Geneva: Days 2 and 3

Blogging about the rest of my Geneva trip on the flight back to London now as this flight is only an hour. I’m so sad the trip is over but so thankful for the amazing time especially to A and her family for their amazing hospitality and everything!

Yesterday was my second full day in Geneva, and we went to visit A’s Aunty M and Uncle L. A and I both woke up super late, alarm didn’t go off for some reason, ate a hasty breakfast, and then we took the bus to Nations where the UN Chair statue was as we were meeting her aunt there. Before that we also stopped halfway at a Coop near Avenue Louis Aubert and I swear I’d been there before!! The street looked very familiar and somehow my phone got automatically connected to someone’s WiFi named “Guest” and I think that was where my Airbnb was when I visited Geneva in 2014. I wasn’t the one who booked the Airbnb so I didn’t have the full address so couldn’t check but I think I will check when I get back but how coincidental was that! We went to the Coop and I bought about a kilo of Caillère chocolate as well as some snacks and drinks. When in Switzerland of course ...

We then caught the bus again and passed by downtown Geneva and saw the Jet d’Eau from the bus - I had already been a few years ago but weather was so much nicer yesterday as the last time I’d came in winter. We got off the bus at Nations, then walked for a bit and met Aunty M halfway. Aunty M drove us back to her place which was across the border in France as we were meant to be staying over in her chalet in the garden (super nice of them). On the way Aunty M showed us around the area where there were lots of old farmhouses as well as the woods. I love being back in the country side, and it also reminded me a lot of my Workaway experience at the farm in 2016.

Aunty M and Uncle L also have 4 dogs (!!!) - 2 white bichons and 2 golden retters who are absolutely the cutest and also have an abundance of energy. We’d already met the 2 white dogs at the barbecue on Sunday but was our first time meeting the 2 bigger dogs, and all 4 dogs rushed out to greet us once we arrived. We took the 4 dogs for a walk around the woods with Uncle L afterwards and had the opportunity to SIT IN THE BACK IN THE CAR TRUNK WITH 4 DOGS. In A’s words this was a life goal accomplished(!!!) and of course it was SUPER ROWDY but at the same time absolutely hilarious because all the dogs were so excited and chasing their tails and wagging their tails super hard and also sticking their heads out of the window (classic dog thing). We took a walk until the start of the circuit in the forest then we had to go back, but the dogs were literally just tearing around and one of the dogs kept running off but was so funny.

Went back to the house, where Aunty M cooked us a snack (pasta with this sauce made from wild plant which I forgot the name) and had some tea and chocolate, and then we went for a second walk with Aunty M but this time around the circuit. We took the two small dogs with us but they had to be kept on a leash sometimes to prevent them from running off, but of course Biggles ran off again halfway before we saw him in front. Got bitten by so many mosquitoes while in the woods as well but was such a nice walk, and everyone we passed by were really friendly and stopped to say hi.

When we got back to the house it was already past 7 (explains the numerous mosquitoes), then we helped Aunty M to cut some kale from the garden for dinner. We also had sangria, pane con tomate and other snacks while waiting for dinner. Aunty M made this amazing quinoa bowl for us - it has quinoa, brown rice, kimchee, kale, this homemade sauce, avocado, and a soft boiled egg for mine (as A is vegan). I want to put up a photo of it because it was SO GOOD but this mobile version of the site is really limited and can’t upload from phone.

Then we had some nougat for dessert and was too full to have the boiled fruits from the sangria (wish I had the space but I was absolutely stuffed). We sat outdoors in the garden (sheltered) and it rained a bit but was really cooling and refreshing to be so near the mountains with a view of the Jura. After that we went indoors and A had to work on her laptop and I went back to the chalet to wash up and sleep. Was such a good day!

This morning we woke up late again (the alarm didn’t work) and had a small breakfast as Uncle L was making choucroute for lunch. I hadn’t had choucroute since Strasbourg so had been looking forward to it and it was delicious and I had 2 servings!

After lunch I had to leave for the airport so we didn’t do much else except packing, then Uncle L drove us to the airport and A stayed with me at the airport for a bit. Everything else was rather uneventful (thankfully) and I guess my plane is about to land soon so will post this tonight when I get home!

Geneva: Day 1

First proper day in Geneva, but thankfully this trip is going to be chill bc I honestly just need a break tbh. Had a really good sleep - A helped me to set up the sofa bed (which is a double) in the guest room, slept really well, woke up at 7am (body clock lol) but fell back asleep until about 10. Spent 2 hours in the pool until noon and got super tanned, but I think the tan has already faded. I did get sunburnt again, not too bad this time, but I really need to remember to apply sunblock.

We made sandwiches for lunch, then decided to go to the Téléphérique du Salève which is this viewpoint you can get to via cable car. It is really near A's place so we decided to walk there, but it is actually across the border in France so we took our passports just in case. We passed by a small town on the way, but as it is Monday most of the shops were closed. I also forgot how expensive things are in Switzerland - we passed by a convenience store on the way and a bag of crisps cost like 5 CHF. Got some snacks anyway so that we could have a picnic up the mountain.

It was also pretty empty when we got to the cable car station, probably as it's a weekday. There are 2 cable cars and there's one going up every 10 minutes, and a return ticket costs €8.70. The ride itself was only about 2 minutes and it goes up pretty quickly, then when we got to the top there is a restaurant up there as well as a small shop selling ice cream and postcards etc, but the panoramic view is absolutely amazing. We took lots of photos (as always), then went to sit on the grass on the hill. We also saw a sheep there! Its ears were tagged so it probably isn't a wild sheep, and it kept following us around because we had food. Took more photos (I haven't transferred them over from my phone and in general I am too lazy to actually post photos - maybe one day I will), ate the food then went to catch the cable car that was going down. We also saw people setting up for paragliding on the same spot we sat after we left, and one of the guys circled around a bit but then came back down shortly but still looks super cool. Idk if I will ever dare to try though.

After we descended via the cable car we heard thunder and the clouds above the mountains looked really dark and ominous so we walked back quickly. A had to send her dad to the airport and I just stayed in and it started to rain so I took a nap until the evening. Perfect weather for a nap though. After that she made dinner and we ate and watched 2 episodes of Friends and now just chilling. Will sleep soon though so will stop here!

Back in Geneva

The rate at which I am going on these trips far exceed the rate at which I am blogging about them ... Naples day 2 is still sitting in my drafts and here I am, out of London again. I am currently in Geneva this time visiting A and staying with her super nice family! The journey here was rather uneventful, but I’m glad my flight was mid-day instead of some unearthly hour in the morning as I could wake up at a normal time today + flying from Gatwick means it only took me half an hour to get there. I rarely fly from Gatwick but can see why people prefer so. Anyway, after landing in Geneva I came straight to A’s house where her family was having a barbecue so had my second lunch. I also went on a trampoline for the first time in my life!!! And had a swim in the pool before it started to rain. Spent the evening chilling and playing games with A’s sister, then had dinner and A helped me to set up the sofa bed in the guest room. Hoping for good weather tomorrow as it was really warm today but very cloudy. Will hopefully work on finishing at least that Naples post soon ...