There was an hour layover between trains, so I ventured outside Basel's Bahnhof to inspect the many wires.
I went to Switzerland to visit a family friend of Tony's.
Once in Geneva, I was greeted by Henry; here he is in his office at CERN.
Henry went back to work, and I went exploring.
Yes, it was cold.
This is St. Pierre, Geneva's beautiful cathedral on the hill.
But it was nice and sunny!
Somewhere I read that this is the "Lieblingsauto" of women in Europe. Is it your favorite, Val?
Perhaps because of the light?
I sat for quite a while . . .
It was one of my favorites that I visited during this trip.
Didn't hear the organ . . . perhaps next time!
And this is what it looks like just a few steps outside the cathedral . . .
"Where's the smoke?" I wondered.
Eye candy . . .
This too . . .
Did you know that? Me neither.
Though it wasn't that long that she lived there . . .
We went into the city together to find socks--very special socks. How do I know? I bought a pair. There's literally an "L" on one and an "R" on the other.
There were so many birds!
I hung for a bit and observed their dinner party . . .
And then I realized why . . .
The color of the water was a little surprising.
Though I wanted to linger . . . it was soon time to move on.
Below this clock is a tourist information center--a good place to get a map AND some warmth!
He too visited the neighboring SB for free internet access . . . and a WC. : )
Back to CERN . . . easy to reach with the super slick tram.
Sigh . . . : )
Where to go?
There!
Where we were . . . though we chose to not hike to the summit.
Henry and I joined some of his longtime friends for a walk . . .
. . . through a ski area.
The next day we visited one of the best friends of my host's daughter; he and his family live in this beautiful home.
The view from their driveway . . . that's the sun btw.
After a delicious many course lunch, we went for a walk.
We stuck mostly to roads.
So nice to be outside!
The light started to get . . .
prettier and prettier.
We left the road for a bit . . .
See what I see?
More eye candy . . .
. . .
Fairytale land . . .
I think the sunset lasted for about 4-hours.
Or thereabouts.
Back for a warm cup of tea!
The view from his lanai.: )
Isolde. That's where Henry's been working on group projects since circa 1993.
And there it was.
Oh, now I get it!
Made me think of "One ringie dingie . . . "
You too?
So that's why he carries at least 500 keys!
"Here's something that I had installed for a project," he said.
Lasers travel from the two pipes up on the top left.
Then they have a party.
Which goes on and on . . .
If you want to see if you're radioactive, take a step on this device. We passed (as in we walked on by).
The tour was coming to a close . . .
But just in case you want to know more . . .
You can read to your heart's content.
I have even more photos if you're interested.
See?
This is what the 20+ kilometer long accelerator looks like; it's deep, deep underground. CERN's museum was also interesting.
Henry took me for a private tour!
And then it was time to go for a walkabout.
I loved the song; though he was a bit shy.
CERN is just down the hill; the globe is part of its "public" side.
I just liked the way these buildings looked.
The Geneva airport's runway crosses the main road to CERN.
Just to be sure that you don't get lost and wander onto the runway by mistake.
I hung out there for a while.
It was really fun!
! ! !
Okay, time to wander on . . .
For dinner, we went into the old city to have a lovely Yugoslavian meal at a French Brasserie. Why? Because Henry's from Zagreb originally, and the chef is from that part of the world. : )
The next day I left Geneva and the land of France/Switzerland for Italy; it was time to visit a dear friend. Bis bald - A bientot!
