Alinghi 5 - Nyon

Close to the castle of Nyon, half way between Geneva and Lausanne, there is a Museum dedicated to Lake Geneva and for a couple of months there is a small exhibition about Alinghi 5. Last week we went to listen to Pierre-Yves Jorand who is Swiss and coach of the sailing team. He got somewhat technical and I won't bore you with the details.

This summer Alinghi got his catamaran on the water on lake Geneva. It was so big I could see it from the office. A few days later, we saw a huge helicopter coming from Russia to pick the boat up and drag it down (over the Alps) to the sea where they tested it for a couple of months. Next month, this 90 foot monster will race against the American monster (Oracle) in Valencia during the America's Cup.

This is a good example of what the swiss are capable of. Switzerland is a mixture of keeping old traditions alive, surprising us on how conservative they can be. And in parallel, they put their mind and money to work and come out with the latest and greatest when it comes down to technology, art, etc.

Time to book your vacation for this spring/summer...

Come and visit us!

Movie: Coco & Igor

Our first movie of the year was Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky. You can find a review here. I think I enjoyed it more than the previous Coco before Chanel. I loved the cinematography, the wardrobe, the acting, and the music.

Berne. Giovanni Giacometti.

Yesterday, we drove to Berne (an hour from Lausanne). It's fun to go just 100 kms from home, whithout crossing a border, and be in a place where people talk a foreign language (german).

One thing with Switzerland that I have hard to adjust to is the opening hours for stores and public places. Especially on Saturdays. Sleeping in on Saturday is not an option or you can get frustrated really quick...

We got to Berne around 2.30pm. Found the art museum to see a Giovanni Giacometti's exhibit that Sam was interested in. Giovanni Giacometti is Diego's father. Above is the painting I liked the most from the exhibition.

We spent a couple of hours to discover Giacometti and take a quick look at the permanent collection of this great museum. Next thing I know, we get out of the museum when it closes - 5pm - to find out that everything else in town is closed as well. It's freezing cold, dark and shopping is not an option. So much for visiting Berne!

This is Berne after 5pm on a Saturday...

Good Reads 2009

Since this is my first post of 2010, I wish you all a Happy New Year. If I had to recommend one book out of the list I read in 2009, it would be What I loved... (by Siri Husvelt).

2009

Dans ces bras la. Camille Laurens YY

L'echappee belle. Anna Gavalda. YYY

Madrid, cette annee-la. Daniel Chavarria.Y

A flat in New York, Jane Smiley Y

Rendez vous sur le Lac. Cathy Ytak

What I loved... Siri Husvelt YYYY

Changing places. David Lodge.YYY

Battements d'ailes. Milena Agus YY

Mal de pierres. Milena Agus YYYY

Une vie francaise. Jean Paul Dubois. YY

Le rapport de Brodereck. Philippe Claudel YYYY

L'aube, le soir ou la nuit. Yasmina RezaYY

Un romman russe. Emmanuel Carrere.Y

La vie devant soi. Romain Gary YYY

Les adieux a la reine. Chantal Thomas YYY

L'adversaire. Emmanuel Carrere.Y

Firmin. Sam Savage Y

Un brillant avenir. Catherine Cusset YYY

Journal d'un cycle. New York. Catherine Cusset. Y

No et moi. Delphine de Vigan YY

Soie. Alessandro Baricco YYY

L'elegance du Herisson. Muriel Barbery YYY

Girl with a pearl earring. Tracy Chevalier. YYY

Trilogie Fabio Montale. Jean-Claude Izzo. YY

Man on Wire. Philippe Petit.

To reach the clouds. Philippe Petit.

Desert Solitaire. Edward Abbey.YYY

Persepolis. Marjane Satrapi.YY

French cows. (le Chinaillon)

After the swiss cows, I'm posting french cows. That's what each of us got as favors at M&O's wedding this past week end in a chalet of the French Alps. I managed to take the pic and the cows disappeared few minutes later. Yum!

Swiss Cows. (above Vevey)

Swiss cows= swiss milk = swiss milk chocolate. These cows are precious.

Lausanne. L'hermitage.

Just above the appartement we're staying in for now is l'Hermitage. Great view. Supposedly beautiful paintings inside.

Pontarlier. A chacun sa cabane...

Nicolas had invited Sam and me to the opening of a rather unusual exhibition last night in Pontarlier (Doubs - France). An editor asked several artists to make little "cabins" (would you say doll houses in english even if they are not necessarly for dolls?). These cabins were shipped to a local photographer, Gerard Benoit a la Guillaume. Then a different writer for each cabin wrote a one page text. End result: a book called "a chacun sa cabane". The exhibition gathers all the cabins in the center of the room and the pics of the cabins with the texts are hanging on the walls.

Our favorite cabin is the one above. You can see more pics of this cute project here.

What I enjoy even more are other projects from the same photographer.

He takes outstanding photographs with... milk jugs. No kidding!

I liked it so much that I joined his fan club and can be called to carry jugs

if he comes in my area to take photos. Here are some of the photos below.

There are plenty more over here. And if you get really into it, go check out the how-to pics.

Manosque. Les correspondances...

We went to Manosque two week ends ago for a festival where contemporary literature, through public readings, takes to the streets. With stages in the little town, we could listen to writers talk about their books.

(Anne Wiazemsky reading above, grand daugther of Francois Mauriac).

We also listened to Danny Laferrière who's not only a writer but a great speaker. I really enjoyed listening to him and Anne Celine who had already heard him speak in Quebec got his book autographed.

And this is where we could take the time to write a postcard. They had little special places like the three above throughout the town for people to sit and write. That weekend we could send as many postcards and letters as we wanted for free. Lovely concept! (next time let's not forget the address book).

And I just had to post this one to remember Clarika who did a concert the night before. Sam and I enjoyed her show, mixing readings with songs. Great style! (The same morning, Daphne came and drunk her coffee at the table next to ours and had a casual chat with Sam. Too bad she was sick and leaving the festival early).