Friday 19th September: Drizzly rain in morning, sunny afternoon: 15°C to 22°C
Chateau de Veigy to Geneva: 15.1k: 9.10am to 1.30pm: 4hrs 20mins easy peasy
Mr de Tiliere, Chateau de Veigy
Poncho weather
Still poncho weather
Coffee under shelter
Drizzly but pretty walk to Geneva
Geneva's Jet d'Eau - 140m water jet
After 659k, we're in Geneva
Yes, we're really in Geneva
Luch at the bus stop out of rain
Washing at Hotel des Tournelles
Our room is 1st floor, bay window
View from St Peter's Cathedral
View from St Peter's Cathedral
View from St Peter's Cathedral
View from St Peter's Cathedral
Dinner time in Central Square
Rue du Rhone, watchmakers street
After 32 days and 659k of trekking, we've finally arrived in Geneva. A celebration day, but our walk into Geneva this morning was in the drizzling rain - only our second day of rain on this trip. An easy 15k in drizzling but not cold rain along tracks and old roads, then finally along the quai of Lake Geneva. It's been and unforgettable trip.
This morning, we can sleep in - only a sort day on the flat. Breakfast is at 8am and Monsieur and Madame de Tiliere have a buffet breakfast ready for us - cold meats and cheeses, croissants and breads and jams, compote of stewed fruits. We're full.
It's after 9am when we leave in drizzling rain - not heavy and not cold - and follow a secondary road, a bit busy with farm traffic, through the ridge top villages of Meinier, and Vandouvres, all the way to Cologny, just outside Geneva. After 2hrs, there's time for a quick coffee under the shelter near a water trough. At Cologny, there's a designated footpath through some minor roads with huge houses/bordering on Chateaux set in magnificent gardens. Then the footpath leads to the quai path between the freeway into Geneva and the Lake, passing a boulangerie on the way, which of course we have to stop at to collect our daily bread.
The first thing we on the lake see is the Jet d'Eau - one of the largest fountains in the world with water spouting to a height of 140metres. We saw it yesterday from Hermance yesterday, just the tip of it above the trees on the Pointe de Bellerive. There's lots of passers-by willing to snapshot us along the quai - under the Geneva sign and near the Jet d'eau. It's still drizzling as we arrive in Geneva proper just after 1pm, and find the only dry spot at the bus stop just 100 metres from our Hotel des Tourelles, to have a cheese sandwich for lunch. It's directly opposite the Rue du Rhone, famous for the location of all the watch makers shops - Omega, Tissot, etc etc.
The Hotel is perfect for us. It over looks the Rhone River as it leaves Lake Geneva, we have a little bay window with a fridge, table and chairs, and there's a jug. Ot's an old building but it's in a perfect location near the railway station and cheap for Geneva at 130 Swiss Francs about $170AUD - the Hotel next door costs 600 Swiss Francs. Time to wash things we'll need for the trip home and hang it in the bay window in the sun.
Then we have a few hours to play tourist. Go to the shops for our picnic dinner and beer first and drop it off to park in the fridge at the Hotel, then mosey through the Manor department store (like a Myers), before heading up to the old village of Geneva and visiting the Cathedral of St Peter. It's 6pm and the bell tower is due to close at 6.30pm, so we still have time to climb to the top to the highest point in Geneva for a Panoramic view of the city in all directions - across the lake, out to the Jura mountains and the Dents - jagged mountains named because they look like teeth.
Dinner awaits us. We sit at the table in the bay window, watching the Rhone roll by, and celebrate our wonderful trek. Then it's time to plan for our next two days in Bern visiting Luca, Seraina and their new baby Sophie Malou.