Can you guess from which age a child can legally purchase cigarettes in Geneva? 15 years? 18 years? Perhaps even older? I bet not many of you would have guessed that a child can buy
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The Swiss Apartment Rules
Did you know that the Swiss have rules that restrict many activities that most of us would find totally normal? The Swiss apartment rules are particularly strict, so we’ve always been thankful that we live in the
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Filets de Pêrches
If you go into a restaurant in Geneva area then there is a good chance that one of the dishes on the menu will be Filets de Pêrches – fillet of perch. After living here
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Spring Alpine Pass Tour
One of the great things about living in Geneva is the short distance to the Alps. Even before we bought our 1973 MGB Roadster last year, we loved driving the windy Alpine pass roads, through
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Schools in Geneva
One of the most important issues when expats move to a new country is schooling. You can out up with a less than stunning kitchen (and you often have to here) or a slightly boring
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Ingredients for Baking in Switzerland – Where to buy Baking Powder, Soda etc
When we moved to Geneva, one of the things that I found most difficult was finding ingredients for baking in Switzerland. I was used to the issues with baking powder and baking soda, not to
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Féte de Bonhomme Neige
Tonight we went to the Féte de Bonhomme Neige – the Snowman Festival – with ritual burning of the snowman to mark the end of winter. Not that there was much of a winter to
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Visiting Geneva With Children – City Walk
One of the things that we noticed when we moved to Geneva is that the Swiss are very child-friendly. It is a great place to raise a family. Children are a part of everyday life
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My Atomic Bunker
Not long ago I wrote a light-hearted post about our Nuclear Bunker. Who would have thought that not even 4 months later, I would be envied for my bunker. And not in a joking “ha, isn’t
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Chateaux Chillon
The Chateaux de Chillon, near Montreaux is, according to their website, the most visited historical monument in Switzerland. The weather was sadly not great today, cloudy and overcast so the pictures are not as stunning as
Continue ReadingAs Swiss as Chocolate and Mountains – The Swiss Nuclear Bunkers
Want to come into my cellar and see my nuclear bunker? That’s quite some chat-up line, right? Not so much here, since the Swiss nuclear bunker is just a part of life here, and
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The Swiss School Run
That when we were young, almost everyone walked to school. I can’t remember any school friend being driven to school, even one friend who lived quite far away walked. Today, when doing the Swiss school
Continue ReadingMontreux Christmas Market – Merry Christmas Freddie Mercury
We headed to Montreux today to take my parents to the train. They were traveling with the Goldenpass Express to Gstaad then onwards to Bern. The children and I took the opportunity to wander around
Continue ReadingThe Swiss Vote
The Swiss have a unique voting system called direct (or half direct) democracy. This means that basically any Swiss citizen can propose a change to a law. Around four times a year votes are cast
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Classic Cars, Lake Geneva and Sunshine
A pretty good combination, if you ask me. A couple of weeks ago we went to the Morges British Classic Car Meeting. It is an annual event, attracting over 1500 cars and motorbike and over
Continue ReadingThe Swiss and Their Tunnels – Gotthard Breakthrough
The Swiss are famous for many things, chocolate and watches, banks and tunnels. Tunnels? Well, yes. Switzerland has over 40 road tunnels over 2km length, with 11 more tunnels either planned or already being built.
Continue ReadingRebirth of a Village – Gondo 10 years after the catastrophe
It has been ten years since the landslide in Gondo, that cost 13 villagers their lives, and destroyed a third of the Alpine village. Gondo is a small town, close to the Simplon Pass, right
Continue ReadingWhy I should never leave the house without my camera.
For the simple reason that I live in a part of the world that even nipping to the supermarket can bring me past a panorama such as this one.
Continue ReadingWhat does a ski resort look like in the summer?
The summer months are long for a ski resort, and many of them are ghost towns at the moment. Particularly in the months directly before and after the ski season, there is nothing at all
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I have been experimenting recently with the settings on my camera. Until now I have let the camera do the work for me but wanted to teach myself how to use the manual settings to
Continue ReadingMmeOiseau comes for tea
What an adventure I had on Thursday! After the school run I returned home to the sound of a bird squawking in distress. It was so loud that I thought that somehow our dog Daphne
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Saint de glace – or why it is is cold today
At the school gate today, I complained to one of the locals about the cold weather we are injuring at the moment. After several weeks of balmy Spring days it was quite a shock to
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Avec la bise, lave ta chemise – it is washing day
I don’t think that I have blogged about La Bise, the bitingly cold Northwind that whistles down Lake Geneva from the Alps. Probably because if La Bise is blowing, my fingers are too cold to
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Swiss Sirens
Am currently sitting by the lake watching DS and his friend play while their sisters are at football practice. I was feeling smug as I felt the gentle rays of the sun on my face,
Continue ReadingThe Swiss and their Dogs
This is a picture of Daphne and her sister, Holly. They are from two different litters, born a year apart and are quite different in temperament. Daphne is more outgoing and friendly while Holly tends
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Lausanne and Morges
Lausanne is an interesting city, the old town is perched on the top of several hills, there are bridges and walkways connecting the different areas of the city. It is slightly confusing at first but
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Santa Claus House – Le hameau du Père Noel
Today we headed over to France to Santa Claus’s house, Le hameau du Père Noel after a tip from a friend. It was well worth the trip, a truly magical house filled to the brim
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Morning in Switzerland
Sometimes I open the shutters in the morning and the first thing I do (after shouting OH MY GOD, LOOK AT THAT) is grab my camera. This was one of those mornings.
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Escalade Celebrations
This was taken down in the village, early evening. I love the colours in this picture. We were down at the Salle Communale for the village celebrations of the Escalade. The football club had invited
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