Geneva, Switzerlandbelongs not so much to Switzerland as to the whole world. More than 40% of residents are non-Swiss, and this city of bankers, diplomats and transients has a seriously wordly 'flavour' [Lonely Planet]
I instantly liked Geneva. Although it's strongly European and the people speak french, it's certainly true about it being an International stage. Typically Swiss, everything is orderly and efficient, in that the trains run on time, they repeat the PA announcements in French, English and German and people are polite yet perfunctory. The city is very clean and the crisp weather made everything feel that much fresher which was a nice change (not better; just different!) from the slippery sunscreen feeling of warm weather singlet-wearing Benidorm.
We got our bearings on the first night wandering down to the lake (aptly named Lake Geneva) complete with Swans and in true-backpacker style feasted on kebabs for dinner. The next morning we hit the sights. The top of Cathedrale St-Pierre affords brilliant views including snow-capped mountains and it's picture perfect in every direction. In the photo above you can see the giant fountain, Jet d'Eau in the background which shoots water up at 200km/h; 140m up into the air. At any one time there is 7 tonnes of water in the air!
Unfortunately it was a fly-through visit this time so we didn't tick off other tourist destinations but made sure to soak up the atmosphere of the lakeside and shopping strip, including taking in the sights and smells of the many chocolate shops and having a leisurely coffee.
Phew! this update has been a long time coming and it's getting much more retrospective than I had wanted but bear with me and I'll fill you in on the rest of June.
Happy new financial year.
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