Weather forecast, mostly sunny, 4-16C
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – We’re straddling that fine line between the seasons, with warm sunny days. Golden-red leaves are still holding onto the trees and vines – but one rain or puff of strong wind and we’ll be saying winter has arrived. So don’t be surprised that the first weekend suggestion we have for you is to get your earlybird ski tickets for the Jura!
Weather forecast: sunny to mostly sunny, lows of 4 to 5C around Lake Geneva, rising to 15-16C during the day. If you’re heading to the mountains, temperatures at night are hovering just above freezing, but are higher during the day than in the valleys, at 17-18C.
Traveler’s alert – Lausanne to Geneva trains
A quick note for anyone on the Lausanne-Geneva trains this weekend: work on the line between Lausanne and Allaman means a number of S3 and Inter Regio trains won’t be running as usual as of 22:00, Saturday and Sunday, 1 and 2 November. Be sure to check for details telephone 166 (CHF 0.50 per call and per minute (24 hours) or· Rail Service 0900 300 300 (CHF 1.19/minute from fixed line network) or online at www.cff.ch/166
LIF in Lausanne
GenevaLunch.com and Ellen’s Wine World are taking part Sunday 2 November in LIF, the international fair for English speakers, in Lausanne, along with 125 other exhibitors of area businesses and services. Ellen Wallace will be signing her book, Vineglorious! Switzerland’s Wondrous World of Wines (CHF24, special author rate) Sunday 11-17 at Palais Beaulieu. Read Shirley Curran’s review in Book my place!
Sign up for the drawing for one of six fine wines from the region! You will have a chance to discuss them with the author, who is a wine judge at international competitions.
This follows the DWCC wine conference in Montreux, which has brought 300 wine bloggers and people in wine communications to town Friday to Sunday.
Geneva’s great new museum
And a must-see in Geneva is the new MEG museum, just completed, which is open to the public this weekend. Read our review!
Jura for skiing, plan ahead
Here is our first 2014-15 ski season report from Shirley Curran:
Hurricane Gonzalo brought no joy to Bermuda but its tail end reached the Jura Mountains and deposited our first snow of the season. That is really good news for ski enthusiasts, as the cooling effect of that first healthy snow dump means that there is a good chance of later falls lasting and forming the solid base of yet another first-rate season.
The Office de Tourisme at Gex forwarded to me the details of the super pre-season ‘promotion’ when we called in to purchase our season tickets.
This is an excellent investment. For three consecutive seasons, we have been able to ski for more than 60 days with well-groomed slopes when Alpine resorts were struggling with inferior conditions. We have speedy uphill transport which rarely develops queues during the week days or early in the morning at weekends.
The children’s ski facilities at the Col de la Faucille are renowned and the competition training that takes place at Crozet and Lélex has produced French champions.
My top tips for mid-morning breaks and inexpensive lunchtime snacks are le P’tit Enka at La Faucille and the reconstructed Yeti, at the bottom of the beginner slope at Crozet (first-class wining and dining available there too!) but there is a wide range of eateries available.