotel

We were upgraded and the room was nicely decorated but still small, similar to London hotels. We were on the road side which I was a bit worried about as it was a busy main road, but with the double glazed windows it blocked out all the noise.

After checking in we headed for some lunch.  We decided on La Coupole (http://www.lacoupole-paris.com/fr) which was just down the road from the hotel.  It was an interesting experience as it is a very large restaurant, open plan with many tables and high ceilings. It is famous for the art deco and for the famous people that have dined there, including Picasso.

Enjoying a nice cold beer

Some of the art in the restaurant

 

The restaurant was huge

I ordered the mussel pot and Hubby ordered steak tartare. My mussels were lovely and soft, although the actual sauce it came in was very salty which was disappointing.  Hubby enjoyed his steak tartare although we both agreed that the tartare he had at Le Perron in Géneve was tastier.

My mussel pot

 

Hubby's Steak Tartare

 

Overall lunch was enjoyable and we kept looking around the room at all the art work but we felt it was a bit big and felt like a hall or canteen (although nicely decorated) and would have preferred something a bit smaller.

After lunch we headed off for a walk to the Eiffel tower passing by some interesting sites and beautiful buildings along the way.

Some of the side roads ended with a huge wall

 

The Paris Metro

We walked past the Musée De L’Armée (http://www.invalides.org/pages/menu.html) which is a grand building with a golden ceiling and lovely gardens.

Musée De L'Armée

The lovely gardens

 Continuing towards the Eiffel tower we passed the Ecole Militaire.

Ecole Militaire

 Then we were there...the Eiffel tower!

Doing the touristy thing

 

It felt strange seeing it in person after seeing it in books and on tv so many times. We took our time and viewed it from many angles. We bought some coffee and sat on a bench waiting for the lights to switch on, and it was worth the wait.

The Eiffel Tower is amazing at night - BEAUTIFUL!

I have to say that seeing the Eiffel tower lit up and the light display was truly beautiful. I definitely recommend viewing it at night.

That evening we went for dinner at Le Closerie Des Lilas (http://www.closeriedeslilas.fr/).  This was more our scene as it was cosy and romantic with a pianist playing lovely songs. The tables were a little close together, but this seemed to be the norm in Paris.

The placemats are copies of comments by all their famous guests

 Our waiter was very friendly and suggested we start with a glass of champagne, which we did. We were given fresh bread and olives while we waited for Hubby’s starters.  Hubby ordered garlic snails, which come served in the shell and were absolutely yum!

Garlic snails

 For mains I had foie gras (duck pate) served with fresh bread and Hubby had the scallops. Mine was tasty and a typical French dish but I bit too fatty for me. Hubby loved his scallops which were served with risotto rice and vegetables.

My Foie Gras

 

Hubby's Scallops

 I would definitely recommend the Le Closerie Des Lilas if you are in Paris but it gets busy do you may have to book.

For dessert we decided on the Napoleon, which is thin pastry with a vanilla creamy custard type filling. It was a great end to a great dinner and a wonderful first day in Paris.

The Napoleon dessert

 

Arriving back at the hotel

 Next time day 2...