Apartment Tour

I finally got around to taking some apartment pictures in June. And now I'm finally getting around to posting them.

It took Jim 3 months to find (and be approved) for an apartment! He moved from a studio in March and I arrived in April. Our main requirements were a balcony and laundry. Luckily enough we also ended up with 3 bedrooms (room for guests!) and a parking space. Which is almost unheard of.

We live in a part of Geneva called Servette, the "A" on the map is where you can find our apartment. It is on the right bank, the same side that we work on. It can take quite a bit of time driving through the city from one side of the lake to the other, so it is nice to have a place on the same side as our jobs.

The dining room and living room are the rooms you enter into after the entry hall.

Our bedroom, with the balcony. Notice the side that had no end table. That would be my side.

I really like these full length windows, they open and tilt. Genius.

The balcony spans our bedroom and the dressing room.

View of the dressing room from the hall.

My side of the dressing room and laundry bins.

The guest room before it got a new comforter and duvet.

Notice also the white walls...that is in the process of also changing. Especially in the living room. We might not be here for long but after a few months I need color and decoration.

Stay tuned for updates.

Boys

This is what happens when you spend all your time with a boy.

Extreme

I've noticed a lot of things are Xtreme here...like chips. I'm not sure why things need to be so extreme. As I recall these were not spicy enough to classify Xtreme.

And also that is a delicious chocolate martini Jim made me.

The end.

Road Trip

After we got our new car we took a road trip to France in search of hiking gear. We had a recommendation on a great outdoors store a little over an hour away. These are some pics from the drive.

Gas prices: 93 Euros for 55 liters

The Alps behind some clouds

The mountain view from the front of the store

Jim and the new hiking pack.

Speed limit sign

Signs entering border control

New Car

Having a car isn't really a necessity here. Jim and I can both take the train to work and the bus/tram network is great for getting around the city. Even if we wanted to go out of town, the trains that run throughout the country are not too expensive and Easyjet flys out of Geneva to a ton of airports all over Europe. Still, Jim decided he really wanted a car, mainly he wanted a foreign car. And who am I to disagree. So after waiting and waiting for the right deal and the right car, it finally arrived!

Our car is a BMW 325xi. It's pretty much the nicest car I have ever "owned". I say "owned" because we lease it, and technically Jim leases, but I consider it my car too because we share it.

It has a very comfortable leather interior, and that blank area above the center vents is the onboard navigation which is controlled by a dial in between the shifter and the arm rest. It's pretty sweet. It took a few times to get use to driving it, but that's because I had my last car for 10 years.

That is me the day I sold it, about 3 days before I left for Geneva. Sweet ride right? It definitely had some issues: like a headliner beyond repair, and the engine sounded like a lawn mower, horrible wipers, more than a few dents and scratches, an expired inspection...well the list could go on. But she did the job and I think I'm one of the only people I know who had the same car from high school through college and beyond. Oh there were some accidents in there, but never my fault, and never major enough to total the car. So that makes me proud. But she's gone now, and I'm happy about that too.

Back to the new car: 

 

The pros of the BMW include: a keyless key, heated seats, automatic wipers, fancy navigation, the new car smell, the super quiet ride, windows that automatically go up and down on all four doors and European plates. But I will admit there are some downfalls. Like how there are no cup holders (just one in the center console that will hold a soda can and two in the back), and the seats don't have electronic adjustment that you can save; so when more than on person drives the car you have to keep moving the seat around manually. All in all it is a great car to drive and 10,000 times nicer than my Saturn. And even though Jim keeps telling me I need a Vespa or Fiat Panda, I think I'll stick with this ride.

Le Jet d'eau de Genève

Back in May, (I can't believe it has been that long!) Jim and I spent a bright and sunny Saturday checking out the Jet d'eau. The Jet is pretty much the only landmark in Geneva, and can be seen from both sides of the lake, high up on the Saleve, at night and of course up close and personal. I'm pretty sure they turn it off in rainy, windy or cold weather. But I have yet to notice if or when it has been turned off.

Basically the Jet is a giant spigot of water whose maximum height reaches 140m (459ish feet) and it pumps 500 liters of water per sec. It's pretty impressive, especially up close. And a lot louder than I thought.

I like how you have to walk our on this jetty with rocks on one side and no rail to get to this massive water spout. Somehow I don't think this would pass safety standards in the US.

The picture above makes me think I'm standing in front of a back drop at walmart or somewhere.