Weekend in Geneva

Spent last weekend in Geneva to have a weekend near some water and mountains and away from bombs and shootings. It's a beautiful city, but one oh so terribly 70s - smoked mirrored ceilings and gold. One kept expecting Joan Collins to pop up in a Furstenberg wrap. It's more disco Parisian grand boulevard than retro Swiss chalet.

It's also shockingly expensive. A small bottle of Evian was £2 and the chinese meal I had with lobster and wine was almost £100. So, I mostly ate sandwiches from small delis to compensate.

Saturday, I spent a day walking around the charming old town. Didn't meet a millionaire to whisk me away from the stress of living in London but that's probably for the best, I would never find a Furstenberg wrap in my size...

On Sunday, I boarded a small 'mouette' filled with tourists and their uncontrollable children (I swear one child was trying to pitch itself over the edge) for a boat tour of Lake Geneva (locally, Lac Léman).

Le jet d'eau, the geyser-like fountain that pumps water from the lake 140 m into the air at 200 km/hr, is a stunning sight. I spent a good hour sitting in the Jardin Anglais admiring it. It was originally built to help control clean manufacturing equipment from the factories on the lake, and to control the water levels of the lake (Geneva sits right at lake level and could easily flood) but is now more ostentatious show than anything else, one suspects.

Restaurant recommendation
Tse Yang on the quai du Mont Blanc. Gorgeous carved wood and chinese silk interiors with a grand view of the lake and the jet d'eau. The lobster with szechuan sauce was extravagant, as were the 'délices', small balls of ice cream dipped into honey and sesame seeds and cooled in a bowl of ice at the table by the waspy-waisted waitress.