I like it when there is no excitement with the flight - adventure will creep in soon enough once we arrive at the other end, but for transitions I just want things to go smoothly. This one fit the bill - no one overslept, we easily made all our connections, departures and arrivals were all right on schedule, all our baggage arrived at our final destination, and for a change we don't seem to have forgotten or lost anything. It was great getting a ride to the airport this morning from my sister Elizabeth too - it was a lot to ask, particularly since we left home at 4:30.
We arrived at our hotel in Geneva at 10:30 the next morning, and were delighted to find that our room was ready and waiting for us. After dropping off our gear we set out for a short walk down to the waterfront, with the plan that we would go out again later after bike assembly and a nap.
Why we travel with Bike Fridays: besides cost avoidance, baggage handling at check-in is really effortless.
At our hotel in Geneva, Hotel de Geneve (an easy name to remember). We were elated to find that our room was ready for us when we arrived at 10:30. We're off to see the sights before we collapse.
Hotel de Geneve has one of the most accommodating reassembly venues I've enjoyed. More typically I'd be wedged between the toilet and shower, or out in an alley, or in the middle of a kitchen.
A few hours later, rested and with bikes reassembled, we re emerged from our hotel. While we were holed up the weather improved considerably - it's warmer, the wind has died down, and skies are clearer. After as short, fast stroll though the red light district we enjoyed supper at a sidewalk creperie and then steered ourselves over to the old city for a look around. It is a beautiful area to wander through, full of striking settings and pleasing and well used public spaces.
Usually we do very little sightseeing on the first day of a tour - typically we arrive too late in the day and too enervated by the flight to have much left over after unpacking and finding a meal. Today was different though - we had time and energy for a decent look around, and we loved what we found. A great first day.
Mont Seleve, our destination for tomorrow, makes a dramatic backdrop for the city.
