Geneva

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What a whirlwind of a trip to Geneva. This is one of the reasons I decided to stay in Spain - to take advantage of being able to be in another European country in two hours.

Firstly, I have to admit I woke up on Saturday morning not really wanting to take a flight anywhere, after a long week. But I made myself go, and was half-dozing off in the plane until for some reason I felt like opening the window shutter and boy was I reminded of why I love travelling.

We were just flying past the Swiss Alps and the view was awesome. I don't know if these pictures even capture half of the feeling but it's so good to see stuff that you've read about and seen in magazines, on tv, etc. I think that's what I love most about travelling - getting to see things for yourself, the experience you have within yourself is something you will always have.

So, enough of blabber. Geneva is beautiful! The old town is truly a splendid little town (and I've been to many old towns in Spain). The only word I can seem to find to describe it is "quaint" and - at the risk of sounding like a 70-year-old granny - "lovely". The little stony, winding streets that go uphill and downhill, the little shops each with their individual charms, the cafes all full with people having coffee and chocolate and crepes.. I half expected to hear the French rendition of the song 'Dream a little dream of me' playing in the background!

It was definitely a shock leaving a Spanish city and arriving in a French-speaking city, a language of which I can barely say "thank you" and "hello" in a decent enough pronounciation!

I don't know what salaries are like in Geneva but I reckon living there might be tough if you weren't earning heaps, as a lot of basic things seem to be expensive in their currency. I had a look at McDonald's (always the best way for me to figure out if a place is expensive! Haha) and a meal there was 10CHF which is almost 7 Euros but I think that is actually okay? However if you live there and spent 10CHF on McDonald's I'd feel that was a rip-off. I don't even know if that makes sense?

I have to make a disclaimer and say that I haven't been to France but Geneva is so French. Hahaha. I don't know if they'd take that the wrong way but I mean that in the best possible way. The atmosphere, the people and how they dress - and man oh man the cars they drive! It is a rich city and everyone seems so sophisticated. It's definitely a modern city, very much 'with the times' and thank God not as cold as everyone kept saying it was gonna be! There doesn't seem to be much else outside of the old town - it seems to be the place to be.

I only have one picture of me in Geneva but to my credit it was taken with a very popular attraction haha. I've to be honest and admit that I chose Geneva because I only had the weekend free and thought I just needed a day to see everything there - but I would've loved to spend a few more days exploring.

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Photos

The Alps from the plane
How can you not go "WHOA"?!

The one and only..
.. photo of me in Geneva. No I'm kidding I'm talking about the one and only Le Jet d'Eau that shoots up to 455 feet high.

Funny trees they have here.
Before crossing the bridge to the old town. See Le Jet behind?

The flower clock.
At the English Garden - precision watch-making is evident here.

Place Bourg-de-Four
Oldest public square in Geneva at the centre of the old town.

Christie's!
To me that's another sign of the kind of money people make here??

The Cathedral Saint-Pierre
Where John Calvin preached.

The old arsenal.
Original canons from the 17th and 18th centuries. Mosaics at the back representing the arrival of Julius Caesar.

Hotel de Ville.
Have to admit I didn't know why a hotel was such an important landmark but it's actually the Town Hall. LOL.

Reformation wall.
Erected in 1909.