Foux du Fafa - A Visual Beginning

This past week I had Flight of the Conchords stuck in my head. Probably because that's about the extent of French that I know and I chose to travel through three French speaking countries. Ça va? Ça va!


Geneva Round One

There wasn't a whole lot of reason behind picking Geneva at first. It was just where there was a cheap flight. But, my friend Kristi and I quickly realized that it was pretty central for travel to other awesome places that will be soon described, so we jumped on that plan. What is Geneva known for, you ask? 

Cuckoo clocks for one.

And Cows. They help with all that cheese and chocolate. Mmmmmm.

Also, the Jet D'Eau, otherwise known as the Jet of Water. Seriously. It's actually pretty impressive. It shoots water up 140 meters into the sky, and serves as a sort of focal point / landmark when trying to navigate through other parts of the city. Keep in mind, this is the top point of interest listed on tourist maps.

There's also the natural history museum that focuses especially on the local wildlife of Switzerland. History that has to do with lots and lots of birds. Hence, cute bathroom artwork.                

And taxidermy. Lots and lots of taxidermy. 

So, I made some new friends.

And then I went to the Museum of Art and History. To begin, the building was just gorgeous. 

So was the view looking away from the museum. Yep, that's the Jet D'Eau. in the background.

One of the weirdest things for me going to this museum, was being allowed to open doors. I'm used to museums not allowing you to go anywhere that was behind a closed door. Here. Nope. It's part of the experience. Just entering the museum is an adventure as the front doors (see below) are huge glass and metal pieces of beauty. These happen to be quite heavy, so as soon as you turn the handle a little electric winch turns on, scares the crap out of you, and then begins opening the door the rest of the way for you.

But once you entered....oh, it was awesome, just from the very beginning. I mean, you get to walk up stairs on a red carpet! SWEET!!

Even if you wind up blending in with the carpet because of your sartorial choices.

But check out random salons for furniture.

And the stained glass that you got to enjoy because of the lovelier Swiss weather.

Not to mention, that while I've never been a huge art fan, it never hurts your sense of classiness when you're walking around looking at Renoir or Monet.

Plus some sweet Swiss painters that were all into size. Look at that chair for reference. 

Next came the Russian Orthodox church. Talk about intense. Those Russians sure know how to make a statement. 

Yet, their restrictions left me confused. I get no loud talking, phones, food, photography, and pets. I especially get smoking. But, no fire pants? Really? How can you be against that?

And then the rest of the first two days in Geneva were spent simply wandering, eating, and enjoying the random nubby trees everywhere, architecture, and multitude of different churches.

See architecture and nubby trees.

A synagogue on Rue du Synagogue. No joke.