Visit to New Villa

Having waved Kate and family off on Sunday night we flew out on Wednesday to join them for ten days in their new house and help out with childcare before school started.  When we left further re-inforcements in the shape of Malcolm's parents were arriving as Sebastian still had another week of holiday.

The new house will be very elegant when everything is in place and the workmen have left.    Kate would leave us directions about who was expected and when.  However Swiss workman seem to expect that someone will be in and turn up without notice.  When she returned we reported on who actaully had been and what we thought they had done.  We got used to daily life with two men in some part of the room and another two downstairs on another project.

Luckily we had lovely weather and were able to get out and about with the children.  Our first excursion was a walk round the local neighbourhood with Bella on her bike and Sebastian on his scooter.  We found The Laiterie which was a busy little shop with a table outside for enjoying snacks.   

On Sunday Alistair and I had a day away on our own and drove to Nyon to catch the ferry across the lake to Yvoire on the French side.  This is a very pretty, mediaeval town full of tourists.

                                                      

We planned to look round and have a leisurely lunch here.  It took some time to choose a restaurant where we both liked the menu but we found one and ordered our meal.  I enjoyed my foie gras starter very much and was looking forward to my fish from the lake main course. Unfortunately things went downhill  at this point and we waited and waited ......we were given more glasses of wine to keep us quiet.  After we had waited an hour Alistair stood up, told the waiter he could keep his glasses of wine and we were leaving......we then walked away down the street.  (If I had known we were going to walk out I would have drunk more of my wine which I was saving to have with my main course!) 

Our visits to to the French town of Divonne les Bains with the children in the following week were great fun.  Sebastian certainly put his foot down when he was in charge of our motorcycle on the rather small track.  I suppose the go-cart things are quite stable but I was somewhat worried on the corners.  Still he is just about ready to go solo.  Riding the bicycle made for five round the lake was a slower affair......it seemed that although Grandpa was in charge of the steering it was my side that was doing the tough pedalling as I found out on the on the home straight when we had changed places.

The next week we went to the plage in Divonne.  It was the August 31st and the last day before Bella went back to school.  As it was the last day it was not busy and we got in for free.  A sandcastle was built and a dragon constructed next to it whilst Grandpa basked in the sun and looked after our possessions.  To be fair he also walked into town and brought back french patisserie for us to scoff. 

mixing the right consistency was important!

When Bella was at school we went back with Sebastian on a duck feeding expedition and the plage area was all locked up but we could still see our sandcastle and crocodile through the railings.  The sun was still shining and it was nice and warm but end of season in Switzerland obviously means end of season.

On our last day we went into Geneva for a boat ride past the Jet d'eau, a ride on the one of the little trains and a most enjoyable lunch in shady square.  Oh and we looked at some very expensive watches.  Then back to Manchester on the orange and white plane.