Last Day in Geneva

As the last day of my Geneva break from reality (it seriously has not hit me yet that I've lived here for 3 and a half months), it was a day of hitting up the sights not yet seen. First up: the top of St. Peter's Cathedral. After walking up a staircase that felt like it would never end, the view offered an almost panoramic view of the city.

 

 

 

After the cathedral, it was time to finish up some shopping. One giant bag of chocolate later, it was time to go to the English tea room. We each got our own pot of tea and, sadly, there were no scones. Fortunately, apple tart saves the day!

After tea time, it was time to finish up some packing. Somehow, my bags are each under even 40! How that happened? I have no clue, but thank goodness for it. Now I don't even have to worry about being a pound over weight.

As a last meal in Switzerland, we decided to get some fondue. The restaurant is located just opposite the jet d'eau. Which essentially meant that we left earlier than our reservation called for so we could walk up right next to the famous jet. Then it was off for some delicious fondue! Oh melted cheese dipped with bread, you are so flipping delicious.

 

Well, so ends my time in Geneva. It was an amazing experience that I will never take back. Still does not feel real, but I'm sure it will hit me eventually. Au revoir Genève, it's been grand.

Time is almost up in Geneva

As it's my last day in Geneva, I thought I would update this blog for one of the last times. Now, a list of what I'm excited for to come back to in America. Going to keep me from being upset about leaving.

1. The people, for sure.
2. Food. Especially my mom's cooking, Chinese takeout and tacos.
3. Access to a phone.
4. Fast internet.
5. My car and not having to take public transpo everywhere.
6. Being able to cook without 10 other people in the kitchen.
7. Weather that can make up its mind.
8. Watching TV when it is actually on.
9. Being able to go to free movies.
10. Being able to speak English all the time.

And now, what I will miss about Geneva. Not necessarily in any specific order.

1. Being able to travel easily.
2. Jet d'eau
3. The chocolate. Best in the world.
4. Oh so much cheese. And fondue.
5. The cows.
6. Calm, adorable puppies everywhere.
7. Walking through Old Town on lovely days.
8. The balcony attached to the room.
9. Related to the previous one: our giant room.
10. Casually going to meeting at the UN.

So now all that separates me from home is a 9 hour plane ride. Exciting stuff.

Ode to the Matterhorn

Well, we finally made it. The Matterhorn. Our final big Swiss adventure before going back to the States. And boy, what a true adventure it was.

We started out nice and early in the morning, catching a 9:30 train to Visp, which then took up to the city of Zermatt, the launch pad for all Matterhorn adventures. Once in Zermatt, we took a little funicular to Gornergrat. From there, we planned to hike all the way back down to Zermatt. Alas, the weather was not entirely in our favor.

 

 

 

In Gornergrat, we had a little photo shoot with the Matterhorn. From there, we searched for the walking path down, but because of too much snow, the trail was all covered, so we had to go back down the mountain a little bit and take a different path, but man was that worth it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We hit another dead end once we were through with this leg of the climb down, so we had to take another train to get down another level. From there, the path became more narrow and tree covered, but we were somehow successful in getting back to Zermatt safe and sound, without injury from our many falls along the way.

 

 

 

 

All in all, it was one of the most fantastic days of the trip. I was so giddy going down the mountain, I started sprinting down different steep paths. Safest idea: probably not. Most fun idea: heck to the yes. But once I reached Zermatt, I knew it was one of the greatest days of my life. I still cannot quite believe that it happened.

Final Program Outing: Neuchatel

This is the final outing of the Geneva internship program. My, how time really does fly. Only a little more than a week to go, then it's back to America!

Before our trip to Neuchatel, we thankfully stopped for a bountiful breakfast. Oh apple strudel, please stay in my life forever. Seriously, it was so delicious. Other hits during breakfast: berry mousse, pain au chocolat, and a chocolate eclair. Along with breakfast to get us through the walking tour of Neuchatel, plus the hour and a half train ride leading up to, was a huge cappuccino with lots of foam to go along with it. And a nice little piece of dark chocolate on the side.

After breakfast, it was off to get some Swiss army knives. Victorinox is so awesome. So many Swiss army knives, too bad many of them are so expensive. Anyway, knife shopping complete, we headed off to the train station to Neuchatel, with a quick layover in Nyon.

The tour guide for the day met us at the train station in Neuchatel. First stop: this really pretty French style garden. Want to know the difference between a French garden and an English garden? French gardens are more straight and narrow, while English gardens tend to grow more freely and wild. I tend to enjoy the English ones myself, but this was pretty beautiful.

 

After the gardens, we kept on going through the old town, slowly making our way up to the chateau at the top of the city.

 

 

 

Once up to the chateau (which sadly was closed), we were able to experience some lovely views of mountains on the other side of the lake. You can see a vast array of mountains from the lake (Lake Neuchatel, for those keeping track), from Jungfrau and Jungfraujoch, to Mont Blanc, the highest peak in Europe.

 

After the tour was completed, we roamed around the city until we found a Co-op (basically the Swiss version of a Wegmans) for lunch. After lunch, it was off for some shopping (not me, I am currently on a strict budget).

After getting back to Geneva, I meant to watch the French version of The Voice with some friends, but we instead decided our time would be much better off resting for the next day: Zermatt and the Matterhorn! To be continued.