As I mentioned, we got a little turned around waiting for our Uber to our hotel from the train station. It turns out we could have taken a bus for free, but without much WIFI available, we were pretty limited. You can use your phone in Europe for $10 a day, but we are cheap and try to do without it. We found a Starbucks in the train station and had enough time to arrange an Uber before losing the signal.
Anway, we got to the hotel and were super impressed. Intercontinental is the premier brand for the group that owns them, but sometimes they're a little dated. Not this one! We got checked in, were given our first ever Tolberone candy bars and escorted to our room with a view of the lake and mountains. This place was SO NICE! It should be since we had a free night certificate and the two nights still cost us $344.39. I'm not sure any place is worth $345 per night, but paying that for two nights seemed mildly acceptable.
Worth noting: the Swiss do not use they Euro, they use the Swiss Franc. When we visited the exchange rate was almost exactly 1:1 to I'll share my horror at the prices of Switzerland in USD for ease.
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| It is like they knew Jackson was a golfer |
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| A fresh floral arrangement to celebrate our "honeymoon" |
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| Fancy room with a view |
After a long day on the train we just wanted to relax by the pool so we quickly changed and headed down there. It was AMAZING. They put your towel out for you, offered you a cool rag for your face, brought you chilled water with fruit AND EVIAN misting spray. I'll never be the same. That misting spray was amazing. We each got these little trays brought to our chairs. You could have ordered a delicious looking fruit smoothie for a cool $22 (not kidding, no alcohol, just fruit, $22) or an iced tea, again sans alcohol, for $12. Jackson was not allowing for any such charges so we stuck to the water with fruit they'd provided.
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| The pool attendants spoiled me |
Once the pool closed for the evening, we cleaned up and headed out for dinner. Everyone talks about how the Swiss know their way around fondue so I was determined to have it while we were here. I researched the best place and then we mapped a route to get there using our free bus pass from the hotel.
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| Taking the bus to a fancy dinner was totally normal in Geneva |
Restaurant Les Armures came highly recommended by the fine folks on TripAdvisor and it was in a cool part of town. I had looked at the menu briefly, but not quite enough to realize that the prices here were insane. We had a fondue starter (Cheese fondue with wild mushrooms and bacon, with boiled potatoes) for $31, I had a salad (Tomatoes, avocado and mozzarella di buffala with fresh basil for $20.50 and Jackson had a sausage (Grilled Swiss sausage with potatoes for 19.50). Jackson also unknowingly got a house wine that was $20 per glass. Our total? $90.15!
GUYS WE DIPPED BOILED POTATOES INTO CHEESE WITH BACON IN IT AND HAD A CAPRESE SALAD AND A HOT DOG WITH A GLASS OF WINE AND IT WAS ALMOST $100.
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| FONDUE |
We did sit next to a nice American couple at dinner and really did have a nice time. We were chatting with them too much for me to document our meals, but let's just say there were good, but not $100 good. The only kind of nice thing about the meals here is that tips and tax are included so while service is typically not up to our American standards, the price on the menu is the price you pay.
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| Cute boy on the bus |
We strolled around town for a bit after dinner before stumbling upon another bus stop and heading back to the hotel. Since we do not pay for our phones to work in Europe, we kick it old school by trying to actually read maps to know where we were are going. I'm not sure how people stayed married before GPS to be honest with you.
The next morning we packed up our dirty clothes and headed for a well-reviewed laundromat in the city's center. We thought we'd start our clothes and then go explore the lakefront area. Thank goodness a woman in the laundromat spoke English and helped us with their machines. Laundry was also expensive, but when you're packing light as to only take a carry-on bag, sometimes it becomes a necessity.
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| The less glamorous part of traveling: laundry! |
We walked down and watched the boats sailing in the lake. We really had a gorgeous day of weather so that was nice. We were actively searching for an ATM to get out more money to pay for our clothes to go in the drier and could not find one anywhere. This is one of the wealthiest cities in the world and seemingly no one needs cash?! So strange.
After wandering around the town aimlessly looking for a bank machine that did not exist, we gave up and decided we'd just have damp clothes! The Swiss take Sunday very seriously so many places were not even open for business.
With our options limited, we stopped in at a restaurant next to the laundromat to grab some lunch. It was called The Hamburger Foundation and actually looked pretty good. We had two hamburgers, shared an order of fries and I got a "homemade lemonade" and it was $39.17! WHAT?! Listen, the lemonade was water WITHOUT ICE (why?! why?! why?!) with a lemon squeezed in it. The fries, though, were amazing. The burgers were delicious, too. There were numerous families around dining at this place and I just kept thinking about how large their bill would have been. I honestly don't know how folks can afford to live in Geneva. This meal would have been maybe $20 here at home.
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The most expensive burgers ever
They were delicious, though. |
We finished our roughly $12 laundry adventure with somewhat damp clothes and headed back to the hotel to hit the pool again.
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Tired of photos, but the train stop was so pretty it had
to be documented |
We decided since the Swiss take it easy on Sundays we would, too, so we just hung out swimming and enjoying the pampering of the pool all afternoon.
Jackson found an inexpensive and well-reviewed restaurant on TripAdvisor that he insisted we try that evening. We eventually left the pool and grabbed the bus into town again. The hotel was up on a hill outside of the town a bit, but they gave you a free bus pass and had a stop right outside so it was pretty easy to navigate.
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Translated from French it reads:
at my cousin's house we eat chicken |
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