Bonjour de la Suisse: The grand tour

Chica had only one more week in Europe and we had hardly seen any of Switzerland. Our plan was lots of day trips all over this beautiful country, the only problem was the heat wave of just a couple weeks earlier was a distant memory and the rain clouds that had moved in weren't going anywhere!

We started in Geneva, toodled around town and went on a tour of the United Nations. The Fêtes de Genève was in full swing, so the town was hopping and there was plenty to do at night (despite things getting canceled due to the weather). We took full advantage of the rides, including go-carting, the giant swings (Chica's favorite) and this crazy ride called "Disco Sensation" that almost made us ill (but was super fun).

Tuesday was the best forecast of the entire week (partly cloudy), and we figured it was the best day to go to Zermatt to see the Matterhorn. After catching a very early train, we arrived and were thrilled to see that the views were fairly clear! We took a cable car & gondola to the top of Rothorn Paradise and hiked down to the valley floor. On the way we stopped at my favorite restaurant, Findlerhof - Franz & Heidi for lunch and stunning views of the mountain!

We got back to Geneva pretty late, but after a dinner of Mike Wong's (Thai fast food that looks suspiciously like McDonald's) we decided to go out. A group of my friends from GoL were meeting up at the O-bar, which was temporarily set up in a tent right in the middle of the Fête, right on the lake. The place was hopping, lots of great music and I knew quite a few people there too. The only problem was, the bar had to close at midnight because of the noise. A very large group of us were looking for a place to go next when someone suggested Le Petit Palace. No one had been there before, but supposedly it’s the new hot bar in the old town. We went to this very normal looking bar, having a great time and next thing you know a girl gets on a small stage and starts a striptease!! We were a bit shocked... little did we know this was the entertainment for the night! All the other people we were with were taken aback too. What was that about Geneva being boring?!?

Late nights equal late mornings, and we got up pretty late the next day. But all was not lost, we were headed over to the small, medieval town of Yvoire, France, located on the French side of Lac Léman - Lake Geneva. I had never been there before and it was great to finally see this cute little town for myself.

Next on our tour of Switzerland, we spent the day in Luzerne & Bern. Luzerne was rainy and a little cold. It is such a beautiful town, even in the rain. We did a little walking tour, and Chica visited the Picasso museum. Soon we were on the train again to Bern. We tried to see the famous bears of Bern, but they had moved inside. The rain was really coming down now, so we dodged into a local brewery and took a break from all of our sightseeing.

With all of our train travel, we soon found fun & creative ways to pass the time (besides the ever-popular reading & sleeping). We played cards, drew portraits of each other (scary) and made friends with the locals. Chica was even serenaded by an Italian accordion player! I think he was a bit frustrated with our limited knowledge of most languages and his song went a little something like this: "You don't know Italian... you don't know German... you don't know English..." It was quite funny!

The weekend was here and G could now join us on our travels. We went to the town of Lausanne, on our side of Lac Léman to visit the Olympic museum. The sun was actually trying coming out, which was a welcome change from the wet & rainy week we had had. That night was the big Fêtes de Genève fireworks show. The best views are right down the block from us, on the Rue du Mont-Blanc bridge. G saw it last year and thought it was the best fireworks he had ever seen, and I must agree! It had been raining, but the rain stopped just long enough for us to see the 45 minute show without an umbrella. It was really amazing! We all loved it. Unfortunately the big air show (on Sunday) that had been advertised all over the country wasn't quite as grand. We waited over an hour in the freezing cold (this is summer, right?) and stared up at the grey skies to see a very unimpressive fly-by or two before we decided to head home and warm up!

This was the end of Chica's trip and she was returning home herself. I was so sad. The last four weeks had been some of the best times I have had since I moved here. We spent the last evening cutting up Sudoku puzzles and crafting a little paper checkers set that would fit in her wallet. This is because the airlines were super strict about what could be brought on the plane since a terrorist plot was foiled in England the week before. Thankfully, I'm glad to report she made it safely back!

Having Chica as our roommate for the bulk of the summer was great! The only thing I would have changed was the weather. As G predicted, the day after she left the sun came out and we have had really beautiful weather ever since. We'll have better weather next time Chica! ;)