Up early to get to the airport to make our early morning flight on EasyJet from Orly Airport to Geneva. Quick flight only 40 minutes or so. We retrieved a coupon for free transportation into town. Paula struck up a conversation with Dave, a doctor from Doctors Without Borders, staying in Geneva as a stopover between a trip to Ethopia and a tour in Africa. He told us what bus to get on and where we might get off and, in his view, the best pizza in the world. Â Another passenger on the bus told us to stay on one more stop and we would find our hotel about a block away.
We found our hotel a clean comfortable room right in the center of it all. Â Along with hotel room, each of us were given a pass to the public transportation system, buses, trams and boats for the days we were there. What a system! Even better, our room was ready and the wonderful desk clerk let us check in. Geneva is on the banks of a lake that empties and becomes the Rhone. It is obviously a shoppers’ paradise….watches. timepieces, and fine items everywhere! Even H&M’s for the more budget conscious shoppers…
View of downtown Geneva from our room
 Our breakfast on Day One at Martel in Geneva |
 Paula's Vegetarian Sandwich |
 A Valentine's Day Display at the Martel Coffee Shop in Geneva |
 Swans and ducks on the lake in Geneva |
 A Gazebo by the lake |
 Chocolate Penguins in a shop window |
 A church window in the historic church in town center |
 The courtyard in Geneva's town hall |
 Paula in the courtyard |
 Around Geneva....a whole park of chess and checkers |
 This is how youngsters in Geneva learn to ice skate |
 Our restaurant spot was decorated with all kinds of kitsch - we enjoyed fondue |
 Our walking tour covered lots of territory |
 even a little cottage - typically Swiss |
We strolled the town, hopped a tram or bus as necessary with our free passes, visited the old town, lunched at a quaint Swiss place on lots of cheese fondue and some beef we dipped in oil. Then more walking and sightseeing until the cold set in and then we and relished a cup of hot chocolate beside the lake. Ultimately, we stopped at a pub near the hotel and enjoyed a beer before collapsing in our beds at the hotel with freshly pressed sheets and down comforters. Day One in Geneva was complete.
