Family weekend...

One of the most difficult parts of living in another country is being away from family and friends.  So when my sister and her husband did a whistle stop visit of Geneva in June on their way to a family wedding in Ireland we were super excited!

They arrived on the Saturday afternoon and then had to leave again Monday morning.  So less than 2 days to fit in a lot of touristy things and enjoy some quality family time.

We met them at the airport and then headed on the train back to our apartment.  After a quick freshen up the boys headed down to the pub to watch the SA rugby while us girls joined the boys a bit later.

On the train home and looking surprisingly fresh after all their travelling

Very serious rugby talk

The weather was lovely so after the match we went for a walk along the lake.  We walked to the Jet d’eau and walked along the wall to get a close-up view.  The wind was blowing the spray across the wall. The boys went first through the spray first and came back soaking wet and told us there was a beautiful double rainbow on the other side.  My Sis and I walked very carefully to the other side while getting soaked by the cool spray but there is was, a beautiful double rainbow!

The beautiful rainbow

It was time for dinner and we had a lovely picnic of fresh breads, cheeses, meats and other snacks at a picnic spot on the edge of the lake. There were loads of people doing the same thing as the weather was so warm.  Although a bit hazy we could see the Mont Blanc in the distance.

Enjoying a relaxing picnic

Sunday we surprised my Sis and her husband with a cruise along the lake to Yvoire (http://www.cgn.ch/eng/).  Once again the weather played along and we enjoyed a sunny cruise along the lake, stopping at a few places to pick up more passengers. 

On the boat

Beautiful views of the villages as we cruised along the lake

Arriving at Yvoire we immediately all commented what a quaint village it was (http://www.yvoiretourism.com/accueil_en.html).  It looked like a picture postcard and as we walked through the little side streets and alleys we fell more and more love with Yvoire.  It is very touristy as many cruises stop there and there are so many quaint and quirky shops that were open, even on a Sunday!

Beautiful and colourful Yvoire

After perusing the shops we headed to Les Jardin des Léman (http://www.lesjardinsduleman.com/).   The restaurant is on the main street and we booked a place as it gets very busy with all the tourists.  The restaurant is over 3 levels and we were able to get a spot on the second level terrace which has a view of the bustling main street.  The third level terrace is the best spot as it has gorgeous sea views so we will book there next time.  

Sis and I both had grilled fish with risotto, while Hubby and Brother-in-law had filets de perche.  All the food was really tasty and delicious but the stand out dish was the filets de perche meunière a la crème et basilica that Brother-in-law ordered.  It was so full of flavor that we all kept dipping bread in his sauce.  I will order this next time.

Although the service was a bit slow I would recommend this restaurant and book a spot on the third level terrace.

After lunch it was time to cruise back to Geneva.  On our arrival we walked straight to Old Town and showed them a few of the sites. Then headed home for a well-deserved chill on the couch.

Then it was Swiss cheese fondue for dinner.  We took them to our favourite spot close to our apartment, Restaurant Auberge de Savièse (http://www.aubergedesaviese.ch/).   We were still pretty full from lunch and we weren’t sure how much we would manage but as soon as we started smelling the cheesy goodness it all changed.

We had mushroom cheese fondue and normal cheese fondue with bread and baby potatoes accompanied by Swiss wine. To finish we shared cherry kirsch. YUM as usual!

Heading to bed with full stomachs the wonderful family weekend was drawing to an end.  Monday morning it all came to an end as they headed to Ireland for the wedding.

It was a wonderful busy weekend with my Sis and her hubby.   We are so happy they came for a whistle stop visit…THANKS J