On Friday 15-Feb-08, Stephanie crossed the Atlantic from Charlotte to visit. Arriving on Friday afternoon, we hit the ground running. After dropping off her bags, we headed downtown Geneva - first stop - the Ferrari dealer to get a pic of the silver Maserati below. Then over to the
Bain des Paquis to get a glimpse of Geneva from the lake. It was freezing, especially on the walkway out towards the middle of the lake.
A couple was tossing loaves of bread all over the pier to get the birds to congregate which was a bit odd I thought, but made for a cool-but-spooky picture. Next we headed over to the other side of the lake via the water bus, a first for me. It was actually quite peaceful and fun to ride over by enclosed boat. We then walked through the
Jardin Anglais where the statue in the picture above resides. We briefly walked towards the old town and made a detour into Globus (a one-stop-shop coffee shop, deli, bakery, wine bar) for some espresso.
Feeling a bit hungry, we made our way back to my place where I made fondue for the first time. It was delicious - not quite the right consistency, but a touch of nutmeg gave it a unique flavor.
The next morning, we got up early to catch a train to Zurich where we spent the day. Zurich reminded me very much of Geneva - a lakeside town surrounded by mountains, the primary difference being the primary language was German, not French.
After walking around a bit we stumbled onto the
Fraumünster church which had amazing stained-glass windows of Marc Chagall. On the way to lunch I snapped this pic of the gorgeous old yellow Ferrari. After lunch we met up with Steph's friend Bea for happy hour - in an English sister pub of Mr. Pickwick's in Geneva where I watched the Super Bowl no less.
Small world. After dinner we ran to the train station escorted by our guide and Bea's friend Corky.
Amsterdam on a 7 a.m. flight. Getting back into geneva around 1 a.m., we were at the airport headed toAfter checking into our hotel, we headed straight for the
Anne Frank house where I managed to snap a picture of the door leading up to the attic in between the crowds. On the way there, we ran into the tree with the little lumberjack man carved into it - how intriguing. Gradually making our way back to the hotel, we caught up on some sleep we missed out on from the night before - waking just in time to go out and have a few beers that night.
The next day we made our way out to the river for a canal tour of the city by boat. What a great way to see the city. Amidst the slightly leaning row houses, I tried to spy the oldest moniker on the buildings, the oldest I captured on film was the 1616 in the picture. After the tour, we made our way to a little cafe on a park for a late lunch just before heading back to the airport on our way back to Geneva.
The next day back in Geneva, we headed over to the old town to walk around and sit in a courtyard sipping on some
delicious
vin chaud (warm spiced / mulled wine). We met up with Jason and headed over to the grocery to grab some wine and supplies for dinner - which we shared with the Thomas'. The next morning, Steph took off for the states, and since I had taken the day off of work, I went for a morning ride up the Saleve mountains before heading in to catch up at work for the afternoon.
On Friday 15-Feb-08, Stephanie crossed the Atlantic from Charlotte to visit. Arriving on Friday afternoon, we hit the ground running. After dropping off her bags, we headed downtown Geneva - first stop - the Ferrari dealer to get a pic of the silver Maserati below. Then over to the Bain des Paquis to get a glimpse of Geneva from the lake. It was freezing, especially on the walkway out towards the middle of the lake. 
A couple was tossing loaves of bread all over the pier to get the birds to congregate which was a bit odd I thought, but made for a cool-but-spooky picture. Next we headed over to the other side of the lake via the water bus, a first for me. It was actually quite peaceful and fun to ride over by enclosed boat. We then walked through the Jardin Anglais where the statue in the picture above resides. We briefly walked towards the old town and made a detour into Globus (a one-stop-shop coffee shop, deli, bakery, wine bar) for some espresso. 
Feeling a bit hungry, we made our way back to my place where I made fondue for the first time. It was delicious - not quite the right consistency, but a touch of nutmeg gave it a unique flavor. 
The next morning, we got up early to catch a train to Zurich where we spent the day. Zurich reminded me very much of Geneva - a lakeside town surrounded by mountains, the primary difference being the primary language was German, not French. 
After walking around a bit we stumbled onto the Fraumünster church which had amazing stained-glass windows of Marc Chagall. On the way to lunch I snapped this pic of the gorgeous old yellow Ferrari. After lunch we met up with Steph's friend Bea for happy hour - in an English sister pub of Mr. Pickwick's in Geneva where I watched the Super Bowl no less.
Small world. After dinner we ran to the train station escorted by our guide and Bea's friend Corky. 
Amsterdam on a 7 a.m. flight. Getting back into geneva around 1 a.m., we were at the airport headed toAfter checking into our hotel, we headed straight for the Anne Frank house where I managed to snap a picture of the door leading up to the attic in between the crowds. On the way there, we ran into the tree with the little lumberjack man carved into it - how intriguing. Gradually making our way back to the hotel, we caught up on some sleep we missed out on from the night before - waking just in time to go out and have a few beers that night.
The next day we made our way out to the river for a canal tour of the city by boat. What a great way to see the city. Amidst the slightly leaning row houses, I tried to spy the oldest moniker on the buildings, the oldest I captured on film was the 1616 in the picture. After the tour, we made our way to a little cafe on a park for a late lunch just before heading back to the airport on our way back to Geneva. 
The next day back in Geneva, we headed over to the old town to walk around and sit in a courtyard sipping on some
delicious vin chaud (warm spiced / mulled wine). We met up with Jason and headed over to the grocery to grab some wine and supplies for dinner - which we shared with the Thomas'. The next morning, Steph took off for the states, and since I had taken the day off of work, I went for a morning ride up the Saleve mountains before heading in to catch up at work for the afternoon.
