My Swiss Adventure!
Trip Start
Nov 05, 2006
1
34
54
Trip End
Ongoing
Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
Sunday, December 21, 2008
The journey went smoothly, caught up on a few z's on the coach to the airport and on the plane. Also managed to catch up with old friend Liam who works at the airport and had a good chat, which was a nice way to start my holiday.
Arriving in Switzerland, I began as I always do with "would you mind stamping my passport?" to which the reply was a firm "NO". Wow. Thanks. It must be so much effort to lift the stamp.
Before leaving the baggage claim area at Geneva airport, it's a must to grab a free ticket from the Uniresco machine. This enables you to get a free ride into town on the train, and let's face it, you need all the free stuff you can get in such an expensive country!
It's a fast and easy ride into Gare de Cornavin, the main station, and also luckily I am staying near there.
Having collected my other freebie (a free travel pass for all public transport in Geneva) at check in at the hostel, I was shocked to discover ... no free wireless! AAGGH! I later found that my adapter plug doesn't fit in the power points either. Double AAAGH! With terrible battery life on my laptop and no other way to charge my Ipod, AAAGGGHHHHH!
I collected the obligatory leaflets and guides, decided on a rough itinary and went for a wander.
My first stop was Geneva's main landmark/seamark(!?)/tourist attraction - the Jet D'Eau on Lac Leman. This is a fountain which shoots 132 gallons of water into the air per second - up to 450 feet high. The fountain is switched off if it's below 2 degrees. Today is sunny and clear. It's not as cold as London and the weather is way nicer.
Crossing the bridge (Pont du Mont Blanc) to the Old Town I wanted to check out the Christmas market. As all of the shops seem to be closed here on Sundays and the streets are deserted, it's nice to see a bit of life. You can get churros, crepes, various crafts and HOT WINE(!) for 4CHF a glass, but there was nothing particularly Christmassy about this market. I stopped off to check out the Flower Clock before going back for some rest.
I didn't mean to nap for that long - it was 2.30pm when I got back and almost 9pm when I woke up! I decided to head out again because I figured the Arbres et Lumieres (tree and lights) Festival would be in full swing. There weren't as many trees lit up as I thought, maybe I was in the wrong place.
Time for some more sleep as I've developed some kind of rash on my face (HORRIFIC!)
