Saturday March 26, 2011
Armed with a list of possible options of tours and adventures, I inquired at the tourist office about what was available, and was told that a walking tour was about to start in 10 minutes. Perfectly timed and reasonably priced, I booked a spot to explore the rich history of Geneva. As the tour was about to start I was amongst three other tourists, all of which were back pack wearing early retirees. Woo hoo, the single girl in her early thirties knows how to travel!! But wait… lucky me, within minutes of the tour a single woman from Peru and another from Poland living in London joined the group. Heh, the numbers just evened out!
During the two hour walking tour of historic Geneva we learned of its construction and significance to the rest of Europe, as it was considered the ideal ancient city that was coveted due to its large Lake and the Rhone river (longest river in Europe) that flows directly into Lake Geneva. We walked along the winding streets, uphill to the old town, and discussed famous Genevans, including Rousseau, Calvin and Dunant, who created the International Committee of the Red Cross, (hence the Swiss flag).
Following the tour, I decided to pick up some bread, Italian deli meat, cheese and spicy olives for lunch. Yum!! If there is another thing I have learned from living in Europe, and France specifically, food is savoured and lunch is the most important meal, so any chance to indulge in a wide variety of food, at just about any time of the day, I am in!! Plus, I originally had my heart set on sushi, but Geneva is an expensive city and I did not feel like shelling out over 15 CHF for a roll or two of pre-made and pre-packaged sushi. So a homemade sandwich, finished off with hazelnut yogurt (I guess I did eat something Swiss), was the perfect afternoon interlude.
After lunch, I walked to the international organizations section of the city to the United Nations building… Calling it a building is a vast understatement, as the property is enormous with a large park and many buildings contained within its fortress. Unfortunately, because of the time of year, I was not able to go beyond the outer gates, and was only able to see a small portion of the estate. Apparently tours are arranged during week days during very specific hours until the end of March, with weekend tours beginning in April. Who knows, maybe perhaps I may find myself in Geneva another day… with a roundtrip train ticket at around €55, a day trip is not unreasonable!
I then walked toward the Lake and took a short stroll through the Botanical Gardens, through to the lakefront and then onto Bains des Paquis, a popular pier off of the Lake. On this particular weekend a small festival, Fête de l’eau, was underway, with puzzles and games for kids, a jazzy sounding band complete with a didgeridoo, and snack shack. Les Bains des Paquis was one of the places strongly recommended to see and it is like a mini beach where you can swim, dive from platforms of various heights, relax on the rocks, enjoy a sauna or a massage, or just hang out. Not to mention, the view of the Lake and the Jet d’eau (famous water fountain) is magnificent.
Although the night was still young, my tired feet needed a rest and I returned for a relaxing and restful night; plus a solo trip is one thing, clubbing or the bar scene sans un(e) ami(e) is another and not one I am particularly interested in. So a rejuvenating end of day in preparation of my final day in Geneva it was.
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| Bains des Paquis |
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| Bains des Paquis |
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| Walking toward the UN building |
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| UN |
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| UN |
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