Friday 24 September

My, I have been neglecting you all haven't I! I hadn't realised that almost a month has passed without an entry. And it hasn't been a boring month by any means. So lets see...

First of all, I have moved house. In a sudden development, a colleague of mine moved out of her apartment and offered it to me. I jumped at the chance, and the following photos will tell you why. My new apartment has a whole two rooms, and even a wee balcony. A huge step up from my old place. It even has (if you lean far over the balcony) a view. Ok, so not really a view, but more of one than my old place. It is a bit more expensive, but not excessively so, and in Genevan terms it is a total steal. Just $250 a week. The minuses include an utter lack of furniture (not even a stove) and being 15 minutes further away from work. It also has a ghastly bathroom.

Of course, this all coincided with my planned one week holiday in Paris, so I had a frenzy of expenditure, between bonds, flights and buying a bare minimum of furniture, I have had a poverty stricken month! My colleague was kind enough to leave the light fittings so at least I didn't have to face bare wires hanging from the ceiling. Here are photos, complete with my snazzy new table and chairs, which I assembled myself, from Ikea.

The living room. I will put up another pic when I have my pictures up	Living room looking into kitchen (A mess, but I don't have anywhere to put stuff!)	Bedroom (looking a bit bland); it will get better!	My view (if you lean out the window)	The awful bathroom... suggestions anyone?

So, I am moving house on the Thursday and Friday, trying to get out so that I can sublet my old place. I then fly out to Paris on Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately the person I was supposed to be staying with, suddenly moved to Marseilles for work! Oops. So all of a sudden I had to find a hotel for the week. Still, its all part of the great adventure isn't it?

My week in Paris was also suddenly a lot quieter than I had intended, so I spent quite a quiet week, wandering around, book shopping and seeing the sights. My hotel was only around the corner from the Eiffel tower so each evening I could go for a walk in the park. I finally got to see the Louvre and Notre Dame which was grand. I have hundreds of photos, which you probably don't really want to fish your way through, but below are a few tasters, and I have made a screen saver of my shots from the Louvre. Or at least, I have almost completed it... it is currently far too big to be practical, so I am still fiddling to get the size down a bit.

This reminded me SO much of James	Gorgeous isn't she?	Ah, renaissance glass... one of my soft spots	along with lovely jewellry	This griffin was made in Nuremberg in 1400 and is SO adorable

I also caught the train to Versailles and wandered through the amazingly glitzy palace... very very over the top.

I think this is the hall of mirrors and gives you some idea of the decor of the joint. Special.	Marie Antoinette's bed (what I could see of it over the crowd)	The "battle hall" (thats what I called it anyway, great paintings, lousy subject)	coool chest

I really must focus better on these entries, before I forget all that has happened!

The week before I went to Paris, I had lunch with my friend Christelle, and her mum Artemis. Artemis lives in Paris and I promised to call and have dinner with her while I was there. So I met up with her, and much to my joy and surprise, Christelle was also there. As was Adele (not sure of the spelling) who I have to say was one of the most beautiful looking men I have ever met. Actually one of the most beautiful men I have ever seen! He seemed very taken by Christelle... mind you, any bloke would be mad not to be. I hasten to add that he is actually also intelligent, and seems quite sweet too. The photos of me are pretty ordinary, but I know mum likes me to have photos that include me, so you get them.

Christelle and I	Christelle and her mum (my "adopted" mum in France)	Adele and I	Christelle and Adele - he's a bit of a hunk eh?

I finally got to spend a night in my new flat once I returned from Paris, although I discovered that the fridge doesn't work, and hadn't been working for the entire week of my holiday... not pretty.

That weekend, Angela and Duncan and their boys Owen and Rory (not sure of the spelling... could be Rhodry) came visiting all the way from Australia. A very lovely treat, and with some vital supplies in tow! The problem arose.. how to show them a taste of where I live, in one full day and two nights. A challenge indeed.

I picked them up from the airport and dropped them at my house for a shower, and left them to wander Geneva while I was at work. After work I met them at the apartment and we hit the road, heading to Annecy, one of my favourite towns. There I had booked us into a hotel; a renovated 16th century Savoyard Abbey actually... (grin) as ya do.

In the morning we had a wander around Annecy before heading off to Montreux. The weather was absolutely glorious and sunny. Sadly I got a bit misdirected (not lost as such, just ended up going on a long route) so we spent much of the day in the car. The kids were really very good considering they were pretty jet lagged.