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Published: June 13th 2006
Geneva
The view of Geneva from the Saleve Mountains. The large fountain in the left corner of the lake is Geneva's famous landmark, the Jet d'Eau. At 140 meters it's one of the tallest fountains in the world.Here's all you wanted to know (and more) about my two-week vacation in Switzerland. My sister Becky and her family moved to Geneva last summer for her husband Scott's job at Capitol Group. It's been adventurous and challenging for the Edgeworth family to move to a non-English speaking country with three small children, but for the rest of our family their move has meant -- European vacation!!! I visited them for two weeks in late May/early June. My younger sister Pam had been staying with them for two months, so I spent a week in Geneva and also traveled with Pam for a week to Berlin, Prague and Italy.
I left Sunday at 3 p.m. from LAX and arrived the next day at 6 p.m. But there was no time for jet lag. My three nephews Chad, David and Brett were very excited to see their Aunt Mimi. I woke up early the next morning (confused body clock) and went running with Becky along a canal by their flat in Carouge, a quaint neighborhood in Geneva.
When we returned I walked Chad to his French-speaking school (Becky says he speaks better French than his parents and even corrects them
Pont de Acacia
The bridge by Becky's flat on the way to Chad's school. sometimes!). He was eating
pan chocolat (a croissant-type bread with chocolate in the middle). When he was done eating the chocolate out of the center, he threw the rest in the trash. An older man took the bread out of the trash and threw it into the canal, telling me something in French that I assumed meant that he was feeding it to the birds. Yikes, what do I say, I don't know any French? Um, think Amanda ... "Gracias." That response got a funny look. After that, I went over a few stock French quotes in my head so I wouldn't be caught off guard again (merci, pardon and je ne parle pas Francais came in very handy). The experience made me appreciate the language barrier Becky has had to overcome to feel at home in Geneva.
That morning Becky, Pam and I rented free bikes and rode them around the cobblestoned old city. In the afternoon I went with Becky to take Chad and David to Sambo -- their Russian martial arts class. We took the tram and by the time we got home, my legs were already tired from walking and it was only the first
Free Bikes
We used the free rentals to explore Geneva on bike. Brett "His Royal Highness" is in the basket on Becky's bike. day. I realized how sedentary my life in Los Angeles is. I walk from my house to my car in the morning, drive to work, walk up two flights of stairs to my office, leave work and drive home. Of course, I do exercise after work at rugby, the gym or running, but I get NO excercise during the day because I live in a car-dependent city. I'd love to live the European lifestyle of walking, taking public transportation and spending more time outside.
The next day we walked to the weekly Carouge farmer's market. I ate the ubiquitous pan chocolate (bread and chocolate -- my two favorite things!) and Becky bought produce to make big salads for dinner. After lunch we took the telepherique (cable car) to the top of the Saleve Mountains, which are right across the border in France. From the height of 3,600 feet, there are spectacular views of the city fanning out from the end of Lake Geneva. In the distance, you can faintly see the snow-capped Alps. The constant view of the Alps was one of the things I liked best about Switzerland. It made the landscape feel peaceful and picturesque.
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brenda benson
non-member comment
i love your blog so far
hi there - I am a very good friend of your father's. He was gracious enough to share your trip with me and it looks really wonderful there. I can't wait to see the rest. Posting it was a great idea! Brenda