Jul
6
Written by:
jamiehglover
7/6/2010 2:29 PM
The day began at 4:45 a.m. with our alarm waking us up to start our adventure. And what a LONG adventure we had in store for us. We arranged a driver to pick us up from the apartment at 6 a.m. to take us to the airport and sadly, to drop mom there for her return trip to the US. We also were able to pick up our Hertz car for our 10 day journey to Switzerland and Italy. Being the heavy packer I have already acknowledged I am, we had 3 large bags and a bag for Bella’s, mine and Rob’s toys. We had reserved a “standard” size car but were forced to upgrade to accommodate our luggage. We also rented a car seat. The car seat was brand new, never used and the car only had 250K on it. We felt that this was a great start.
What should have taken 5.5 hours took 8 hours. Wow, PAINFUL. But when we arrived, it was worth the journey.
There was a typical Swiss square by the waterfront. We took the tram to get there. Did I mention it was raining AGAIN? But cool rain at a drizzle is always better than a Texas HOT summer day.
We stayed at a wonderful, hip, cool renovated hotel named La Cour des Augustins that was great for couples or a family traveling. It was in the city center and was much more cost effective than other hotels. We had a king size bed AND a pull out couch for Bella. There was a full kitchen with a refrigerator, in room coffee, bowls, eating utensils.
They even gave us card to use tram to go a mile or so into the city for lunch and shopping at Globus. I bought a great pair of open toe clogs for summer. I am seeing Clogs everywhere in the Paris Fashion Magazines. Of course I prefer the Chanel clogs for $900 but opted for the 100 Euro non name brand version. Louis Vuitton had a great store front window of Eiffel Towers, including bags stacked in the shape of the tower.
We had a wonderful dinner in an Art Nouveau style restaurant. Bella asked, Mommy what language are they speaking? German was our answer. It was very interesting at even at such a young age, she could distinguish that the people at the table next door to us, were speaking a different language than French, English and Spanish which she has heard many times before.
The Patek Philippe Museum is home to the prestigious creations of the Geneva-based firm of master watchmakers, founded in 1839. It was an extraordinary display of watches, musical automata and portrait miniatures from the 16th to the 19th century, in addition to a library dedicated entirely to horology and its related subjects. No phones or cameras could be carried on the tour but we were able to write down an inspiring quote from Henri Stern. “Whomever has the will to work hard, the capacity to use his/her brain and imagination and faith in what he/she undertakes, can succeed.”
We had a great journey trying to find our play date friends from New York who had recently moved to Geneva. With a lot of perseverance and a few phone calls we made it to her very fashionable apartment to have coffee and cookies with her and her two precious boys. She suggested we have dinner in the old town square at a restaurant named Soupcon. We had a great round of drinks in the square and walked over (in the rain) to the very trendy restaurant that we highly recommend you try whenever in Geneva. It was one of the best meals we had on our trip at merely a third of the price of dining out in Paris.
View all photos from "Geneva and the Prestigious Patek Philippe" here.
Article written by Donae Chramosta
1 comment(s) so far...
Re: Geneva and the Prestigious Patek Philippe
Donae,
What fun! I have enjoyed your journal blog immensely. I am sure that Bella is enjoying the many carousels in Paris.
Be sure to visit the Metro restrooms at La Madeleine station for an Art Nouveau treat.
I will check back for future updates to your blog.
Debbie
By Debbie Harp on
7/14/2010 2:30 PM
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