72 day detour before returning homeJauntlet.comhttps://jauntlet.com/I still call Australia home lalalahttps://jauntlet.com//59938https://jauntlet.com//59938Tue, 16 Jun 2015 15:30:00 +0100https://jauntlet.com//59936https://jauntlet.com//59936Sat, 11 Apr 2015 15:30:00 +0100https://jauntlet.com//59937https://jauntlet.com//59937Fri, 10 Apr 2015 11:50:00 +0100Day 1. 6th July Ben, Lindsay and Bonnie dropped us off nice and early at Birmingham airport. It was a beautiful sunny day to be leaving the UK, very similar to our first day arriving in Nottingham about 2 years ago, so we felt like things were coming full circle. Bonnie and Alex did their last zap :) and we said our goodbyes. We felt very calm and looking forward to this new adventure with God. EasyJet were very easy with our check in luggage (it was 1.5kg over the 20kg limit) and our carry on luggage. It was a rocky descent into Geneva but we were excited to see the windup snow capped mountains. We avoided our first disaster with Alex's good eyes noticing that an old man was about to walk off the plane with our purple luggage! Alex had to chase him down the plane as the old man was not only colour blind but also hard of hearing. He was very apologetic, but it would not have flared well losing Alex's laptop and camera on our first day! At Geneva airport we were welcomed with a free 80minute public transport card, which was a first. We love Geneva already! We saw the sun and loved it more, until we were hit by the wind! I honestly did not know that Geneva is a such a windy city, and today was particularly windy! Fortunately Fernanda gave us clear instructions to her place that were staying at throught airbnb. It was a tram and bus away from the Geneva train station. We were at flat on the 6th floor, fortunately there was an old school lift up to the 5th floor. She was a thoughtful host and provided even slippers for us. Once we dropped off our luggage, connected with wifi, we went for a stroll around the area, and I got a bad head cold! It was so windy and I didn't have my beanie. The Swiss sunshine was very deceiving, sorry I'm sounding very British now complaining about the weather. Most stores and restaurants were closed due to it being Easter Monday, but we did eventually find a small ethnic grocery store for ingredients for a home cooked meal, and a nice cafe for some pastries and hot chocolate just to warm ourselves up and prevent me from morphing into a hungry monster. We got home in the late afternoon and hit the bed. I was exhausted and feeling ill! The last week of packing up our things for shipping and travelling, cleaning the flat to return keys to the landlord, and all our farewell dos and emotions that comes with that had caught up on me. The noise from the carnival across the road did not help my headache. Alex tried to mask it with classic fm, and eventually I did fall asleep while Alex watched AFL. We made a late dinner of pasta with ratatouille sauce and cheese, watched a bit of Ever After before sleeping. Day 2. 7th July Had a lazy morning, still not feeling well. We had bought the Geneva passes online (10% off yeah!) so our first port of call was finding a print shop to print out our passes. So after having breakfast and a lovely chat with Fernanda we left just before 10 am wrapped in our windbreakers, and beanie and scarves. We jumped on the no 3 bus heading to the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum. However we ended up at their office so walked 12 minutes to the museum. We found 1 franc for locker hire, and thoroughly enjoyed the interactive exhibitions on defending human dignity, restoring family links, and reducing natural risks. We saved 120 locals living on an island from a hurricane and heard testimonies from overcomers and victims of war and disasters. Worked up a hunger so dined at the museum restaurant after figuring out how it worked ( it was like the IKEA cafeteria but with prices less clearly marked and bowls/plates not obvious. Alex helped himself to the salad buffet using the serving bowl which he only found out at the counter was wrong.) we had quiche and salad. It was quite busy with lots of office workers, tourists and tour groups. Then we whipped through the Ariana Museum, Swiss museum of ceramic and glass, cos it was part of the Geneva pass and close by. It was underwhelming. Found the giant wooden chair, shame about its broken leg, in front of the United Nations. Took an obligatory photo of it (without self pitying me mind you), and the. The no 15 tram to the tourist information centre in search of the English Garden to catch the Left shore mini train tour. We thought we only had 3 minutes to get to it, so Alex was the gentleman and ran for it. We had 10 minutes til departure. Now I'm sure it was a very scenic tour, however I fell asleep for most of it. Fernanda was a Brazilian ballerina who has living in Geneva for about 15 years. She has also lived and worked in Paris, Spain and Germany. We also found out that the Major of Geneva lives on the 2nd floor of the same building. https://jauntlet.com//59935https://jauntlet.com//59935Mon, 06 Apr 2015 14:30:00 +0200