Julius Caesar and Lunch

Lunch with Catherine was a true pleasure. She led me through the streets of Nyon to the école Migros, the adult education center of Switzerland’s leading supermarket. The ground floor was called Tea Room Bibliothèque, but it was better than any tea room I’ve been in for a long time even my beloved La Noisette in Argelès. Two Dutch women run it. They have mismatched easy chairs placed around tables of different styles, woods and colors. The walls are covered with book-filled shelves. Patrons can borrow the books for nothing.

Our waitress/owner recommended the broccoli soup. She was right. With just a hint of curry it was great along with the fresh bread. The chocolate cake and good cup of tea after the meal was equally good.

The dishes were unusual. A water pitcher was a clear glass O, flattened on the bottom of course. The tea pot was better than some sculptures I’ve seen.

As we complimented the w/o on the tea room’s atmosphere she said some of her friends had suggested she open a Starbucks. She wanted something totally original. Then they suggested she franchise it and get great deals on mass produced furniture in Hong Kong. ‘And what would I be doing?’ she asked. She answered her own question by saying how she would be looking for financing and dealing with business instead of doing what she loved doing, being in the kitchen, talking to clients, enjoying herself.

Interesting that her idea of success is not how much you can grow but how creative you can be while creating a great product while making enough.

After lunch we strolled through the cobblestoned streets of Nyon. We passed moss-covered stone walls and when there was a break we could see the lake, the Alps. Mont Blanc so far was the only the mountain with snow on it. There were tree-lined paths. The trees were shedding their yellowed leaves some almost a foot across. Many flaked their way down. Catherine wanted me to see the statue of Julius Caesar, who was the founder of this town. Here and there a Roman ruin added to the ambience.

As we headed back to the train station, she pointed out to me the place where the marché is held each week. ‘Imagine,’ she said, ‘There’s been a marché here since the Roman times.’ Now that’s continuity.

Although Nyon is only 20 minutes outside of Geneva, I felt my lunch and visit with JC had been a vacation. Long ago one of my clients who lived in the beautiful city of Annecy told me he was spending his vacation at home. ‘I’m already here,’ he said referring to the mountains where he could ski and hike. I knew the feeling. I am already here and daily life holds the joys that some people need to travel hours instead of minutes to find.