Geneva, I’m in Love

WHAT-A-CITY. Beautiful, vibrant, international, and in a perfectly-sized package. Geneva is that and so much more.

Where to begin? I guess you can put it this way. Luzern is that picture perfect town you go to visit for a day. Geneva is where you live.

Yes, I have a French bias. I’m not going to lie. Understanding what’s going on around me, and being able to communicate again has definitely been a plus. But beyond that. I don’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t this. From the moment I exited the train station I knew this was my kind of town. Extremely multi-cultural and diverse. It would be easy to believe it was just full of tourists. But no. While, there certainly were a lot more than I saw yesterday, like in Luzern, I’d be willling to bet most of the people I saw around town today either live in Geneva or the surrounding area. As the home of the United Nations, this is after all, a world-wide hub. And it shows. In every pore of this energetic and utterly liveable city, it shows.

As an international relations major it’s no surprise, I found myself making the pilgrimage to the United Nations. I didn’t expect to at first. After all I wasn’t arriving in Geneva till 1:30pm. But of course, I couldn’t help myself. The walk there took me along a beautiful lakefront. Along it was the Wilson Palace, where I totally geeked out, as this was the seat of the original League of Nations. A little further up was the most wonderful park where half of Geneva’s residents were either sunning themselves or picnicking. The botanic gardens. And finally, there it was, the United Nations. And across the street the Broken Chair. A symbol of both the fragility and strength of the world order. The former MUN Secreatary General in me was at peace. And after all that walking, hungry!!

After taking a bus back downtown, I headed to the famous Jardín Anglais. I have to say I have no doubt visiting Europe right now was a stroke of genius. The swarms of tourists that inundated these parts pre-COVID are absent, making it incredibly easy to get around and enjoy things the way they should be.

This was perfect because not only was I hungry and thirsty, I was on a schedule. Stage 21 of the Tour de France was only a couple of hours away and, seeing as I wasn’t able to make it to Paris as I’d hoped, I fully planned on being sat in a nice restaurant enjoying a glass of wine, a traditional Swiss fondue and the Tour by the time the Peloton arrived in Paris. So after a quick little tour of Old Town, which included a climb up Geneva’s St. Pierre Cathedral towers, it was off to Les Amures. Two and a half hours later, slightly sad at the outcome of Le Tour, but highly satisfied following the ridiculously rich meal I’d just consumed it was time to head back to the hotel. I truly wish I were staying here longer, but alas, the true purpose of this trip is at hand.

Tomorrow I’m off to Chamonix to meet the group I’ll be trekking with for the next 12 days. Oh yeah, I just realized I haven’t mentioned why I’m here, gallivanting through Europe. LOL.

I’m here to do the Tour du Mont Blanc. Clocking in at approximately 170km (110 miles), the TMB, as it’s known for short, is one of Europe’s most popular long-distance treks, passing through France, Italy, and Switzerland as it circles the Mont Blanc Massif in the High Alps. So you know, just a little walk around the park. 😉

All I can say is thank goodness. I’m going to need some proper workouts if I’m to continue eating this way for another two weeks.