Groovy Geneva
St. P, We noticed right away that the traffic was much lighter in Geneva than we remembered it being during past visits. It turns out that this was a holiday 4-day weekend, with Friday through Monday being holidays due to Easter falling on Sunday, March 31, 2024.
We arrived at the Hotel Metropole, which is also where we stayed in 2020, around 3:00 or 4:00 p.m. It was a cloudy day. The hotel room we were given was in the front of the hotel, so we had a lovely view of the lake from our room. We could see a ferris wheel, which was a new feature of the park along the lake.
We could also see the fountain, which they said is among the tallest fountains in the world!
We walked into the Old Town that evening, easily accessible from our hotel, to have dinner at Les Armures ("The Armory"), where we have eaten before.
I was really looking forward to getting the delicious warm goat cheese salad which I had eaten there before, but unfortunately it was not on the menu. So I ordered a mixed salad full of fresh vegetables, along with grilled Swiss sausage with potato Rosti (hash browns) and mustard. The salad was excellent but the sausage was just ok. Brock enjoyed his Pork Filet Mignon. We had felt in a rush to get to dinner, so we looked forward to a more leisurely exploration of the Old Town in the morning.
It was Saturday, March 30, 2024, and we enjoyed breakfast at the hotel. It appeared that we pretty much had the hotel to ourselves. The workers told us that most of the residents of Geneva took off and went somewhere else for their holiday break.
Our first destination was the Museum of Art and History. It was a short walk uphill from the hotel in the direction of the Old Town but a little to the left.
They had a very fine display of armor there.
This lovely floor-to-ceiling stained glass window greeted us in the entry to the museum.
This statue also dominated the museum lobby. I captured it from several sides.
The notable thing about this museum is that several rooms command your attention due to the noise made by a vast marble circuit that traverses these rooms and even through some of the pieces. It reminded me a little bit of the Mousetrap game. I regret that I did not photograph or video this.
No visit to Geneva would be complete without seeing the Desforges Interior Decorating store. We always take photos and send them to our friends back in Old Hickory, TN: David and Trina Desforges.
This time they had Yoga Frogs in the window!
We made it back to the armory, and I just love the three large mosaics on the walls there.
Across the street from the armory was this building, which Brock had explored the previous evening and almost got locked into:
It was the Grand Council building!
Inside, it was open to the courtyard:
It appears that the building was built in 1578!
Nearby is Geneva's famous St. Peters's Catholic Cathedral.
Preparations were being made for a televised Easter service. We misunderstood and thought it would be on Sunday night. Turns out it was on the evening of our visit.
We returned on Sunday night, thinking we would attend the service, and couldn't understand why so few others were there! We missed the service.
After touring the Cathedral, we stopped for an excellent pasta lunch at Pasta People. I ordered the Crazy Goat Salad, below. It was delicious! Brock had Pasta 5 Fromages (5 cheeses = Alfredo sauce). It was just what he was in the mood for!
Back at the hotel, from our window, we spotted this ship in the harbor, similar to the one we would be riding on the next day. We were signed up for an Easter Brunch Cruise aboard such a ship.
We returned to another 2020 favorite, Cafe du Centre, for our dinner. I had a wonderful goat cheese salad, below, and sea bass.
Brock enjoyed a very filling Fish Stew.
That was a delicious meal! I think you can notice a pattern: I am fond of warm goat cheese salads packed with fresh vegetables! After all the rich meals we've been eating, the fresh vegetables hit the spot for me!
It was Easter Sunday, March 31, 2024. We had our breakfast at the hotel; again, we were just about the only ones to partake. We found out that the time had changed overnight. We had been 8 hours ahead of Phoenix time, but we were now 9 hours ahead. It's a good thing that we figured this out before we missed our boat ride! We enjoyed a workout in the gym then cleaned up and walked a short distance from the hotel to board our boat for the Easter Brunch Cruise of Lac Leman (Lake Geneva). Along the way, we passed the floral clock in the park across the street from the hotel.
Here is the boat we would be on for the next several hours:
We had a nice table on the upper level of the boat, right by the door to the deck.
It was cloudy when we left, but we had a good view of the fountain.
I love this photo! The sun was coming out, and it showed how shallow the water was in the lake.
There is some very high priced real estate along the shore of the lake.
We made stops at several small towns along the way.
The boat created a rather large wake.
I love this photo of the lifeboat too!
We both had a ravioli appetizer; Brock enjoyed his lamb shops, and I enjoyed my scallops and the meringue dessert.
I was told that Tina Turner had a home in Coppet, Switzerland, before she died. this year. Coppet was one of the stops our boat made.
Versoix was another stop.
After the boat cruise, we worked off our lunch by walking back to St. Peter's Cathedral, presumably to attend the Easter service! It was decked out with a lovely flower arrangement.
This is the chair that John Calvin sat in when he attended services here.
After our visit to the cathedral, we returned to the hotel and had dinner there in the bar. I believe we shared an order of spaghetti bolognese. It was just fine.
On Monday, April 1, 2024, my 63rd birthday, we flew back to Phoenix.
Our first flight departed Geneva at noon and arrived at London Heathrow at 12:45 p.m. (London was an hour behind Geneva).
Our next flight departed London Heathrow at 2:45 p.m. and arrived in Phoenix at 5:30 p.m. I believe this was about a 10 hour flight. Both flights were very smooth and uneventful. For the first time ever, we flew Business Class, and I am afraid that we are now spoiled for life. We loved having the extra room, space to sleep if we wanted, and a little window to open if we wanted to talk to each other. We both watched 2 movies: "Killers of the Flower Moon" (3 hours), and "The Holdovers" (2 hours). Both movies were refreshingly good. We were served several meals, and they were all good. I have nothing but good things to say about British Airways.
This was a wonderful trip, we are so glad that we went. What a wonderful way to celebrate our birthdays!
Comments