On one fine, cloudy actually, pretty bleak day I was awoken by hoards of French youth speaking in their native tongue. It worked very well as an alarm, as did the shower as it sent chills up my spine. After that unique experience I went to breakfast where I was surprisingly pleased by the quality buffet at my disposal including strawberry yoghurt, Swiss cheese, crusty bread and a hot hot chocolate.
After all of this scrumptious repas (meal) we ensconced ourselves in many layers of warm, furry, fuzzy, colourful clothing to ward off the harsh environment of a Swiss spring day. Some of our party believed 6 degrees was a balmy summers evening and were dressed to suit the occasion. As we strolled to the shorefront of Lake Geneva we were buffeted in all directions by the blustery breeze whilst our eyes were met by the cheery sight of snow- capped peaks surrounding the city below. Some eager adventurers were greeted by a refreshing spray as they ventured too close to the sea wall.
Our first port of call was the United Nations European headquarters. At the forefront of the UN’s main entrance “sat” The Broken Chair”, a monumental sculpture symbolizing the plight of those affected by land mines and cluster munitions in countries all around the world. This piece created by Daniel Berset intends to evoke an emotional response in the audience and this is demonstrated by the sculpture having three complete legs with the fourth shown as a shattered stump. For more information visit en.wikipedia/wiki/brokenchair. We then partook in an enlightening guided tour of the former League of Nations buildings. The guide shared with us the most important functions of the UN which are peace and security, human rights and development. The Geneva headquarters is the base for the UN’s humanitarian activities, disarmament procedures and numerous conferences (9000 annually) for example World Health Organisation (WHO). It was a very meaningful experience to witness Australia’s seat.
Fortunately, due to the inclement weather, we were able to immerse ourselves in natural history at ‘L’histoire Naturel’. This magnificent building housed an expansive array of exotic and European fauna (stuffed animals). Meteorites, diamonds, precious gems, dinosaurs and the long extinct dodo were but a few of exhibits in this impressive collection. After returning to our humble abode via an extensive tram route we gathered our treasured possessions and proceeded to our interesting trip to Paris.
During our journey our eyes were treated to the picturesque sight of French villages, snow-capped mountains enshrouded in an eerie mist and rapid flowing rivers.
What an impressive trip
Quote of the day “there is a difference being stupid and being tough”
Author Mitch Ivill
Brains trust Mr Wray, Mrs Hayes, Mrs Beale
Day 11…19th April,2013…..Switzerland
Today was our last morning in Venice and we were all very sad to leave as we thoroughly enjoyed our stay there! On the upside we were heading for Geneva, Switzerland. It was an early start to get to the train station. We caught our first train to Geneva where we had a stopover in Milan for an hour. We then got on another fast train for another 4 hours to get to our destination of Geneva. Today was an awesome day for resting on the trains. But if you didn’t want to rest the views from the train were sensational. Whilst travelling through the Swiss Alps covered in snow, it was all beautiful.
We finally arrived at Geneva at 4.30pm where we headed to the Geneva Youth Hostel, which is really quite nice. Whilst some of us had a rest, some of us had to catch up on much need washing time! The only trouble was we needed Swiss money instead of Euro money, but it was sorted quickly by Mrs Beale.
We had dinner at a local restaurant/pizzeria where we had salad for the entrée (good to have some salad and feel a bit healthy!), we had a beautiful chicken, mushroom and pasta for the main, and a bit of a different dessert which was a creamy, maple syrup called a crème caramel.
I, along with all the others I’m sure, am very excited for tomorrow as we are going to the UN for a tour, but we are also heading to Paris!!!! On a late night train which will be cool to see the cities along the way all lit up.
P.S. Hello to Mum and Dad
Au revoir
Brooke.
