We’ve been living in our new home for over a week now (!) and the jet lag is only now starting to wear off. :) Regardless, we’ve really enjoyed getting to know our new city—the old architecture is fantastic and the area is just beautiful. Below are a few photos of what we see everyday as we walk to and from work. Also, for anyone who comes to visit—have no fear, there is a McDonald's within a block of our apartment. :) Although don’t be shocked when you fork over nearly $13 for a “Cheeseburger Royal” (basically a quarter-pounder) with fries & a soda.
One night we were walking home at about 11:30 and it was surprisingly dead quiet as we walked through Old Town. As we turned the corner toward the Cathedral of Saint Pierre (photo on left), we were astounded to hear an organ playing quite loudly. Someone inside the cathedral was going crazy on what sounded like an immense pipe organ—at 11:30 at night! Ang convinced Dave to stop and sit on the steps to listen. We sat there nearly dumbfounded at the serenity—there was not a sound around us other than the organ playing rapidly and beautifully; the only light to be seen was that of the cathedral steps and the moon. It was great.
Luckily we were able to wrap up the rest of our move activities in just a few days last week. On Wednesday we finally figured out how to rent a Mobility car and we were off, driving for the first time in Europe! Driving in Switzerland is challenging, the only saving grace is that we kind of knew where we were going. The Swiss don’t see a need to post large street signs (or at times any street signs at all) in their intersections like we do in the states. Most street signs are a small blue plaque on the corner of a building, which is impossible to see from the intersection. Regardless, we carefully made our way down to Jaime’s place to retrieve our things.
We also scored a TV from a nice couple in France who posted an ad on a local Craigslist-like site (they are about to move to New York and couldn’t take the TV with them due to voltage & signal differences, so we got a great deal). By the time we got back to Geneva, our car reservation was up, so we returned the car and walked the TV home (about a mile). :)
On Friday we were invited to go out to the town of Nyon (20 minute train ride from Geneva) to watch a rugby match—our first ever rugby match. We were somewhat familiar with the basic concept of rugby, but the extra knowledge we derived from the movie "Invictus" helped, too (who says Hollywood isn’t informative?). One surprise to both of us was the size of the players – practically monsters! A couple of guys had arms that were nearly the size of Dave’s legs (only pure muscle). It was an exhibition match (basically a scrimmage) but that didn’t really matter to us. We enjoyed some cold beer and delicious sausages while watching large men beat the living crap out of each other. (a little glimpse below)
Back to the jet lag. We did far too much sleeping-in this weekend, getting out of bed at the crack of 11am on Saturday and Sunday. It really puts a cramp in exploring the area! Fortunately we did drag ourselves out of the house on Sunday to enjoy the 85 degree weather on Lake Geneva at Bains des Paquis. This park, which is essentially a lake front water area, is probably the cheapest activity in Geneva at $2 per person. The highlight of the park is a large three-tiered structure, which has jumping areas off of three different heights. The first at about 10 ft, second at about 25 ft and the third at about 35 ft. It took a little courage but Dave eventually made it off all three, while Ang did the first two and vowed to tackle the highest jump next time (yeah right). She made a deal with a 10-year-old girl that she’d jump off the middle tier if the little girl would, too. (Yep, the girl ended up having to jump first).
It’s our last night with temporary furniture before the movers come tomorrow morning to deliver our sea shipment! Hopefully by the end of the week (and after a large IKEA run this weekend) we will be settled in. Next time we’ll post some pictures and videos of all the excitement.
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