Sisters in Switzerland

Switzerland is a great place. But Switzerland with this girl is an even better place! This weekend has definitely been one of the highlights of my time in Europe. I left Nice on Friday afternoon and caught a flight to Geneva to meet up with my sister, Karlie. She's currently studying French in Annecy, about an hour and a half bus ride from Geneva, so it made a convenient meeting point. Despite the convenience, trying to find each other was far from being so! Kar has no phone, mine only likes to work occasionally, and the train station in Geneva isn't the smallest. After getting several phone calls from my mom and traipsing across the city to the other station where my sister WAS NOT, I finally found her waiting exactly where I'd been an hour and a half earlier. Despite a rough start, our weekend ended up being fantastic!

Friday night we started our self-guided tour of Geneva. We walked along the lakeside, checked out the famous fountain "Jet d'eau," and then walked a REALLY long ways to find a restaurant called Cafe du Soleil. And it was well worth the walk! This cafe is famed for its fondue, and I am happy to testify in the fondues behalf. It's amazing! The creme brulee and mousse du chocolat were not found wanting either.

The next morning we experienced one of our favorite parts of Geneva: the free breakfast in our hotel. Packets of Nutella, light, flaky croissants, cheeses, meats, granola, need I go on? I'm just sayin'...We decided to eat enough for two meals. It seemed like the economical option. Afterwards, however, we decided we needed a work out so we spent the entire day on our feet. We spent the morning in Geneva and went to the Jardin Anglais with its famous flower clock and the St. Pierre Cathedral. Both were absolutely amazing. The hike up to the towers of the cathedral was a bit rough, considering we each were about 10 lbs. heavier than when we woke up, but I'm still blogging, so I survived.


We then took a train out to Montreux, a smaller town on the other side of the lake and walked to the Chateau du Chillon. For me, this was probably my favorite afternoon of my entire European stay thus far. I love the mountains! And I live in Texas, so it's been awhile. But the Swiss Alps are amazing and with their majesty comes a peace and serenity that revitalized my "I can't believe I've been doing homework again" self. We headed back to Geneva around six to catch dinner at another fantastic restaurant, "On y mange du poulet." Translated, it basically means that "here one eats chicken." Guess what the specialty is on their menu? You got it! Chicken! And it was probably some of the best chicken we'd ever eaten. (I feel like I can speak for both of us Kar).
Today was Stake Conference and the 25th anniversary of the Geneva Stake. It was a really neat program with speakers that had been there with President Ezra Taft Benson at the original organization. After church we went to the Jardin Exotique and followed it up with a quick stop at the Musee Adriana and a guided tour of the U.N.'s Geneva headquarters. And that was our trip to Switzerland!
I conclude this entry of "Sisters in Switzerland" with one of my favorite expressions in the French language, due to its unique conjugation, and send it out to my sister who's currently on a bus to Annecy: Tu me manques! (I miss you!)

Stay tuned for next weekend's episode..."Sisters in Florence!"