more Geneva
On Saturday in Geneva my mom, my sister, and I slept in late and ordered breakfast in our room, so we didn't end up leaving the hotel until around 1:00. We walked across a footbridge over the Rhone River to the Left Bank of Lake Geneva, where most of the historical sites in the city are located. The footbridge also connects both shores of the river to the Ile Rousseau, a tiny little island with a statue of Rousseau built in the middle. (Rousseau was a native of Geneva.) On the Left Bank, we walked by the famous functional flower cock, the enormous face of which is constructed completely of flowers. Next we walked out on the pier where the Jet d'Eau is located. The Jet d'Eau is Geneva's trademark and the largest fountain in Europe. It pumps 7 tons of water 425 feet in the air; that's 3 times the height of the Statue of Liberty. Needless to say, it's pretty impressive.
After the Jet d'Eau, we hiked back over to the train station on the Right bank to meet Leslie. Unfortunately, she forgot her passport, and thus couldn't get into the country! The Swiss guard said she could enter, but the French guard said that if she went in, he wouldn't let her back into France. The Swiss guard tried to help, saying Leslie was almost certainly harmless as she was carrying a Looney Tunes umbrella and meeting three blond women, but the French guard stood his ground. So, the Swiss guard escorted her through customs so she could let us know what was going on, and then she had to sit in a little interrogation rooms while she waited for her train back to Lyon. The Swiss guard had to escort her back onto the train as well. It sucks, because Switzerland is actually one of the only countries in Western Europe that require you to show a passport.
Shortly after my mom, my sister, and I left the train station, it started to rain, so we ducked into the closest restaurant (a Mexican one) and had a late lunch. The rain had let up by the time we were finished, so we walked back over to the Left bank to do some more sight-seeing. We saw the Tour d'Ile, which is the last remaining tower of a 13th Century chateau. Next we went to Place Neuve, where the Grand Theatre and the Conservatory are located. After the Place we visited the Parc des Bastions, which is part of the university. There we saw several nearly life-size chessboards, which were much more impressive than the ones in Zurich, by the way, and the Reformation Monument. The monument is actually a huge wall, built just under the wall of the Old Town, and it features statues of Guillaume Farel, Jean Calvin, Theodore de Beze, and John Knox. After taking pictures of the chessboards and the monument, we hiked up the hill to Old Geneva. There we saw the Hotel de Ville and the Arsenal, and then ducked into a cafe to escape the rain a second time. When it seemed that the rain had abated, we left the cafe and walked over to see the Cathedrale Saint-Pierre. By that point, however, it had already gotten quite dark, and it was too late to enter the cathedrale or do much more sight-seeing at all. So, we walked back to the hotel in the rain, which as it turned out had merely teased us by slackening to a light drizzle and then returning in full force less than 15 minutes later.
Saturday night at 11 Leslie arrived in Geneva again, this time with her passport. She walked over to our hotel and spent Easter Sunday with us.
After the Jet d'Eau, we hiked back over to the train station on the Right bank to meet Leslie. Unfortunately, she forgot her passport, and thus couldn't get into the country! The Swiss guard said she could enter, but the French guard said that if she went in, he wouldn't let her back into France. The Swiss guard tried to help, saying Leslie was almost certainly harmless as she was carrying a Looney Tunes umbrella and meeting three blond women, but the French guard stood his ground. So, the Swiss guard escorted her through customs so she could let us know what was going on, and then she had to sit in a little interrogation rooms while she waited for her train back to Lyon. The Swiss guard had to escort her back onto the train as well. It sucks, because Switzerland is actually one of the only countries in Western Europe that require you to show a passport.
Shortly after my mom, my sister, and I left the train station, it started to rain, so we ducked into the closest restaurant (a Mexican one) and had a late lunch. The rain had let up by the time we were finished, so we walked back over to the Left bank to do some more sight-seeing. We saw the Tour d'Ile, which is the last remaining tower of a 13th Century chateau. Next we went to Place Neuve, where the Grand Theatre and the Conservatory are located. After the Place we visited the Parc des Bastions, which is part of the university. There we saw several nearly life-size chessboards, which were much more impressive than the ones in Zurich, by the way, and the Reformation Monument. The monument is actually a huge wall, built just under the wall of the Old Town, and it features statues of Guillaume Farel, Jean Calvin, Theodore de Beze, and John Knox. After taking pictures of the chessboards and the monument, we hiked up the hill to Old Geneva. There we saw the Hotel de Ville and the Arsenal, and then ducked into a cafe to escape the rain a second time. When it seemed that the rain had abated, we left the cafe and walked over to see the Cathedrale Saint-Pierre. By that point, however, it had already gotten quite dark, and it was too late to enter the cathedrale or do much more sight-seeing at all. So, we walked back to the hotel in the rain, which as it turned out had merely teased us by slackening to a light drizzle and then returning in full force less than 15 minutes later.
Saturday night at 11 Leslie arrived in Geneva again, this time with her passport. She walked over to our hotel and spent Easter Sunday with us.