I've been living the last few days as in a fairytale. I've stayed in a phenomenal hotel with stunning views, I've eaten like a king, and I've actually enjoyed hours on end of shopping without worrying at all about how much things cost (with one exception; I was going to upgrade to 1st class for the trip home, but it was an additional 4,500 dollars! Jee-Zus!) I have actually really enjoyed shopping, as I was on a mission for something quite specific for Erin, and I finally found it this morning. I also bought some things for Nick, as well as a grigri for myself. It's been a great experience. To top it all off, as I was wandering around, I came across this fountain, which has convinced me that Erin needs to at least visit here someday, if not live here.
However, the shopping is just a small blip in what has been great about Zermatt. I took many, many photos, so instead of going through the laborious process of linking to them individually, I put them all in a folder here, for you to look at at your convenience.
Of all the things wonderful about this place, it is the sheer force of nature known as a glacier that has most captured my imagination. Until now, I've never seen real, large, living glaciers with my own eyes, and seeing the gouges in the mountains and the glacial silt in the rivers and the 300 ft. deep canyons that are maybe 18 inches across at their narrow points really brings home how alive our planet is and how temporary it's current visage. Actually, I'm amazed that there are still mountains here, because it looks like a few centuries of moving so much earth per day would level this place flat. It's a wonderful mystery of nature, and a near religious experience to behold. Photos are a dim reflection of the experience.
So yesterday I took the cablecar to the top of the line, where we topped out in a tiny peak above a glacial mass, and the drop thousands and thousands of feet straight down. I'm not normally susceptable to vertigo, but I did have it here when I stepped out of the car. On top of that it was below freezing and windy as hell. Fortunately I'd bought gloves and a hat. After taking the elevator to the tippy-top of the peak, where you couldn't see anything because of the clouds, I went to the glacial ice palace. just check out the photos. The sculptures were neat, but neater still was being inside a living glacier, and seeing evidence of this in bent hallways, warped ceilings, and just curves everywhere.
A few hours later I made my way back down. I called the paragliding guy, and made an appointment, weather pending, for this morning. Then I went shopping, had dinner, checked out this place, called the Vernissage, which is one of the coolest movie theaters ever, and then came back to the hotel and wrote my last post.
This morning I changed my mind about the paragliding. I've decided to head back to Geneva early, and to try to do some fishing in France along the way by taking the eastern shore of the lake instead of the western shore. I figure I can just buy a paraglider now, for about only 3 times what the tandem flight would have cost (just kidding honey; sort of...)
So that's it. I probably won't post anymore before I come home, unless I catch some fish or something unexpectedly interesting happens. I'll keep you all posted (or not.)
T
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
What's been up, pre-Zermatt
OK, my trip is winding down, and I just received a message from E asking WTF, why haven't I posted?
Honestly, I've thought about that several times in the last week or so, and I guess that I haven't posted because I've just been living in the moment, and I haven't been at home at all except to crash on the couch since last Friday, and well... I've just been lazy.
So, prepare yourselves. This is going to be a long post.
Part 1:
Since my last post, I finished teaching. I really enjoyed my class, and you can find out all about them individually by clicking here to view powepoint presentations I had them make about themselves and their countries. They were all very interesting, but my favorite was Tina, because she's from Slovenia, and though I haven't been there, I pretty much want to live there.
So, Thursday I went into Geneva to meet Sami, a guy I met from an online site called Geneva Online (which is pretty much the coolest free community site I've ever seen) because I convinced him to rent me his little 125cc Yamaha for a few days.
Now, up to this point it had rained and been cold/wet every single day of my trip here, but the weather was supposed to become picture-perfect from Friday until Monday or Tuesday.
--Wait... let's change topic for a second; I had to stop writing for a bit because my battery went dead, so I went for dinner. I had pumpkin soup with bacon, a gruyere fondue with curried pineapple, and DAMN, was it good!
OK, back to business. So I went to meet Sami on Thurs. to pick up the bike, but his helmet was way too small, so he suggested I go to this store about 2 blocks from the train station, which was about a 20 minute walk back across the lake towards the center of town, from which I just came. He had a few more hours of work anyway, so I needed something to do.
I made my way to the little church he used as a landmark, and turned right, as he said. I walked about 5 blocks before realizing he must have made a mistake. So I walked back to the main street, and went 5 blocks the other direction, thinking maybe he was mixed up. No cycle shop. So then I walked 5 blocks in both directions on the next street up, thinking maybe he meant the next MAIN street past the church. No luck. However, I did happen to find the "Sex Place," where there were ten girls perched in lingerie beckoning me to spend a few hours with them. Fortunately, I didn't speak the same language, so they had to use body language in the form of showing me boobs. Nice.
Anyway, at this point, I'd been walking almost non-stop for an hour and a half. I was tired, but still no helmet. Finally I caught a guy getting onto his bike, and in Spanish asked him where he'd gotten his helmet. He said at Manor, which was ironic, because I'd been in that store several times before and in fact, it is the only place I know how to get to. It turns out that there are an additional 2 levels (making a total of 7) that you can only access from a different entrance than the one I'd been using.
So I ran about 3 blocks hoping to get there in time, which I did, with 15 minutes to spare. Sadly, they had no helmets in my size.
As it was now approaching 7, I decided to head back across the lake, to call Sami from the payphone in front of the McDonalds, as he said it was closest to his work, and his apartment was only a few blocks away (tuns out I was wrong about this; he actually lives in Nyon.)
Well, that phone was broken, so I wandered up and down the streets in Oldtown looking for another phone, and about 20 minutes later I found one, though I had to wait almost 30 min. for the guy using it to finish. When I finally was able to call, he didn't answer, so I left a message telling him I'd wait by the bike. I walked the 6 blocks back to the bike, and waited for 45 min. before giving up and walking back across the river again, and finally catching the 9 o'clock train back home. All in all, I walked almost non-stop for 5 hours, and figure it must have been at least 7 miles, though I think it was closer to 9 miles.
OK, when I got home, there' an email from Sami apologizing for not meeting me, and explaining that he was already home, in Nyon.
We decided to meet the next day, Friday, and I arrived in Geneva early, to find a helmet, which I eventually did, and I finally got the bike.
I rode around Versoix and Coppet on Friday, and I was up nearly all the night because we were moved out of our house and into a new one, where the teenaged counselors were staying. I went to sleep at 4, got up at 11 on Sat. and rode my bike to Montreux for a little more poker action. After getting lost in Lausanne, and getting stuck in the downtown parking nightmare of the Montreux Jazz Fest, I finally made it to the casino at 9. The poker didn't go as well as the week before, and I only wound up winning 1800. :)
So I rode home as the sun was coming up, hugging the lakeshore most of the way, but occasionally riding up into these ancient villages clinging to the mountainside. I have to say that as the sun was coming up, the view of the lake combined with the countryside made for the best motorcycle ride of my life. I got home about 7:00 am to find the door locked, so I had to hop the fence and go in the kitchen door.
Sunday I got up about noon, kicked around the house a bit, then went for a ride to Divonne to do some fishing. I walked around the lake there, rod and reel in hand, but saw no fish rising. After it got dark, I rode to the casino there, played cards til about 3:30, and won 500 euros.
Monday I had to return the bike, as well as pick up my rental car, so I rode the train to the airport, got the car, drove home, rode the bike to Sami's work in Oldtown, then walked back to the train, and came home for the car. The whole process took about 5 hours, and by then the girls were home from their 1st day teaching the second session. Since I had a car, I offered to drive to dinner, and we wound up eating in France, in a town called Ferney-Voltaire, where the famous Voltaire lived. Then I dropped them off and headed back to Divonne for more poker.
Now, I know I said it in my last post, but it bears repeating; this area is poker paradise. This particular night, I got a player to put 1100 euros into the pot heads-up preflop, with pocket 2's. I, of course, had pocket Aces. I'd moved into the larger game that night (10-20 blinds), intending to move down to the lower game (2-4) when a seat came open, but the players in the big game were even worse than the small, so I stayed there. In the end, I walked away that night with 2300 more euros than I started with. All in all for this trip so far, I've made over 7,000 US dollars playing poker. It's simply unbelievable.
I finally made it home about 4, slept on the couch, and got up Tuesday at about 11, and got on the road to Zermatt, world-famous village at the foot of the Matterhorn, by 3.
I had intended when I started this post to get to my incredible day here, but I am already tired and need to be up early for the chance (weather permitting) to go paragliding in the morning. So I promise that tomorrow I'll update again. I'll just leave you with this taste: the view this morning from my large balcony. Simply incredible.
T
Honestly, I've thought about that several times in the last week or so, and I guess that I haven't posted because I've just been living in the moment, and I haven't been at home at all except to crash on the couch since last Friday, and well... I've just been lazy.
So, prepare yourselves. This is going to be a long post.
Part 1:
Since my last post, I finished teaching. I really enjoyed my class, and you can find out all about them individually by clicking here to view powepoint presentations I had them make about themselves and their countries. They were all very interesting, but my favorite was Tina, because she's from Slovenia, and though I haven't been there, I pretty much want to live there.
So, Thursday I went into Geneva to meet Sami, a guy I met from an online site called Geneva Online (which is pretty much the coolest free community site I've ever seen) because I convinced him to rent me his little 125cc Yamaha for a few days.
Now, up to this point it had rained and been cold/wet every single day of my trip here, but the weather was supposed to become picture-perfect from Friday until Monday or Tuesday.
--Wait... let's change topic for a second; I had to stop writing for a bit because my battery went dead, so I went for dinner. I had pumpkin soup with bacon, a gruyere fondue with curried pineapple, and DAMN, was it good!
OK, back to business. So I went to meet Sami on Thurs. to pick up the bike, but his helmet was way too small, so he suggested I go to this store about 2 blocks from the train station, which was about a 20 minute walk back across the lake towards the center of town, from which I just came. He had a few more hours of work anyway, so I needed something to do.
I made my way to the little church he used as a landmark, and turned right, as he said. I walked about 5 blocks before realizing he must have made a mistake. So I walked back to the main street, and went 5 blocks the other direction, thinking maybe he was mixed up. No cycle shop. So then I walked 5 blocks in both directions on the next street up, thinking maybe he meant the next MAIN street past the church. No luck. However, I did happen to find the "Sex Place," where there were ten girls perched in lingerie beckoning me to spend a few hours with them. Fortunately, I didn't speak the same language, so they had to use body language in the form of showing me boobs. Nice.
Anyway, at this point, I'd been walking almost non-stop for an hour and a half. I was tired, but still no helmet. Finally I caught a guy getting onto his bike, and in Spanish asked him where he'd gotten his helmet. He said at Manor, which was ironic, because I'd been in that store several times before and in fact, it is the only place I know how to get to. It turns out that there are an additional 2 levels (making a total of 7) that you can only access from a different entrance than the one I'd been using.
So I ran about 3 blocks hoping to get there in time, which I did, with 15 minutes to spare. Sadly, they had no helmets in my size.
As it was now approaching 7, I decided to head back across the lake, to call Sami from the payphone in front of the McDonalds, as he said it was closest to his work, and his apartment was only a few blocks away (tuns out I was wrong about this; he actually lives in Nyon.)
Well, that phone was broken, so I wandered up and down the streets in Oldtown looking for another phone, and about 20 minutes later I found one, though I had to wait almost 30 min. for the guy using it to finish. When I finally was able to call, he didn't answer, so I left a message telling him I'd wait by the bike. I walked the 6 blocks back to the bike, and waited for 45 min. before giving up and walking back across the river again, and finally catching the 9 o'clock train back home. All in all, I walked almost non-stop for 5 hours, and figure it must have been at least 7 miles, though I think it was closer to 9 miles.
OK, when I got home, there' an email from Sami apologizing for not meeting me, and explaining that he was already home, in Nyon.
We decided to meet the next day, Friday, and I arrived in Geneva early, to find a helmet, which I eventually did, and I finally got the bike.
I rode around Versoix and Coppet on Friday, and I was up nearly all the night because we were moved out of our house and into a new one, where the teenaged counselors were staying. I went to sleep at 4, got up at 11 on Sat. and rode my bike to Montreux for a little more poker action. After getting lost in Lausanne, and getting stuck in the downtown parking nightmare of the Montreux Jazz Fest, I finally made it to the casino at 9. The poker didn't go as well as the week before, and I only wound up winning 1800. :)
So I rode home as the sun was coming up, hugging the lakeshore most of the way, but occasionally riding up into these ancient villages clinging to the mountainside. I have to say that as the sun was coming up, the view of the lake combined with the countryside made for the best motorcycle ride of my life. I got home about 7:00 am to find the door locked, so I had to hop the fence and go in the kitchen door.
Sunday I got up about noon, kicked around the house a bit, then went for a ride to Divonne to do some fishing. I walked around the lake there, rod and reel in hand, but saw no fish rising. After it got dark, I rode to the casino there, played cards til about 3:30, and won 500 euros.
Monday I had to return the bike, as well as pick up my rental car, so I rode the train to the airport, got the car, drove home, rode the bike to Sami's work in Oldtown, then walked back to the train, and came home for the car. The whole process took about 5 hours, and by then the girls were home from their 1st day teaching the second session. Since I had a car, I offered to drive to dinner, and we wound up eating in France, in a town called Ferney-Voltaire, where the famous Voltaire lived. Then I dropped them off and headed back to Divonne for more poker.
Now, I know I said it in my last post, but it bears repeating; this area is poker paradise. This particular night, I got a player to put 1100 euros into the pot heads-up preflop, with pocket 2's. I, of course, had pocket Aces. I'd moved into the larger game that night (10-20 blinds), intending to move down to the lower game (2-4) when a seat came open, but the players in the big game were even worse than the small, so I stayed there. In the end, I walked away that night with 2300 more euros than I started with. All in all for this trip so far, I've made over 7,000 US dollars playing poker. It's simply unbelievable.
I finally made it home about 4, slept on the couch, and got up Tuesday at about 11, and got on the road to Zermatt, world-famous village at the foot of the Matterhorn, by 3.
I had intended when I started this post to get to my incredible day here, but I am already tired and need to be up early for the chance (weather permitting) to go paragliding in the morning. So I promise that tomorrow I'll update again. I'll just leave you with this taste: the view this morning from my large balcony. Simply incredible.
T
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Poker heaven Poker hell
So I have taken awhile to get back to writing this post. Since all of you know my obsession w/ poker and I know it can be a bit boring to hear of, I have been debating going into great detail here. I've opted for the short version.
Poker in France and Switzerland is a new phenomenon. Texas Hold 'Em has only been legal for about 6 months, and poker is not all over the TV here like it is in the states. Combine this with the fact that ALL of the players at my table the other night were casino gamblers and not poker players, and you've got what I can only describe as a situation just like you hear old-time pros (like Doyle Brunson or Bobby Baldwin) describe when they talk about the golden years of Vegas poker in the 1960's.
I didn't realize when I sat down how big the game was (in terms of money) and I bought in for only 400 in a game with blinds of 10-20. After the first half hour or so I almost started to panic because I really felt like I needed about 2000 to play well in this game. Why? Well for one, there was a combined total of about 20,000 dollars in play. Two players in particular were betting thousands of dollars every few hands with hands like KJ or 44... preflop! Not only that, but they would put all their money in after the flop w/ 2 undercards, and no draw. It was truly unbelieveable, and a golden opportunity, but I remained card-dead for the first 4 hours of play. I seriously tightened up my game, folding pocket queens before the flop, limping with kings, etc. I knew that if I could just hit a flop hard it would be paydirt. The problem was in the huge bets preflop; almost every hand was brought in for somewhere between 80 and 500 dollars, so I just kept folding, folding, folding. During that 1st four hours I only won 2 pots. Only 2, out of about 160 hands played! (statitically, I was due about 16.) So I got down to 160 and went all in preflop w/ pocket 2's, got called by a K7 and an A8, and I won the hand. A few rounds later I bought in an additional 500 (for a grand-total of 900) and was blinded down to 240 when my 4th winning hand of the night came up.
I called a 5 way pot w/ pocket 5's for 120 before the flop; a desperate call, but the odds were great, and if I missed the flop, I had one more all-in that could keep me floating. Well, on the flop I hit a set, and before the action got to me, the original bettor bet 300 and 2 others called. I of course called, and in the end, my set held and I was up to around 1200.
To make a longer story not so long, by the end of the night the cards balanced out and I started getting some playable hands. I would up walking away w/ 4000 Swiss Francs, 3100 profit, which translates to about 2600 dollars.
That game was a player's dream, because that kind of play simply doesn't exist in the States anymore. I suspect it won't last long over here, but I am extremely glad I got to get a taste of what it must have been like in the old days playing poker for thousands of dollars against players who simply do not understand how to play.
Aside from the great action, a few other things were different here. For one, the player w/ the dealer button actually cuts the cards. Also, they make you dress up; it's slacks and a tie on the weekends, or it's a no-go. And the biggest difference, and probably the thing that will keep poker from being a big success here until they change it, is the rake.
For those of you who don't know, rake is the term used for the house's cut from a pot. Since the house doesn't make money off the players in poker the same way it does in other games, they take a percentage out of each pot. In Vegas, the standard is 10% of the pot, up to 4$. In big games (30$-60$ and higher)they will charge a time fee, usually 20$ an hour per player. Here, the rake never maxes out... it keeps getting bigger the bigger the pot gets.
We had about 20,000 on the table at one point. by the end, only 9,000 was cashed out. That means that during our 7 hours of play, the house took 11,000 dollars off the table in rake. They had a chart posted with the house take listed by the size of the pot. For the largest pot in our game that night, the rake was 240$. I watched them raking so much money and got a laugh at some of the players I know who bitch about the rake in Vegas having gone from a 3$ max per pot to 4$ max in the last few years. They'd have heart attacks if they played here.
Honestly though, I think the casinos are going to find pretty quickly that they can't sustain their poker games in the long run when they keep taking so much money from the players. In our game, very nearly 50% of the money that was put on the table went to the house, and if we'd played another 8 hours at that rate with no one leaving, ALL the money would have disappeared and we'd all have left losers, whether we ever lost a hand or not. I don't think the casinos realize that their locals will eventually go broke to the rake, but I suppose the casinos will have to experience that for themselves.
OK, I've said enough. I could go on a lot longer, but I'll save it for others who truly find poker interesting. :)
T
Poker in France and Switzerland is a new phenomenon. Texas Hold 'Em has only been legal for about 6 months, and poker is not all over the TV here like it is in the states. Combine this with the fact that ALL of the players at my table the other night were casino gamblers and not poker players, and you've got what I can only describe as a situation just like you hear old-time pros (like Doyle Brunson or Bobby Baldwin) describe when they talk about the golden years of Vegas poker in the 1960's.
I didn't realize when I sat down how big the game was (in terms of money) and I bought in for only 400 in a game with blinds of 10-20. After the first half hour or so I almost started to panic because I really felt like I needed about 2000 to play well in this game. Why? Well for one, there was a combined total of about 20,000 dollars in play. Two players in particular were betting thousands of dollars every few hands with hands like KJ or 44... preflop! Not only that, but they would put all their money in after the flop w/ 2 undercards, and no draw. It was truly unbelieveable, and a golden opportunity, but I remained card-dead for the first 4 hours of play. I seriously tightened up my game, folding pocket queens before the flop, limping with kings, etc. I knew that if I could just hit a flop hard it would be paydirt. The problem was in the huge bets preflop; almost every hand was brought in for somewhere between 80 and 500 dollars, so I just kept folding, folding, folding. During that 1st four hours I only won 2 pots. Only 2, out of about 160 hands played! (statitically, I was due about 16.) So I got down to 160 and went all in preflop w/ pocket 2's, got called by a K7 and an A8, and I won the hand. A few rounds later I bought in an additional 500 (for a grand-total of 900) and was blinded down to 240 when my 4th winning hand of the night came up.
I called a 5 way pot w/ pocket 5's for 120 before the flop; a desperate call, but the odds were great, and if I missed the flop, I had one more all-in that could keep me floating. Well, on the flop I hit a set, and before the action got to me, the original bettor bet 300 and 2 others called. I of course called, and in the end, my set held and I was up to around 1200.
To make a longer story not so long, by the end of the night the cards balanced out and I started getting some playable hands. I would up walking away w/ 4000 Swiss Francs, 3100 profit, which translates to about 2600 dollars.
That game was a player's dream, because that kind of play simply doesn't exist in the States anymore. I suspect it won't last long over here, but I am extremely glad I got to get a taste of what it must have been like in the old days playing poker for thousands of dollars against players who simply do not understand how to play.
Aside from the great action, a few other things were different here. For one, the player w/ the dealer button actually cuts the cards. Also, they make you dress up; it's slacks and a tie on the weekends, or it's a no-go. And the biggest difference, and probably the thing that will keep poker from being a big success here until they change it, is the rake.
For those of you who don't know, rake is the term used for the house's cut from a pot. Since the house doesn't make money off the players in poker the same way it does in other games, they take a percentage out of each pot. In Vegas, the standard is 10% of the pot, up to 4$. In big games (30$-60$ and higher)they will charge a time fee, usually 20$ an hour per player. Here, the rake never maxes out... it keeps getting bigger the bigger the pot gets.
We had about 20,000 on the table at one point. by the end, only 9,000 was cashed out. That means that during our 7 hours of play, the house took 11,000 dollars off the table in rake. They had a chart posted with the house take listed by the size of the pot. For the largest pot in our game that night, the rake was 240$. I watched them raking so much money and got a laugh at some of the players I know who bitch about the rake in Vegas having gone from a 3$ max per pot to 4$ max in the last few years. They'd have heart attacks if they played here.
Honestly though, I think the casinos are going to find pretty quickly that they can't sustain their poker games in the long run when they keep taking so much money from the players. In our game, very nearly 50% of the money that was put on the table went to the house, and if we'd played another 8 hours at that rate with no one leaving, ALL the money would have disappeared and we'd all have left losers, whether we ever lost a hand or not. I don't think the casinos realize that their locals will eventually go broke to the rake, but I suppose the casinos will have to experience that for themselves.
OK, I've said enough. I could go on a lot longer, but I'll save it for others who truly find poker interesting. :)
T
Monday, July 09, 2007
Tyson Luck Strikes Again!
Man, I can't believe I'm already on my last week of work here. 3 more days of class, then a week off, then it's back home again. I really miss Erin, but I certainly am not missing the record heat; hopefully it'll cool down in the next week or so.
Anyway, on to my post.
This past week had a lot going on, what with the 4th of July (we made good old American burgers and tater tots) and with the Lake Parade and the huge party for Switzerland's winning of the America's Cup again.
A few days ago I was hungry for some fishing, and I decided to hike along the River Versoix because I found a site which said you could walk along about three miles of it through the forest, and someone else said it held trout. Well, I walked about 1 mile or so along a little paved pathway, but it's been raining so much here (every day since we got here) that the river was totally swollen and inaccessable. The path turned out to be a driveway to a neat little farmhouse, but I didn't go any farther because I didn't want to freak out the farmers. I turned around and instead decided I'd follow it to where it dumped into the lake. About 2 miles later I came to the spot, a lovely little area owned by the University of Geneva, with a little park, and a pebbly beach to fish from. I fished for awhile, got a bite and saw some jump, but didn't land a fish. It started to rain again so I decided to head home. I decided to walk through town this time, since I hadn't been down there before, and I saw lots of neat little stores, a bakery, a chocolate factory, and this place. No, it's not what you think, it's actually a Thai market/restaurant, but what a great name for brand recognition!
It was closed though, so I hit the bakery across the street, got a coconut gellato, and made my way home, deciding that the next day I would ride my loaner bicycle to this little town in France called Divonne les Bains which is about 8 miles away. There is a lake there that is said to have trout, as well as hotsprings and a casino which just started featuring Hold 'Em poker a few months ago. I figured I'd fish a few hours, play cards a few hours, and ride home in plenty of time for a good night's sleep.
Well, my usual Tyson luck struck again. I rode out of town along the lake road with my backpack filled with fishing gear to the town of Coppet because someone told me there was a bike shop where I could get a lock for my bike since the school had none, and I was worried about someone stealing the bike while I was in France. The shop was closed, so I went into Coppet then turned left for the long 3 mile ride uphill to Divonne. I know it doesn't sound horrible (it was only mildly hard on my out-of-shape body) but it was longer and more difficult than my original route would have been, and I never scored the lock I was after. Anyway, in casinos here you must dress up, so I was wearing slacks and a white oxford, lightweight enough not to get too sweaty provided I didn't over-exert myself. Sadly, the uphill was harder than I thought, and I was sweaty by 2/3 the way up. On top of that, the chain popped off twice, and it was VERY greasy. I did an admirable job of not getting grease on my clothes, and just as I was topping the hill coming up to the A-1 freeway, the chain on my bike broke.
Shit.
OK, I was about 7 miles from school and only 2 or so from Divonne, so I stashed the bike in some weeds on the side of the road and began making a run for France! Well, a walk anyway.
I'd forgotten my passport, but I was fairly confident no one would ask (no one did) and besides, I really had no other choice. Divonne is away from the lake and has no train service, so I planned to get to town, then figure out the rest.
About 30 minutes and one border-crossing later, I walked out of the quaint and narrow little downtown area and up to the casino. It was about 6:30, and the poker room had opened about 30 minutes before, or so I thought. Turns out I was wrong; it didn't open for another hour and a half. Fortunately the conscierge that was helping me spoke English ( I HATE not knowing French!) and was actually the only one there who did, and she listened to my tale and suggested I go to the bus station because the last bus to Coppet on Fridays ran sometime between 8:30 and 9:30, and there would be a schedule posted. Thanking her for her help, I walked a few blocks to the station where I saw that there were 2 more busses scheduled to depart for Coppet that evening, and then I could catch a train from there back to Versoix.
The next bus wasn't scheduled to arrive for about 30 minutes, so I bought a pizza from a mobile pizza truck on the corner. It was a neat idea, but the pizza was kind of a let-down. I guess that "supremo" in French means frickin'-everything-whether-flavors-pair-or-not, because that pizza was gross. Among the toppings were Ham, blue cheese, tuna, and capers. I ate a few of the toppings and dumped the rest. I also read a little, and explored the abandoned train station across the street. Then I read some more, listen to my ipod, and realized, hey.... where the f*ck is that damned bus?!
The time now being 8:10, I wandered back to the casino. The only other bus out of town had been here 3 times, but it went the other direction, so I figured something must have happened to my bus. I found the same lady at the casino, but instead of playing poker I decided that I was too distracted, so I asked her to call me a cab, which she did, then the cabby drove me home; the cost for the 9 mile trip? 35 euro, or about 50 bucks.
The next day the activity director drove me to pick the bike up, and thankfully it was still there. So for now, I was back on foot.
The girls all wanted to go into Geneva for the Lake Parade, and the drinking, and it just didn't seem like my idea of fun. I was all jazzed to play poker, so I did a little research and found out that there was another casino in the Swiss town of Montreux that offered poker starting at 4:00. Montreux is all the way at the other end of lake Geneva, about 1 1/2 hours by train, but it WAS on the line, so I decided to check it out, and if it wasn't any good, it would still be early enough to make my way back to Coppet and take a cab into Divonne.
The World-famous Montreux Jazz festival is happening right now, and so the town was packed. I made it there without any problems, had dinner, and just wandered around a bit while waiting for the cardroom to open (it didn't open until 9:00; for some reason I keep getting my time wrong!) and enjoying what was the most picturesque place I have ever been. The views of the alps, the castle, the old-time streets... it was just beautiful.
And the poker?
That's a story unto itself, for a later post.
T
Man, I can't believe I'm already on my last week of work here. 3 more days of class, then a week off, then it's back home again. I really miss Erin, but I certainly am not missing the record heat; hopefully it'll cool down in the next week or so.
Anyway, on to my post.
This past week had a lot going on, what with the 4th of July (we made good old American burgers and tater tots) and with the Lake Parade and the huge party for Switzerland's winning of the America's Cup again.
A few days ago I was hungry for some fishing, and I decided to hike along the River Versoix because I found a site which said you could walk along about three miles of it through the forest, and someone else said it held trout. Well, I walked about 1 mile or so along a little paved pathway, but it's been raining so much here (every day since we got here) that the river was totally swollen and inaccessable. The path turned out to be a driveway to a neat little farmhouse, but I didn't go any farther because I didn't want to freak out the farmers. I turned around and instead decided I'd follow it to where it dumped into the lake. About 2 miles later I came to the spot, a lovely little area owned by the University of Geneva, with a little park, and a pebbly beach to fish from. I fished for awhile, got a bite and saw some jump, but didn't land a fish. It started to rain again so I decided to head home. I decided to walk through town this time, since I hadn't been down there before, and I saw lots of neat little stores, a bakery, a chocolate factory, and this place. No, it's not what you think, it's actually a Thai market/restaurant, but what a great name for brand recognition!
It was closed though, so I hit the bakery across the street, got a coconut gellato, and made my way home, deciding that the next day I would ride my loaner bicycle to this little town in France called Divonne les Bains which is about 8 miles away. There is a lake there that is said to have trout, as well as hotsprings and a casino which just started featuring Hold 'Em poker a few months ago. I figured I'd fish a few hours, play cards a few hours, and ride home in plenty of time for a good night's sleep.
Well, my usual Tyson luck struck again. I rode out of town along the lake road with my backpack filled with fishing gear to the town of Coppet because someone told me there was a bike shop where I could get a lock for my bike since the school had none, and I was worried about someone stealing the bike while I was in France. The shop was closed, so I went into Coppet then turned left for the long 3 mile ride uphill to Divonne. I know it doesn't sound horrible (it was only mildly hard on my out-of-shape body) but it was longer and more difficult than my original route would have been, and I never scored the lock I was after. Anyway, in casinos here you must dress up, so I was wearing slacks and a white oxford, lightweight enough not to get too sweaty provided I didn't over-exert myself. Sadly, the uphill was harder than I thought, and I was sweaty by 2/3 the way up. On top of that, the chain popped off twice, and it was VERY greasy. I did an admirable job of not getting grease on my clothes, and just as I was topping the hill coming up to the A-1 freeway, the chain on my bike broke.
Shit.
OK, I was about 7 miles from school and only 2 or so from Divonne, so I stashed the bike in some weeds on the side of the road and began making a run for France! Well, a walk anyway.
I'd forgotten my passport, but I was fairly confident no one would ask (no one did) and besides, I really had no other choice. Divonne is away from the lake and has no train service, so I planned to get to town, then figure out the rest.
About 30 minutes and one border-crossing later, I walked out of the quaint and narrow little downtown area and up to the casino. It was about 6:30, and the poker room had opened about 30 minutes before, or so I thought. Turns out I was wrong; it didn't open for another hour and a half. Fortunately the conscierge that was helping me spoke English ( I HATE not knowing French!) and was actually the only one there who did, and she listened to my tale and suggested I go to the bus station because the last bus to Coppet on Fridays ran sometime between 8:30 and 9:30, and there would be a schedule posted. Thanking her for her help, I walked a few blocks to the station where I saw that there were 2 more busses scheduled to depart for Coppet that evening, and then I could catch a train from there back to Versoix.
The next bus wasn't scheduled to arrive for about 30 minutes, so I bought a pizza from a mobile pizza truck on the corner. It was a neat idea, but the pizza was kind of a let-down. I guess that "supremo" in French means frickin'-everything-whether-flavors-pair-or-not, because that pizza was gross. Among the toppings were Ham, blue cheese, tuna, and capers. I ate a few of the toppings and dumped the rest. I also read a little, and explored the abandoned train station across the street. Then I read some more, listen to my ipod, and realized, hey.... where the f*ck is that damned bus?!
The time now being 8:10, I wandered back to the casino. The only other bus out of town had been here 3 times, but it went the other direction, so I figured something must have happened to my bus. I found the same lady at the casino, but instead of playing poker I decided that I was too distracted, so I asked her to call me a cab, which she did, then the cabby drove me home; the cost for the 9 mile trip? 35 euro, or about 50 bucks.
The next day the activity director drove me to pick the bike up, and thankfully it was still there. So for now, I was back on foot.
The girls all wanted to go into Geneva for the Lake Parade, and the drinking, and it just didn't seem like my idea of fun. I was all jazzed to play poker, so I did a little research and found out that there was another casino in the Swiss town of Montreux that offered poker starting at 4:00. Montreux is all the way at the other end of lake Geneva, about 1 1/2 hours by train, but it WAS on the line, so I decided to check it out, and if it wasn't any good, it would still be early enough to make my way back to Coppet and take a cab into Divonne.
The World-famous Montreux Jazz festival is happening right now, and so the town was packed. I made it there without any problems, had dinner, and just wandered around a bit while waiting for the cardroom to open (it didn't open until 9:00; for some reason I keep getting my time wrong!) and enjoying what was the most picturesque place I have ever been. The views of the alps, the castle, the old-time streets... it was just beautiful.
And the poker?
That's a story unto itself, for a later post.
T
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Reality Check
I could live in Europe...
I love not having to drive. I haven't driven a car for like 3 weeks.
I love the mystery that pervades this place where so many cultures and languages come together and you are never certain about the person next to you. Are they Saudi? Finnish? Korean? Slovenian?
This immense diversity really makes you more aware of how varied a place our planet is. It also breeds a kind of polite optimism in your day to day dealings with others.
I love the history; yesterday, just down the street, I stood on the walls of a castle that was built in 1218, then stepped around the corner for a cappucino in a local bar built in the 1700's.
I love the water. It is everywhere, and as a result so are the plants and animals.
I love having fresh-baked bread and fresh-made cheeses of all kinds every day.
I love the walking paths along the creeks, which pass innumerable mossy walls and a countless variety of interesting buildings.
I love the fact that it hasn't been warmer than the mid 70's or cooler than the mid 60's in over a week.
I want to live here someday. But the truth is, all of these great experiences and all the things I love about living here mean nothing really because I don't have Erin here to share them with. The truth is, not many grownups are interested in the things I like. Certainly none of the ones I am living with, and while I do enjoy spending time alone, it makes all the difference viewing things in this way, because apart from the do-it-once vacation experiences, the daily living experiences I happen to be thinking about are only really worthwhile when I have Erin to share them with. SHE would appreciate all the little things I've been noticing, and I think she'd thrive here in a way that neither of us can in Vegas. It's in living here, not just vacationing, that I see Erin and I one day being really content.
I guess what this post boils down to is that I miss her, and it's not that I wish she were here with me for a few weeks, but that she were here with me for a few years. Love ya sweetie. :)
I love not having to drive. I haven't driven a car for like 3 weeks.
I love the mystery that pervades this place where so many cultures and languages come together and you are never certain about the person next to you. Are they Saudi? Finnish? Korean? Slovenian?
This immense diversity really makes you more aware of how varied a place our planet is. It also breeds a kind of polite optimism in your day to day dealings with others.
I love the history; yesterday, just down the street, I stood on the walls of a castle that was built in 1218, then stepped around the corner for a cappucino in a local bar built in the 1700's.
I love the water. It is everywhere, and as a result so are the plants and animals.
I love having fresh-baked bread and fresh-made cheeses of all kinds every day.
I love the walking paths along the creeks, which pass innumerable mossy walls and a countless variety of interesting buildings.
I love the fact that it hasn't been warmer than the mid 70's or cooler than the mid 60's in over a week.
I want to live here someday. But the truth is, all of these great experiences and all the things I love about living here mean nothing really because I don't have Erin here to share them with. The truth is, not many grownups are interested in the things I like. Certainly none of the ones I am living with, and while I do enjoy spending time alone, it makes all the difference viewing things in this way, because apart from the do-it-once vacation experiences, the daily living experiences I happen to be thinking about are only really worthwhile when I have Erin to share them with. SHE would appreciate all the little things I've been noticing, and I think she'd thrive here in a way that neither of us can in Vegas. It's in living here, not just vacationing, that I see Erin and I one day being really content.
I guess what this post boils down to is that I miss her, and it's not that I wish she were here with me for a few weeks, but that she were here with me for a few years. Love ya sweetie. :)
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Seven being the number...
to which Erin is allocated... betterness ...(?) than me, in the having of pertinance in regard to... word-full-y-ality (!?)
green; I did not know the words in red. In total, I knew 73 of 100.
green; I did not know the words in red. In total, I knew 73 of 100.
Monday, July 02, 2007
Mon Dieu!
Man, I had never been as sore from a hike as I was last night. If the second day after is the worst, as it so often is, I am really dreading tomorrow...
Where did I go to cause such distress to my rapidly aging body?
Funny you should ask!
Yesterday I went for a "walk," not a hike, up to the top of the highest peak of the Cornettes de Bise, the highest point surrounding Lake Geneva. I found this European distinction in the use of the word "walk" to be quite more distinct than I ever would have guessed, because for Americans, walking means like to the car, or down the street, or maybe at most around the nice little city park. Never in a million years would you find an American referring to what I did ysterday as merely "walking." I'm sure it is due to the basic diference in lifestyles between here and there, but of all the words whose usage differs between the 2 continents, walk is by far the biggest mutation.
So, little did I know that morning when I woke up late that this "walk" was going to be so tough. It wasn't hard-core, but it was definitely hard, and I think I may have done some actual damage to my knees.... still, it was totally worth it.
Unfortunately, my piece-of-crap Sony camera's battery went dead after only 8 or so photos, even though I charged it the night before, so I didn't wind up with many photos. The ones I did take are below, and probably don't need an explanation... they are all from the beginning of the hike, maybe the 1st 3/4 km or so.
Anyway, this walk is only about 4 km long, but in that 4 km, you gain a full km in elevation. The up was relentless, but the views were worth the pain. Along the way I saw a marmot and several mountain goats. One baby goat in particular was quite distressed and was just crying up a storm, while it's mother was ignoring it as she was drinking or something. I can only assume it was drinking, because she was taking in mouth's full of rocks, gringing them up, and spitting them out. I got a close up look at this process because by that time in the hike we were nearing the summit, and my eyes were glued to the path because I was so tired. One of my "walking" companions said "um, better watch it mate," at which time I looked up just in time to keep from bumping into said goat. The goat was about 4 feet in front of me, looking at me as though I were some idiot tourist with no sense of personal space, which I totally was. I backed away, took several pics w/ my cell phone (though I don't know how to get them off yet) and continued on.
When we finally reached the summit, there was a wooden cross, and an amazing panorama. You could see all of Lake Geneva, which was amazing considering it is the largest natural lake in Europe, as well as a variety of mountains, including the Eiger and Mont Blanc.
Since my camera was down, I've spent some time online trying to find pics that match up well with my experience. Here is a blog and another site (be sure to look towards the bottom of the page for the galleries!) which have nice photos as well as good information.
All in all it was a great experience, though on the down side it made me realize that my age is starting to cach up with me physically. I've never really hurt like this before, and I am a little concerned that this may portend worse thins o come. I'm planning a trip to the doc when I get home, and hopefully I can do something about this knee-thing.
T
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