Another Productive Weekend

Good morning!

Bo and I are currently enjoying a fresh breakfast on the couch with a side of Grey’s Anatomy. Our Sunday breakfast routine in Geneva is a cup of French press coffee with only a splash of local 2.3% milk, toasted maize bread from the farmer’s market, grilled chicken sausage from the local butcher shop, and a poached egg.  We both love that nothing is processed nor laden with preservatives or artificial sweeteners. Historically, my coffee mug would be topped off with skim milk and Splenda even though smart dieticians like Kath and Anne have been trying to convince me to change my ways for years. Sunday breakfast

While it’s tough not to watch my favorite football team play between the hedges, waking up to read the highlights of an amazing win against Steve Spurrier and the South Carolina Gamecocks is a great way to kick off Sunday! (photo credit)

Let me back track to Friday and Saturday and fill you in on our weekend.

Friday

Since it was Ryan and Amy’s last full day in Geneva, we wanted to spend as much time together as possible. Amy and I are running the Hartford Marathon together in October so enjoying a ten mile run through Geneva and France was the perfect way to cap off a great week together. We spent the entire time talking in only a way best girlfriends can; finishing each other’s sentences, talking about our husbands, venting, opening up, and planning future trips. We barely thought about the run other than when I pointed out special sights such as crossing into France or local Geneva attractions. Sunrise in GenevaAshley and Amy long run geneva After work, the three of us headed down to Bains de Paquis as I can’t let visitors leave Geneva without a swim in the lake, especially when it’s 80 degrees and sunny at 5pm!rainbow genevaIMG_1917 Amy and Ashley sunsetSince Bo’s flight didn’t arrive until later we stopped by Cottage Cafe for a glass of wine and a few tapas.   sunset from cottage cafeIMG_1946We met Bo at home within minutes of a huge thunderstorm starting which kept us curled up in our flat, sipping wine together, enjoying an amazing cheese and meat tray, and laughing about our terrific week together. IMG_1954Saturday

After dropping Ryan and Amy off at the airport Bo and I spent the day checking things off our to do list while also discovering new spots in Geneva. The hardest thing about this move is settling in to two cities versus one. This means that the first three months or so we expect to spend the majority of weekends running errands, setting up electronics, unpacking, and trying to get our lives together versus spending our entire weekend with friends our and touring Geneva and London.

Since Ikea is only 5 minutes from the airport we picked up a few needed items bright and early, before the crazy crowds took over. Who knew that Ikea has beer, wine and spirits in addition to home goods. We didn’t buy any as we saw them after checkout but next time we may have to buy some just so we can say we’ve tried it! IMG_1970We relaxed for the next few hours meandering through the Carouge Farmers’ Market or Marche de Carouge. Carouge Farmers MarketThe rest of the afternoon included a run through Parc Des Eaux Vives, hours of working on the flat, a delicious cheese plate, dancing in the kitchen while cooking dinner, and buying a vacuum. See, our life isn’t all that exciting especially when we force ourselves to be productive. IMG_1991IMG_1999IMG_2019IMG_2014Steak and potatoesNow, it’s suddenly Sunday and we both feel as if we have an overwhelming amount of work left to do. The sound system has to be installed, there is a pile of dirty clothes screaming at me, dinner has to be cooked, and a pile of paintings and pictures have yet to find their way onto the walls.

How about you? How did you spend your weekend?

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Run, Unpack, Eat & Repeat

This was one of those weekends which left me feeling like I need a vacation. Lucky for me vacation begins Friday at 6pm! Saturday through Tuesday we will be in Burgundy with our friend Ryan and Amy who are heading over to Europe for their annual anniversary trip!

Saturday the weekend began with a 16 mile long run through Geneva. Emily requested a new route as we’ve been running along the lake for the past month. Little did she know that I’d come up with a route that would take us from running up trails to crossing bridges and through small areas of Geneva she had not seen previously!

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Overall the run was a partial success. We ended up having to stop for traffic lights and to check the map a bit more than I would have liked but none of the stops were very long. In addition, the hills at the beginning and end really challenged our legs but we still finished strong. I didn’t wear my Garmin and instead we just ran for fun which was a nice way to breakup marathon training. While I drank plenty of water during the run I only consumed 40 calories which is definitely not enough for a long Emily has enjoyed running so much that she signed up for the Lausanne Marathon! As of now we are scheduled to be in London that weekend unfortunately but I’m excited to have a training partner for the next 3 long runs before she heads to the states for a quick trip.

As soon as I returned home Bo and I spent the next three hours unpacking boxes and working in the flat. While the movers did the majority of the unpacking on Friday, there was still plenty of work to be done including putting together some furniture, reorganizing, finding places for things, and hanging some pictures.

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By 1pm we found ourselves at the Geneva Airport picking up Bo’s sister, Meg, who was here for a quick visit before heading to London with Bo. Her arrive coincided perfectly with the beginning of our 30 day rental car which is part of the relocation package.

IMG_0979  While she rested Saturday afternoon we put the car to good use and made an Ikea trip where we were able to get in and out in 20 minutes! This record time was only possible due to the fact that Ikea closed 20 minutes after we arrived so we were forced to be efficient! The rest of the afternoon was spent doing heavier work like drilling and hanging mirrors as our friend PJ came over and lent us his tools for the weekend!

IMG_0982Luckily there was a great reward for all our hard work on Saturday – a night out with friends!  We went to dinner with Renaud, Sarah and Hugo at a beautiful Swiss restaurant on Lake Geneva, La Belotte. While the inclement weather didn’t allow us to sit out on the patio, but we barely noticed the storm passing outside as we were laughing too hard the entire time. The service was subpar but the food was delicious! Luckily Sarah and Renaud helped us make choices based on their previous experience and local specialties. The clear winners were the perch and the warm goat cheese salad!

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After dinner we sipped beers until 2am with new Geneva friends at Yvette de Marseille, a bar in Eaux Vive with indoor and outdoor space, perfect for a Summer evening. We discovered that they serve bottles of wine in bags instead of buckets and employ a guy to walk around saying “shhh” to louder groups versus a bouncer at the door. Oh Geneva, you’ll never cease to amaze me.

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Wine in a bag? Have you ever seen this before or am I just behind the times?

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A Preview from our NYC Photo Shoot

A month ago our dear friends Brad and Margaret spent the day snapping photos of us through the city. It was one of the most wonderful days enjoyed with great people and reminding us of all our favorite spots throughout the streets of New York. Some of them we frequent daily and others, such as Grand Central, are parts of our past. Regardless, we spent six hours walking the streets just enjoying everything it had to offer. There were two cameras on us at all times, something we haven’t felt since our wedding day.

While I can’t wait to see the final collection of images, these are the first four they’ve shared with us! Keep in mind that everything they do is for the love of photography and merely a hobby. Judging from these four pictures I can’t wait to choose 10 or so to frame for both our London and Geneva flats. I think it would be so fun to have the same in each flat so we get to look at the pictures during the week while we’re apart.

Bo and Ashley NYC pics nyc pics of bo and ash 3 NYC Pics of Bo and Ash  nyc pics of bo and ash 4

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