Spring Break Part I - Geneva

Dear Kari:

Well, here goes. I plan to recount my "spring break" trip on our humble blog space in short little bites.

Thursday 18 March 2004

Got on a 737 leaving Los Angeles early in the morning and arrived at Newark to catch a 767 to Geneva. I saw the film "Something has gotta give" to help pass the time. It is nice to see a movie about older adults. Is it a sign of my own aging that I liked the movie?

Friday 19 March 2004

Geneva time zone is +9 hours from Los Angeles. With a modest amount of sleep on the plane, we got our rental car and drove into downtown Geneva to look around. We parked the car in the underground lot near the Pont du Mont Blanc.



When you see spy movies and the setting is a European city I get a picture in my head. Well, as I wandered the streets of Geneva I felt like I was on a movie set!



Know of your fondess for dogs so I just had to share the picture of the "guard" dog taking it easy in front of this store.



My two travel companions, Leonard and Harold, enjoying the view at Lake Geneva. The famed Jet d'Eau is in the background. The stream is 140 meters tall!



The great view from the North Tower of the Cathedral St. Pierre where John Calvin preached from 1536-1564. 3 Swiss Francs to climb the steps.

Travel tips:
* Right now you get 1.2 Swiss Francs for each US Dollar. Switzerland recently joined the UN but remains outside the EU and doesn't use the Euro. ATM access to cash is easy in the big city.
* When using a phonecard to call international. Punch 00 + country code + area code + number. Anyway, I had a 10 Swiss Franc phone card and called the operator to ask for this bit of information cost me more Francs on my card than calling the USA!

More photos and travelogue to come.

Enjoy,
Rene

Go to part II