I recently posted about our trip to Paris and completely ignored the first part of our trip which had us visiting friends in Geneva. We had a wonderful time catching up, exploring new places, and, of course, eating.

It’s hard to choose a favorite place or moment of our visit as it all just blended into a sense of love and contentment. I am sharing these things, in no particular order. And forgive me as I was also sick during this part of the trip so some of the details are a little hazy (like the names of restaurants).

Eating at home

You don’t always have to go out to a restaurant to enjoy a wonderful meal and to be honest, I don’t think my friend has ever prepared a bad meal. When you live in a place that has amazing breads, cheeses, and produce as a norm, it’s hard to go wrong. The place where my friends live has a farm next door, right in the city. They can get fresh produce much of the year. Delicious fresh food along with the conversation and camaraderie made those meals special.

Perch filets

A specialty of the region are perch filets that are lightly pan-fried and served with frites. The perch come fresh from Lake Geneva and are delicious in their simplicity.

Visiting the vineyards

There are many vineyards overlooking Lake Geneva with charming towns dotted throughout. It was lovely driving through the area and stopping along the way to visit these picturesque little villages.

In the area of Bursins, my friend introduced us to a regional specialty and one of my favorite things from this trip, the malakoff. These unassuming little fried domes hide a delicious molten center – almost like fondue was captured inside of a little treasure box. The malakoff are served with a simple green salad, cornichons, and pickled pearl onions. Sitting outside in the little gated courtyard of the Café Restaurant l’Union, along with a glass of wine, it was as nearly close to a perfect meal as we could experience.

Surrounding the cafe’s courtyard were trees loaded with plums. These were collected and turned into a delicious plum tart to end the meal.

Exploring Geneva

One day we took a short bus ride into the city with all its shops and bustling activity.

Our walk through the city also brought us past the U.N. offices and the Broken Chair sculpture. Built as a symbol of opposition to land mines and cluster bombs, it stands nearly 40 feet tall and is made 5.5 tons of wood.

Chamonix, France

Another day we took a trip over the border into France to visit the alpine town of Chamonix. Best known as a ski resort, the town is beautiful in the summer too. We took the lift and ate at the restaurant at the top, watching paragliders as they quietly sailed in the crisp air.

And that’s how we began our trip. On to Paris.