Geneva
Oh, it's good to be in London again! Geneva, in my opinion, is a city which is best visited on the way to somewhere else (unless you're a UN diplomat, for obvious reasons). The mountains surrounding the city aren't the true "postcard" Alps, the Lake is pretty but like many other lakes, and the architecture is nice but I've seen better. There's the UN, the Red Cross Museum, some churches and a cathedral, and a few other odd museums here and there. Though I do have to say, I visited the Eglise de Notre Dame, which was gorgeous, far more moving than the austere Cathedrale St-Pierre despite the views from the latter's towers.
Overall, however, unless you've a lot of money to burn in designer shops I think there are better places in Switzerland to visit. Everything is incredibly expensive, even more than London (a modest lunch costs around $15- thank goodness I brought a package of crackers and a jar of peanut butter just in case). The chocolates were absurdly expensive considering I have a bag of Gertrude Hawk chocolate here in London, which is just as good I'm sure. For those of you who haven't tried any of this, you simply must. And I also sought fondue but it was only offered for two, and I was unfortunately alone.
Otherwise, things didn't go as easily as planned in the meeting. Turns out the person who gave me the project didn't exactly do the right research or whatever because the man I met with told me he couldn't give me the info we wanted. Right. After a long conversation I eventually got some things out of him that will be helpful but realistically it could've been done with a phone call. C'est la vie.
I've also come to the conclusion from Geneva that I'm glad to have picked London for study abroad. The language barrier was intimidating despite so many people being familiar with English. I think it would be much easier going with a group or a tour, but on one's own with only a limited map for guidance can be odd at best. I was surprised at how relieved I was to get back to London with the familiar Tube directions, characteristic architecture, and cheesy auto insurance ads.
Oh, and a final note, I hate the striking French air traffic controllers. Their strikes delayed my pilots, and I was not intending on staying around in an overpriced airport with nothing to do. Ah well. I really hope London or New York gets the Olympics instead of Paris.
Overall, however, unless you've a lot of money to burn in designer shops I think there are better places in Switzerland to visit. Everything is incredibly expensive, even more than London (a modest lunch costs around $15- thank goodness I brought a package of crackers and a jar of peanut butter just in case). The chocolates were absurdly expensive considering I have a bag of Gertrude Hawk chocolate here in London, which is just as good I'm sure. For those of you who haven't tried any of this, you simply must. And I also sought fondue but it was only offered for two, and I was unfortunately alone.
Otherwise, things didn't go as easily as planned in the meeting. Turns out the person who gave me the project didn't exactly do the right research or whatever because the man I met with told me he couldn't give me the info we wanted. Right. After a long conversation I eventually got some things out of him that will be helpful but realistically it could've been done with a phone call. C'est la vie.
I've also come to the conclusion from Geneva that I'm glad to have picked London for study abroad. The language barrier was intimidating despite so many people being familiar with English. I think it would be much easier going with a group or a tour, but on one's own with only a limited map for guidance can be odd at best. I was surprised at how relieved I was to get back to London with the familiar Tube directions, characteristic architecture, and cheesy auto insurance ads.
Oh, and a final note, I hate the striking French air traffic controllers. Their strikes delayed my pilots, and I was not intending on staying around in an overpriced airport with nothing to do. Ah well. I really hope London or New York gets the Olympics instead of Paris.