'What I did this half-term'

Geneva is a lovely place, great for strolling - very relaxed, full of fresh air, nice people and beautiful views of either the clear blue lake or the mountains or both. Just the right size for a weekend too - you can spend three or four days chilling and still feel like you've seen everything. The clubs charge banker's prices and play a bit too much shit R&B (heard 'Gasolina' three times in one place on Friday) but doesn't everywhere nowadays?

On Friday I took the train to Montreux (an hour further up the lake), which scores highly as a DadRock mecca - not only is there the Freddie statue shown below, but it was also the city where Ian Gillan saw a casino on the lakeside burning down (during a Frank Zappa gig) and was inspired to write 'Smoke On The Water'. AND I visited, wearing a Kinks t-shirt - the blue plaque goes up on Wednesday.

I also went up the smallest mountain in the world, bought 5 litres of beer in one glass (below), ate a 'Bigger Big Mac' (20% bigger than standard Macs), and endured a four hour Easyjet delay on the way home which was nowhere near as fun as the ones they show on TV - not a single angry scouser, furious French woman or camply stoical cabin attendant in sight.


More photos at Flickr for anyone who's interested.