Comments on: renversé

By: Like-CH-Not-So-Much-FR

Like-CH-Not-So-Much-FR — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 20:48:52 +0000

Geneva is Switzerland in more ways than one. If you take the wrong fork on the highway into Geneva from the general direction of Zurich, you end up in France. And how can you tell? There is a smell, hanging all over France.. a malodour, not something rosy.

By: london gal

london gal — Sun, 25 Mar 2007 15:18:17 +0000

I agree with a swiss girl. Geneva is not the real Switzerland – just one facet. I have friends in Valais and also in Zurich and Fribourg – all fantastic places. I’m looking forward to reading about a place you visit that you really like, Petite!

By: clarissa

clarissa — Sun, 25 Mar 2007 15:16:14 +0000

I had the good fortune of visiting the underbelly of Geneva: my group of Swiss friends were squatters, and I think all the cockroaches in Geneva were in their squat! It was a fun, cool, interesting look at a city, which is on the whole soulessly sanitary.

By: a swiss girl

a swiss girl — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 12:57:25 +0000

Petite, as always I really enjoyed reading your post, especially as it shows me my country through “neutral eyes”…

It’s quite funny how almost all foreigners feel like they’re in Disneyland when they’re in Switzerland! It is a kind of bubble, with many advantages but also some disadvantages.

I just wanted to say a few things that are important to me in reaction to some comments:

1) Geneva is not really Switzerland, all swiss people will tell you that (I’m a vaudoise from Lausanne…). Not only because of cross-cantons rivalry and because it’s way too close to France but also because 54% of people living there hold a foreign passport, and only 33% are originally from there. Switzerland on the whole is a patchwork of different cultures and identities, from different cantons or other countries and we love it that way.

2) Switzerland is only boring if you don’t know the right places and haven’t done your research! It has too many concerts and expos to see in a whole life, a great clubbing scene, amazing museums, you can do virtually every sports you can imagine, there are hundreds of very different-looking landscape, and I could list on for ages.

3) Finally, yes, in our more than 700 years of “brotherly love, democracy and peace” we only managed to produce chocolate (Sorry Orson, cuckoo clocks come from the Black Forest in Germany!), but what chocolate!!!

I’m finished with my rant now ;). Wow, I didn’t know I was such a patriot!

By: The Bold Soul

The Bold Soul — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 16:38:12 +0000

20 years ago I spent a week in Davos on the German-speaking side of Switzerland. I was bowled over by how nice ALL the shopkeepers were: you could go into any shop, be pleasantly greeted on your entry, browse for an hour, ask them to pull things down off shelves so you can see them better, buy NOTHING after all that… and they will still wish you a pleasant day and thank you for coming as you leave the store. They may secretly be thinking rude things after you leave but they sure set a new high standard for great customer service.

If you go back, get out into the mountains or travel around to some other towns. Maybe it’s just Geneva?

By: Beta Mum

Beta Mum — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 11:21:54 +0000

It always amazes me how a Parisian shop assistant can say “Madame”, surely a word denoting respect, in a way that communicates the exact opposite.

By: Belle

Belle — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 11:09:29 +0000

Suspicious silence on the vache a chocolat front…methinks a cownapping went down and perhaps what Tadpole got was a prettily wrapped imposter?

By: zoeshync

zoeshync — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 01:10:29 +0000

Hey, just want to say I love your blog. Been reading for a while now. Your recent posts about going places coupled with my heaps of school work is making me itch all over to travel (I am going to India soon I hope:)!!

Last January I went to Paris expecting a clean, beautiful, romantic city with happy people. HAHA, so boy was I shocked when certain people we encountered were a bit rude, when my brother’s girlfriend and I nearly got knocked down by a speeding driver, and when the dirtiness of the city reminded me of home-Malaysia. Having said that, though, I still think I love Paris and am constantly dreaming of revisiting it, if not live there! I’m dying for Summer break to come so I can start going for French lessons… Ah how I wish I was European too…

Re Penny in Amsterdam: Yes, Singapore is really really uptight. I have been here for the past four years. The strict regulations makes it a really safe place, but it’s also one stressed up city to settle in.

By: petite

petite — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 19:42:10 +0000

It happened, but it’s impossible to know what the outcome will be. The decision should be made public next Thursday. More tomorrow. Right now I need a stiff drink and I’m going out!

But let’s just say that the word “twunt” did feature…

By: eshop600

eshop600 — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 19:33:00 +0000

Geneva is only good for getting to France.