Many thanks for those of you who had left comments on the blog and the facebook page. I have now the pleasure to announce the lucky ones, picked by the random generated numbers at random.org.

And the winners are… Joanne  and Lety S.!

Congratulations! You will hear from me soon regarding your free copies of the new KIAP! For the others, I recommend to run to the book store now and buy one!

Have a nice weekend everyone!

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The new Know-It-All Passport 2011-2012 is now available! (see my previous post here and here if you don’t have any idea what Know-It-All Passport is all about).

Know-It-All Passport is not just for newcomers but has information for everyone whether you have just arrived or been here for years. This guide can help you to learn about new things that are opening up in the area. Also, as children grow up, our needs change and the guide can help us in that regard too.

This is the info about the newest edition that I received from Lisa last night:

The 7th edition of Know-it-all passport® has just been published and has now been distributed to local outlets. Click here for a full list of distribution points.
Over 700 pages! 60 more than the previous edition.
Hundreds of new entries.
Two new sections covering NIGHT LIFE and CHOCOLATE have also been added.
Same price of Fr. 38.-. Don’t wait to buy later as this book is valid for a 2-year period from today!

Sales points for Know-it-all passport 2011/2012 include:
NEW: La Librairie Centrale in Ferney-Voltaire
Payot (all shops)
Fnac (Geneva, Balexert, Lausanne)
Manor (Chavannes Centre, Geneva, Cornavin Metro Shopping, Vesenaz)
Jim’s British Market
OfftheShelf
Des Livres et Vous – La Praille
Books Books Books – Lausanne
Allforkids.ch
American International Women’s Club of Geneva

Book launch on Thursday, September 2nd from 18h-20h at Payot Chantepoulet in Geneva, come and meet with me and enjoy a glass of wine!

Know-it-all passport will also be present at Expat Expo in Geneva on October 10th and the Leman Expat Fair in Lausanne Beaulieu on October 31st.

Congratulations, Lisa and the KIAP team!

— The Giveaway Contest is now closed —

Even more exciting… there are 2 Know-It-All Passport to be given away to Lausanne Mom readers. Yay! To enter the Give Away Contest, please leave comment below and/or at the Lausanne Mom facebook page (on this post, click on the “Comments” icon on top, NOT directly on the facebook wall). You have to type the magic words “I want to know it all” and tell us what kind of information you think is the most important to be included in Know-It-All Passport. I will use random.org generated numbers to pick the comments of the winners, that will be one from the comments on LausanneMom.com and one from the facebook page. So, yes, to increase your chance of winning, you may leave comments on both. Contest is open to anyone living inside Switzerland and will be closed one week from now (26 Aug 2010 at 11:59pm).

So leave your comments now, and don’t forget the magic words!

— The Giveaway Contest is now closed —

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Transport Lausanne (TL) will do a major renovation of the métro m1 line from 12 July to 14 August 2010. During this time, this line will be replaced by Métrobuses (MB), which will serve all the regular stops of métro m1 except “Provence” and “Bassenges”. Some other stops are also changed as follows: “Lausanne-Flon” can be found on route de Genève, “Vigie” will take the stop “Tivoli” of bus 13 and “Epenex” will move close to “Glycines” of buses 30-32.

Schedule of MB and other info can be found TL website.

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Three weeks ago hubby, tot, and I made a bike tour around Lausanne. We rent the bikes from Lausanne Roule and this post summarizes our experience.

The process: I rent my bike with a day pass. A deposit of CHF90 was made on my credit card and the whole-day rent itself cost CHF6. I got a Velopass magnetic card that allowed me to pick up and return bike at any bike station around Lausanne. My husband used the special bike with a child seat on it. The rent was CHF10, and for this bike, we could only rent and return at the station in Flon. We brought our own lock and helmets, but otherwise it was possible to rent those things there. FYI, you can reserve the bikes and the accessories online here.

The bikes: We were happy with our bikes. They were in very good condition. Mine had a basket where I could strap one of our backpacks. The bike with the child seat was a bit too tall for me (I’m only 1.54cm tall), but the regular bike was a perfect size. Btw, the station in Flon also has child bikes.

The end of the day: I returned my bike with the Velopass at the self-service station in Ouchy. It worked perfectly. So, I could then take the metro while my husband biked uphill to return his to the station in Flon (he could have taken the metro but obviously was intrigued by the challenge to bike uphill)

The final conclusion: We had a lot of fun and the process was really hassle free. It’s also a cheap and healthy way to spend a nice sunny day. We can highly recommend this. There are also possibilities to have annual subscriptions, and even ones with Mobility CarSharing option (click here for price and details).

We’re now so looking forward for another sunny weekend for our next bike tour!

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Bike season is here. Here are some rules about transporting bikes inside the public transport:

In the bus: Hop in through the central or back door, only if the space permits.

In the m1: There are 2 doors per wagon that can be used for bikes. Hop on only if the space permits.

In the m2: A maximal of 3-4 bikes, again if the space permits. Bike is only allowed at the Ouchy end of the metro (the South end).

And for the tickets: Normal ticket price for a bike transported by an adult, A reduced ticket price for a bike transported by a child (6-16 y.o.) or by a holder of Swiss Train Half-Card. Free for folded bike inside its bag as well as bikes of little children (<6 y.o.).

So, happy cycling and don’t forget that in case you get too tired going uphill in Lausanne, you can always count on the public transport to bring you home!

For more info on public transport in Lausanne, check here.

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One of the hottest FAQs in many mommy networks is about the meet-ups for mothers and playgroups for the younger children (toddlers and preschoolers). In this post I’d like to mention again the Starbucks Mum and Mum-to-be Group that meet every other Tuesday at Starbucks on Rue St. Laurent (not the one on St. François). This group was initiated by Raksha and has been going on for almost 2 years. (See this post for related info). This group is excellent for pregnant mothers and mothers with young babies. It still also works for toddlers, but I know that some mothers with very active tots find that Starbucks’ lay-out is far from ideal, as there are many corners that could be dangerous for those little people.

Then another mother, Elizabeth, found a great place that everyone loved, only to find later that the management was not happy and the group was no longer welcomed.

At the Coop City Restaurant Children Corner

Later, Marie-Laure suggested to meet-up at the Coop City Restaurant at St. François (av. du Théâtre 4). This small group has been meeting now for a few months on (almost) every Monday afternoons from 3-5PM, consisting mostly (but not exclusively) of mothers with 20-something month-old toddlers. I now also list the meet-up in Lausanne Mom Facebook page (under Event), so in case you’re also in Facebook and interested to come, just RSVP there. I will also put the next meet-up detail on this website’s Event page. Note that it is not compulsory to RSVP, you can just pop in there. Btw, now that it’s getting warmer, we may meet-up outdoor, so check either the Facebook page or the Event page for possible change of venue.

Do you know of any other mother groups? Or do you plan to create one and want to spread the word? Let me know by leaving a comment below!

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If you already know what this post is about, you may live in a good neighborhood. La Fête des Voisins is meant to celebrate your neighborhood with (whom else?) your neighbors. In our case, usually our concierge and his family (who live in the same building) organize a potluck party in the garden. But it doesn’t mean that your concierge will organize one, most don’t. Well, we know that not all of us are lucky enough to have nice neighbors. If you happen to have great neighbors, why not arrange a small party with them. I know that one of my colleagues does this regularly at her place — probably so that she can invite only the nicest neighbors .

*Image courtesy of La Fête des Voisins.

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The PMU of CHUV opened a new walk-in clinic at the Flon on April 6. This new facility is set up to help the PMU at the CHUV that is already overwhelmed by the number of patients, especially between the peak hours 5-8PM. This facility will also be a training spot for younger doctors, who will be supervised by more senior doctors. So, if you need an urgent treatment from a general practitioner, you can just go there without any appointment. It is suggested that people go there rather than CHUV which is more for accidents/major emergencies. Don’t forget to bring your ID and health insurance card.

Details:
Policlinique Médicale Universitaire (PMU)
Les Mercier A building in the FLON, 3rd floor
Voie du Chariot 4
(Google map)
Open: 7 days per week
Hours: Mon. – Sat. 7:00 to 21:00, Sunday 10:00 to 21:00

*I thank Caro for her help finalizing this post

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The website of the Know-It-All Passport has been re-launched. Many of you should already knew and owned the book, and may have greatly benefited from it. The new website is designed to share even more info, so be sure to click here and check it out!

*Check out my previous post about the Know-It-All Passport here

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Lately I’ve been seeing many posters from Transport Lausanne (TL) that urge bus takers and commuters to always wave or give other signals to the bus driver when they want to hop on the bus, especially when they wait at small bus stops. TL argue that they can be more efficient if they don’t have to stop at every bus stops just because there are people there, as those people may be there for another reason or for another bus line. So, if you want to take the bus from a small bus stop and especially if you see the above sign, do wave to the bus driver or he/she may not stop for you.

For other tips on taking public transport in Lausanne, check out my other post.

*Logo and image courtesy of TL and was photographed at a bus stop in Lutry.

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