Yvoire street scenes in 2010

Dwight Peck's personal website

Birthday celebrations across the lake

You may not find this terribly rewarding unless you're included here, so this is a good time for casual and random browsers to turn back before they get too caught up in the sweep and majesty of the proceedings and can't let go.

It's Andrea's 30th birthday, and this day will not pass without a Sunday lunch in France.

We're idling at the Nyon docks waiting for the General-Guisan to push off, a fine 24th of May 2010, on our way to lunch overseas.

Or "overlake", as Nyon castle recedes, with La Dôle, newly bereft of its snow, peeking over the horizon.

Disembarking at Yvoire, on the far side of Lake Geneva, I'm ready for as big a lunch as France can throw at me.

The General-Guisan preparing to go back for another load of Sunday lunchers.
(Henri Guisan was the 4th General in Switzerland's history -- with no tradition of military adventurism, one doesn't need too many generals -- who directed the mobilization of Swiss defenses in case of invasion from Nazi Germany. By way of a yardstick, the USA needs to have 302 generals for the Army, 279 for the Air Force and 80 for the Marine Corps at any given moment in its history.)

We're trudging up the hill from the Yvoire port, wondering what's on the menu for today. (Not really, Andrea and Théa have already been scoping it out on the Web, and they are Menu Ready!)

Downtown Yvoire. Yvoire is a well-preserved medieval village on the French side of Lake Geneva (Lac Léman), which marks the division between the Big Lake (the Lausanne/Evian end) and the Little Lake (the Geneva end).

The Gardens of Léman restaurant -- crowded at midday on a Sunday, we have a little wait.

Lisa is signing us up on the waiting list. Eating lunch is not my usual Sunday occupation, but this is Lisa's son's 30th birthday and we're pleased to buy him a plate of baked fish and dessert to celebrate the occasion.

Nice lunch. There being no hot dogs or panini on offer, I had the lamb. And a Coke (it's midday). Very nice. Andrea and Téa will probably tell us where we're off to next.

And we'll follow along.

With an eye out for artisanal bargains.

No bargains so far. André and Téa are discussing our near-term future.

A beautiful commercial street, with a tinfoiled church looming

Lisa commemorates our birthday shopping excursion

-- I'll just wait outside.

The nearer shop sign offers beer and bread. The blue one farther on offers minerals, gems, and fossils. "Deco Objects", as it were.

At the bottom of one of the market streets, an esplanade with a big tree

The church with the tinfoiled steeple

Lisa celebrating her son's 30th. Always a poignant moment for anyone.

Like any town on the lake, there's a port. Not much of a fishing port, anymore, but lots of other stuff.

Here's a formidable collection of medical and pharmacological knowledge, and Lisa (linguistics).

Tentacly tree in an Yvoire piazza

Friends congregating for birthdays

The ancient port

Reflective moments, Switzerland in the distance

The Garden of the Five Senses takes up a bunch of the central part of Yvoire, between here and the Castle. You can even pay to go in and see the Labyrinth. Must be a real treat.

Back near the embarcadère -- the last boat is coming along soon, and it's better to hurry and wait than miss it.

The Yvoire castle

Ditto

We're on our way back to Switzerland after a good day out.

Another trip to Yvoire, with Kristin, in 2003, the year of the Canicule

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