We made it!

Let the vacay commence!

Chad & I arrived safely in Geneva despite having a hooptie plane. You know it's time to upgrade the planes when the overhead bins open by themselves with any little bump or turbulence, the TV is smaller than your hand, one if the bathrooms is unusable and the reading lights are broken and never turn off (on a red eye flight)!  Lol!!

We successfully managed to take the train from the airport to the main Geneva train station but not without confusion. There is definitely a lack of maps, instructions and information stations in the Geneva airport. There appeared to be only one train, so we hopped on and hoped for the best! We got off at the first stop - Geneva.  Success...and more confusion! Lol. Luckily the train station has better signage than the airport.  After exchanging our money, we headed just across the street to our hotel. A hotel next to a busy train station is not ideal, but it sure was convenient after a long flight...and will be extra nice in the morning for an early train to Paris.

Our room is quite small as most European hotel rooms are - but still adequate. At check-in the concierge gave us our room key (AKA room anchor)!  Lol! This was quite heavy to carry around all day! What happened to electronic card access??

Here's a couple shots of our room & the lovely view. 

View from the panoramic dining room (also on our floor). The Jet d'Eau (water fountain) in the background is a Geneva landmark...similar to the arch in The Lou.

Everything I've read about combating jet lag says not to nap much and to stay active until it's the local's bedtime.  So We rested up in the room a bit and then headed out for a walk & some sightseeing. 

First stop...the Jet d'Eau - one of the world's largest water fountains. The water leaves the jet at 124 mph and sprays up to 459 feet. It can be seen throughout the city, and I found myself using it often throughout the day to get my bearings. We were able to view it from both banks (sides).

The right bank...

...and the left bank.

We stopped for lunch at the Cottage Cafe - situated in a cute little park on the right bank.  

The cafe was just next to the gorgeous Brunswick Monument - a mausoleum built in 1879 to commemorate the life of Charles II, Duke of Brunswick. He apparently gave his fortune to the city of Geneva in exchange for a monument to be built in his name.

By this time it's about 1:30pm and we've barely had any sleep. I'm basically falling asleep at the table waiting for our check. So we decided it was time to get moving again. Off to the left bank we went. Besides a closer view of the Jet d'Eau (pic up above), there is another park and another of Geneva's famed landmarks, L'horloge fleurie (flower clock).  It was created in 1955 as a symbol of the city's watchmakers and dedication to nature. It tells accurate time and is the largest creation of its kind.

We ended up doing a combination of walking and shopping the rest of the afternoon stopping for a quick espresso at Starbucks in the middle. It's 5pm here now, and I think we've hit rock bottom. Lol! Only 3 more hours until we allow ourselves to hit the sack. I'm definitely not wishing the day away...just the last few hours!!  :)

One more random pic to leave you with...loved the multicolored shutters on this building!

Here's wishing us a good night's sleep with minimal train noise disruption.  Bonne nuit!