Cafe de Soleil Memories

 

The months of March and April from this year's calendar.

The café puts out a special calendar each year.

The Cafe de Soleil has been around a lot longer than I have. In fact they've been serving fondue and other things for some 400 years. For me the restaurant is full of three decades of memories.

Rick and I had lunch there today. We ate in the upstairs room. "There's been a lot of stories written here," I said to Rick. I wasn't talking about things people said in the café. Many of the group that worked on honing their craft are now published writers, including myself. www.dlnelsonwriter.com.

Rick and I reconnected after two decades plus with no contact. He was in Geneva at a conference, and thru LinkedIn asked if I wanted a cup of coffee. 

I took him to the café. I used to take business guests from other countries there, or let's say I only took those that I liked, really liked.

We had dried beef (a local dish) and what else? Fondue, of course.

The atmosphere is aided by mismatched tables and chairs. One side room has the original stonewalls and a wooden-beamed ceiling.

The Geneva Writers Group held monthly workshops and critiquing sessions there for several years, which is how I discovered it. Because it was in walking distance of my flat, it became almost a hangout for friends and family. 

My daughter has claimed she's not in Geneva until we have a fondue there. She is also sent one of their calendars each year, including after the Covid quarantine was lifted.

Today we passed on the fondue having had one (not as good) earlier in the week, I opted for their lentil salad with blue cheese and he had an omelette. Three profiteroles with two spoons for desert is a must when I eat there with Rick, but when I eat there with my brother-want-a-be RB2, desert is always meringue with double cream.

We sat by the window. I looked out the window at the church across the street. The café is in Petite Sacconex, a small commune touching the city of Geneva on the No. 3 tram line. The area is filled with consulates and international organizations. Dozens of languages can be heard at different tables.

 

I even included it in a true story of eating with my dogs that was published in Traveler's Tales: A Dog's World. My pups Albert and Amadeus were welcomed, often being greeted first until the staff remembered I was there too.

 

The staff has changed over the years. Instead of going a couple times of week, it has dwindled to a couple times a year, more because we live on the other side of the city and depending on traffic it can take an hour to get there. 

 

I occupy only a minuscule percentage of their clients over the centuries and so happy I do.