Saturday, July 19
The weather gods thought 2 sunny days in a row was enough
and we had another mostly rainy day.
The highlights tour started with a panoramic drive around
the international district of Geneva pointing out the International Red Cross
and Red Crescent Museum, the UN’s European headquarters and UNICEF.
Our first stop was at the United Nations Square that we
visited last night on our own. There was a peaceful protest (why the square was
created) by the Gwangju Student Global Leaders Around the World. (South Korean)
We boarded the bus for the drive to the shores of Lake
Geneva which is the largest in Westen Europe. The rain was pesky so enjoying
the walk and taking photos was not optimal.
We saw the Place du Neuve, where the equestrian monument to
General Dufour commemorates this military hero and first head of the Geneva
Convention.
Alabama Plaque located in the courtyard of the Town Hall commemorates
two events that took place in the building in what is now called the
"Alabama Room." The first is the First Geneva Convention in 1864
which founded the International Committee of the Red Cross. The second is
resolving of a dispute between Great Britain and the United States about the
damages caused by the Confederate ship CSS Alabama during the Civil War.
St. Peter’s Cathedral, now the Reformed Protestant Church
was our next stop.
We were left at the Place de la Madeleine for free time to
tour and have lunch. On the tour we spotted the restaurant we had Googled to
have lunch, so we walked back there. It was next to the Old Arsenal so it was
easy to find. Restaurant les Armures located between the 12th century Travel
House and the Old Arsenal, is the oldest cafe in Geneva. The dungeons were used
as cellars by Biship Guillaume de Marcossay. It was restored and extended in
1957. This was our last chance to have Raclette which is a special Swiss Cheese
grated and melted and served with boiled potatoes. Our waiter said the portions
were small and we said we could order 2 each. He suggested starting with one and
he would bring the others so they would be fresh and hot. While we were at the
restaurant the sky opened up and it poured like a banshee. We had planned to
grab some gelato in the square but stayed to have their chocolate mousse which
turned out to be a good choice.
While we were there the table next to us (divided by a short
wall) had an Asian mom & daughter and they were trying fondue for the first
time. After watching them for a while, their waiter stopped by the table to ask
if he could show them the “Swiss way to eat fondue”. He said if you need to
order more bread you are eating it wrong. He showed them how to swirl deeply
into the pot to get the bread covered in cheese. We were lucky to get a seat as
the place was packed, and they wanted reservations.
Finally, the rain slowed a bit, and we left to meet the
group for the Lake Cruise portion of the tour. Everyone was doing their best to
huddle under the umbrellas of a restaurant. I scoped out a gelato place for
future reference.
We were supposed to walk to the boat but the guide had the
driver bring a bus closer so we wouldn’t have to be in the rain so long. Viking
was very accommodating to those who didn’t want to do the walking tour in the
rain and took them back to the hotel and brought them back for the cruise and a
subset that did the walking tour but didn’t want to do the cruise and just go
back to the hotel.
We walked past the colorful English Garden, where L’horloge
fleurie, the city’s renowned clock made of flowers, created as a symbol of
Geneva’s watch-making tradition to get to the bus. It was here that a couple
tried to pick-pocket me. It was raining and I felt a bump against my umbrella.
I turned to see why I was being shoved, and I guess she didn’t expect me to
turn in the direction I did as I saw her and realized her hand was in my purse.
I had it open just enough to have my phone in there (still attached to my wrist
with a lanyard) when I felt her hand in there too. I said, “why is your hand in
my purse?” She said, “you bumped me with your umbrella” I said, “that doesn’t
explain why your hand was in my purse” She screamed something like Bwaaaah in
my face and moved on. She was with a guy, and they were probably working together.
I was steps away from getting on the bus. I keep nothing in the large part of
my purse but if my phone hadn’t been attached to my wrist she might have been
successful in getting my cell phone.
The guide led us to the dock to wait until the boat was
ready to board. Lake Geneva is located at the foot of the French Alps, and its
snowcapped mountains are visible year-round. (maybe in clearer weather)
We boarded the boat and went to the top level as it seemed
the rain might let up. We tucked in under an overhang but moved about to take
photos as the rain did stop. The famous Jet d’Eau, surges up to 460 feet into
the air. The scenery was beautiful, and we could see Mont Blanc in the
distance. We saw Villa Diodati, perched on a hillside where Mary Shelley’s
'Frankenstein' and John William Polidori's 'The Vampyre' were born. In 1816
Mary Shelley was inspired to pen her groundbreaking novel, Frankenstein, and
she was only 18 years old at the time.
After the 45-minute cruise around a portion of the lake, the
tour was over, and we had free time for the rest of the day. We grabbed a tram
back to the Old Town and walked around the shops (mostly high end like Rolex
and more)
We went to the gelato place where I performed the best catch
of my life. The young lady scooping the gelato flunked Scooping 101 and made
the cups very top heavy. I was holding it on the counter with one hand to take
a spoonful when it flipped and headed right for my chest or the floor. I
swooped my hand down and caught it upside down in my hand. Messy, but I saved
the gelato and my shirt.
After that we walked up to a lookout and then popped back
into the church with fewer crowds.
We then went for a walk along the lake. After that we went
back to a sidewalk café we spotted earlier. If I didn’t mention it earlier,
Geneva is in Switzerland, but more French than Swiss. The language spoken was
mostly French and the food leaned towards French in many restaurants. We took
advantage of having our last Warm Goat Cheese Salads of the trip (all were prepared
differently and all were good). The waiter misunderstood one of us and brought
one goat cheese salad and one with salmon. Greg thought the salmon one looked
good, so we kept it. This one was quite different, it said toast, but it really
was more of a pancake or thick crepe. (wasn’t my favorite one).
We grabbed a tram back to the hotel and walked over to a café
to have Toblerone Mousse for dessert. While smoking isn’t allowed in
restaurants in Europe, outside even at restaurant cafes is allowed and we moved
inside to avoid two smokers close to the table we first chose. (I think that is
changing though) When it came time to pay the bill the server told us their
credit card machine had just gone down, and we had to pay cash. Since it was
our last day in Switzerland, we had spent out our cash and planned to use
credit here. Greg asked where the closest ATM was and then remembered he keeps
some USD stashed for emergencies. She agreed to take that and said she would
pay the bill. ($30 for 2 mousse and 2 Coke Zeros)
We walked back through the park to the hotel to pack up. The
Viking portion of our trip was over and tomorrow we will fly to Warsaw, Poland
for a week.
Geneva https://photos.app.goo.gl/kfbuGZVEpcE4o6N58
No comments:
Post a Comment