In Geneva - I suppose I could collect my bags and go back on tour - CycleBlaze

September 14, 2022

In Geneva

I am guilty of checking the weather on the web way too frequently when organizing a trip. Web weather information hits home quickly with a single picture and you really want to see the big blazing sun. When I receive the picture of grey clouds with drops falling, I might select other sites until I find a more agreeable forecast. Today there was no escaping the pictures of raindrops and when we woke the pictures were indeed accurate. But having planned two nights at this hotel all was fine as we lounged around and prepared for our departure tomorrow.

The other half of our room. The hotel has worked out very well with lots of space to spread out. We did our best to fill them all.
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Just after mid-day the weather was clearing, and we wandered over to a mall across the street. While I would not suggest that a trip to the Balexert shopping center qualifies as a serious tourism, and although I have very limited experience with mall viewing, it was an impressive facility. Without going into any boring details, according to Wikipedia, it is the largest shopping centre in French-speaking Switzerland and one of the largest in Switzerland. It is even the busiest shopping center in Switzerland in terms of attendance with 8.5 million customers per year. Check. Pat shopped and I was patient.

Of course we would prefer a view of Lake Geneva, but you cannot have everything. Our view of the wonderful Balexert shopping centre.
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Jacquie GaudetThis looks like the shopping mall where we found inexpensive dining in Geneva on the last day of our 2017 tour.
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1 year ago
Scott FenwickTo Jacquie GaudetLooking for reasonably priced restaurant meals in Switzerland is tough. Although we did not eat at the mall, there were a few restaurants that we would try. I know the Milos restaurant is cafeteria style, but very good looking items. Still not cheap, but likely quality without much ambiance.
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1 year ago

The mall outing was so exhausting that an afternoon nap was in order. Time change can be so brutal.  Later, we again took our bikes for a quick ride down to the city centre to explore the north side of the lake. The weather was really warm and the sun poked through every so often. Quite pleasant. We stopped at a small park, le Jardin des Alpes, just across the road from Lake Geneva. There was a small restaurant in the park overlooking the Brunswick Monument where we enjoyed a drink and more tapas.

Jet dÈau. Originally built in 1856 is a Geneva landmark. This picture was taken from the north side of the lake.
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Scott AndersonBeautiful. This makes me want to go back. I think that’s Mont Saleve rising up behind the lake. If so, we biked up there on the first day of our French Alps tour. The view down to the lake from the summit are splendid.
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1 year ago
The Vevey was built in 1907 and completes several excursions up and down the lake daily.
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The bow of the Vevey at dock.
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The flower clock. We thought it was a must see in the city, Check.
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The Brunswick Monument in Geneva was built with funds left to the city by the exiled Charles II Duke of Brunswick upon his death in 1873. Today the value of the bequeathment would be in excess of one billion francs.His remains are also located here.
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Our neighbours have poor table manners, but the picture does show one of the park's pools.
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ann and steve maher-wearyPat and Scott
Welcome to this side of the pond.
We look forward to reading your blog.
Love your Lisbon painting.
And the sot with your wine bottle and over eager neighbors.
Cheers
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1 year ago

Becoming more familiar with the city centre riding we were able to dash home just before the skies opened again. The web pictures for evening weather had lightning bolts and were right again. But the weather pictures are on an improving trend as we head out tomorrow to start the tour.  Off to Morges just over 50kms along the north side of Lake Geneva. Should get lots of great views of the lake then.

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Today's ride: 18 km (11 miles)
Total: 31 km (19 miles)

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Kathleen ClassenSo I am not the only one who checks multiple weather apps with an eye to finding a favourable one!
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1 year ago
Scott FenwickYes, we call it ¨answer shopping¨. Whenever our kids did not like an answer given by one parent, they might try their luck with the other parent hoping for a better response. We often caught them in this ploy.
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1 year ago