Month: September 2010

  • Yvoire in Haute-Savoie

    We came to Yvoire by boat from Nyon (see previous post).  What a picturesque, quaint medieval village Yvoire is!  The 14th century castle and fortifications are still standing, and the narrow streets are lined with workshops, restaurants, all decorated by flowers, lots of flower baskets.  But it is too perfect – so much so that…

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  • Nyon to Yvoire, Lac Léman

    While Sis was visiting, we decided to go to Yvoire which lies on the other side of Lac Léman (Lake Geneva) in France.  There is a ferry service that leaves from Lausanne, making several stops on the Swiss and French sides, with Yvoire being one of the stops.  But we were up too late and could…

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  • Toboggan at La Vue-des-Alpes

    [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rkisSmfAu4&fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0] La Vue-des-Alpes is a stopover on the scenic road to La Chaux de Fonds from Neuchâtel.  Located on the Jura at 4200 feet, it commands a panoramic view across to the Alps.  We discovered a toboggan track, also known as la luge d’été (summer luge) – basically, a plastic bucket seat with wheels that…

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  • Cowbell Music

    When you think of Swiss cowbell, you would imagine a quite annoying, loud – dong, dong, dong sound.  Apparently not so in the field.  The closest I can think of is the sound made by a wind chime.  It also evokes the musical sound of Indonesian Gamelan.  They make a continuous tinkering sound, dissonant and…

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