From Genova to Geneva
Trip Start
Oct 20, 2010
1
17
79
Trip End
May 03, 2011
Where I stayed
Lausanne Guesthouse, Lausanne
Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
Friday, November 12, 2010
The place I am staying is nice, although the showers are questionable, given that they only have a frosted door in front of them which isn't too difficult to see through, and if someone opens the main door to the room, you can see in to most of them through it. Not very private, but luckily there was no-one around when I used them this morning, so it wasn't too bad.
I went off to Geneva late-morning and I'll be honest, it was a bit brisk. Certainly cold in comparison to Nice and Marseille! Despite the chilliness, I went for a wander down to see the Jet d'eau, a spectacularly pointless jet of water that is a good couple of hundred feet tall that pokes out of a pier on Lake Geneva. I also saw the flower clock, which was a bit disappointing and didn't look anything like the pictures I saw.
I then went off to the Art and History museum, which houses a collection of Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Nubian and Swiss antiquaries, and despite having been in at least 3 Egyptian museums in the last week, was still very interesting, with lots of interesting info about Egyptian culture and whatnot.
After that it was on to the spectacular Wall of the Reformation, which is a long piece of stone in a park carved with statues and passages relating to Calvinism and the reformation in general. It is particularly impressive as its in almost perfect condition, despite being over 100 years old.
To complete my day I decided to get the tram up to the Palace of Nations, the UN HQ in Geneva, and have a tour. It turned out that the next one was about 50 minutes away so I went and had a look at the Red Cross Hospital museum over the road, which had a free exhibition on the founders of the Red Cross.
The UN itself was unbelievable. As a former student of International Relations, I was like a kid in a candy shop. We got to see the main assembly chamber where all the big meetings are held, the council chamber where more private negotiations are held, and a number of other places around the building. It really was fantastic to just be there, and it has spurred me on to get my career in the field moving as quick as possible when I get back.
Next time I go there, I will be Secretary General!
More pictures (including previous updates) to come when my connection is less sucky.
Comments
Glad to see that the trip has returned to positivity.
Useless fact: That "spectacularly pointless", as you put it, jet of water was used in the opening title sequence of a 60s international-crime-buster type TV series called "The Champions". The sequence was notable as itfeatured the three heroes standing facing facing the jet of water, away from the camera, then turning to face the camera. Their acting must have been fairly inept, though, because at the end of the show, they would turn away from the camera to face the jet again. I'm fairly sure that the film was just reveresed, though, and the water was going backwards!
Quiz question: Two of "The Champions" were played by William Gaunt and Alexandra Bastedo. Who played the third? (10 points)
And for a gazillion bonus points, what were their characters called?
Can I have 10 points?
The other person was Stuart Damon...and their characters were called Craig Stirling, Sharron Macready and Richard Barrett.
*curtsey*
10 points to Slytherin!
Well done Google, sorry - Juntacita. That'll be a gazilion and ten points to you...
Not Google, IMDB ;) The 'information professional'-to-be knows where to find stuffs! :D
Dix points!