Geneva, Switzerland & France (May 30-June2)

Let me preface this story, by saying that I went into this trip knowing nothing about Switzerland. The only image I had in my head was mountains and a cute village. This town and this vacation blew my mind and is one of the most enjoyable times I have ever had.

During the day on Friday before we left, we had class all day. Thus it made us very pressed for time. We were all stressing out because we had booked 1 hotel room for 7 people. The closer we got to leaving for the trip…some of the girls were getting worried whether or not we should book another room etc. I became overly stressed and anxious about the trip and being able to make it to the airport in time etc. Traveling with 7 girls not all on the same agenda can be pretty challenging. If you know me well, then you know how much I like to have schedules, be organized, and be on time. None of those were an option for this trip. But what we experienced could have never been planned… It was such a blessed trip.

So here’s the story… We arrived in Geneva, Switzerland late Friday night. Getting a taxi for 7 people can be difficult. Either you take 1 huge van taxi or take 2 separate cars. The people in Geneva were so nice. Inside the airport, this guy hooked us up with a taxi driver with a VW van that would pick us up. Who would know that this taxi driver would later become our traveling companion for the rest of our trip? On our way to our hotel, Raymond was giving us a tour of the whole city and then drove us across the Switzerland/ France border to our hotel. We were exhausted from traveling and a long week of school and at 10:00pm not many restaurants were open. They obviously are not on Italian eating time. So we settled for a random Chinese restaurant next to our hotel.

Saturday morning we went into Geneva and shopped$$$$ They had an H &M one of my favorite stores, and is only in big cities. A big bonus was that the Swiss Franc is basically equivalent to the USD, so I liked shopping that day haha! In the afternoon we took at boat ride on the lake in Geneva. It was simply amazing because all morning it was raining and dreary, but then the sun came out!! One of Geneva’s points of interest is the Jet d’eau (a huge fountain). Another thing is this flower clock. It was currently decorated like a soccer ball with the big game coming up.

Saturday night our dear taxi friend Raymond picked us up and took us a fondue restaurant. When we got to the restaurant he waited to make sure that they had room for us and if they didn’t then he said he would take us to another restaurant for free. This man was so great!

Sunday morning Raymond picked us up bright and early to take us to Mt. Blanc, which is part of the Swiss Alps. He had bought us Swiss chocolates for the road trip and had American oldies music playing for us. He was so thoughtful. When we arrived at Chamonix (the French town where Mt. Blanc is located) we all had to buy jackets because the peak of the mountain would be too cold for our flip flops and thin sweaters. So Raymond being as great as he is got us all deals at the store since we all were buying jackets. Mt. Blanc was incredible… You would think that with all the mountains that I have skied in my life I would think every mountain looks the same…but the Swiss Alps are completely different. The atmosphere is so peaceful. When we took the gondolas to the very top, all you could see was white…like we were in clouds…but really it was all snow. On our way down we got out at one of the gondola stops to hike around and take pictures and have some quiet time. That stop will forever change my life. Those moments were so peaceful; it is amazing to see all of God’s different types of creations.

When we got down to the base of Chamonix, Raymond greeted us and told us he wanted to take us to a French town called Annecy as a special gift to us. That would be 200 dollars if we would have planned to go there, but he took us there for free. So we drove to Annecy…this town was on a lake with the Alps in the background. We walked through the village with Raymond. He was so protective of us, when he saw two pickpocketers he told us to keep a hold our bags and get away from them. Then Raymond treated us to the best ice cream…it was delicious. With our ice cream we took a stroll next to the lake. There were tons of paddle boats; we could tell that he wanted to take us out on one. But we never did that, taking us there was more than we could have ever asked for. On the way back to our hotel, he took us on a longer scenic route of France. He had bought some top 25 American oldies cds for us to listen to. It was such as special day. When he dropped us off at the hotel, he didn’t even count the money. We kept saying “you are our favorite, we will mail you a picture” and he started tearing up!

The memories of this trip over exceeded my expectations greatly!!! I could have never planned something like this. God works in mysterious ways. When we sit back and enjoy what he has created, he continues to love us and show us all that he has made for us. This trip was a live example of his love and plan for my life.