Geneva Part I

Our Study Abroad Calendar includes two weekends in February where no classes are held on Thursday or Friday so that students can travel in Europe.  We decided to visit Denise and her new husband in Switzerland during the first travel weekend.  Denise was in our first Study Abroad group in 2005 and she has become part of our family.  She met Jean-Michel while interning at the United Nations in Geneva in 2010 after her mission  and we attended their wedding in Phoenix this past July.  Jean-Michel is an talented architect in Geneva.

We took a 3 1/2 hour train ride on the TGV to Geneva Thursday morning. The train went through tunnels in the mountains and over some beautiful gorges.  Denise met us at the station and we rode the tram to her apartment for some yummy homemade pumpkin soup.  There are trams and buses going everywhere around Geneva and into France.  Denise and Jean-Michel don't own a car and Jean-Michel rides to work on a scooter.  We continued to have frigid weather in Geneva and wondered how he survived the cold on a scooter.  He was frozen when he arrived home for lunch despite the many layers of clothing he was wearing.

On the Tram

After lunch, we decided to walk around Old Town Geneva and down by the river and the lake while the sun was shining and the wind wasn't blowing. 

Kate, Denise and Kelly in Old Town

Kelly at a Fountain

At the Rhône River

Clock Tower

Of course Kate had to do a little shopping.  Kelly found a place to sit and patiently waited inside H&M while Kate looked around.

We made our way down to the lake.  You can just see in the distance in the picture below the lighthouses where the land comes close together.  This is near where the Jet d'Eau sprays up in the air, but it was not spraying that day.  Perhaps it was frozen like us!

Lake Geneva

We were surprised to see swans and ducks in the lake.

Notice the icicles just above the water?  Here is a close up.  It was hard to understand how those birds could still be alive in that cold water.

Close up of Icicles

There are boats that criss cross the lake that are part of the public transit system.  We took one of the boats across.  It was surprisingly warm inside the boat.

 Of course there was a little Swiss flag on the back of the boat.  Kate snapped a picture for us.

Swiss Flag

On the other side of the lake was a very fancy hotel-the Kempinski-that Jean-Michel's firm had renovated.  It was a beautiful hotel.  Kelly and I wished we were staying there rather than at the Hotel Etap!

Kate and Denise at the Kempinski Hotel

On many of Jean-Michel's projects, they not only design the building but also choose the furnishings and do the interiors.

Entrance to the Kempinski Hotel

Kempinski Hotel Lobby

By now we were frozen and decided we needed hot chocolate.  We have found that the hot chocolate at McDonald's in Europe is really good.  It was a pretty trendy looking McDonald's.  Kate told me I shouldn't be taking pictures in McDonald's-I think that is why she has the funny look on her face.

McDonald's

Kelly brought us up steaming hot cups of milk and real Swiss Cailler chocolate powder and sugar to mix in.  And then it came with a little square of Cailler chocolate to eat at the end.  It warmed us right up.
That evening we went to a trendy restaurant for dinner with Denise and Jean-Michel.  This is Kelly's main course.  It is layers of beets and polenta and very good.

We enjoyed good conversation and a delicious meal.  It was a great first day in Switzerland.