May 5th 2012.
I arrive in Geneve by Lufthansa.
Announcements in German at Frankfurt airport - HUGE and well indicated,
unlike Paris as Ambika says. 'Achtung, bitte ... " Wish it was all in
French, the online movies are all in German, I sleep through the
flight, overcome any fatigue and jet lag, so I can be fresh for Geneve!
Heureusement, Geneve is all French, the language is not
too different from standard French, only spoken a bit slower, so I enjoy
listening and talking.
Indu and her husband
are at the airport to receive me, tres sympa! We drive home, I meet her
kids, Rudra and Brinda who both speak a lovely mixture of French and
Tamoul - what a delightful marriage of languages:)
We go to the lake, catch up and I try to soak in the
clean air, the surroundings, but jet lag hits me and I register very
little of what I see! There is a fountain in the middle of the lake, we
have icecreams, I 'partage' with Rudra the franco-tamoul 6 year old!
May 6th -
I
board a train to Zurich, to meet Muthu. The train journey is full of
pretty picture postcard views, train stations a la DDLJ, green patches
of vineyards, punctuated with yellow mustard squares, pristine lakes,
mountains, chalets... Houses with colourful shutters (les volets).
Muthu is waiting for me at Zurich hauptbahnhof -
main station. There are no swipes, no turnstiles, for tickets anywhere,
just walk in and out, but be ready for random checks.
We head
home for lunch, then out to see Zurich city and Zurich 'see'. Clock
towers everywhere, water fountains to drink water that tastes of clear
streams, the city is one of comfort and wealth, no signs of shortages of
water or food!
We have melting-in-the-mouth macaroons at Sprungli cafe, take a
boat ride on the lake... the views are of fairy tale misty mountains,
snow covered, nature at her best! This is what dreams and bollywood
films are made of!
I window shop for cuckoo clocks and cow bells and souvenirs, the prices make me dizzy!
After
much happy walking and gaping, we get back to Muthu's house, where I
make aloo parathas for her to make up for the lovely host she has been.
Squeaky clean swiss country and ciites, reminds me
of Asterix comics - where the Romans have messy orgies and the Swiss
follow them around mopping up and cleaning the mess!
May 7th -
Muthu takes me on a trip to Luzerne and
Titlis up a beautiful snow covered mountain - 10,000 feet above sea
level! It's a cold and rainy day, but that just adds to the beauty of
the landscape.
The trip on the world's first rotating cable car is
all very touristy but fun! There is a huge cut-out of Sharukh Khan and
Kajol from DDLJ up the mountain. I love my very first experience of
freshly falling snow - reminds me of the song by Simon and Garfunkel! It
dosen't feel any colder with the snow, just soft white flakes caressing
the face.
We are surrounded by a bus load of NOISY Indians and Chinese! I
wonder who is noisier? Does it have something to do with being the
world's most populous countries? Do we have to shout to make ourselves
heard?!
God - these could create an avalanche here in the snow with their yelling!!
We run into an empty cable car to escape the decibels.
Luzerne is another picture perfect little town, with lake, old wooden bridge, fabulous facades of old buildings...
On our way back on the train, nature decides
to show us there is more to perfection - with a rainbow - 'arc-en-ciel'
- a stunning arch in the sky that leaves us gazing in wonder, till it
disappears as suddenly and surrealistically, as it appeared.
May 8th
I make my way back
regretfully to Geneva, see the water fountain at the railway station and
again wish we had half as much water back home in India, or at least
the sense to use what we have carefully. I wonder why our politicians
don't learn to do something to share, maintain our resources or improve
our infrastructure after their trips abroad, amassing personal wealth
seems to be their only concern. But I am just a preacher:(
Bus stops and directions are so well indicated - I
find my way back to Indu's house easily - there is a little church close
by, a long and downhill winding road to CERN.
I leave my bags and take the tram to CERN - get an information
overload of particle physics, the large hadron collidor and other such.
What amuses me most here is a comic poster in French that shows Marie
Curie's kids bawling for food in the background, while she says 'I have a
Nobel prize in chemistry and physics not cooking!'.
In the evening, we go out 'en famille'
to have pizzas at 'L'age d'or' which is one of the few restaurants where
kids can speak loudly! The Swiss are the other extreme of Indians in
public conduct and social regulation!
May 9th, 10th - Toulouse!
I
have a warm friendly reunion with Monsieur K - Christian Vair - an old
friend from work - we meet again after 10 years! Chris looks crazier in
Toulouse, he is wearing a t-shirt from India, old and threadbare with a
picture of a tamil film star on it :)
We walk down the Garonne riverside - under a canopy
of green trees reflecting in the water. It's warmer here than Geneva and
the surroundings are so different, there is a complete change - no
rules here, no clocks to follow, just relax by the river, littered
sidewalks... the French are so different from the Swiss! No sign
whatsoever of perfection - just 'let it be'!
Toulouse is a quaint town with beautiful ancient
churches, buildings of coloured brick, fabulous facades which prove the
'richesse' of the owners. Chris explains the architectural details to me
...
No one seems to work in this town, everyone seems to be 'en
vacances'! I love the sound of music - French - all around me, I enjoy
'parler francais', we get back to have baguette and cheese!
I seem to be tireless even after hours of walking around the city - this is what Douce France does to me:)
We
celebrate Chris' birthday on the 10th after a walk a la campagne - go
by the river Ariege, walk past onion fields, pluck acacia flowers,
breathe the fresh air in the countryside and just chill!
In the evening, Chris invites a few friends over, one of them -
Cindy has played a bit role in a bollywood film and is all excited to
meet an Indian! I love the French for their love for India!
We
go to a pizzeria for dinner, I love the food and the francais, but the
mushroom of cigarette smoke from all the tables makes me choke:( Why do
the French smoke so much? Is this one of the secrets to their slim
figures? The wine probably offsets the ill effects of nicotine?
The variety of cheese eaten in mini bites with pieces of warm baguette...'miam'!!
Too soon time to leave - I am at the exit gate at
Toulouse Blagnac aeroport - feeling sad (quelle tristesse) to leave the
country I love to visit. This has been my first visit without seeing
pretty Pari(s) , but really well worth it!
May 11th, 12th encore Geneve
A quick tour of the UN office...
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