Geneva, Switzerland

So, you are probably thinking "Hey, this is a boring title? What's wrong with Alex?" Well there's a reason. Geneva was probably the worst city we visited so far, therefore it doesn't deserve a cool title. First, it was really freakin' expensive. Since it's like the international center for business, they seem to assume everyone there has money. Second, the weather was awful. Third, it didn't offer much to do for college kids. It's never a good sign when the three people you ask "What's there to do in Geneva?" (including the freakin' guy at the tourist info center), they all stare at you blankly for a few seconds, and then say "Not much".

At least they weren't lying. Unfortunately, the weather didn't give the city much of a chance. It was foggy, rainy, and cold--not a good start. . First on our list was CERN, the European Organization of Nuclear Research. Most of you (including myself) might recognize it from Dan Brown's "Angels & Demons". Well, when we asked how to get there, we were told it's not open to the public unless we book a tour months in advance. Strike One. Second, we wanted to check out the United Nations building. It was also closed to the public (although we did see the outside of it). Strike Two. Third, we wanted to see Jet d'Au, an incredible fountain that shoots water 140 m in the air. But of course, it wasn't turned on due to the weather. Strike Three.

Despite these incredible misfortunes, we were determined to make the most of our weekend. We first went to the Palace of the Nations (the UN Building) and saw every nation's flag down the driveway... decently cool. We then made our way to the Red Cross Museum, however Tori, Ben and I didn't do the tour due to the price. While Katie, Haley, Valerie, and Catie saw the museum, we took a brief tour of the city. We saw the Old Town, the Flower Clock, Lake Geneva and the Reformation Memorial (all not really that cool). Luckily, we stumbled upon an ice rink and after meeting up, all 7 of us went skating. I was a little apprehensive to skate considering my knee issues. (Let's face it, I was nervous because I hadn't put on ice skates in nearly 8 years and didn't want to face-plant) But, it turned out to be a lot of fun (and extremely exhausting). After skating, we grabbed food at a great pizza place by our hotel. The restaurant could have served only liver and onions and I still would have called it great because they gave us FREE bread AND water. Unheard of in Europe. Our flight was the next day, but we took a little walk around Lake Geneva in the morning. Tori and I walked through a cool park that defined Fall. The leaves were all different colors and the grass was so green. It was a good time to relax before returning to Madrid and stressing about homework. We caught our plane around 2 p.m. and bade (bidded?) another successful weekend farewell.