Our last full day of our trip. Sadness. But we saved the best city for last. Geneva. Mom and Dad had already seen a little yesterday, but today we would visit the things I love. But first- we had a very special treat scheduled at 10. We drove into Geneva and pulled into CERN- the European Organization for Nuclear Research, with the world's largest particle accelerators, including the Hadron Collider. If you're a geek- you probably know about it. If you've seen Angels and Demons you have seen some shots of it, but you have been hugely deceived. Rumors spread that the CERN is going to blow up the planet, the movie pretends that they have amassed antimatter which could destroy the world...etc. As they informed us- the only thing the movie got correct was the eye scanner. There IS an eye scanner and we got to go through it- but since we're not in the system we just used a special electronic key. Oh yeah- I guess I forgot to say: we GOT TO GO INSIDE. Our very close friend Alison has as friend that has been working there for years and he was happy to take us down. All other visitors are limited to their visiting centers/ museum- which is also good and fun- but as I say- its limited. Dad was over the moon that we got to go down. If you still have no idea what Cern is or what I'm talking about- go look it up. We got through the eye scanner and put on safety hard hats. Dad was practically bouncing up and down. We rode and elevator down 100 meters to go see one of the sections of the accelerator (which was obviously not in use at the moment- moment meaning months- their projects take years to orchestrate) which was opened up. It is enormous and very cool. Dad and the scientists lost me in most of their science jargon, but I was still able to follow much of it. It probably helps that I had visited their public centers twice before- so I had some previous basic science lessons.
I don't think I can say too much that dad was like a kid in a candy store. It was very fun and I am glad that we got to finish our trip with such an experience. I think all three of us, mom, dad and I, have had unforgettable experiences with things that just blew us away- and they were all different.
When we finished around lunch time we drove into the city and ate most of the stuff we still had in our car. Since it was our last day we needed to get rid of all the car snacks. We parked the car under Plain Palais. If you've lived in Geneva you'll know what I'm talking about. We walked from Plain Palais over to Place de Neuve and walked up the hill into the Vielle Ville (old town). We went to the Cathedral and went inside. Dad wanted to climb the tower. Mom didn't need to, and though I would have liked to, I was pretty tired at the moment and I knew there would still be lots more walking today. I had seen the view before, so I stayed with mom and we waited for dad.
When we left the Cathedral we walked down the other side of the hill, toward the lake. We walked down the street following the rivers that flow south from the lake and went to the Swatch museum which is on one of the bridges. There are many bridges in Geneva. We walked back along the other side of the rivers and crossed the big bridge that has all of the flags and the closest view of the Jet d'Eau (the fountain). We took pictures of the famous flower clock and walked through the Park Anglais over to the docks.
Then walked out onto the jetty that takes you to by the Jet d'Eau. Mom didn't venture far because she didn't want to get wet. Dad protected his camera and then joined me on other end of the jetty- past the wet part where the fountain water splashes you. I love that big fountain. I love being out in the middle of the water, with Geneva surrounding me.
When we were done at the Jet d'Eau we walked back through the shopping area of Geneva and hopped on the very packed trams to take us into 'my' part of town. We stopped at a Migros- the grocery store that I frequented often and which had the selection of chocolate that I had been holding out for. I bought a ton of chocolate. I probably bought 3 kilos. Oh and I HAD to buy my Excellence yogurt. I hope one day you people will be able to discover it- the tastiest yogurt you'll ever have.
The woman working the checkout smiled at all the chocolate and I said that my parents and I were going home tomorrow- I was stocking up.
"that makes sense" she said, "you should take the cheese home too."
I told her that I wished I could take home some cheese and Gruyere cream, but they wouldn't do well with traveling. Maybe next time I'll do it anyway. Planes themselves have very cold cargo holds- I think its just the airport time that would be problematic.
After we were done shopping I wanted to pop over to a very cute part of town that I used to work in. My first companion in Geneva had introduced me to a lovely Gelateria that I wanted to go to. Luckily they were open and we got to enjoy that fantastic ice cream. It was delicious, as usual.
We hopped back on the tram and rode to Place de Neuve to sit in the park, where I ate my much-anticipated yogurt, while my mom took in the monuments built to honor the leaders of the Reformation. John Calvin is a major part of Geneva history.
I forgot to take them back up to the world's longest bench, which we had passed earlier on our way to the Cathedral. Dang it. I hope my dad snapped a picture the first time.
The sun was setting as we left Geneva, and though we would be flying out of the airport- I said my goodbyes (again) to the beautiful sights that I love so much. We drove back to Lausanne for the night.
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