Geneva, Switzerland

This past Saturday morning we left for Geneva, Switzerland. We flew out at 8:25 and by 10:00 we were on our way to the hotel. We were not able to get into our hotel room until 12 so we checked our luggage (after we fixed the broken zipper, luckily it didn't happen at the airport!) Geneva has a lot of parks, really, I have come to find that ALL european cities have MANY parks. It is one of the things I have come to love about Europe. So, we headed off to see the Jet d'Eau. It is one of the largest fountains in the world. Along the way we saw many swans, mountains and a lot of bank buildings and watch stores. Here is a pic of Kaylin and the flower clock. The clock is a collection of 6,500 flowers, celebration Switzerland's watch making industry.

We headed back to the hotel to get settled in and make a plan for what we wanted to do the rest of the day and trip.

I had the bright idea of buying a new pair of walking shoes before the trip, not for the trip, but just because I wanted a dressier pair of shoes that I could do a lot of walking in. The problem was that I only brought those shoes. Such a BAD idea. My feet had blister upon blister by the middle of the first day. By the end of the first day I HAD to find a new pair of shoes because I could barely walk. By the end of the 4 days I went through 2 boxes of band aids. So, after I rested the little piggies for a bit we headed back out to a park not far from the hotel which had some awesome views! The kids played at the playground and we just relaxed and took in the sights. We went back to the

hotel and while I gave the kids a bath Matt went and picked up some pizza for dinner. There was a store right across the street from the the hotel which was so nice. The next morning, Sunday, we walked to an out door market and bought some really sweet and juicy fruit. Being Sunday, almost all the stores were closed, so we were thankful to have found the market. We stopped at a playground for a bit and then went to the section of the city called "old town." The weather was great and there were not a lot of people around. We walked to St. Peter's Cathedral where John Calvin preached from 1536-1564.

A few pics of the town

As we were leaving the Church, Kaylin decided to transform into a lion. We then stopped at Reformation Wall, a 325 foot long, 30 foot high monument including statues of Guillaume Farel-first to preach of reformation in Geneva, John Calvin-leader of the reformation, Theodore Beza-Calvin's successor, and John Knox-friend of Calvin and founder of Presbyterianism in Scotland.

A stop for a carousel ride before lunch was a must!The rest of the afternoon was spent at Parc de la Grange on the south side of Lake Geneva. The park features a large rose garden and quite a few walking paths.

This is probably going to sound funny, but I think this was one of the most peaceful playgrounds! It was such a nice day and everyone around was so relaxed, the kids played and across the path were roses. So nice.

On Monday we decided to spend the day across the border in France. We took the bus, which by the way, all transportation for visitors to Geneva is FREE! Yes, buses, trams, and trains were FREE! :) The bus dropped us of at the border and we walked across to Etrembieres, France and then to the cable car which would take us up Mont Saleve.
Shane and I in the cable car.

Looking down from the cable car.

Once we got off the car there were some looking points, a little store with snacks and drinks and a playground. We were directed to a path that would lead us further up the mountain so we did that.

I think this is my favorite picture of Kaylin.

A picnic lunch

Our flight on Tuesday wasn't until 6:55 pm, so we checked our bags at the hotel and took the train to Satigny which is the largest wine growing region in Switzerland. We did some wine tasting and looked at the vineyards. It was right in the middle of harvesting so we saw people in the vineyards and truck of grapes. We had great trip!