Ahhhhh, Switzerland…..

Your mountains….and cheese….and chocolate…and complete cleanliness….and multitude of civilians that follow all of the laws (like not crossing on red when there are no cars ANYWHERE)…..

*I didn’t try the chocolate or the cheese…but it was so clean and those Swiss do follow their laws!

So, for the slower readers out there-  I went to Geneva, Switzerland last weekend and it was beautiful and cold and clean and expensive and perfectly relaxing.

Geneva is a beautiful little, classical town with old style buildings that line cobblestone streets.  There are tall mountains surrounding the city and bodies of water running throughout.

No, that jacket wasn’t enough to keep me warm.  I was cooooold.

So you might be asking, “why would you go to Geneva when there are other beautiful Swiss cities to explore and mountains to ski?”.  Good question.  Most people don´t head to Geneva when they go to Switzerland, but it´s a nice place to see.  Luis is working there for 4 months so I went to visit….and Geneva, while small, is beautiful and quaint and I didn’t try the fondue (yet), but I imagine it’s as delicious in Geneva as in Switzerland’s more happenin’ cities.

I left Madrid on Thursday afternoon (after an incredibly exhausting first week back at work!), but I enjoyed my nearly-empty flight.

I was so impressed by Swiss airline, from their friendly staff to the BOCADILLOS and CHOCOLATE they gave me on the 1.5 hour flight!  Give me free food and don’t weigh my bag and I’ll think you’re a fantastic airline.

Friday I slept in, did a little exploring (but not toooo much since I was mapless, phoneless, and Luisless [he was working]).  So instead, I cooked.  I missed cooking!!

And on Saturday, we explored.  There are things to see in Geneva, there just isn’t a lot to see.  Actually, that´s not true.  I think there is a lot to see, but it doesn´t have a ton of popular sites that other cities have.

I mean…type in “best things to see in Geneva” on Google and one of the top suggestions is “go out for cocktails”.  Haha…but it’s still a beautiful city!  It reminded me very much of Paris (WHO AM I???  I THINK I CAN SAY THINGS LIKE THIS NOW!!!)  But really, it did remind me of Paris.  Lots of small cafes and bakeries and people sitting outside.  And $$$$$

There was a beautiful park with views of the river and town below, and mountains in the back. He’s smiling, but he hates me and the camera.

And then we stopped for food.  I was actually feeling a little bit sick, so I had soup.  We stopped at a cute little restaurant and sat on their outdoor deck with these thick, wool blankets.

Fueled and ready to go we continued our journey through Geneva.  We stopped briefly at the famous lake with the shooting fountain (Jet d’Eau), but didn’t stay too long since it was cold and I was whining 😉

“LOOK!  A bird!!!!!”

We walked some more….

Look how clean the water is!

And found this market that was shutting down when we got there.  We would have bought some olives, but….they’re (much) less expensive in Spain haha.

And finally, before calling it a night, we played this huge game of chess…and I won!!

Ok, I didn’t really win.  But I’m learning.

That night, we watched a movie and fell asleep earlier than most grandparents across all oceans do on a Saturday night.  I told you, relaxing weekend!  But to our defense, everything in Geneva closes at like…7:00 pm.  The commercial center is close-closed by 7:30 with all employees home and warm with their families by 7:31 pm.  It was dead by the time we walked through.

On Sunday, we got a bit of a late start, but walked through another market with incredible-looking food:

And then continued along slowly before heading to the train station to catch a ride to the airport.

While we didn’t do all that much, this weekend was perfect in many different ways and Geneva, although not earth-shattering, definitely has it’s own charm.

p.s. Look at the outlets they have there!