5. Taxi to the Train; Train to the Airport; Flight from London; Arrival in Geneva. 5/9/22

Greetings from Geneva-

Before talking about today (which was pretty much a travel day), some of you asked about dinner last night (Sunday). I failed to mention the restaurant where we ate with friends.

We met them at Dishoom in Kings Cross. We had been to Dishoom in Shoreditch several times and the food is great and very low key; we had never been to the sister restaurant in Kings Cross. Since Somya and Sarauv are vegetarians we went with an all-veggie meal which was really good including a margarita-like drink that had tamarind in it. Got back to the hotel around 11:30 and then packed to make life easier for this morning.

We set out for breakfast at about 9:00 and headed to a nearby place, but they only had a fixed-price breakfast and we knew we wouldn’t eat any where near that amount, so we looked for another place but were running late, so we wound up at “Eggslut” and had some quick eggs. Then we took a taxi to Paddington and caught the Heathrow Express to Heathrow Airport. In 15 minutes we were at the airport and hiked (and I do mean hiked) to the Swissair area of the terminal (The Queen’s Terminal — #2); made a quick stop at the Lufthansa Lounge, and headed to the gate. Lots of walking—always—at Heathrow. 

The flight to Geneva from London is less than two hours and poof.., we were in Geneva. The customs guy asked the usual three or four questions:

• Where did you come from (London)
• Why are you here (family)
• How long will you be here (4 days)
• Where are you going next? (Malta)

But then it was surprising… he asked us to repeat where we were going several times and each time we responded the same – Malta. And then he asked “where is Malta?” We obliged and he seemed quite curious.

We took a taxi to the hotel. We are actually at the Ritz Carlton, right on the Lake and downtown Geneva. We’ve been to Geneva many many times and usually stay in one of two very small hotels on the other side of the Lake. But we decided to try this pricier side. I had a lot of American Express points, so here we are! The service people are practically everywhere and whenever you turn around they are ready to help. But we don’t really need any help.

By the time we unpacked and changed clothes, it was time to head to dinner. We met Elizabeth, Mike’s sister-in-law, at Balilia a really wonderful Lebanese restaurant just on the other side of the Lake. We opted for five wonderful small plates (which weren’t all that small) and dessert. We were stuffed and happy. If you’re in Geneva, Balilia is a good choice.

So now it is after midnight and I’ve got a bit of work to do before crashing. By the way, travel has been good for my book as I seem to be able to fit in time on it in between other stuff and on planes.

Take care. More news tomorrow.

Fern