(1 mini van, 2 trains, 1 Uber, 1 bus, a ton of walking) (12:30pm-5pm)

Our train took us from Montpellier to Valence to Geneva. Traveling in France we had assigned seats, in Switzerland it was first come first serve. Sometimes we sat in quad seating all together with Cody on the floor. Other times we divided and conquered, sometimes 3-1, sometimes 1-2-1, and sometimes 2-2, Cody always with me.

The countryside was beautiful, zooming north through the Rhone River Valley with the Massif Central mountains on the west, the French Alps on the east, and the Jura mountains to the north. Our friend here in France, Lez, coordinates the transportation of wind turbines. In America I have seen wind turbines in KS, OK, and PA. Here in France the roads are narrow and curvy, so transporting routes must be studied well in advance. The middle photo is Aix-les Bains. The town of Annecy seemed beautiful from the windows. The final picture is entering Geneva.

We rolled through Swiss customs. In Geneva we stayed on the top floor in the Meininger Hotel Geneve Centre Charmilles, with bunk beds for the kids. The staff was super helpful and kind. The lounge area was equipped with unique reading spaces. The elevator sign is shown below as well. We ventured into the city via bus, leaving Cody free in the hotel room.

We explored the grounds of The University of Geneva and the Promenade de la Treille, and outside of St. Pierre’s Cathedral.

We also saw Jet d’Eau and visited the Reformation Wall, with a little teaching by Randy.

We walked the night on the cobblestone streets of Old Town.

We managed to acquire 9:30pm dinner reservations at Randy’s parents favorite fondue location in all of Switzerland, Restaurants Les Armures, in Old Town.

At this point in the night we were all exhausted.

Thankfully the restaurant lived up to its reputation and perked us up with good food and our moods too!

After dinner we walked back to the hotel, through town instead of waiting for the bus. It was a long SAFE walk, good for us weary travelers, even though I WAS NOT in the best of spirits at 11:30pm on the streets of Geneva.