Lake Geneva
Friday, July 7 |
| This is my third effort to send just a second dispatch of the Swiss trip. For starters; the Swiss hotels don't appear to have business centers in the way the Chinese do. Much more frustrating are the keyboards: The one I tried to use in Switzerland has the y and the z in different places, but this French keyboard switches a with q and m with ; and w with z; so it takes tremendous concentration to write even one sentence. |
| But those problems aside, Chris and I had a grand trip through Switzerland. He is now back in LA and I have moved on to Strasbourg, France. My last message was from Geneva, where we had an interesting city day; going first to the modern art museum. They have a limited but interesting collection of impressionist works and offered a special exhibition on the theme of bathing --mostly swimming, but one small room appropriately dedicated to the bath. We were intrigued by the architecture of the Petit Palais as much as anything and I was amused; though not surprised; to see that only one of the scores of paintings and sculptures dealt with men as the bathing subject. |
| From there we headed to the home of Voltaire -- I had to choose between the homes of Rousseau and Voltaire because we didn't have time for both. In the eighteenth century his estate was clearly in the countryside; but today it is definitely center city, just up the hill from the main train station. The exhibits included early copies of his various books and some letters; but the primary exhibits were countless drawings of Volataire, typically in profile; leading one to conclude that the caricature we typically see was probably true to form. I was most interested in a painting of the young Voltaire; about age 20, which went out of its way to minimize those characteristic features. |
| Outside the museum we encountered a huge parade celebrating the end of the school year. Various bands we warming up and elementary school children were gathered in the parks wearing headgear or supporting props, each on a different theme. It was a photo opportunity not to be missed! We ended the day with a trip to the original League of Nations; now used by the UN and a walk down the Boulevard Wilson; I have to wonder how he is remembered in Switzerland; but didn't find anyone to ask. |
| That evening we had a delightful dinner with my former French teacher; now retired; who lives on the hills just above the city proper: We had a jolly time talking about life the school (she and I had both been at the reunion) and catching up on old times. At dinner I was encouraged to have the perch which is apparently a Geneva specialty -- we saw signs for it outside every restaurant --- but had to conclude it was a poor version of fish and chips. I say, if you want a good Swiss specialty, stick to the fondue!. |
