Catching Up in Geneva
After our experience in Verbier, we were so tired when we arrived in Geneva that if there had been a fifth seat in this stroller, Brock would have climbed in!
We slept like babies, and on Monday we woke up early and ready to go.
One thing we observed about Geneva is that traffic is challenging. To combat that, many people use bicycles, scooters, and motorcycles to get around town. There seem to be more motorcycles than cars.
This was a great day to be walking about; like yesterday, the temperature reached 65 degrees! It was a very spring-like day.
We even found some daffodils blooming!
Our hotel was right across from the lake, where we said hello to one of many swans.
Behind our hotel was a very nice shopping district. One street featured mostly jewelry stores, while the next street featured clothing shops. We were happy to find another Laderach Chocolate shop too, which was where we purchased our favorite chocolate in St. Moritz. We had to drop in and give them some more business! One thing they specialize in is "bark" of all different flavors (below). Brock was leery about me buying an assortment of that in St. Moritz, but after he tasted it, he was glad that I did!
Our hotel was also very close to the Old Town. Geneva was founded before the beginning of the first century. Christianity was a dominant religion by 500 AD.
We walked down some narrow cobblestone streets and up some steep steps until we arrived at St. Peter's Cathedral.
We went inside to learn more about it. Construction on the cathedral was completed in 1230!
St. Peter's Cathedral played a major role in the Protestant Reformation. Geneva adopted the Protestant Reformation in 1536, and John Calvin began his ministry here in 1541. He passed away in 1564. This was his chair:
These 15th century choir stalls reproduce the themes of the apostles' creed or prophetic biblical themes. The stalls have small seats called "misericords" on which the monks could rest discreetly during the service!
The chapel houses the mausoleum and a life-size statue of the Duke of Rohan (1579-1638), leader of the French Huguenots. Mortally wounded during the Battle of Rheinfelden (Thirty Years War), his remains were brought to Geneva with great pomp and ceremony and buried at St. Peter's.
The cathedral received visits from, among others, the Dalai Lama in 1988, and Koffi Annan, General Secretary of the United Nations, in 2000. Restored from 1973-1991, it is as beautiful outside as inside.
Right across from the Cathedral is a restored ancient building which houses a wonderful hotel and restaurant, Les Armures, where we had lunch. Les Armures is one of the oldest restaurants in the city.
The restaurant features traditional Swiss fare. I have enjoyed several salads recently with warm goat cheese, honey, and hazelnut or walnut oil dressing, but theirs was the absolute best:
I also had the opportunity to touch another spear there!
The likes of Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, Paul McCartney, Sophia Loren & George Clooney have frequented the hotel and restaurant.
Right across from our lunch spot is a fascinating armory, which features elaborate mosaics on the walls and ornate cannons, too.
These are not your typical cannons. The part of the cannon that you use for aiming features a monkey head:
The part of the cannon used for sighting has two grinning ferrets on it:
Brock had me in his sights:
I think the mosaics are pretty terrific!
Also in the area, we stumbled upon Christie's Auction House!
After exploring the Old Town, we enjoyed a boat ride on Lake Geneva (Lac Leman). We took several rides to different drop-off points.
One of our rides took us past a nude beach, and Brock happened to have his binoculars with him! It's pretty amazing that this beach was comfortably in use on February 24!
After our last boat ride dropped us off, we enjoyed a nice walk back to the hotel.
After a well-deserved rest, we cleaned up and set out for dinner:
At a nearby French restaurant, "Cafe Du Centre", we enjoyed bouillabaisse for dinner. The fish stew included mussels, shrimp, scallops, and some snails in their shells! It was an excellent restaurant!
All good things must come to an end, and we said good-bye to Geneva early on Tuesday morning. Our next destination is a 3 hour drive from Geneva, Val D'Isere, France. A snow storm is on its way, and since our rental car, "Slippy", does not have 4 wheel drive, we wanted to arrive before the snow. Our reservation at the "Hotel Avancher" starts on Wednesday, and they could not accommodate us early, so we got a room at "Hotel Le Val D'Isere". Our first day of skiing will be tomorrow, and hopefully we will have some nice fresh snow!