We drove into Genève in the afternoon and got caught in a massive traffic jam. We vowed that we would park our Kia in the garage and not take it out again during our two-month stay. Genève was easy to navigate (for Dimitri) by public transport with the free passes provided by our hotel. It was also a very easy city to find and obtain what we wanted (for a hefty Swiss price). We can confirm that Genève is an expensive place (about 1/3 more expensive than Italy or France)!
We stayed at Swiss Luxury Apartments in the Paquis quartier and it was in the midst of many, many ethnic restaurants. We were overjoyed. After a summer and fall of eating either Italian or French, we were happy to have Asian and African.
Genève had an ethnic mix that was refreshing--we were hearing lots of languages spoken around us. The literature says it's truly international, with only 40% of the population being Swiss!
During our first week there, we took a bus tour of what is called the International Zone and we saw the buildings of all of the organizations (which were not architecturally interesting by the way). We took a walking tour with a volunteer guide of the old town and learned much about the history, politics, religion, and culture of Genève and of Switzerland. Jorge was terrific, and we and the others paid him what we thought was correct. The influence of Calvin and his cohorts on Genève cannot be exaggerated. It is a subdued city generally and so is the architecture. Even the 19th century buildings with balconies, wrought-iron and other embellishments are more austere than elegant.
Our 60-square-meter apartment at Swiss Luxury Apartments was essentially one big room, separated into 3 spaces. We had a living room with a sofa, a coffee table, a bench with storage, and a huge chair. The very large TV screen was on the far wall. There were alcoves with windows in each section of the room (that were good storage areas). At the back of the sofa was a large table, large enough for both of our laptops, so it served as our desk.
Then came the dining table and kitchen area. The kitchen had enough counter space to work. The next part was the bedroom with two closets on the side of the bed. We were brought two small tables to use bedside, which were very useful. The general manager bought a chest of drawers for us that fit into one of the window alcoves. With the chest of drawers, we had enough storage to unpack everything. We had the suitcases taken away to storage, and we were all set. Ignacio, the hotel's technician, helped us connect our Chromecast device to the TV, and voila, we had all of our 12 thousand photos scrolling all day. So we were really all set.
The staff was absolutely wonderful to us. Housekeeping came every day to change the towels and remove the garbage. This was the only hotel that periodically brought us a variety of little Swiss treats: Swiss chocolate, dried fruit, organic butter flutes, nuts, and other savories, as well as specialty teas. Bastian, the concierge, provided us with restaurant recommendations and useful tips for getting around. Speaking of nice, it is really nice to get on a crowded bus or tram and have people get up and give us their seats.
We went to the Activ Fitness gym around the corner (recommended by the hotel) and bought monthly passes (CHF 150 for each of us) and became devoted gym goers for our first priority in Genève—trying to get in shape for our upcoming winter of skiing in the Dolomites.
The second most important thing on our Genève itinerary was eating at ethnic restaurants. Each night for dinner during our first week, we had food of a different ethnicity: Lebanese, Persian, Genevois, Chinese (Szechuan), Indian, Ethiopian, Vietnamese, Afghan, and Thai.
The third most important thing we wanted to do during our Geneva stay was to meet and socialize. Judy Inglis provided us with an introduction to Charlie Buffle, a Genevois friend, who had us to his home for dinner. That was a major treat!
We found Cité Seniors, a quasi-governmental organization with lots of activities for people over 55. We went to an exercise program and other programs too, including an Italian language class. Magali, who works there, provided us with gobs of information.
Then we found Genève Accueil. It is part of la Fédération Internationale des Accueils Français et Francophones d'Expatriés (FIAFE), a group of associations for expat français and for francophones, worldwide. We went to the monthly coffee and met the president, Brigitte Albrand-Portmann. She took us under her wing and invited us to attend many functions. We had a blast with her and the people we met. We became members and will be able to use Accueils in many of the cities we will be visiting.
The next thing that happened was truly amazing. Our Vail Club 50 friend, Jonathan Frank, wrote us a message saying he just read on our blog (yes, this blog) so he knew that we were in Genève and he wanted to introduce us to his cousins who live here. Fabulous, not only because he is reading this blog but he has cousins for us to meet!
The American International Club wrote to Audre to tell us about a Thanksgiving Dinner that they were having in Genève (responding to an inquiry of hers from months before). Of course, we signed up for that.
We continued with touristic things on our own and with Genève Accueil. With Brigitte and 3 others, one day we went on an entertaining trip to Voltaire's Château in Ferney (France).
Brigitte standing next to Dimitri in front of Voltaire's Château with the rest of the Genève Accueil group
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