Geneva

This weekend I traveled to the land of cheese and chocolate: Geneva. While the city proved to have some spectacular chocolate and cheese, it also provided much more. On Friday afternoon Taylor and I picked up some snacks (including the best baguette we have had so far) and hopped on the train. 3 hours, some bread and cheese, and a playlist later, we arrived to find our friends Phoebe, Matt and Rachel at the station, complete with welcome sign. We dropped of our bags at their dorm and walked out to the Jet d'Eau (a well-respected landmark in Geneva, see photo) as the sun was setting and the sky was pink.

After a delicious dinner at a nearby Italian restaurant, we hung out with our friends and the kids on their program before heading out to a club. Their program is very different from mine. They all live in a dorm together, instead of doing a home stay, and they take part in an internship for the second half of their time abroad. It was fun to experience another type of study abroad program, which reminded me a bit of being back at Hopkins.

Saturday began with yummy pastries and coffee followed by a tour of old town Geneva. This classic part of town was reminiscent of France with a Swiss twist. We climbed to the very top of the cathedral, which provided a beautiful view of the city (see photo), and then wandered around and saw the UN and the WHO (where 2 of my friends will be interning!).

For dinner, we met up with Phoebe's parents who were in town for a couple days, and they took us to Les Armures for fondue and classic swiss cuisine. We ordered a pumpkin and butternut squash soup and a dish with mushrooms and puff pastry, both of which were divine! After sufficiently stuffing ourselves with freshly melted swiss cheese, we went back to the dorm to begin the festivities for night 2. First we went to a bar where we ordered a 5L pipe filled with light and slightly sweet house brewed beer which we tapped at the table. We then went to another bar where we stumbled upon the end of an ACDC and Guns n Roses cover band concert and enjoyed rocking out to Paradise City and taking over the dance floor.

Sunday morning each floor of their dorm cooked a different breakfast item. I shared my pancake making skills, and we all ate breakfast together. Then we sat at a cute cafe in old town for a cafe au lait before meeting Phoebe's parents at the Art History Museum. They house an extensive Egyptian, Greek and Roman archaeology exhibit, which was very interesting! One of the docents happily shared his knowledge with us and explained some of the history of the pieces.

We then had lunch by the lake before catching a boat across to go back to pack up our bags and head back to Paris. While the cheese was delicious, and I obviously stocked up on chocolate before heading back, it was great to share all of these beautiful experiences with great friends!