friday in the forest
It's half-term for The Bun and J took a couple of days off so that we could do some short daytrips around the countryside to enjoy the fall foliage and the good weather. Today we had lovely weather, sunny and warm. Right after breakfast we drove off to a nature reserve not far from us in Versoix - the Réserve Naturelle du Bois des Douves.
I put Bao in the sling and we took an easy walk through the woods. There was a short boardwalk along the pond and small huts built for birdwatching, and we managed to see a large heron stretch and look back at us before it flew off, obviously not a fan of The Bun's endless chatter. Between the clomp of his wellies and his voice, it was a wonder we saw any birds at all.
Starting off our walk.
Bao looked around for the first ten minutes of the walk and then fell asleep and missed the rest of it. Her brother on the other hand thoroughly enjoyed the walk, looking out for wild mushrooms, trying to catch falling acorns, and stomping on the rustling leaves. We managed to spot a tiny brown frog, no bigger than my thumbnail, on the trail. A lone horsewoman passed by us on a gorgeous black horse, clopping gently along the path. The air was clean and clear and fresh and we hardly saw anyone else on our walk.
Gorgeous colours.
I half-joked with J that since I am clearly going to get grouchier and more anti-social with age, maybe I should just find some way to retire in Switzerland. Federal noise laws, no crowds, chocolate by the truckload, the beauty of nature at my doorstep, and the rest of continental Europe close by when I need to rejoin civilisation - why not? (Except that it is expensive, has no decent or affordable seafood, and is uh, expensive.)
After our walk we took a short drive to lunch at Uchino, which we were told is one of the best Japanese restaurants in Geneva. It is not easy to get fresh sashimi in landlocked Switzerland, but one of J's Japanese counterparts told him that this is where the Japanese expats eat, so we had been meaning to visit for some time. The food was good, if pricey - we had sushi and sashimi and tempura, and The Bun happily inhaled his favourite ikura, which he has not eaten for months. The restaurant didn't have a high chair so while we waited for our food I fed Bao her lunch as she sat on J's lap. Then since we had a corner table at the back of the restaurant, I simply put her down in between The Bun's chair and mine and she busied herself for the rest of our meal cruising between the chairs, eating biscuits, excavating the contents of my bag, and mastering the art of opening the wet wipes packet and pulling everything out. Unconventional but at least she was beautifully behaved this way and the rest of the patrons probably didn't even know we had a baby with us.
The lake on a cloudy day.
We took a walk around the village after lunch - it has beautiful views of Lac Leman (Lake Geneva) and all sorts of quaint little shops. Outside one was a wagon with all sorts of random things and a sign that said 'Servez vous, gratuit' which basically means help yourself to the free things. We took two badminton racquets in good condition and a lonely shuttlecock. When the weather gets warmer and less windy next year we'll be able to play in the park across the road.
Today also marks the day I had my first haircut here. I went to a place near J's office on a (male) friend's recommendation. It cost 30 francs, very VERY cheap by Swiss standards but it was also VERY no-frills. It's a one-woman show in a tiny run-down place that reminded me of the beauty salons my grandmother used to visit back in the 1980s. The woman who cut my hair spoke some English but mostly we communicated using gestures and broken French. The cut was cheap because she offered just the cut without a wash, which I accepted because even when hairstylists wash my hair I always end up washing it at home again. I want to grow my hair out here and my hair needed a trim, especially my bangs. It started off okay but I think she went a bit too short in front and now it looks a bit like I have a weird bob.
Moral of the story 1 - DO NOT take hairstylist recommendations from straight, non-metrosexual men.
Moral of the story 2 - you pay for what you get.
Moral of the story 3 - arm yourself with photos and insist on showing them to the hairstylist even if she waves them off.
Sigh. I'm no stranger to butchered haircuts so the current one is relatively decent. I hope that when it grows out a little it will also look better.
I put Bao in the sling and we took an easy walk through the woods. There was a short boardwalk along the pond and small huts built for birdwatching, and we managed to see a large heron stretch and look back at us before it flew off, obviously not a fan of The Bun's endless chatter. Between the clomp of his wellies and his voice, it was a wonder we saw any birds at all.
Starting off our walk.
Bao looked around for the first ten minutes of the walk and then fell asleep and missed the rest of it. Her brother on the other hand thoroughly enjoyed the walk, looking out for wild mushrooms, trying to catch falling acorns, and stomping on the rustling leaves. We managed to spot a tiny brown frog, no bigger than my thumbnail, on the trail. A lone horsewoman passed by us on a gorgeous black horse, clopping gently along the path. The air was clean and clear and fresh and we hardly saw anyone else on our walk.
Gorgeous colours.
I half-joked with J that since I am clearly going to get grouchier and more anti-social with age, maybe I should just find some way to retire in Switzerland. Federal noise laws, no crowds, chocolate by the truckload, the beauty of nature at my doorstep, and the rest of continental Europe close by when I need to rejoin civilisation - why not? (Except that it is expensive, has no decent or affordable seafood, and is uh, expensive.)
After our walk we took a short drive to lunch at Uchino, which we were told is one of the best Japanese restaurants in Geneva. It is not easy to get fresh sashimi in landlocked Switzerland, but one of J's Japanese counterparts told him that this is where the Japanese expats eat, so we had been meaning to visit for some time. The food was good, if pricey - we had sushi and sashimi and tempura, and The Bun happily inhaled his favourite ikura, which he has not eaten for months. The restaurant didn't have a high chair so while we waited for our food I fed Bao her lunch as she sat on J's lap. Then since we had a corner table at the back of the restaurant, I simply put her down in between The Bun's chair and mine and she busied herself for the rest of our meal cruising between the chairs, eating biscuits, excavating the contents of my bag, and mastering the art of opening the wet wipes packet and pulling everything out. Unconventional but at least she was beautifully behaved this way and the rest of the patrons probably didn't even know we had a baby with us.
The lake on a cloudy day.
We took a walk around the village after lunch - it has beautiful views of Lac Leman (Lake Geneva) and all sorts of quaint little shops. Outside one was a wagon with all sorts of random things and a sign that said 'Servez vous, gratuit' which basically means help yourself to the free things. We took two badminton racquets in good condition and a lonely shuttlecock. When the weather gets warmer and less windy next year we'll be able to play in the park across the road.
Today also marks the day I had my first haircut here. I went to a place near J's office on a (male) friend's recommendation. It cost 30 francs, very VERY cheap by Swiss standards but it was also VERY no-frills. It's a one-woman show in a tiny run-down place that reminded me of the beauty salons my grandmother used to visit back in the 1980s. The woman who cut my hair spoke some English but mostly we communicated using gestures and broken French. The cut was cheap because she offered just the cut without a wash, which I accepted because even when hairstylists wash my hair I always end up washing it at home again. I want to grow my hair out here and my hair needed a trim, especially my bangs. It started off okay but I think she went a bit too short in front and now it looks a bit like I have a weird bob.
Moral of the story 1 - DO NOT take hairstylist recommendations from straight, non-metrosexual men.
Moral of the story 2 - you pay for what you get.
Moral of the story 3 - arm yourself with photos and insist on showing them to the hairstylist even if she waves them off.
Sigh. I'm no stranger to butchered haircuts so the current one is relatively decent. I hope that when it grows out a little it will also look better.