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The sound of jazz and classical music drifted over the lake on Tuesday evening as pupils from the Conservatoire of Nyon (COV) played at the official opening of the Villa Niedermeyer. This villa, which is situated next to the Villa Thomas (the current home of the Conservatoire) had remained empty for many years and it was becoming increasingly dilapidated. It was given a new lease of life when in 2010, the municipality gave the green light for the COV to renovate it and to use the premises.  This Sunday there will be a "Fête d'inauguration" (opening party) for the public at the Villa Niedermeyer with events  taking place on the lake side and in the building itself.   Click here for the full programme  beginning at 10:00 and continung right through until 18:00. The weather is predicted to be sunny and hot on Sunday, a perfect opportunity to sit by the lake side and listen to music in this lovely setting. Louis Nidermeyer was a composer and musician and was born in Nyon in 1802 and died in Paris in 1861. Flea market and country music Meanwhile, for all brocante lovers on Sunday 26 June and further along the lakeside, it is the monthly flea market in Nyon.  See site here . Also on Sunday  over in the square by the Roman columns in Nyon, country music band "Tex Mäx" will be playing from 11:00 to 13:30 as part of the summer Sunday lunch concerts of the Association de la Place ds Maronniers. See their site here Brazilian music tonight Friday 24 June On Fri 24 June Brazilian music is on the programme at the 1306 club (the small private night club in the old town) with  "Miriam do Rio e convidados".  More details here .  Entry is free - note there is a hat passed around for contributions for the performers at the end the evening. On Saturday 25 June at the Usine a Gaz, it's the end of year fete of ADAC (Académie des Art Creatifs) with performances by its pupils.  It's an opportunity to find out more about the courses offered by the association. You can also read about them on their site (section here in English) . Sailing regattas on Tuesday nights in Nyon The photo in the banner was taken from the lakeside on Tuesday night. Did you know that Tuesday nights are also "regatta nights" for Nyon's sailing club?  On these nights in the summer season, you can see the yachts sailing and competing in competitions on the lake.  To find out more about Nyon's sailing club see their site here Open day weekend at the Clinique de Genolier and in the Commune of Trélex The private hospital La Clinique de Genolier is having an open day weekend on Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 June . This hospital is situated above the village of Genolier and overlooks the valley below. You will be able to visit the operating theatre, see the rooms that are available for patients and observe workshops. For more information and times see here . It's also open day on Saturday in the commune of Trélex. From 13:30 to 16:00, the administrative offices and the salle de reception wil be open to the public. Photography exhibition The small photography gallery Focale  (in the corner of Place du Château), will be holding a vernissage on Friday   evening  24 June with a new exhibition at the gallery called " Insomnies: rencontre en Palestine". The vernissage will be at 17:30 in the presence of the photographer Reto Albertalli. The gallery is then open Wednesdays to Sundays 14:00-18:00. Nyon's Capitole Cinema Finally this weekend, "Midnight in Paris" the film directed by Woody Allen (shown in the original version in English), is still on every day at 19:00. Films in French  are  "Handover Part 11", "Kung Fu Panda 11",  "Pirates of the Caribbean - On Stranger Tides" and "Rio".

If you are looking for a final bit of entertainment before the end of the Christmas/ New Year Holidays , check out the " swimmers' party" in the lake in Nyon on Sunday 4th January from 11:00. There will be vin chaud, soup and other surprises in store!  Members of the public can join in the swim if they dare! (registration on the day) . Details here This event is organised by the members of the voluntary association of the "bains de trois jetées". This association erects the small sauna by the lake each winter which is open to the public.

If you are new to the area and would like to discover more about the local wines, or if you know the wines already and want a fun day out, the two "Caves Ouvertes" days on Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th of May between 10:00 and 18:00 are an ideal opportunity to taste and drink local wine. To take part, just purchase a "passport" at the information desk at Rolle, Gland or Morges railway station or at the first winery you visit. For just CHF 15 you receive a souvenir wine glass, wine tasting from a wide choice of wine cellars and a free ride that operate between the cellars and Morges railway station. There is a full timetable of the free buses here . See the routing here Also, on this Sunday it's the fabulous Navale parade in Rolle, this is when all the CGN "Belle Epoque" boats gather together and parade on the lake, ending in a grand choreography to music and  the release of thousands of balloons into the air from the boats. For full details see site here

A Very Merry Christmas to all readers!

Photo above: Swiss Quote building in Gland On Tuesday May 17th at 19:00 there will be a presentation by Diccon Bewes, author of "Swiss Watching", along with Swiss Tourism at Brillantmont International School in Lausanne.  A representative from Swiss Tourism will talk about some of the enchanting treasures that Switzerland has to offer.  Then, Diccon Bewes will go behind the scenes of his hugely successful book, and the audience will discover that Switzerlandgoes beyond cows, trains, chocolate, and private banking.  This is a Léman events production. Here's more info about the book "Swiss Watching".  One country with four languages, 26 cantons, and 7.7 million people (but only 80% of them Swiss): there's nowhere else like it in Europe. Switzerland may be almost 400 km from the nearest drop of sea water, but it is an island at the centre of Europe. Swiss Watching is a revealing historical journey around Europe's most individual country. While seeking Heidi and meeting Tell, it relives a bloody past and explores an uncertain future. It's also the story of its people, who have more power than their politicians, but can't speak to one another in the same language – and who own more guns per head than the people of Iraq. As for those national clichés, well, not all the cheese has holes, cuckoo clocks aren’t Swiss and the trains don’t always run exactly on time. For registration for this event click here   Swiss Tourism presentation at 19:00. Then author Diccon Bewes speaks at 19:30  Q & A followed by an apero, networking, book signing and possible tour of the school from 20:15.

The sky around the aerodrome in Prangins on Saturday was full of aeroplanes looping the loop, planes taking passengers for individual flights, vintage planes, and all things aeronautical. The weather was cloudy but bright, and the airshow proved to be a great attraction for its visitors. Photos and report on the fête du musique last weekend, coming up here tomorrow.

There will be a juggling performance/show this weekend at the Elastique Citrique (the acrobatic/circus skill school) in Nyon. Photos here.   The school is at la Caserne, 11 Rue des Marchandises, Nyon. This can be found very near to Place Perdtemps car park (look out for the red building!) The performance will take place on 19:00 on Saturday the 30th and at 17:00 on Sunday the 31st January. Tickets - reservations here . Tickets can be collected 30 minutes before the start of the performance.

Review by Jonas Parson The second night of Caribana turned out to be another very warm and successful evening (the second sold-out night in a row, tickets are still available for Friday and Saturday night) and the acts headlining that night attracted a completely different crowd  to that of the night before. Trooper boots, spiked necklaces and heavy make-up were swapped for lighter, more colourful clothing, as the Marilyn Manson(read a quick review of his concert below) fan base was replaced by a younger audience come to see Bastille. The night wasn't all about lighter music and polite bands though, as DJ, producer and band leader Parov Stelar was one of Thursday's headlines. One of the major influences in the development of Electro Swing, the Parov Stelar Band were there to play their latest album, the Demon Diaries. Mesmerising vocals, edgy saxophone solos and heavy beats turned the front of the main stage into an open-air dance-floor. Playing both new songs and all the popular hits to a very elegant visual background(including a quote by German philosopher Immanuel Kant!), the band was the highlight of the evening. Before what looked like a full moon came out in the night sky, the grounds also vibrated to a lot of mostly electrified music. From Swiss duo Elvett , who played their own brand of acoustic-electro, complete with the enchanting voice of Lyn who kicked off the evening on the lake stage, to Metronomy who gradually brought together the crowd in front of the main stage. The English band, all very elegant in their matching outfits, delivered their dandyish mix of electro and pop with great class and loads of punch. London-based band Bastille were obviously one of the headlines of the evening, and the many teenagers on the grounds was a sure sign of that. The indie pop sensation whose hits combine catchy tunes and compelling choruses. Very polite, albeit slightly too well behaved, the band surely pleased the younger fans. Other bands included young Irish rock band the Strypes with their rather classic style of rock, and electro/deep house artist the Avener . The charm of the lakeside with the leafy grounds and warm night air were perfect to dance to the organic beats of the French musician. To all the fans of Ben l'Oncle Soul, but who can't make it to Caribana this evening, his concert will be live-streamed on the website . The concert starts at 19:30. Make-up, heavy metal and theatrics Late on Wednseday night, the crowd waiting in front of the main stage wore mostly black, with the usual spiked bracelets, big boots or torn clothing. All were waiting for one of the most infamous metal bands, Marilyn Manson (people tried to have his last two concerts in Switzerland banned, in 2005 and 2012, accusing him of Satanism and whatnot). The demographics were actually quite diverse, as Manson appeals a lot to younger fans of the genre.The heavily made-up singer, now well in his forties, delivered a show with his usual sense of theatrics, from the various microphones adorned with knives and knuckledusters to the smoke billowing up behind him. Playing songs from nearly all of his albums, including his great version of Eurythmics' Sweet Dreams (a personal favourite), Marilyn Manson delivered a good concert, although slightly lacking in punch.

There was a steady drizzle yesterday at the Easter Market in Nyon, yet despite this, the stall holders made a big effort to inject some colour into the day, with interesting and bright coloured products on sale. In particular was the stall that sold soft shoes for children and adults, bright bags with funky designs, hats, cases for storing glasses and flower decorations for the house, all made out of super soft felt. The owner of the stall Ulziibat, is from Mongolia and she her partner Hartig Alexandre, travel to Nepal and Mongolia to bring back the soft felts from both countries to make into bright products here in Switzerland. Nyon is one of the towns "Modern Nomad" (the name of her stall) visits, along with other venues across the region. To find out where they are next visiting call 076 278 0818 At the market on Sunday there was also the more traditional Easter goods on display, from the decorated fountain by the Maitre Jacques to the stalls selling decorations for Easter including a stall selling  plates with the names of various Swiss cheeses hand painted on them.

If you are wondering why there are lots of folk all with binoculars and all staring out at the lake this week, it's because there a sailing regatta on. Each evening until the 11th you can catch the beautiful sight of yachts sailing around Nyon on Lake Geneva. On Tuesday night there was a bit of wind and the sky had some superb cloud formations. What a perfect way to end a working day either by being on a boat itself or just watching from the port. Take your binoculars down there and enjoy (although watch out for the noise of the starting gun!) Boats leave the port at 19:00

After the great success of the "Fun Fondue" night for newly arrived expats back in February this year, another "Welcome to La Côte" event has been organised by Nyon tourism, Migros école- club Migros and Living in Nyon.  This second event on the 22nd May is in response to the survey that was carried out at the fondue evening. Please note, places are limited for this next event, please register by May 5 . Click on the flyer below to see full details in larger print.

On the day of the U.S presidential elections, American readers of this site might be interested to know that World Radio Switzerland will be broadcasting coverage of the elections on Wednesday 7th November from 02:00 a.m.  There have been many programmes on WRS throughout the past seven days which have covered  issues concerning Americans living in Switzerland. One of these programmes (called The Connectors), discussed American patriotism from afar, taxation, banking and the Foreign Accounting Tax Compliance Act (FACTA). If you are interested in hearing this programme again, just click on this link here . On a lighter note, Living in Nyon came across this busker yesterday playing guitar in the underpass under Nyon railway station. Brian from Charleston-South Carolina, is touring the world whilst playing flamenco to passers by. He was previously in Spain, but he moved on to Switzerland as he says "not only are  the people generous and friendly here, but as this country is in a better economic shape, I can earn more money (particularly in Geneva and Nyon) I can even "save a little!" Brian also predicted that the Barack Obama would win the U:S presidential elections.  This time tomorrow, we should know the answer and if Brian the Busker is right!