Geneva

I took advantage of time off last week in honor of All Saint's Day to do some traveling! I started with a day trip to Avignon, and then rounded out the week with a day in Geneva, a few days in Paris, and a great hike just outside of Grenoble. I'm aiming to put up posts about Paris and the hike soon, but here's a little preview for you:

First things first, though. Geneva!

A few friends and I had originally planned to rent a car to visit Geneva last Monday, but they ended up cancelling pretty late the night before we were supposed to go. As in, they let me know at 10pm Sunday night. Grrr. (I probably should have realized it sooner when I hadn't heard from them with a time to meet the next morning, but since everything seems to happen at the last minute here, I had just assumed I'd hear something later that night!)

I weighed the idea of spending another day bumming around Lyon, but I felt like I'd be squandering a perfectly good day of vacation. So, I made a game time decision to go to Geneva on my own! The only problem was figuring out how to get there. I'm a notoriously frugal traveler -- for better or for worse -- and I was determined to find the most cost-effective means of transportation. The train was the most obvious option, but since I'd been expecting to split the price for a rental car, it seemed awfully expensive (almost 30 euros each way) by comparison.

Several people had recommended "covoiturage" through a website called BlaBlaCar as a cheap alternative to taking the train or a bus, especially when booking last-minute travel. I figured it was worth taking a look and did a little more research. Basically, the way covoiturage works is that someone driving from one city to another posts a notice on a website specifying when and where they are willing to pick up and drop off passengers, how many seats they have available, and how much they will charge for the lift. Another person looking to go to the same city reserves a spot in the driver's car and provides payment information, and then the site puts them in touch to figure out the details. After the ride, the passengers confirm that they got to their destination before the site releases the payment to the driver. Then, similar to Airbnb and Uber, the passengers and the driver can leave reviews of each other on the website so that future users can make more informed decisions when planning their trips.

This seemed like the perfect situation to try it out, especially since the average fares were only about 12 euro each way, so I arranged to meet the driver and one other passenger the next morning at 7am for the two hour-ish ride to Geneva. I was a little nervous about how it would go, but it turned out just fine. The driver was a really nice guy around 25 years old from a town just outside of Lyon. He was heading to a suburb of Geneva for the day for work and was looking for other passengers to defray the costs of gas and tolls. The other passenger was a Chilean guy about my age who was working on his PhD. He lives in Geneva, but he had spent the weekend in Lyon visiting friends and needed an early ride back to make it to his internship on time.

The ride was easy (and hilarious - we drove under a bridge built specifically for cows to cross over the highway!), and both guys were very friendly, chatty, and helpful! When I admitted that I hadn't done any research ahead of time, they jumped in to give me tips for places to see, where to eat lunch, and even where and when to catch the correct bus to get to the rendezvous point for my ride back that evening. By the time I arrived in Geneva, I had a full itinerary for the day, the name of the best shwarma joint in town, and a plan for getting home to Lyon!

They didn't lead me astray. I started on the southern bank of the Rhone, visiting the famed Saint-Pierre Cathedral (and climbing up into the towers), the Parc des Bastions, the English Garden, several prominent squares, and a nice neighborhood called La Carouges.

Pont du Mont Blanc

Outside Cathedrale Saint-Pierre

View from Cathedrale Saint-Pierre

Up in the tower at the cathedral!

Full-scale model of the cathedral

The flower clock at the Jardin Anglais. That's the world's largest seconds hand!

Place de Neuve

Life-size games in the Parc des Bastions

Enjoying the Parc des Bastions!

La Carouges...super cute area of Geneva!

By the time I was done exploring that side of the river, my stomach had started growling, so I went in search of the shwarma place, Parfums de Beyrout. I stopped at the tourist office for directions, and I knew I was in for a good meal when the staff grinned and told me that everyone in the area goes there for lunch!

The BEST shawarma I've ever had. This was a good life decision.

I had ordered my sandwich to go since there weren't many seats, and I happily munched away as I walked towards the bank of Lac Léman, the lake in Switzerland that touches Geneva, Lausanne, and Montreux. I strolled north along the lake, admiring the view of the mountains in the distance. The quiet beside the water was really striking; I hadn't noticed how loud the other parts of the city had been, with cars, buses, sirens, and all of the people walking around! It would have nice if the weather had cleared a bit, but I thought that the clouds added to the peacefulness of the park.

My personal Geneva guide had mentioned that it was possible to visit the Palais des Nations, and the former high school model UN-er in me jumped at the idea. Following the lake all the way up to the United Nations complex, I got my visitor badge and crossed my fingers that I'd be able to squeeze into a tour that afternoon before I had to head back to Lyon. It turned out that the English tour was going to start too late for me to make my ride back, but there was still room with the French group, and they were leaving 15 minutes after I arrived! Thanking the travel gods for the perfect timing, I gleefully paid for my ticket. I figured that, at worst, I would get to see the inside of the building, and at best, I would learn a few things. As it turned out, the guide was very informative, and I was really surprised and pleased by how much I understood. I definitely didn't catch everything that he said, but I understood the great majority!

View from Place des Nations!

Outside the gate

Broken Chair sculpture symbolizing opposition to land mines and cluster bombs. (The sculpture faces the Palais des Nations.)

Geeking out at the start of the tour!

We saw an assembly in progress as we walked by!

Courtyard between buildings on the campus

The Assembly Hall (the largest room at the Palais des Nations)

After the tour ended, I hopped on a bus to head to my rendezvous point at the customs station between Switzerland and France. I was a little nervous that I'd be late since the tour had run overtime, but the efficient Swiss buses got me there with plenty of time to spare. And after I found my ride (it wasn't super clear at first where I was supposed to wait), the drive home was just as nice as the one in the morning. The driver had his adorable five year old son in the backseat, and I had a lot of fun talking to the two of them and practicing my French as we wound our way to Lyon. Little kids speaking in French = heart melting.

All in all, I'm so glad I decided to go to Geneva on my own. There's something truly liberating about exploring alone. I love traveling with friends (especially my best friend), but it turns out I also love traveling by myself!