Geneva

A couple of weeks ago, a friend and I were lucky enough to fly to Geneva to visit another one of our friends from uni, and I thought I would write about it on here so I can look back and remember what a great few days it was, (although this interrupts the Canada posts, sorry Hurshni it isn't chronological...)

9/8/17 - Arrival and Geneva tour 

After 2 hours sleep and a 3am start to catch a flight, we arrived in Geneva at 10am and honestly I don't think I've ever had such a long day (in a good way). We landed, were finally reunited with Riya (7 weeks is a long time, ok) and went home. I butchered a croissant, met her dog who is now the love of my life and Hurshni wore her harem pants for the first time (little did we know, they would be as much a part of the holiday as we were). We then went into Geneva, which is honestly one of the most beautiful places I have ever been - I'll let the pictures do the talking. 

Riya and I justified spending 6chf on a ride, Hurshni forgot what bonjour madame meant and mistook hand wash for hand sanitiser, I nearly fell asleep on a tram and then had a giggling fit. T'was fun. 

That evening we took Theo for a 'quick' walk. Two hours later we returned, after taking a detour to a chateau and gatecrashing some sort of gathering...avec dog. I was ready to sleep for a week and Theo never needs to be walked again but at least Hurshni got to see dusk. 

Cue bed chatz part 1, where I spent half the time in fits of giggles and the other half saying 'we are ACTUALLY in Geneva, with ACTUAL Riya, and ACTUAL Theo' before deciding I should sleep after being awake for 22 hours. 

10/8/17 - Nyon and Yvoire

Day two started with the best

omelette of my life, which I declared my love for and now "I love you omelette" has become a term of endearment within the group. 

Hurshni and I were proper tourists and took photos of everything, Riya's mum became our personal photographer and I lost count of how many times we said "omg, it's so Swiss!" We took a boat across the lake to Yvoire in France, which blew our minds because we still couldn't believe we were in Switzerland, never mind France. Yvoire was gorgeous, I still can't believe people actually

 live in such a pretty part of the world. The boat trip back was one of my favourite moments of the trip because it hit me that I was in a different country, with two of my best friends who I didn't even know existed this time last year, amazing.

That night we had bed chatz part 2, and had a chill evening to 'resthore' our energy from the busy days. Hurshni was desperate for a spoon.

11/8/17 - Gruyères and Night Out

THIS WAS THE BEST DAY! It started with me constantly questioning my outfit (a crop top and leggings is far from ideal but what can you do when it's 11 degrees, raining and all you brought was shorts?) and wishing I had packed for the weather. We drove to Gruyères and went to where they make the cheese and our immature brains found the fact that a cow lead the audio tour hilarious. We ate so much cheese - fondue, rösti, and meringue with double cream for dessert, I was in heaven. This was burned off when we climbed up to a castle and had a full on photoshoot in our very vibrant raincoats before going to a coffee shop that had questionable baby heads on the wall, but the mocha was good so I overlooked the heads.

We went home and got ready to go out, Hurshni opting to take a coat and Riya wearing long sleeves. I wore a sleeveless dress because "I don't get cold," and consequently froze my butt off all night. Despite being out for over 8 hours, we only spent about an hour in the clubs and the rest of the time we talked and walked the length of Geneva (slight exaggeration but I was wearing heels). By the time we got back to the train station we were a pair of shoes down and cafes were opening for breakfast, but the night was so worth it, definitely one of my favourite nights out ever. 

12/8/17 - Fêtes de Genève 

We woke up feeling fresh (sense the sarcasm), and didn't make it out the house until about 5pm. Hurshni's harem pants made another appearance and I finally got to wear something of my own because it was sunny. We went to the Fêtes de Genève, which is basically a massive village fete all around the lake. I ate so much good food, Riya and I spent about 30chf on rides - mems over money, am I right? - and we watched the fireworks over the lake. I cried at the fireworks because I had another moment of appreciation for my friends and felt sad that I won't be with them this year. The display was beautiful, I was genuinely in awe and I felt so lucky to be there! This was the funniest day, I remember laughing until I felt sick so many times. I fully embarrassed myself when someone asked me what I like about Geneva by answering with "um, the lake?"

I really hope the child in the pushchair is ok and the person who pooed on the portaloo seat has learnt what a toilet is...

13/8/17 - Annecy

On the Sunday we went to Annecy in France, which is a beautiful town on a lake. I had been there before but I was about 8 and obviously don't remember it. We had the most amazing lunch (more cheese), and took a pedalo out on the lake. Genuinely thought we were going to capsize a few times or be ran over by a speed boat but we survived, although my pedalling skills were not up to standard and nor were my 'getting back onto the boat quickly' skills. That pedalo trip was one of my highlights of the week, I had so much fun. Theo came with us that day so I took the best dog selfie of my life on the way home, and Hurshni said the word dusk over 20 times before performing the part of Christina Aguilera in Moves Like Jagger. That night we had my favourite dinner (all the food was insane but this night was 10/10) and had the last installment of bed chatz of the trip (without Theo, he was a bit too excited around Hurshni, wink wink)

14/8/17 - Nyon Plage and Home

This was the final day of the trip for me, I flew home at 9:30pm. I had my last love you omelette, and we went swimming at Nyon plage, which is basically a pool overlooking the lake. It was such nice weather - I really enjoyed it. Taking Theo for a walk for the last time was v sad, and I'm sure he misses our dancing in the street as much as I miss him. 

I had to say goodbye to Riya for what is looking like 9 months, and me being the wet wipe I am cried all the way to the airport, all the way through security and only stopped when I bought chocolate. 

I hope you can tell that I had the best few days in Geneva. I am so happy that I went, and I will be forever grateful to Riya and her family for having us in their house and basically giving up their time to show us around. This is a trip that I will never forget. I laughed, cried, ate so much food and felt very very lucky. I miss it already!