Christmas Geneve

Finally I found a time to edit photos and write an article about Geneva, undeservedly forgotten after the article about Lausanne.

We stopped in Geneva before leaving,  after left luggage on the station we went for a walk.

Geneva is also a very beautiful city, which has a lot of special places. I must say that I liked more Lausanne, maybe because I felt Christmas there more, or because we were in Geneva on Sunday and the city seemed to be almost desert. I'm sure I will come back to Geneva and Lausanne in summer or spring )

Geneva - the third important city and the second largest city in Switzerland, although by our standards it's enough small - it has only about two hundred thousand inhabitants. The city is located on the shores of Lake Geneva, near the border with France. We were told that in good weather it is perfectly visible French coast.

As you probably know there are located the headquarters of the UN, the Red Cross and other international organizations, we certainly did not look for them, but just walked)

The main attraction of the city - Jeu d'Eau fountain (Water Jet) throws 500 liters of water per second to a height of 147 meters - it is one of the highest fountains in the world.

Vintage restored wheel steamers, built in the period from 1904 to 1928 are sailing on Lake Geneva.

Another interesting and unique attractions of Geneva - Hours of flowers in the English Garden at the Promenade du Lac with the largest second hand in the world. Its length - 2.5 m, and the overall diameter - five. Bright unusual bed - the result of the activities of a diverse team of craftsmen - watchmakers, designers, florists and gardeners. Several times a year floral arrangement is updated according to the season.

Summer photo

Near the Palace of Justice there was a wine shop, Enoteca, which is called - La Cave du Palace de Justice)) It smiled my husband-lawyer))

Well, the main amusement of Geneva is feeding swans. But even more I liked cute ducks that were hiding under a low bridge, and when someone threw bread for swans, swam as fast torpedoes and snatched the bread under the nose of sluggish swans ))

A huge number of gulls

St. Peter's Basilica in the historic center of the city.

The historic center is small, located on a hill. I liked it more street (Grand Rue) - patrimony of antique dealers and artists.

Here we leave the way it is in front of the station so many bikes.

Amazing Christmas Lausanne

By accident in December we went to Switzerland to the ball. His cousin lives there near Lausanne, and she actually invited us to this event and hosted us. We went for 3 days, so we can spent on the day for Lausanne and one for Geneva before departure.

It was cold, icy wind, when we visited Lausanne so we decided to walk only in the center and don't go down to the lake.

The city is very beautiful, especially decorated for Christmas. I think in the spring and summer it is absolutely amazing. The decorations on the streets were non-traditional, modern, not the way we usually think about them - for example, clouds made of white wire, hanging men, perhaps, they were angels, but at first glance did not seemed so.

Lausanne - the 4th largest city in Switzerland, it is remarkable that is on 2 levels. This is due to the fact that it was built on three hills, which are connected by bridges. Elevation here is from 373 to 871 meters above sea level. And Since 1994, Lausanne - the official Olympic capital of the world. Here are the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee, as well as key institutions for managing the Olympic movement and international sports.

Taking off the bus we got straight to the Church of St. Francis.

Here began and Christmas Market, where there was a lot of things: and knitwear, and soap and cosmetics, and jewelry.

Every weekend in the streets of the old city it is also a market, so the streets were filled with vendors of everything: lots of flowers, branches and all you need for Christmas decorations, as well as ready-made Christmas decorations for the house, vegetables and fruits, homemade canned goods and more.

mushrooms :)

After strolling through the streets and bought a jam, we went to another square with the Cathedral of Notre Dame - one of the most beautiful and important Gothic churches of Europe. At one time, it was a center of pilgrimage. Now there is a organ of 7,000 pipes.

On this square Fair moved into the category cheese-sausage (there were even Italian cheeses and pasta) and then became a flea market where I bought a pair of spoons/forks/knives for food photos.

By the way, I really liked the singing of the choir, which collected donations in the pot on the side of the photo:

And, of course, we haven't forgotten to buy in this shop some Swiss chocolate to bring it at home :)

One of the squares in the center called square Palud, decorated in the center with a beautiful colored fountain "Justice". On the square there is a clock that shows every hour a small musical performance. We were lucky and we just went at one o'clock on the square.

Here, actually, I drinking gluehwein  :)

This is me before entering at the ball, which was held at the Beau-Rivage Palace, which is one of the most luxurious hotels not only in Switzerland but also in Europe and in the world. 

ACEO - Art Cards, Editions and Originals

Do you heard about ACEO - Art Cards, Editions and Originals? Thes are miniature works of art about the same size as modern baseball cards, or 2 ½ X 3 ½ inches (6cm X 9cm).
I have many beautiful photos from my vacances and decided to print ACEO cards. I made section in my graphic shop - ACEO.
Do you like it?

Greece, Santorini
Greece, Mikonos


Switzerland, Zermatt