Geveva

Let's step back a second and review, shall we?  Before Kelly came to see me, she had been in South Carolina for work for a couple weeks for work.  She flew from SC to Chicago to spend St. Patrick's Day weekend in Chicago with friends.  She flew out of Chicago on St. Paddy's day, and arrived at Heathrow early in the morning on March 18th.  I then tried to keep her moving all day so she wouldn't fall asleep.  However, we tried to get to bed early that night, because we had to get up at 3 to catch our flight.  We got up Wednesday, took a bus, then a taxi, then a train to the airport (we flew out of Stansted, all the way on the other side of the city).  Then we had our direct flight to Dortmund, Germany.  Ariel met us there, and we took a shuttle bus to the train station, then took 2 (or what it 3?  I lost track... haha... get it?) trains to Ariel's town, then took another bus to get to her neighborhood.  The next day, Thursday, we took 2 trains to Cologne, and 2 trains back. Friday we took 2 buses then a train to the airport, then flew to Geneva.  In Geneva, Callie and David picked us up in their car.

 

So Kelly had been on an airplane 4 of the last 8 days.

 

I'm not terribly prone to motion sickness, and neither is Kelly.

 

Unless she's tired.

 

She was tired. I can't imagine why!

 

There was no barfing, and Kelly really is such a trooper, but Girlfriend needed a break!

 

All of this is to say, we decided that Saturday in Geneva would involve no other transport besides the two-footed kind.  After sleeping in a bit, and having a fantastic crepe brunch (thanks Callie, it was delicious!), we explored the lovely city of Geneva.

 

(This is the part where I have a conversation with you again.  The italics are the things that you say.  But then... you should know that because you said it.)

 

So where exactly is Geneva, Steph?  I think I've hear of it, but I don't know where it is.  And (more importantly) what's the big deal about it?  Why have I heard of it?

 

 Great questions!

 

Geneva is in the Western trippy-tip of Switzerland, right across the border from France.  It is right along the Jira mountains, and right on Lake Geneva (coincidence? I think not!).  It also has this famous fountain.

 

 

 

This is my own idea of Geneva, but I sort of have the idea that if world peace is going to happen, its going to happen in Geneva.  I know that makes no sense, but there it is.  The European headquarters for the United Nations is in Geneva, and it is also the location of many other peaceful international endeavors including many, many NGO's (non-government organizations) and CERN.  More on CERN another day (get excited!).  Because of all of these organizations, there is a large expatriate population in Geneva that is constantly turning over.  All of these factors lead to a very rich culture.

 

 

 

On Saturday, we walked to the Old City, and went to a museum located in the oldest house in the city.  Geneva is very old, so this house was very old.

 

 On the top floor of the house/museum was this scaled model of the city as it was in the 1800's (?).  The picture below doesn't give you the full scope, but can you see the triangular parts along the edge of the city?

 

Yeah... what's that about?

 

Those were all the way around the city, so when you look at the whole model, it kind of has a many-pointed-start edge to it.  These were fortifications to protect the city.  As I mentioned before, Geneva is very close to France.  In fact, parts of the city are now in France (because the city has spread).  The French felt that since Geneva was so close, they should just absorb the city.  But Geneva said "No!  We're Swiss!  Not French!" So they had to protect themselves from French takeover.

 

View from a window in the House Museum

Guillotine! 



Oh no!  We're in a jail cell!  Actually, we later found out that it was just a gun cabinet.



Hello there...

Did you know that John Calvin lived in Geneva?

You mean like, John Calvin, John Calvin?

Yes, that one.

Like, the one who "invented" Calvinism?

Yep!  That's the one!  And this was his church.

Saturday was a pretty rainy day, so we decided to take a break and warm up with some warm drinks at a café.

I notice much more outdoor dining here in Europe.  Yes, it's still chilly outside, but many have heating lamps, and others (like this one)  actually provide you with blankets.  Isn't that fun and cozy?

Check out the head on this hot chocolate!

Yes, we were in Switzerland, but... it all felt so French!  I was glad Kelly and I decided to skip the pit-stop in Paris on the way back to London.  I feel like I had a French experience without having to deal with another big city.

The rest of the day was mostly just wandering around, shopping, and visiting with each other.  It was lovely.  And Kelly was feeling much better.  Just what the doctor ordered!