Jet Laggard - After an extended holiday in Genève and London, I'm finally back on the blogwagon. I should have learned a little French before leaving, but really, "Acceptez-vous American Express?" was all I needed to get by in Switzerland. For being a center of international activity, Genève is really a fairly small town. But that was a boon, because it allowed me to walk everywhere, burning off the calories I consumed every morning in the form of the most delicious chocolate-almond croissants ever. I tried to mixed a substantial amount of history and culture into my shopping excursions. Day trips to Lausanne and Montreux were memorable, but I was disappointed with my visits to the International Red Cross Museum and the United Nations. The Red Cross had an elaborate display on World War I, but a little sign noting that because civilians were not covered by the Geneva Convention, the organization wasn't able to have much influence in preventing loss of life in World War II. Uh, how about a more positive and less defensive position, such as announcing that because of WWII, the Red Cross will work tirelessly to prevent another such genocide? And the UN, the famed gardens at the Palais des Nations were closed because Kofi Annan had been in town, so I didn't get to see very much on the tour.

Next, Netty and I made a whirlwind stop in the UK, courtesy of EasyJet. While in London, we stayed with a grad school classmate of Netty's, whose flat is in the tony Maida Vale neighborhood. The first night, we headed for a restaurant near Notting Hill Gate recommended by a guidebook, but it had gone out of business. It started raining hard and we dashed back and made it as far as Westbourne Grove and decided to try our luck at Zucca, which was phenomenally good, especially since the cost of food in Switzerland had left us eating eating mostly grab-and-go panini and pasta made in Netty's kitchenette. We literally shopped til we dropped on Saturday, spending most of the daylight hours hitting stores in Covent Garden and Knightsbridge. Our last full day in London, took in a show from hometown girl, Madonna (wearing a "Brits Do It Better" tshirt, no less) after visiting the London Eye. The lines were long, but the view was worth it...a great way to cap off the vacation. And now I can't wait to go back.