Geneva 8/28/2018

Bon Nuit –

Woke up early to head to the Four Seasons Hotel to pick up birthday present for Julia (we had ordered the spa gift certificate while in the states, but hadn’t picked it up yet). The walk took us through downtown and across two bridges. One is always crossing the Rhone or the Arve rivers. Along the way we had a quick breakfast, and then headed to Carouge to meet up with the family (everyone except Louis who was in the “transition week” of child care). Apparently they schedule a week where every day the child stays an hour longer to get prepared for full day care. The child care is contracted through Julia’s employer: Credit Suisse. Sounds like a good place with a very high adult to child ratio and rooms where they have water play and another room for art. A musician comes weekly to “entertain” the little ones.

From Carouge we headed to Le Saleve where we would scatter the ashes of Mike’s brother. The drive to the Saleve (which is actually across the border into France) in the French pre-Alps. It’s about a 30 minute drive and about 20km from the center of Geneva. You can drive up or hike up (I think an all day hike) or take the teleferique (cable car). There is a spectacular view of the Jura mountains and of Mont Blanc. This spot was chosen because Richard liked to take day trips to the Saleve, to walk Gatsby (their terrier) in the area, and because it can be seen in the distance from their house (from the kitchen window). We scattered the ashes in a secluded area just off the trail, and then headed for lunch nearby. We joked and told some funny stories about Richard, and then headed back to town. Mike and I went to the hotel for a few hours to get some work done and then met up with everyone for a wonderful salmon dinner at Elizabeth’s.

It was an emotional day. …………………

Au revoir…por le moment…

Fern