We’re just back from a short break in Chamonix. The weather was excellent, and the skiing was fun. What more could one ask for to brighten up one’s spirits after weeks of grey British winter weather?
After all that ski-fun it was time to return home. Boo! We’d set our alarm nice and early and had loads of time in hand for the 1 hour 15 minute journey to Geneva airport from Chamonix. However, we were unlucky… An accident on the motorway with just 15km left to the airport meant we took over 3.5 hours to get to the airport. Not surprisingly, we missed our flight! Unlucky, but at least not nearly as unlucky as the poor people involved in the accident. 🙁
The real shocker came with having to book new flights home the next day, and to having to find and pay for a night in an airport hotel. In fact the airport hotel, at a cost of €84 for the room, was quite nice. Plus it had a free shuttle bus to and from the airport. There was a small surprise of a €8 city-tax to pay when we checked in though. But we then learned that this gave us complimentary use of the public transport (buses, trams, etc.) in the city. So a day exploring Geneva was quickly planned to make some use of the unexpected time we had on our hands.
Geneva is a beautiful city. But wow, it is a place for the extreme-rich of the world! Where our high streets might have a Boots, TK Max, WH Smith, Greggs, etc. Geneva has door-to-door high end designer outlets and nothing else: Louis Vuitton, Channel, Patek Philippe, Christian Louboutin, etc. How much money is there slushing around in this corner of Switzerland? Just to keep all these shops in business selling their mega-expensive items, the mind boggles!
Of course, at least looking at the lake (is it Lake Geneva or Lac Leman?) and the famous fountain, The Jet d’Eau, is free…
Did we buy anything in this millionaires playground? Yes, some Swiss chocolate! 🙂
