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Published: November 19th 2012
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After giving my passport a 15 month hiatius, it was time start exploring again.
My start of my latest adventure was inspired by a 6-month stay in Switzerland of my two friends Micha and Simon Blankstein. I met Micha traveling in Thailand in 2003, and attended their wedding in Israel on my last backpacking trip. When I learned that one of my favourite hockey players happened to be playing in the town they are living in during the NHL lockout... well I knew it was a sign I had to come to Switzerland.
Normally I prefer the value of the Canadian dollar in underdeveloped countries around the world, which is why the pricey Switzerland has not made my hit list previously. Everyone I know who has been there has warned me how expensive it is... but it’s still shocking when you get here and see the prices.
So, after a hellish flight from Edmonton through London to Geneva (where I had 2 drunken Portuguese guys loud talking and singing on a red eye) I found Simone waiting for me at the hostel. Jet-lagged but not ready to sleep, we walked around the city laced with fog, admiring all
the expensive things that the uber rich who come to Geneva can afford.
The lovely Michelle Normand had connected me with a chef using Alberta beef at the Grand Hotel Kempinski in Geneva, so we popped by the super swank lake-front hotel for a visit Executive Chef James Norman. We took a seat in the lovely lounge with an unreal view of Geneva and we got to hear about things like how he brings in Alberta Beef, gets a local farmer to make cheese for the restaurant and about the $50,000/night suite the hotel has.
Seriously one of the most fascinating people I have ever met –James worked for a royal family, worked at that 7 star hotel in Dubai, and other crazy ass places around the world. Then... after chilling with us for over an hour – he invited us for dinner at one of the restaurants (which was amazing because it would have been way over our budgets!).
First up I got to try Pata Negra – a cured pork treat made from the fanciest pigs in Spain. The leg he cut us slices from would have cost over $1000. I was in pork heaven.
Then I got to dip gluten free bread in the best balsamic vinegar I have ever had. After being awake for 34 hours I was in a dream state. Next came a plate with a ball of burrata cheese (made from Mozzarella and cream), made from the local herd of Kapinski cows. You would think one baseball sized serving of cheese would have been enough, but it was so heavenly I ate part of Simone’s. When the waiter tried to take it away I was so sad, and he brought it back so I could overdose and eat it with my GF buns.
Finally we had a plate full of perch caught from the lake in Geneva, served with a salad and fries (so European I love it!). Simone got to take her choice from the dessert card, but since nothing was gluten free I just got to admire. Finally he showed us his rooftop garden and took a peek at the ritzy cocktail bar before kicking it back to our hostel. Spoiled rotten... it was the perfect introduction to Switzerland!
Annecy France
The next day we got up and caught a
bus to Annecy France, which is only 40 km from Switzerland. Lots of people live across the border because it is cheaper that Switzerland. We got settled in our adorable hotel and set off in search of food in the old town. There just happens to be a market on Fridays so I ended up buying 3 wheels of cheese and 6 types of salamis to eat with my gluten free crackers.
We walked around town and along the lake, crossed bridges, took photos, had hot chocolate, and got some exercise at the public outdoor gym (I’ve seen these all over Europe and I still find them entertaining).
For dinner we adopted two twin girls from Vancouver (Zoe and Ingred) to try out Raclette, a Swiss dish based on heating and scraping off the melted part of a wheel of Raclette (a semi firm cow’s milk cheese).
Cheese, meat and potatoes is every Ukrainian girl’s dream... so I was in heaven. I was in charge of heating and scraping the cheese and while we did well, there was no way we could finish the enormous half wheel of cheese that arrived at the table. We polished off
desserts and waddled back to our hotel. Even though I had put the cheese and meat out on the balcony, our room reeked. The twins said theirs was the same; i guess it is the sacrifice of being a meat and cheese addict from Canada.
Early the next morning we caught a bus back to Geneva and then headed on a marathon train ride across Switzerland. 1 bus, 3 trains, and 7 hours later (and more bree and salami on the train) we arrived in Davos.
Stay tuned!
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Mike
non-member comment
mmmm..sounds tasty
Hey Shar, really great to hear that you decided to dust off the ole passport and head for an another amazing adventure. Hope you are doing well..you look great! Keep the blogs coming. Looking foward to hearing all about Davos! Take care. x