Day 216: Geneva

21 June, 2010

It's rather hard to be in Switzerland and not find the day beautiful, because the place itself is so goddamn gorgeous! On my flight from Zurich to Geneva, I saw towering snow-capped mountains that went higher up than the clouds. From the flight, the sight was as if they were floating amidst the clouds... it was breathtaking! I am staying at the President Wilson Hotel which is right at the Geneva lake, which in turn is surrounded by beautiful hills.

After I checked in and worked for a while, I realized I was hungry. The food prices on the menu made my eyes pop, so I decided to venture out to find something more reasonably priced to eat. It was also an opportunity to admire the lake and the surroundings.

I set out covered from head to toe to protect myself from the chill outside, only to realize that there was nothing to protect me from the extremely strong wind! I was almost blown away and had to really struggle to take each step forward. The wind was so strong that the lake was looking more or less like an ocean in high tide. The water was splashing in huge waves against the banks and I think people were wind surfing at a distance.

The cabbie from the airport told me that my hotel was "downtown" but I hardly saw any humans around during my walk. It was beginning to creep me out a bit, so I decided to get into the first restaurant that I come across. And lo behold! That happened to be "Cafe Bollywood".

After a meal of Pulao, Aloo Gobi and Masala Chai, I struggled back against the wind to the hotel and worked for some more time.

In the evening, I met my cousin who stays in Geneva and who also happens to work in P&G. We were meeting after 20 years and it was wonderful! She took me to her home for dinner. It was my first meeting with her family and I really hit it off with them. I realized that her son and I share the same interest in film-making while her daughter and I share the same interest in dance! So we caught on like a house on fire. She also has a beauty of a doggy called Aspen who was super cute. I helped out with peeling and grating cucumber for her to make salad, and took about an hour to do so, thereby successfully proving to her that I am a lousy cook.
In short, a beautiful end to a beautiful day.

So here is to Switzerland, it's beauty, my lovely cousin and her beautiful family and the awesome complimentary Swiss chocolates my generous hotel staff has put all over my room.

876 more to go.