The Geneva Convention

So Wednesday 29 August 2007 arrived. The big day. We waved a gradual goodbye to Devon via the Virgin Cross Country service to Bristol. The sun shone a beautiful light that morning and everything looked as 'Devonyllic' (thanks Neil) as it could, as if it was giving us one last plea not to leave it behind. Ironically the sun went in as we approached Bristol.

After a smooth and quick flight, the plane swept over the Jura mountains, turned a sharp right and cruised over Lac Leman (aka Lake Geneva) into a cloudy and slightly damp Cointrin Airport. After a short but expensive cab ride we arrived at our new pad, where Rosie from Vero's new company was there to meet us. I crammed myself and our luggage into what must be the worlds oldest and smallest lift whilst Vero climbed the stairs. We entered into the flat and was told that it had just been refurbished.

That was an understatement. It is a 3rd floor one bedroom apartment situated in a 6 storey old building overlooking the Plateau de Champel, a ten minute stroll from Vero's office and fairly close to the city centre. It is a very good size with nice high ceilings and old herringbone parquet flooring.

The bedroom is about the size of our old two bedrooms put together, and the lounge diner is big enough to accommodate a giant sofa and a big glass dining table (oh and a flat screen TV).

It is beautifully decorated and equipped, particularly the kitchen which is brand new with a huge pine breakfast table which we eat at all the time. There was a nice welcome basket of mini Swiss chocolates waiting for us too.

There's all the shops we need within a 2 minute walk, including a great boulangerie-patisserie right outside the the front door of the building. We have only had some bread from there so far (which cost quite a bit!) but it was really nice. Their gateaux look amazing. As for views, there's nothing long distance only other apartment buildings however our privacy is guaranteed by two big trees outside the front and back of the apartment

Having such a nice pad to come to was a huge relief - we did not know what to expect and what we have been given is beyond our wildest expectations. We went to bed (which is huge as well by the way!) extremely thankful for our good luck. We did not sleep well though thanks to our first Alpine thunderstorm!

On Thursday we did not have a chance to settle in. Today was moving day number 2 and we rushed to the Airport after oversleeping, to collect a car and drive through horrendous wet conditions fighting with the car's heating controls to our storage facility in France. There we were to meet our removers and unload it all into storage. Luckily Mr Wotton was very easy going and did not mind waiting an extra half hour, plus he had arrived early the previous day and was able to unload everything thanks to the kindness of the storage company, who were happy to do this even though we had not been there to set up our account. Mr W simply came down Thursday to check we were happy with the delivery and then went on his very merry way to Northern Spain!

After rescuing some essentials we drove to Vero's parents in Ruy to pick up some clothes and things we had taken over in July. The weather was equally bad and by time I sat down to lunch I was about to collapse. Luckily thanks to a power nap afterwards (no doubt induced by Vero's Mum's excellent cuisine) I recovered sufficiently to take us back to Geneva, unload and drive the car back the the airport. By 8pm we were home and completely done in. Phew we made it!

Going, Going, (nearly) Gone

Today was moving day. We waved goodbye to our belongings this morning as they took a head start off to France (yes France) via Tiverton. We will be reunited with them next Thursday at a storage facility in the French Alps.

All we have left now are our suitcases and this laptop. I'm sat here in an empty living room, on the floor and the place feels strange to say the least. Anyway I should get back to work sorting out utility companies etc etc. Oh joy another hour of press 1 for this press 4 for that and then get a message saying 'we are too busy to speak right now - please call back'. Call centres huh - who would want to work there!

This time next week we'll be living it up in Geneva so who cares!

(By the way apologies for the picture quality - they were taken with a mobile phone or the webcam)

Cheerio Plymouth. Bonjour Genève

Its the...


(Da-na nah nah. Da-na na na nah)

Packing it all in
So the final week in England is now upon us and we are really making the most of it. The crap weather has returned which may be a good thing as it is confining us to our flat so we can carry on packing and packing and packing.... We are not taking much but it is still hard work. I am impressing myself with my ability to fit as many odd shaped items as possible into a square box (bring back the Krypton Factor I say).

For a clean house OCD freak like me, the sight of rooms with cardboard everywhere, the endless ringing in my ears of box tape and the constant cloud of cardboard dust is really getting me down and I am felling a bit fragile. Geneva and ultimately a new life in the French alps seems a long long way away and our flat certainly doesn't feel like home anymore.

Talking of home here's some random final views our neighbourhood.



Cheesy balls
So what will we be getting up to in our last week here. Well tonight is my last game for my five-a-side footy team, Old Farts United. They have been on a winning streak without me lately however my appearance tonight is bound to consign them to defeat. Tomorrow we are having a raclette (mmmmm) with friends - that should get us in the Francophile spirit, but only after a day of trips to the tip and carting unwanted items off to Mums place.

Any old iron...
We will be moving out on Wednesday this week mainly because we are selling the telly and switching off the fridge freezer. Without these two lifelines to modern day existence there's no point staying here so its off to stay with Bob for a few days. Thursday morning will see us wave goodbye to some old friendly furniture and appliances and clear out some more rubbish as the man in a van is coming around and on Friday the removers will be coming in. Arranging the removal has been a bit stressful so it will be nice to send everything on its way. Then I do not think we will come back other than to collect any post on Tuesday unless if by some miracle the sale of the flat goes through.

And some final words...
Then we can relax and enjoy our final few days here. We are out on Saturday night for some drinks (7.30 The Mannamead) and then around some friends for a party with them and all our other close friends. I'm sure its going to be fun but also a tearful occasion. Then after a couple of days to relax we will be taking a train up to Bristol early on next Wednesday morning to start our one-way trip outta here to start our new life together.

I did want to put some more about Plymouth and the South West on the blog, however time has rather caught up with us. We hope you have enjoyed looking at our pictures and even reading my inane commentary and we hope soon to be back on line and to tell you all about our adventures in the land of clocks, chocolate and cheese.

See you all in Switzerland....

Al & Véro
XX

We're All Going on a Summer Holiday...

!! Boredom Warning - this is a very long post !!

Phew - what a couple of weeks its been. Our lives have been somewhat distracted since the end of July from the move to Geneva to playing host and tour guide to our respective brothers, Neil and Philippe.

Neil was on a return 'up over' and needless to say wanted to take in some of his (and our) favourite sou'westerly spots. Then with a day of overlap, Philippe arrived to take advantage of our final few weeks in Plymouth to join us for yet more sightseeing and tourism. All of this we welcomed with open arms as it gave us the perfect excuse to prise ourselves away from the relentless roller coaster that is preparing for a move abroad, and see these places ourselves for the last time in what will be a very long while. The south west is a magnificent mix of coast, countryside and moors which is like no other place on earth - we are truly lucky to hail from this region and I will do my best to praise it up on this blog before we leave.

Neil's stay has been very well documented in his own blog, including our trip to collect Philippe from Exdurr Airfield on 7 August via the very gorgeous Fingle Bridge and its giant cream tea. It was proper 'ansome I tell ya. Philippe brought with him some real summer weather - this was the best gift he could have brought (even better then the selection of cheese he brought, but only just).

Tintagel was our first and only collective destination where all 4 of us could go out together before Neil headed back to London for the final leg of his tour of Europe. We had a great walk around the castle under azure skies and warm sunshine making for some stunning photos, although one French tourist was obsessed with filming the gulls. The enormous pasties we had for lunch were scrumptious - they were from Pengenna Pasties in the high street where you could see them being made. They were nearly £3 but you did get your moneys worth. After the walk we refreshed ourselves with yet more Doom Bar ale - sigh!

Now if you have read Neil's blog it seems like we were on a bit of a gastro tour of the South west - let me say that this was a purely coincidental and it just so happens that these places we go to happen to have top notch traditional south western comfort food and there's nothing we can do about it. One fine example has to be the local fudge shop in Tintagel - Granny Wobblys Fudge Pantry. Now to suggest this was the only reason for visiting Tintagel and not anywhere else would be quite wrong, well, uh, no. To be honest 3 of us had done the castle before so if it wasn't for the this quite simply amazing crumbly fudge we would have probably decided on going somewhere else. Vero bought over a tenner's worth and I had a fudge crumble ice cream - an indulgent mess of coffee ice cream smeared with clotted cream then dipped in the fudge crumbs.

Then it was back to Mum's for our Christmas dinner in the back garden. Don't ask. Philippe probably thought we were all crazy but it was my last home cooked roast dinner I will have for a very long time and I did not care one bit. Plus it was the last time the whole family would be together for goodness knows how long - that was and still is quite difficult to grasp and probably has not hit home yet. After we downed some fizzy plonk there were more family photos for the album.



I awoke on Thursday feeling kind of weird after the previous night's farewells, however the blazing blue skies perked me up and despite tired legs we headed up to Dartmoor for a long circular walk near Burrator. Starting at the dam we headed up over Sheepstor before heading out round to Nuns cross Farm near Princetown. We then decended all the way along the Devonport leat back into the Burrator forests. All this was about 12km and took us the best part of the day. I had never done a walk of this magnitude on Dartmoor so I was delighted to have been able to do so on such a gorgeous day.

On Friday we had a great day out, taking a very cheap and pleasant train ride to St Ives in West Cornwall. I have not been to St Ives for 15 years and the frogs had never been so we were all excited and expectant. The final leg of the journey is quite breathtaking as you sweep into St Ives bay with a view of the Hayle Towans (dunes), Godrevy lighthouse, and the golden sandy beaches.



Despite it being a very popular place that day (in more then one sense) we had a very nice day out pottering in the galleries and walking along the coastal paths. It was a crying shame that there was another Pengenna pasty shop - lamb and mint was on the menu this time. We also saw a seal in the harbour and had a paddle at Carbis bay. However the water was still pretty arctic so I only ventured in up to my knees for about 10 seconds before my lower limbs froze and fell off. A nice beer by the beach with views of the harbour topped the day off nicely before the ride home.

Saturday afternoon we returned to Noss Mayo for one final time. We took Neil there a week before and although it was a nice day this one was even better. The walk around the cliffs into the village is always sublime and this was no different, except this time when we arrived in the village itself there was a regatta on. Noss is usually a sleepy little place and normally you would think that all these boats lined up on both sides of the creek loaded with lager (or Pimms probably)-fuelled passengers would detract a bit. Not at all - the atmosphere was great and we sat in the sunshine at the Ship Inn and supped on Thatchers Dry Cider. Mmmmm. Noss is ace - we're gonna really miss this day out.

The travelling was starting to take its toll on Sunday however we did manage to sneak in a game of pitch and putt at Central Park (I was rubbish) and a walk around the Hoe and Barbican before a meal at our local pub with the remaining family members one last time before they all disappeared on holiday to the Costa Blanca. I had a massive 12oz burger which I couldn't even fit in my enormous gob. Nice!

Yesterday was Philippe's last full day and after a short trip to town to raid Sainsburys for goodies for him to take home, we took a last-minute trip to Cotehele Quay on the River Tamar to kill the afternoon. Another place we have both grown to love however this time the fatigue was a bit too much to really appreciate (and also take the camera out of the bag). It was a bit grey and overcast too which was a bit of a shock after all the sunshine.

It has been an amazing few weeks and I don't think we would have been able to enjoy it as much if it wasn't for Neil and Philippe's welcome visits - thanks guys we had an absolute blast. I don't know how many miles we have covered however its been like a holiday for us - much needed and very much appreciated.

Last night we said a teary goodbye to Mum - she should be over in Spain as I write this so will not be about for the last two weeks of our time in the UK. She really made sure Vero, Neil and I had a great send off with her roast dinner, sausage and egg pie, rhubarb crumble and so on..Thanks Mum we'll miss your cooking but we'll miss you more. See you in Spain soon maybe?

And so to today. We dropped Philippe off to the Airport this morning in near-apocalyptic rain and gales and returned (via a nostalgic last trip to Tesco Extra and a final pork pie raid) to the reality of only 14 more days in Plymouth before we emigrate to Switzerland on 29 August. There is still so much to do however we have just about accomplished all the major landmarks over the last few weeks. We have sold the flat, booked the removal, advertised the car and packing is well underway. The removers are coming in next Friday or Saturday and as we get closer and closer, our flat feels less like home and more like a warehouse. It certainly feels very strange and as much as we love everyone and everything about where we live we are ready to go now and start a whole brand new adventure.....

Steps to Heaven

Once again, the better blog wins. Neil has already posted his version of today's trip to North (ish) Cornwall however I'll add my own account of a wonderful day out. We set out looking forward to the day, the sun was out, the golf clubs were in the back and the stomachs were preparing ready for the legendary Jacket spuds.

I was looking forward to the drive as the A30 had recently been improved so it was motorway all the way from Bodmin to Indian Queens. I didn't count on a 30 minute stopover in Dobwalls though. Next time I might go through Launceston (that's the original and correctly pronounced Launceston, not the the one in Tasmania).

We arrived at a beautiful Bedruthan. The tide was out with the rocky stacks and cliffs rising majestically from the glorious golden sandy beaches. We took a walk along the cliff top towards Mawgan Porth, amongst the wildlife gorse and heather, which was picture postcard perfect in every way. Now this we will miss very much. We did spend quite a bit of time en route taking photos, especially of a golden plover who wasn't freaked at all by our presence and posed perfectly for some great shots. She was still there posing when we passed by on the way back. There were plenty more birds around. Seabirds such as gulls, kittiwakes and cormorants on one side, and smaller birds such as linnets and stonechats on the other.




Afterwards was the much anticipated lunch - I have never tasted a better jacket spud and probably never will. Enough said.. We took a post lunch stroll down the dozens of steep steps and on to the beach, dipping our feet in the surprisingly warmish water and watching the waves gently roll in.



Later on we summoned energy (via a very nice blackcurrant and clotted cream ice cream) for a round of links style pitch and putt at Holywell Bay. I am yet to find a pitch and putt with such excellent views and also in such great condition. The greens were better than a lot of proper golf courses where you pay dozens of pounds to play. We all enjoyed that - Véro did stray off the fairway and found some bunnies in the process so she was extremely happy!



The 19th hole is great, with the same views over the bay and the sunset. Add to this the customary pint of Doom Bar (well half for me) and the day was topped off. Well not quite - the final hurrah was some tasty fish and chips in nearby Cubert from a chippy called 'Asalt and Battery'. Oh what a perfect Cornish day out.....