Even the water fountains are beautiful!
Our train was scheduled to leave at 9:55am this morning and after a layover in Lyon, arrive in Geneva around 1pm. We didn't want to miss our train again, so we left our hotel at 7am. The B&B is a ways out of town. We had to walk about 15 minutes to the bus station, then take the bus to the center of town and walk another 5 minutes to the main bus station. There we would catch a bus that goes directly to the TGV train station. So there were a lot of connections to make. We walked to the bus station in time to catch the 7:35am bus. Then we realized we had no cash to pay for the bus fare. We literally used all our cash to pay for our room. Luckily, we still had our bus tickets from the day before. We flashed those and the bus driver didn't know any different. We felt terrible for being dishonest, but what choice did we have? There was no ATM near our hotel. Once we were on the bus, we had to figure out where to get off. We weren't quite sure which stop was closest to the bus station. We sat and watched out the window for things we recognized. We waited too long and ended up way out of town in the suburbs. Finally, we consulted the bus driver and he told us to just stay on the bus and he would tell us when to get off. We ended up at the end of the line and he just parked the bus and got out for about 15 minutes. This is when I began to panic. Our train left in an hour and we were just sitting on the bus with no idea where we were and how long until we were going to get going again. Finally he got back on the bus. We started to recognize the town again and he indicated where we should get off. It was about 9:35am when we got off our first bus. We already knew it was too late at that point.
My worst fear was that there was no other train that day to Geneva. Aix-en-Provence is a small town, and a small train station. Our journey was actually two: one train to Lyon, then another to Geneva. Once we made it to the train station, we went straight to the ticket office. The girl there exchanged our ticket for one that left at 1pm. We had a connection in Lyon and arrived in Geneva around 4pm. I was just so relieved that we were going to make it that day. Once again, everything worked out. Imagine if we had decided to fly everywhere! We would be in big trouble. The train ride went quickly since we both slept a lot of the way. We did wake up before 7 that morning, so we were tired.
When we arrived in Geneva, we went straight to the tourism office. Usually we look up how to get to our hotel the night before, but we got home so late from the opera and we had to wake up so early this morning that we didn't get a chance. We asked for a map of Geneva and how to get to our hotel. All we had to say was "City Hostel Geneva" and she gave us easy directions to get there. It was just down the street! An easy walk, even with our luggage.
When we arrived, we checked in. This is a top-of-the-line youth hostel. They have wi-fi, laundry facilities, movie night, even a little store. He gave us a map of Geneva with all the major tourist sites marked. It also had a ton of restaurants, bars/clubs, free bike rental place, internet cafes, etc. marked on it. It even had a suggested itinerary for one day in Geneva and all the best restaurants to eat at. There were also directions how to take the bus through town and a Q&A about Geneva. We learned that their official language is French, and what the best kind of cheese is. We also got a 3 day pass for unlimited travel on all the busses, trams, and boats in Geneva as well as 50% off admission to the Red Cross Museum! We were thrilled. And everything here is in Swiss Francs which means it's cheaper. This may sound funny, but I was so happy to find that a liter bottle of water cost 3 francs, about 2 euros. Everywhere we have been, water has been ridiculously expensive. They handed us a stack of linens and we headed upstairs to our room. We have 2 beds in a 3-bed room. There is a sink and lockers in our room, and the bathroom with showers is right across the hall. There is also a lounge, computer room, and laundry room downstairs. There is a kitchen right down the hall from us. We haven't met our roommate yet, and I'm not sure we will. We'll see what time he/she comes back tonight.
The front door of our hostel
So we set off to explore the city with our remaining time. It took us a little bit to figure out the bus. We went to the station nearby and couldn't find a map. After looking at the posted schedule and discussing how we could figure out what bus to take, a girl asked us if we needed help. She explained exactly how to get to "Old Town", the tourist area of Geneva. She tol dus exactly which bus to take, what stop to get off on to make a connection, and how many stops to go on that bus. Then while we were on the bus, another guy noticed the map we were looking at. He pointed out where we were and told us a little bit about the city. Everyone here is so nice! And there is a lot of English signs. It seems that English is pretty common, though French is the official language.
We wandered the streets of "Old Town" for about an hour. We came across more street performers and lots of shopping. We headed in the direction of the river and the lake that split Geneva in half. We walked along the lake. We got here at the exact right time. Their independence day is in two days, so they have all kinds of public events going on. There was a huge carnival along the whole waterfront. We saw signs for public concerts being held in a park. Tonight was a jazz/tango group performing at 8:30pm. It was free, so we decided to check it out. The park was right on the lake in the direction we were headed. We got some dinner at a stand set up in the park. The concert was awesome! I couldn't believe how many people were there. It was so crowded. And it seemed to me like it was almost all locals. I didn't hear hardly any English. I enjoyed just sitting and watching all the people. It seemed like everyone knew each other. There was lots of kissing on both cheeks and all. The music was upbeat and really fun. They had dancers on some of the songs that were also very good. The whole concert was very well done. We couldn't believe it was free for everyone. Even the lighting and cameras was really well done.
Jet d'eau on Lac Lemon
Jet d'eau at night
After the concert, it was about 10:30pm and we had a very long day. We figured out how to take the bus back to the hostel and here we are. Geneva seems like a very friendly, intimate, cultured city. Maybe we got lucky being here during Independence day festivities, but the town seems like so much fun. I can't wait to see more tomorrow.
2 comments:
Maybe a band will need Daniel to sit in on the Tuba!! From Wikipedia- Geneva is a worldwide centre for diplomacy and international cooperation, and is widely regarded as a global city, mainly because of the presence of numerous international organizations, including the headquarters of many of the agencies of the United Nations and the Red Cross. It is also the place where the Geneva Conventions were signed, which chiefly concern the treatment of wartime non-combatants and prisoners of war.
Geneva has been described as the world's sixth most important financial centre by the Global Financial Centres Index, ahead of Tokyo, Chicago, Frankfurt and Sydney, and a 2009 survey by Mercer found Geneva to have the third-highest quality of life in the world. The city has been referred to as the world's most compact metropolis and the "Peace Capital".
All of that is so evident here! It's amazing how much you get a feel for the "international" quality and definitely the high quality of life. People here seem so happy.
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