Geneva: NOT a Beautiful City

While responding to personal e-mail earlier this month, I mentioned I was working in Geneva for the week.  Several friends responded, "Hope you have some time to see Geneva - I hear it is beautiful!"   Um no.  The name instantly invokes images of quaint European architecture, French bakeries, and fashionable citizens.  Grey, post WW II industrial architecture, streets filled with construction, and a lack of green spaces should come to mind.  Not a place I would want to spend three years.

And. the. prices.  I spotted Citizens for Humanity jeans sitting in a window for 495 Francs - about $550.  A white gold coil ring called me into a French jewelry store.  As I waited to ask the sleek sales woman the price, I noticed her issuing a certificate of authenticity to a customer purchasing a simple charm necklace on a nylon band.  I thought, really.  I guess the 1800 Franc, which is over $2000, ring price makes sense.

To save the government money, I stayed with my friend Heather who is posted there.  (Dave and I get a kick out of her legendary morning routine.  She gets up at 5:30 to leave her apartment by 8:30.)  She explained the ridiculous restaurants charge for mediocre food - except for one French Bistro.  Since Geneva sits in the French speaking part of Switzerland, I had high expectations - and the restaurant did not disappoint.

In the Sates, a side of vegetable at Ruth Chris consists of a broccoli stalk.  Not here.  A stuffed tomato, colorful ratatouille, and luscious green beans decorated our plates.  And how perfect is the fillet??

My last day, we travelled two hours by train to visit Callier, the first chocolate factory in Switzerland.  Callier actually invented the chocolate bar.  His son-in-law, who inherited the factory decided to partner with his neighbor, Henri Nestle who was producing condensed milk, and create the milk-chocolate bar.

(Wouldn't this place be a great school field trip?)

Similar to a Disney ride, visitors walk along chocolate's historical timeline with major events represented by theatrical, decorated rooms.  (At one point, the Catholic Church tried to ban hot chocolate because of the "effects" it had on women.  Suppression comes in many forms.)

The factory section displayed the ingredients.

This gadget picks up the "bad" chocolates - like there is such a thing - and tosses them in the trash.

We ended our visit in an all-you-can-eat tasting room.

After gorging ourselves with sugar, we visited Gruyere to see how my favorite hard, yellow "quiche" cheese is made.

The day of feasting ended at an amazing sushi bar.