Geneva

January 29. 2019

Weekend trip #2 complete.

This weekend I went to Geneva, Switzerland. I took a 4 hour bus ride from Torino to Geneva. The bus took us through the Alps which were absolutely stunning. Little did I know that the prettiest view was yet to come.

When we first arrived in Geneva we went to the Geneva Lake which is this Huge lake in the center on the city. I have never seen water that was this clear. The water was so blue and gorgeous. There were also so many swans and birds in the water it was unreal. Jet d'Eau is the huge fountain that is on the Geneva Lake. It was quite remarkable how high the water went.

So apparently it's normal for people to swim in the 32 degree weather. It was definitely an odd sight when I saw a woman walking in a bathing suit and gym shoes down the path towards the water. Yikes!

Then we walked around some more and got dinner at a fancy fondue restaurant. A friend of a friend recommended this place to me and so we went and got fondue. It was definitely not what I was expecting. Not the best dinner I have had so far, but it was an interesting experience.

Side note: I am currently in an Italy learning to speak Italian. Which has been a challenge in itself. Anyway going to Switzerland was quite interesting and quite a shock because they speak French there. SO it made it very hard to communicate with others. ALSO they use the Franc!! Luckily most places took card, but it was very eye opening because we only traveled 4 hours from Torino and EVERYTHING was very different, including the cars! (they had "normal" size cars - sadly I have yet to see a truck :/ ).

In Geneva they use boats as a form of public transportation from one side of the lake to the other. I think my friends and I rode the boats approximately 10 times within 24 hours lol. But it honestly was a fun was to see more of the see, oh and stare at the gorgeous water!!!

On Sunday we went to the Conservatory and Botanical Gardens of the City of Geneva. It was absolutely STUNNING! It was so cool because they had plants from all over the world! They even had banana trees (a little reminder of home)!!!! Another spot we went to was Broken Chair, which was right in front of the United Nations Building. It is a symbol of both fragility and strength, precariousness and stability, brutality and dignity. Quite a remarkable sight.\

Signing off.

Kayla Nicole