Switzerland is known for its neutrality with international affairs, and so it is with much of everything else.
During our visit to Geneva today, I was reminded of what they are known for - watch ads, chocolateries, and banks could be found everywhere. I did try a brand of chocolate called Callier, and it was indeed very good; but most of everything else in Geneva was kind of bland - too neutral.
The streets were clean, luxury goods were displayed in every store, but there wasn't much chracter. One thing which struck me as odd was that the Swiss have installed a small indicator light above each space in parking lots, as if one couldn't look at the space itself to see if it is vacant. Sure, it's conveniently to look down the row of lights, but all the electricity and wiring just for that?
For dinner last night, Didier made a Haute-Savoie specialty - la Tartiflette. It is a heavenly rich gratin of potatoes, Reblochon cheese, lardon (smoked fatty pork), onions, cream, and of course butter. I would say one could reach heaven earlier by consuming more Tartiflette. It's actually quite easy to make, so assuming I can find Reblochon in San Francisco, I will make it for you all. Not that you're in a hurry to get to heaven.
A little story about the Reblochon cheese. The word for milking a cow in the Savoy language is blocher. In the past, there was a heavy tax on the farmers for all the milk their cows produced; and inspector would arrive at the farm on a regular basis to assess how milk he should take from the farmers. So, as it is human nature to keep as much as possible for himself, the farmers delayed milking some of their cows so that the inspector would have less milk on which to levy the tax. As it turned out, this delay in milking (re-milking, reblocher) turned the milk into a richer, more flavorful cream that became the basis for the Reblochon.
Tomorrow will be my return to Paris after nine days of road trip. It has been a journey that was long, exciting, delicious, and also frightening at times. Merci encore à Didier pour tout ce qu'il avait fait. I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have. Well, that's not possible since you didn't get to taste anything. Ha!
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