A day on Lake Leman - Geneva

We were keen to get back to Switzerland as our first visit to Zurich left us feeling a little bit disappointed. I was pretty sure the French part of Suisse (as opposed to the German part of Schweiz) would be much nicer.

To get there we went through the Mont Blanc tunnel (Monte Bianco if you're Italian) and stopped in Chamonix for some lunch. Chamonix is an absolutely stunning location and is definitely on our list of places to visit again. Next time it'll be in winter time so that we can get some skiing in. Even though it was the height of summer, there was still quite a bit of snow on the mountains.

Somewhere in the background is Mont Blanc and if you look real close you can see a glacier in the background.
"Where's Mont Blanc?"
"Right there! What are you? Blind or something!"
Not sure, but maybe these guys figured out how to get to the top without dying.

Here's another shot of the glacier. Pretty amazing.

Did you know that Geneva was founded by a couple of shield-bearing, sword-wielding lesbians? Me neither.
The things you see! A Lincoln Continental convertible parked on the side of the road.

In Switzerland they just call these 'Army Knives'.


I had been in contact with a Swiss hot rodder (Yep, they really are EVERYWHERE!), so we went up the lake a little to Versoix and met up with him. We jumped in his daily driver, a Porsche 911 Carrera 4, and then went to his apartment to pick up the good car.

It's a 1930 Model A coupe.

With a blown flathead (French block of course) and aMuncie four-speed. It goes pretty good for an old jalopy. Here's Pete filling it up.

Pete started off with a pretty mint car and only needed to do minor rust repairs to the body.

The blower is a 4/71 but it looks huge on a flathead.

We then headed back to the Port Choiseul where Pete keeps his boat. Not just any boat, but a cool old 70s speed boat that runs a small-block Chev that makes around 300hp. The boat is only 15ft long, so it makes for a pretty interesting (and fast) ride.

We headed out for a spin with a couple of Pete's mates. The guy on the left is the tattooed and silent type, while on the right is Billy, another Cheaters member who has a flamed '56 Chevy.

When you live on a lake, you've got to make your own waves. Here's Billy having a go wake-surfing.


And here's Billy falling off. I'm not laughing (honest) I'm just smiling for the camera.

In Australia we call this 'pearling' or a nosedive. In Switzerland they just call it MERDE!

That's better. Pete gets the trim just right and lets go of the rope. Very cool.

Here's the boy, happy as ever.

The only black and flamed, V8-powered, 15ft ski boat on Lake Geneva. It's also the noisiest by a long shot!

Crazy tattooed hot rodders!

After an hour or so on the lake it was back to the cafe for a bottle of milk.

Pete then took the hot rod back to the apartment as it was going to be a long night with maybe one or ten beers.

Entertainment was provided by Laurent, another crazy tattooed Swiss guy who has a very good voice. It was a great night and we hung around for a few hours drinking beer and eating wood-fired pizzas.

Our faith in Switzerland is renewed and our day on the lake was much more fun than looking at more old buildings and Swiss watch shops.

Thanks Pete, and remember. When you want to go surfing for real, come to my place. :)