Watch Out, Kyoto: J'adore Geneve!

Geneva is quickly gaining on Kyoto as the prettiest big city I have ever seen. Don't worry, Kyoto, you haven't been unseated yet, but just to keep you on your toes, Geneva gets a little closer the more I see of it.

A street in Geneva

You know how only the downtown parts of cities are pretty in the US? I wouldn't give you two cents for most of Charlotte -- but downtown is fantastic. Greensboro, as much as I love it, is much the same way. It kind of goes like this: chain restaurant row, junky neighborhood, everything-looks-the-same suburbia, THE FABULOSITY THAT IS ELM STREET (Natty's! Just Be! The Green Bean! Fincastle's!), junky neighborhood, chain restaurant row, etc. All of the cool stuff is downtown. But my point is this: all of Geneva is like downtown (insert North Carolina city here). All of the buildings are old and beautiful, there are flower boxes blooming out of every apartment window, there are street cafes everywhere with cheerful umbrellas and people laughing and chatting over a glass of wine or a cafe au lait -- no matter how many turns you take in Geneva, you're still in a pretty part of town. Even the "sketchy" part is pretty. I put "sketchy" in quotes because Allison tells me there is practically no violent crime in Geneva; just about the only crime one need look out for is pickpocketing.

We also went to the UN today. You can't just stroll in, obviously, but we did see some interesting things, including this nifty sign (with which I posed)....

...And these protesters, who were a bit startling to see. They are in the midst of a 72-hour sit-in to get the UN's attention focused on a city called Camp Ashraf, a refugee camp in Iraq near the Iran border. They had pictures of people murdered by the Iraqi police on the posters they were carrying. You can read up on the sad stuff happening in Ashraf here.


We also visited the Cathedral of St. Pierre in "old town" Geneva. Check it:
The inside is even more beautiful. The style is described as "flamboyant Gothic," because everything inside has tons of bright colors and loud patterns on the windows, the tapestries, the ceilings, etc. While we were there, we figured we'd make the trek up the north tower to get an aerial view of Geneva, including a fabulous view of Lac Leman and the famous Jet D'Eau, a jet of water shot into the sky that is taller than most buildings in the city.Lunch was crepes in one of the aforementioned outdoor cafes, and we also checked out the Museum Ariana, which exhibits porcelain and sculpture. Yet another gorgeous building. Here's two awesome chicks posing in front of it:

And here's the building without the glare of our fabulousness distracting you from the view:
Tomorrow, mon amis, we go to Bern, land of bears, clocks and Albert Einstein. Better start brushing up on my German. Aurevoir/Auf widersein until tomorrow!