3D2N Geneva, Switzerland - Day 1

S read about the 81st International Motor Show on IHT a couple of weeks back and we immediately decided to head over. Such is the luxury of staying here! The ease of traveling within Europe is simply remarkable.

We left Tasha at the "nanny's" and set out at noon for the 5-hour drive. Not long after, it was time for lunch and we stopped over at a charming little town called Barbizon (near Fontainebleau) which is supposed to be known for its food and more importantly its popularity among artists in the 1800s. Extremely quiet & empty on a Friday afternoon but scenic with a quaint grocery shop, ice-cream parlor and a few art galleries. Some mosaic art works were also spotted on the streets.

What was meant to be quick lunch turned out to be a rather long 3-course meal at a hotel restaurant. I really can't run away from my greed can I? Spent a good 1.5h there but it was well worth the time. We were the only ones throughout the entire meal so it felt quite exclusive. Food (especially the canard entrée) and wine (they only serve by the bottle) were good. Yet again, my apologies for missing out the mains.

Name: La Clé d'Or

Location: 73 Grand Rue, 77630 Barbizon

Expenditure: 97,50€ incl. 1 bottle of white (lunch menu @ 32€ pp)

By the time we reached our hotel in Annemasse which is still in the French region just outside Geneva, it was about 8pm. Drove into the city centre of Geneva just to stroll along the streets and take in the night view. We were a little disappointed crossing the border as we were expecting a Switzerland stamp or somethin! But no, there was nobody at the booths and we drove right in as you would a normal road. You can get in and out as freely as you wish.. pfft.

Found ourselves at the Place du Molard where you can find several restaurants and a departmental store called Globus. The ground was interestingly lit up by little squares with wordings in different languages - something you'll never notice in the day!

Then, large groups of people started appearing and they seemed to be walking from somewhere so we decided to check out what could be so attractive/happening in this otherwise quiet place. Followed the trail up a steep slope which led us to the St. Peter's Cathedral! I suppose a Friday mass just ended. In my itinerary we were supposed to tour the cathedral, go up the north/south tower for a bird's eye view of Geneva, and visit the archaeological museum. Didn't do any of them in the end..

Thanks to our heavy lunch, we settled for a light dinner at a touristic Italian restaurant at the Place du Molard. Also managed to catch a glimpse of the iconic Jet d'Eau (a water jet that can push the water up to a height of 140m). More info @ wiki.