Weekend

A tunnel with a bike lane leading towards Aeroport Geneva, with rave-like blue beams. Very cool.

I had rather great weekend, three nights out, at home and Switzerland. Tom’s sister was here for about a week so I hung out with them (Jill, Tom and Jenny) on Wednesday – Brauhaus, Yacht Club – and Thursday.. I really am fond of Americans! 🙂 Thursday was particularly good, we girls exhausted ourselves laying around on deck chairs by the pool at Hiltonia, followed by a beer by the water and dinner at Chamas, the Brazilian place at Intercontinental. It was like a high-end version of the steakhouse in Jing’an (Shanghai) with the meat-men called to your table by a traffic-light inspired cardboard placard, accompanied by Brazilian dancers (featured also in Shanghai nightlife) who rocked up around 11pm. And the best free-flow Caiprinas ever, made fresh from a spiffy bar cart rolled alongside your table. I didn’t know Abu Dhabi had open-bar options like this – if you aren’t counting the tacky mid-week ladies’ nights that is.

Scantily-clad, feathery entertainment at Chamas

Got back from Geneva this morning. I am sorely disappointed about missing the Red Bull Air RaceK though. I managed to spot one plane practicing above the corniche on my way to the beach – it looked incredible!! The pilot shot up vertically in the sky and I was half expecting him to simply combust, and then he let himself literally drop from the sky. If the twists and turns of one aircraft looked that good I can’t wait to see the coordinated event.. I’ll have to find a video online. What a job – this guy owned the sky. Anyway – great crew, with an eccentric (and very chatty) cabin manager and a (non-available) Brit first officer who I wanted to face-attack but managed to restrain myself. The layover was only 19 hours and I’d had all of four hours sleep, yet I managed to make it down to the hotel bar for beer with five other crew. Then, I went on an intoxicated, infatuated ride down to the waterfront and back. I wrapped my arms around Geneva and squeezed – the fact that the hotel provide bicycles is already great, and the first two hours are free, but bike lanes are everywhere and it’s just so great! I didn’t spend anything there whatsoever.. which is just as well because I had prepared the wrong currency (euros instead of francs)!

I had splotchy-red sunburn over the front of my chest/stomach/thighs, but I noticed now it’s browner and blended, yay! I love my skin this way, I think tomorrow Jenny and I are going back, I want to ‘work’ on it a little more. Today I will probably head to Cityscape. I’ve been really looking forward to it – I want a big bag full of glossy catalogs and leaflets just like last year!