This is the end. The END.

Rob and I have been back in the states for about 3 months now and have compiling this list for awhile. We might keep adding on to it as time as goes on. We have truly enjoyed our experience as expats and wouldn't have changed a thing. In summary this blog has been an outlet for us. We were able to record our experiences, share our stories, and share our pictures. Thank you for reading. I am very much a list person and hopefully this list will encompase what we miss . . .

Why we loved Geneva . . .

1. Asking for the bill. No push or rush to leave the table.

2. Fresh foods. Less processed packaged stuff. Farmer's markets close and abundant.

3. Clean yummy cold tapwater

4. Fresh baked bread from the Migros bakery everyday.

5. Walkable. Didn't take long to get anywhere.

6. Small tips. Servers on salary and not making their living off of tips.

7. Public transportation. We could both have beer out and not worry about who was driving us home!

8. Farmer's markets and locally grown foods. We will forever miss Ferney's Saturday morning market.

9. Yummy dairy. Cheese!

10. Well trained drivers and parallel parkers.

11. Small streets. Max 3 lanes.

12. Well connected to the rest of Europe. Feeling like we could be somewhere fun within minutes.
13. We miss not being able to understand everything. The mystery in language is gone. It was blissfull not knowing what everyone was saying.

13. . . . will continue to add to this list as time goes on . . .

What we will not miss in Geneva . . .

1. SMOKERS

2. No free refills or ice

3. Too much pocket change

4. Expensive food when eating out.

5. "Hoarding at boarding". The idea that there is NO line when embarking on a plane or bus.

6. No Queue's and constant cutting in lines. Excuse me? I was here WAY longer then you. This goes along with . . .

7. Little consideration for others. Everywhere in the world has these types of people, but I seemed to notice them more here.

8. Lack of hot sauces and condiments.

9. Authoritarian assholes at the borders. This is a LONG story.

10. Lack of fountain sodas.

11. Lack of toilet seat covers. The spray to wipe the seat doesn't do it for me.

12. Impatient drivers. I'm sorry I didn't accelerate fast enough for you to the next red light.

Merci bou coup to all the followers this year! Especially to the other swiss expats and our family! Our adventure is over and life will move on in the states. We'll probably start a new blog eventually, but right now, things are too busy. Lots of Hugs! Au Revoir!

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Home

Just a quick update ~ we are home in California after our 3 week excursion. I have a lot of blogging and catching up to do about our adventures and will try to get it done in the next few weeks. For now, we are recovering from jetlag and looking forward to resettling our lives here. It's been a great year and I am definitely compiling the lists to create and "end all be all" post to wrap this expat blog up.

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Last Beers in Geneva

All good things must come to an end. Here are the last beers we had the pleasure of trying in Geneva. Don't fret, the beer adventures are continuing, just not in Switzerland!

The Physics - How could Rob resist trying this one? We picked it up in London and tried it our last night in our apartment. It was really quite yummy! An amber ale brewed by Brewdog of Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. 5%

Alpenbier - A swiss beer brewed by Brauerei Rosengarten in Einsiedeln, Swizterland. A German style pilsner. This one is hard to find any info in English about it! So I don't remember the percentage alcohol!

La Torpille - Brewed by Brasserie Des Franches-Montagnes in Switzerland. It's a dark strong belgian style ale at 7.5%. Dark and Delicious!

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Gambas A Go Go!

We discovered this little place just a little too late in our adventure . . . or just in time for our cholesterol levels. Right around the corner from our Geneva apartment is a place that served "Gambas-a-go-go", meaning all you can eat shrimp!!! Yummy! It is a little pricet at 39 CHF per person but it is all you can eat. A salad and fries are included, but the real star is the huge shrimp cooked perfectly in a garlic butter sauce. It's impossible to eat these things without getting your fingers a mess, but the taste is so worth it. It's quite funny to see Europeans who hardly ever eat with their hands dig in and get messy. We ate here our last night in Geneva and took J&C back when they dropped us off after our 2 weeks together. It's a lot of shrimp! And you can keep asking for more!

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Our last days in Geneva

I can't believe it actually happened. I never thought the time would fly by so fast. I can remember the days when I wish it was going faster! We have spent 10 months here and are ready to go home! We moved out of our apartment and stored all of our stuff in a friend's cave. We are now traveling like regular people and living out of a suitcase and hotels. No more "home" base to go back to. We are ending our time in Europe with 3 weeks of traveling. The first two we spent with John & Christina and the 3rd is starting tomorrow in Marrakech, Morocco. We are landing back in San Francisco on Friday! Coming home means facing reality and job searching. but we are ready and excited to do it!

Here are some pictures from our last nights in Geneva and the start of the big festival around the lake, "Fetes De Geneve". I'll try to get some pictures up from places we visited in the last couple weeks . . . like Pompeii, Rome, Barcelona, Madrid, and Provence!

West Side of Geneva during Fete!

Harbor at night during Fete

Our last night in Geneva!

Mont Blanc was sooooo pretty this day.

Jet D'Eau - The iconic symbol of Geneva

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Loss of a friend. Goodbye Danny.

Logging on to facebook yesterday morning I was shocked to see my old fraternity brothers updating their status messages with "RIP Danny". What in the world has happened? More details were revealed slowly and I found myself glued to the computer to try to find out more. Danny died in a car crash off the 405 at 2:30 AM. What a tradgedy.

I met Danny freshman year in the dorms and he was always so kind to everyone there. He worked at the front desk and I dated his roommate. He decorated his dorm room with huge pictures of Shakira and Janet Jackson. Our friendship grew as I became a brother of APX the next year. He was always the life of the party. Dancing, singing, and mixing drinks for everyone. He was always the first to show up and help out and was a great listener when you had a gripe that needed to be heard. We became roommates my 4th and 5th year and we always had lots of fun on the trampoline. I will always remember him cooking up plantains and warming corn tortillas.

I'm not sure how I feel. Being here has already put me at a distance from everyone and everything. I'm not connected like I used to be. I feel grief for sure but it reality hasn't sunken in yet. Did it really happen? How is this going to change things? I do know that I got the pleasure of knowing somebody with a warm heart and I will cherish the memories we had together. I just want to hug everyone who is grieving and tell them I understand. I want to share stories of the good times to honor his life. I feel like his life just ended way way way too soon. He never got to experience some of the greatest pleasures in life, and for that I feel terrible.

Now, I don't believe in an afterlife and I think prayers are useless. But whatever helps people be comforted I am all for. I take comfort in knowing that he can never be erased in the history of time. He will always have been there and touched so many hearts.

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Our newest Entrepreneur

Laura is the 115th entrepreneur we have helped support around the world. Sounds like fun doesn't it? Get started yourself and support other entrepreneur's at ~ kiva.org! Microfinance helps lead people out of poverty.

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