9/16 – Departed Chamonix for Geneva. Our group from the Tour du Mont-Blanc were dropped off at the Geneva Intl Airport. After bidding our final adieu, I headed to the Central Station which is adjacent to the airport (very convenient) to buy a 15-day Eurail Pass. I found a post office nearby and mailed some of my stuff back home to lighten my backpack. At that time, I was having a terrible headache/hangover and wanted to just hit the sack. Originally I intended to go straight to Zurich but since I was curious what was there in Geneva, I decided to spend the night. After finding a hotel near the Central Station and quick hamburger for lunch, I began my tour along the quays.

One sight you can’t miss is the Jet d’Eau, the famous fountain which has virtually become the city’s trademark. Visible for miles, it throws water 460 ft into the air above the lake. The Genevese call the fountain the jeddo. Then through the Old Town, set on the cultural Left Bank and to the Monument de la Reformation. The Reformation Monument was built in 1917 along a 16th-century rampart, beneath the walls of the Old Town on Promenade des Bastions. The monument, which is 300 ft. long, represents John Knox, Calvin, Théodore de Bèze, and Guillaume Farel -- the four Genevese reformers. Other statues include Cromwell, the Pilgrim Fathers and, on either end, Luther and Zwingli. All these landscapes, gardens and ancient buildings, mansard roofs, iron balconies, sidewalks cafes and French signs were starting to overload me.

Geneva is well known as a stronghold of private banks, the home of the European headquarters of the United Nations and the birthplace of Calvinism and the International Red Cross. That's it!

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