“Je parle un peu français…”

I have graduated from “Parlez-vous anglais?” (Do you speak English? – refer to the post from the 29^th June 2011) to “Je parle un peu français” (I speak a little French) followed by either an attempt at speaking French (i.e. stringing together enough French words to be understood) or if the situation is too complicated I revert back to the good old faithful “Parlez-vous anglais?”.

How, you may wonder, have a taken graduated and taken this huge jump (ok it’s not huge but never the less a step in the right direction)? Well in addition to my weekly 1h30mins of French at Hubby’s work I decided to enrol on a 3 week French course at the University of Genève.  This was an attempt to improve my French but I was also bored of being a ‘woman of leisure’ while waiting for my work permit and needed to meet new people and make some friends.

In front of the University of Genève

The course started the 8^th August and on the first day we had to write a French test to assess our level of the language. Levels were A1 and A2 (beginner), B1 and B2 (intermediate) and C1 and C2 (advanced).  Unsurprisingly I was on A1!

Actual classes started on the 9^th and we were assigned to smaller groups with people that are meant to be at a similar level.  Classes started at 9:00am till 12:00 noon and then in the afternoon there were various workshops and activities you could attend (all in French of course) for additional learning.  These included pronunciation, grammar, oral and my favourite, Swiss Folk Stories.

We were 12 in our group in total and I have to say we were a very interesting group. We had students, lecturers (including a professor of chemistry who specialises in bubbles), a lady on her way to work in Haiti for 2 years, a documentary film maker, a photographer and film editor (he edited Big Cat Diary – I love that show), a lady wanting to learn French as she is pregnant with her first child, another marketing professional and a fellow South African!

Even more interesting was that 5 of us are in Genève due to our partners being transferred here for work. So many of us are in the same boat, needing to learn French to try find a job (unless you are self employed of course).

Our lecturer was also very nice. She is Swiss and is very creative and arty and was very patient with us. She only spoke French during the lessons, which proved a challenge, but towards the end I was surprised at how much I understood (although I still have a long way to go, of course).

The 3 weeks really flew by and on the last day our group had a lovely picnic in the park les Bastions, which is just outside the university.



Some of the members of my French group

I definitely feel the course was worthwhile because, although I sometimes felt out of my depth and do not remember all the vocabulary we learnt, I met wonderfully interesting people some of whom I have continued and will continue to stay in touch with.
Genève est très bonne...

The other side of the lake…

We have slowly been exploring more of Switzerland, this time with a Canadian friend.  His father was in the city visiting so he was keen to show him as much of the surrounding area as possible. So were invited to join them on a Saturday trip to visit Montreux.

Genève is situated on the far west of Lake Genève (also known as Lac Léman). The lake is crescent shaped with the far left being Genève and with Montreux situated on the far right about 73km away. We were keen to see what was on the other side of the lake.

The train trip there was pretty fast (about 1 hour 10 mins) and the scenery is absolutely beautiful! You really notice how big the lake is and get some idea of how huge the Alps are.  One of the most beautiful and interesting things we noticed was the large number of vineyards along the route. Grape vines are planted and squeezed into the tiniest of nooks and crannies making use of all the precious space available.

Arriving in Montreux the weather was very overcast with low clouds hanging over the mountains. This somewhat spoilt our view of the mountains but the view from the lake was still good.

The beautiful view

We headed straight to the tourist information centre and picked up a map of the area.  After reviewing our options we decided to walk along the edge of the lake to the famous Château de Chillon (Chillon Castle).

Walking along the lake

A hotel along the lake

Along the lake

After about an hour of slow meandering along the lake looking at the view, flowers, boats and properties we arrived at the Castle. Chillon Castle is situated at the edge of the lake and is sort of a mish-mash of architecture and periods as it was build and added to over a number of centuries, although it all flows and matches very well.  The history of Chillon Castle can be found at the Castle website http://www.chillon.ch/en/index-La%2Bgrande%2Bhistoire-0-0.html.

Chillon Castle

Wine made exclusively for and around the Castle

The tour starts at the bottom of the Chillon Castle in the courtyard area and as you follow the numbers to the areas indicated on the map you end up walking through all the levels of the castle eventually (and after what felt like a million stairs) reaching the top lookout area. 

The visit was very interesting and the Chillon Castle is surprisingly bigger inside than it looks from the outside, as our slow walk through took about 2 hours.  By this time it was well past lunch and we were all starving. Luckily we found a place still serving food just across the road from the Castle where we proceeded to wolf down some lunch.

Tired but satisfied we took a slow walk back along the lake and decided to call it a day.  We had a lovely day (despite the poor weather) and the castle was interesting. We will definitely head back when the sun is shining to take full advantage of the beautiful view of the mountains.

Now to decide where in Switzerland to visit next...

Celebrations...

The 1st of August was Swiss National Day. It was a public holiday so everyone could enjoy the Swiss style celebrations. Each area and Canton celebrates in their own way and has various events and activities planned for the day.

Swiss National Day

As it was Hubby and my first Swiss National Day we were keen to see what it was all about. So we put on our walking shoes and walked around the city. There were Swiss flags flying from many of the buildings and buses.

We ended up in Parc des Bastions where there were loads of food stalls selling traditional Swiss food which were mainly sausages, bread and chips. Then as it got darker there was an area cordoned off where the public could shoot fireworks for everyone to watch. There were quite a few people shooting a variety of fireworks and there were just as many firemen standing ready to drench any stray firework.

The evening ended with a huge bonfire in the middle of the park.

The Bonfire

Then a few days later on the 4^th of August it was the official opening of the Fêtes de Genève. We headed to the lake in the evening for the opening fireworks display, which was lovely.

The Fêtes de Genève opening fireworks

The Fêtes de Genève takes place every year around the lake area. Every year a theme is chosen and this year’s theme was Incredible India. There are food, drink and souvenir stalls all around the lake as well as many theme park rides. There is also a whole programme of music and events that take place during the Fêtes.

We walked around there a couple of times and tried some of the Indian food on offer and listened to some of the music.

The highlight of the event is the fireworks display that takes place on the last Saturday of the Fêtes de Genève. This year it fell on the 13^th of August 2011. The theme of the fireworks was 'Gala Night at the Opera' and it was accompanied by music and lasted more than 50 minutes.

Unfortunately we were unable to watch them, but for a very good reason – we were attending the awsome wedding of our friends Natalie and John.