I don't really like this doll, but I gotta admit I just loved this version...This is called imagination...

Les Champs-Elysées...

As I mentioned before, one of the things we like the most about living here is the proximity to other great cities.

Two weekends ago we decided (of course after a nice friend living there allowed): let's go to Paris!

Big questions of life: airplane or train? what you mean train? Well, Geneva is one of the final stations of the famous French TGV (train a grande vitesse), the very fast train! It is not so fast if you compare that with an Easyjet flight you are there in 1h30min, and by train we make in 3:30 with no connection, but why not trying it?

Of course prices also matter. In a not business time (and playing with weekend/no weekend flights with Easyjet), one needs around 70 euros (back and forth ticket!!!). By train we couldn't find for less than 300 Swiss francs, although with good sales, you can find for 200 francs or less. Also, one should consider that arrivals by airplane are, at least, 10 km far from the city center, whenever train arrivals are practically IN the center and from there is just choose one of the many metro, bus, or bike lines. I was always 'afraid' of the many metro lines, I counted 14 of them, I could get lost and never find my way out of it, ever again; there is even one without driver!

And then, of course, it is just get lost (in the good meaning) in the many small and large streets, sightseeing, important places and shops and restaurants (they are everywhere).

Monmartre, great view from the city

We were very lucky on Friday with good weather. We started our walk from Monmartre, down to the Opera, with our first visit to the Galerie Lafayette (astonishing too many useless expensive craps, but an outstanding architecture), following to the Madeleine and down to the Concorde, with the view of the Tuillerie/Louvre to the back and going towards the Champs-Elysées (with a pit stop for a crepe and panini) we arrived to the Arc du Triomphe. How I love this street, it is so funny to see these boutiques with very 'cheap' prices, people from all over the world walking around, and suddenly facing a big picture of George with a cup of Nespresso (I doubt he drinks those with the Italian cafés giving where he lives), waiting 20min at a Starbucks to get that watered café (no way), and see a line of 100 Chineses waiting to see the insides of the Maison Louis Vitton (maybe to copy for selling at the black market?) and finishing in a lovely walk to the Eiffel Tower, I just love to sit and look up at that amaaaaaazing structure.

Bonjour la Dame de Fer!

Xmas deco at the Lafayette

Saturday was just rain, but a delicious breakfast at one of the restos at the Louvre, how I love those croissants, gateaux au chocolat and so many of them. Inside the Louvre of course we had to stop to check what, according to Krisz is one of the best works of art there, which you can find in the pic bellow:

(could you find it?)

Then walked to Les Halles (interesting mall), small streets of the Marais and on our way to the Luxembourg garden we went around the quartier latin, just love it! and back we met Orsi in the Notre-Dame under the pouring rain.

Sunday was also lucky because although it was raining we could get for free (first sunday of the month) inside the Musee d'Orsay. Beautiful building, nice pics and the impressionism really leaves you impressed, though I prefer statues...

And then, back home. This time the TGC was more modern, I forgot to mention that the one we took to go to Paris was the latest fashion of the 70s, but still it reached the promised 296 km/h (which I wouldn't try at home).

Besides you are never alone, have to travel in the packed metro, and strikes, Paris is indeed a city like no other...

not easy...

hi there,

Not easy to keep posting after I have to run up and down and manage some programs for others...

Well, I have been doing a lot of things, not only related to job after all! And job it is, since I spent more time there (minimum 11 hours a day) than at home. After having lunch with the natives from here and there I realized that Brazilians are not really strong in one area: wishing things to others, or at least my family!

In the morning they already start with bonjour!ok, no problem there because some brazilians really say that do each other, but as I remember most of them do say it. But Francophones do go a little bit more ahead saying "bonne journée), like have a nice day in the morning.
Then lunch time comes and with it something that I really didn't enjoy in Gödöllő and they kind of obligated foreigners to say: the famous "bon appetit"! and not only they have to answer thanks, the same for you too (merci, parreillement) but we have to say it for every 10 people who get into the room. It really slows down my eating (how boring I am).

After lunch is finished and dishes washed they wish each other "bon ap" but this time not the short for bon apetit, but the short for "bon apres-midi", meaning have a nice afternoon! and then again: merci, parreillement.

And by leaving the job, they say (not all of them) "bonne soirrée!, wishing a good night. Even to the bus driver, poor one, he arrives very thirsty at the end of the driving.
C'mon that is too much! Don't you think? I don't think Germans or Spanishes have this all the time. Or maybe I am just putting into practice what Swiss romande people say that French people do a lot: "raler", to complain a lot.

alors, c'est ça, bonne journée a tous!

It is so hard to write when you pass the entire day jumping from one lab to the other and so on...
2-3 weeks ago we succeeded to take a time off and go somewhere in Switzerland, because after all, the French region around here we already know...

We went to one of the most famous ski cities in the country (at least we think so), we went to Zermatt!!!
I 've never been to place where you go on vacation just to ski or just to walk walk walk, or as my colleague who was also there says, hike!

It is a super über nice place. The city is car free (sg that an American or a Brazilian can imagine). It means, you leave your car in one of the cities before Zermatt and go up by train (15 CHF round trip without the demi-tarif). We got a good hotel, but you can also run for lodges, albergues, apartments or expensive hotels (up in the klein Matterhorn). Our hotel had a view to the Matterhorn, but not our room, which had a view to the city.

Well, so what you do on a place like this? climb to the mountains by walk (not my style) or take the cable car (a bit overpriced), but when you have your ski stuff, you have to use it. The funny is to see people around in 25 degrees with the ski coats and trousers.

We opted to go for the walking. As totally out of ideas about what to do, we took a huge breakfast (delicious) and out for the mountains! But where? we got a map and decided: Gornergrat it is. after all it is just 3km and that I do all the time...but...

Yeah, but...I didn't count the inclination of the mountain...when you are not prepared that can be a pain in the leg, literally speaking...so we went up one km and found the GornergratBahn, I was never so happy to find a train and up we went. Walked around, saw amazing views, interesting people, a glacier (or a mer de glace), something like a sea of ice...I wanted to walk in that one, but maybe it wouldnt be what I expect it to be. Than we walked down a bit more, and took the train to the hotel. As I said this is not exactly the kind of vacation I am used to which is go to a paradise beach, drink coconut water and drinks meanwhile staring at the beach, walk in the sand and that's all for some days. THis is what most Brazilians do I think. From now on I decided to change this vacation style and go more to these other type of paradise places.
Zermatt is said to be expensive, after all, hotels and trains are, but food is exactly like in Geneva.



A good place to spend some quality time. Ah, this is funny to say: I got a little sunburned! I really thought that wouldn't be possible for me, as I am used to Brazilian sun. Guess what, up in the Gornergrat observatory there was a station for measuring cosmic radiation...well, you can imagine how our faces were after walking around the entire day 3100m high...

THis will be out target next time, up to the Toblerone chocolate symbol mountain...

costumer treatment...

One thing that never stops amazing me here in general, in Europe (and I thought it was a particularity of Hungary but I was wrong) is how a seller or a person who works in a shop whichever it is 'serves' the client.

You all know that I mention how are things in Brazil and Hungary all the time, because these are the two countries where I have lived the most and I don't want to always present this Brazilian vainglory, but there the job of a seller/waiter depends on how he deals with the client. Brazilian like to be well treated and are used to a friendly service. I always call the waiter by their names and talk and ask opinions and they always give feedback, specially in the sea shore kiosks.

In Hungary, waiters are so impersonal, make an unfriendly face if you don't choose your meal fast and are, sometimes, impolite. Or who never received a not-nice-face from sellers in Salamander or this type of shop?

In Switzerland, they are protected. Yes, they can do anything they want. I already saw sellers in shops make an extreme ugly face because they came to ask if they can help and we said 'no, we are just checking around'. Or when the waiter came and we still didn't choose the plate...
Yesterday it was the top of the top. We arrived at Manor restaurant to eat a pizza 30min before the restaurant closes (at 19:30), and, we were choosing our pizza when the seller looked at our face and made the gesture of closing plus said 'closed', pluuuus the manager came and started installing the separation line that we should not advance. Com'n we were already there inside...I can understand that he might be tired of working the entire day in front of the oven, but I think that was not nice at all.

So we decided to go to the market and the same money we would use to eat the pizza, we bought special pieces of cheese, ham, and bread and had fun with it.

To hell with this behavior, they should know it better in this country, a place where as I have seen money speaks more than all the languages together...

no time...

I started working 2 months ago.
Still didn't receive my first salary (in science is like this), but I happen to be having lots of fun in the new labs!
People are nice (I was afraid of not finding nice colleagues I have to admit) and the place is new and modern.
Some friends ask me, why didn't you start working after the summer is over, like this you can enjoy the sun and the warm for the last time before you get immersed in all that +"!%/+! and never be able to come out of it again.
Yeah, I realized that I have no time for nothing now, even for the flat which became a mess. But it is worth, I really like the place and the warm outside the lab is so unbearable (35 degrees one of these days) that I just can thank for the wise decision of some department of having a 4 degrees room close to our labs!



have a nice summer...