Bars are everywhere when you feel like that sort of hydration, but water bottles are easily filled from the many fountains across the city, with clean, cold drinkable (they call Potable) water. Many are very tastefully landscaped or decorated. Here are a few that caught my eye (you can hover and click the pictures to enlarge:-)
After a lazy morning, we strapped on the sneakers and headed to the Place de Nations, the headquarters of the United Nations in Europe. It was in the northern part of the city, approximately 2-3 km from our place downtown. Unfortunately, security is very high and you can only view the buildings from behind secure fences. The Tibetan community was holding a protest across the way while we were there.
I really enjoy Geneva, it has an easy, lay-back vibe! Traffic, while busy, is friendly to pedestrians and there is very little horn-honking (quite a change from China!). Many people just meander around on foot or lots on bicycles. The transit system appears to be really well used as well with trains, buses and trams criss-crossing the city.
The majestic, stately buildings along the lake i.e. Rolex, Louis Vitton, Swiss banks and others all form a consistent (8-10 storey) backdrop to the beautiful lake with the huge spout.
There are several bridges that cross the lake and river, a great spot to find a comfy chair and down a few cold, tasty homemade lemonades on a hot day.
A stop at the Victorinox Swiss army knife store was a great score - so many styles to pick from but I found a nice camper model with a little saw but also a corkscrew. That's about how I roll!!!
This is our last day of our two night stop in Geneva. Tomorrow morning we have just an hour long bus ride to take us across the border to Chamonix, France where we will meet up with our G Adventures tour group. The hiking begins on Sunday - can't wait to get up into the mountains.
Take care and we'll chat again soon...... Blaise
Amazing pictures so far, Blaise! Both Geneva and Chamonix look so beautiful!
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