Day 6: Geneva

I'm use to rushing out of the door by 7:30 am on a Sunday to get to church and do a sound check with the worship team before the 9 am service. Since the church service where A and S go doesn't start until 11:45, the morning was a lazy morning. Enjoyed a pot of tea on the balcony, did some more packing, checked email, enjoyed the dawning of the new day all before heading out to church.
The church S and A attend is located in one of the old buildings in Old Towne. They share the facilities with another church, hence the late start time. The pastor spoke from 2 Peter 2 about not compromising and being aware of false teachings. They held communion at the end of the service. It's always amazing to worship with other believers in other countries.
After church we walked to an Italian place for lunch. Since I was in the mood for a salad, I got a Greek Salad. Once lunch was finished we headed back to the apartment and spent the rest of the day just relaxing. It felt good not to be on the move, jumping trains, walking tons of stairs, or carrying a backpack.
Monday I head to Montreux to meet up with M. She flew in over the weekend and was staying in Milan for a night. We plan to meet up in Montreux and start my last week in Switzerland and her first week in Europe adventure. We've both have certain places we want to see but the rest is just up to chance. If I had more time and money, I would love to backpack over Europe and see other places like Italy, Germany, Amsterdam, Denmark, England, Ireland, Scotland, Austria, Albania, Romania. I would want to experience these places with my husband. Guess that dream is for another time when we come into a large sum of money and can afford to take the summer off and travel.

Day 1: Geneva

The morning started out early. I slept soundly until 4:30 am but was then up. S had to work and couldn't take time off so the game plan was for me to walk with her to work in the morning then go and sight-see for the day. We decided to meet at the Botanical Gardens for lunch. I left S at the corner of where her office building was and headed toward the lake. The area around the lake was being set up for the celebration that was to take place. The carnival atmosphere took away from the scenic site of the lake but since I was going to be touring Old Towne, it didn't bother me.

Jet d'eau

I walked across the Pont due Mont Blanc bridge and spent some time in the Jardin Anglois area. There is a large flower clock composed of over 6,000 flowers here. It was lovely to see. I headed across the street and into Old Towne. Many of the side streets are very narrow and the buildings are amazing that line the streets. Viewed Catherdrale St. Pierre along with the Hotel de' Ville. Walked to the Parc des Bastions where you could play one of the massive chessboards. Continued walking around Old Towne until I had to meet up S and A for lunch.
After lunch, I took Bus No. 1 back into Old Towne to visit the Natural History Museum. A nice place to spend a few hours. Gave me a chance to dust off my french since all the displays were in french. There was this amazing exhibit by the Blaschkas, a father and son team. They were glassblowers and had a passion for natural history. Harvard University commissioned them to make plant models, which are housed at the Harvard Museum. Not a lot of the models exists because of the damage done in Europe during both World Wars. Those that do are amazing. Just looking at the exhibit and all the detail that was done was breathtaking.

After the museum, I took the bus back to Garve de Cornavin and walked to the Basilique Norte Dame church then back by the lake before meeting up with S for the walk home.

Walking around Geneva was nice. The city was beautiful. My next day's journey was Lausanne, the city of hills.