The next morning we got going early to go check out old town Geneva. The sun was out and there were hardly any clouds in the sky. The air was so crisp and clean that you couldn't help feeling good. We soaked it all in. Old town is absolutely gorgeous; it is filled with narrow cobble stone streets and passages ways, lush fountains, fall-time ivy, and a great mesh of architecture.
We took our time making our way to Calvin's school and St. Pierre's Cathedral. The church dates from the 12th century, and includes an eclectic mix of styles. It is best known as the adopted home church of John Calvin: Inside the church is a wooden chair used by Calvin. The cathedral itself was pretty, but paled in comparison to what you can find next to our place in Paris: the best part of the visit was going up to the top of it.
From the top you can get a panoramic view of Geneva and its surrounding countryside including the alps and Lake Léman (Geneva Lake). It is breathtaking. If the windy staircase ascent doesn't ruin your desire for climbing you can even make your way across the other side of the cathedral to the watchtower. Apparently, a man used to leave up there and keep watch over the city with his big blow horn.
After the cathedral, Jon and I wanted to skate for a bit. We went to a couple of spots (including a rough drop in wall that Jon pulled off) and made our way over to see the UN. From there we strolled down to the Lake Léman and fed the seagulls and swans some bread. Some American guy asked us for drugs, or more specifically, where he could "score some bud." We eventually had to go meet up with Michael De Guzman (the guy from my mission) for dinner in town. Since nobody wanted to commit to too much time and money, we all settled on pizza to go and ate it at the nearby skatepark.
As we made our way to go meet up with some friends of Jon's at a skate spot we all felt impressed to make a detour to go see the Reformer's Wall. We got further distracted with the large chess/ checkers in the park. As we played checkers an obviously buzzed girl drinking wine approached us closely to watch us play. We quickly figured out she was brazilian and that she was living in Italy. She was in Geneva visiting for a couple days, just like Lauren and I. When Jon asked her if she was familiar with the Mormon church she surprisingly said she hadn't. Jon invited her to come with us on Sunday and she seemed excited to come, she even invited herself to come with us on our castle trip the next day! After we talked for a bit in the park, she insisted on sneaking us into the party she was attending. It turned up being a really cool experience. The party was in celebration of the newly published Renard Guidebook for Geneva and of the commissioned photographer's (Fred Merz) work. The party was winding down but there was still plenty of free cheese, pastries, fruit, and wine. Lining the walls of the place were the photographer's prints which all incorporated Geneva, its people, places, and the motif of the renard (fox). We had fun checking it all out and be party crashers in a rather upscale deal. It seems like the exact thing you want to happen to yourself when you are exploring a new place; you want an insider's look at city life.
The next morning Jon and I woke up early to go skateboard and pick up his bosses car for our trip to neighboring Montreux. We stopped by a park to skate this weird yellow slide on the side of a hill in some public park. It seems like it was built for skateboarders. Unfortunately, it was all wet from morning dew and was impossible to dry off to really benefit from it for long. After a while, we picked up the car, picked up Lauren and Anna, and headed off to the Chateau de Chillon.
Anna was funny to be with. She was so excited and not the least bit intimidated to be with semi-strangers. We drove into Montreux along side the Lake; the alps lined our route on the opposite side. It was simply amazing. We couldn't get enough of the colored trees, the reflections on the lake, the vineyards, and the Alps that penetrated the blue sky in every direction. When we arrived in Montreux we stopped by a Migros to grab some food for a lake-side picnic. Again, we just gazed over the countryside for about an hour as we ate. There was really no rush or desire to get anything done since we were all seemingly in paradise, but we eventually forced ourselves to drive down the road to see the castle.
As we rolled up to the castle we noticed that the standard fee for entry was twelve francs a person. For some reason we just happened to stop by on a free day! And it just kept getting better. We stayed in the castle, exploring every room and courtyard until dark. It was one of the best things I've ever done or seen. I felt like I was in between reality and dreaming the whole time. Words fall way too short to describe how gorgeous that place is (pics to come soon).
As our castle exploring winded down, we noticed some kind of soirée had been organized on the grounds. Intimidatingly rich people started striding in as if on their own red carpet as we were leaving. Anna and Jon invited themselves into the event to see what it was all about, but were promptly asked to leave. It turned out to be some swanky wine fraternity event. So, we headed back to Geneva still on cloud nine.
Jon has been hanging out with some pretty cool people down there: one of them, who we were so fortunate to meet, was Manuela. She is a forty-something dual citizen of Portugal and Switzerland, she loves Eastern (Chinese) culture, romantic music, speaks seven languages, and makes amazing herbal tea. We ate at her place that night and the following night... thats just how loving and awesome this lady is. We all became quick friends.
The next day Anna called us up bright and early for church. We all went together at nine in the morning, in spite of the rain. We dragged ourselves in a couple minutes late and sat in front of a missionary named Elder Didier. As the fast and testimony meeting dragged on, Anna expressed that she wanted to go up and bear her testimony! Nothing was holding her back. She went up there in her jeans and told the whole ward about how the Lord watches over us and leads us to meet good people. She said she know she needed to be going to church and felt that God made her run into us so she could do just that. When the meeting ended the whole Ward came up to talk to her including this Elder who was behind us. It turns out that Elder Didier is the brother of the Elder Didier from my mission... He also ran into Anna the same day that we did, in the same park! She asked him to take a picture of her next to the Reformer's Wall. He admitted that he felt impressed to invite her to church, but was too scared. A few hours later she ran into us. Draw whatever conclusions you want, but I know the Lord always gets done what he needs to. He knows when someone is receptive, or in need, or whatever and he makes it happen.
We spent the rest of our time in Old Town Genvea. The weather was cold and grey, but the city was still beautiful. We ate at Manuela's again that night (curry lentils!) and drank some herbal tea and listened to some music in her living room. Best vacation ever.
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