I would love to regail you with tales of how lovely Geneva is, and how I've gotten to coo over the Saint Peter's Cathedral, and got to see the really rather nifty Jet d'Eau that is the trademark of the city. But alas, I can't. Geneva has been, well, something of a bust. Which is depressing, because I really did want to come here to see things like the Jet d'Eau, and the UN building, and all that other stuff.
You see, my day started off at 8:00 am so that I could get to the train station in time to catch my train to Lyon. The train was supposed to leave at 10:06, so I took the 8:50 bus to the tram, and then the tram to the station. I got there at 9:30, and, like a good little girl, went to wait for my train. And believe me, I waited. And waited. I waited a good forty minutes for my train to show up. As it turned out, the train had broken down somewhere, causing a delay. And you know how your flight always gets delayed when you only have like, forty minutes before your connection leaves? Yeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaah.... that was my train schedule. My train from Montpellier got to Lyon something like... fifteen minutes after my train to Geneva left. So, I joined the hordes of other people in the acceuil, seeking to get a replacement ticket for a missed connection. And I got one. It left at the same time my original connection was supposed to arrive.
Now, please, don't get me wrong. I wasn't going to have tons of time in Geneva. I really wasn't. It was always going to be a hit and run. I was supposed to get in at 14:27, and then spend the afternoon doing things like seeing the cathedral and the jet d'eau. Then I would much more leisurely find some dinner. There would probably be some Starbucks involved. Arriving at 16:30 (the eta for the replacement ticket) would have meant no jet d'eau, but I could have hit up the cathedral, if I'd been quick about it.
You have anticipated the punchline: We got to the first stop for the train, only to be informed that one of the passengers was feeling 'mal à l'aise' aka 'uneasy' or 'uncomfortable', and that there would be a bit of a delay. Well, a bit of a delay turned into 'a twenty seven minute wait while we call the SAMU (that's an ambulance for you Americans) to come fetch her'. We got to Geneva at 17:00. Pretty much everything is closed. I go to the Office of Tourism to get directions to my hostel. Finally get to my hostel at about 18:00, by which time pretty much everything is closed.
It's just not fair.
On the plus side, in my hostel, my roommates are all nice, and three of them are on my flight to Prague in the morning. So, even if I do have to wake up at 6:30 instead of 7:00 as a gesture of solidarity (and really, it's probably not a bad idea to make sure that I get out the door by 8:00), at least I won't be alone or bugging most of my dorm mates with an early alarm. And that is definitely of the good.
You see, my day started off at 8:00 am so that I could get to the train station in time to catch my train to Lyon. The train was supposed to leave at 10:06, so I took the 8:50 bus to the tram, and then the tram to the station. I got there at 9:30, and, like a good little girl, went to wait for my train. And believe me, I waited. And waited. I waited a good forty minutes for my train to show up. As it turned out, the train had broken down somewhere, causing a delay. And you know how your flight always gets delayed when you only have like, forty minutes before your connection leaves? Yeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaah.... that was my train schedule. My train from Montpellier got to Lyon something like... fifteen minutes after my train to Geneva left. So, I joined the hordes of other people in the acceuil, seeking to get a replacement ticket for a missed connection. And I got one. It left at the same time my original connection was supposed to arrive.
Now, please, don't get me wrong. I wasn't going to have tons of time in Geneva. I really wasn't. It was always going to be a hit and run. I was supposed to get in at 14:27, and then spend the afternoon doing things like seeing the cathedral and the jet d'eau. Then I would much more leisurely find some dinner. There would probably be some Starbucks involved. Arriving at 16:30 (the eta for the replacement ticket) would have meant no jet d'eau, but I could have hit up the cathedral, if I'd been quick about it.
You have anticipated the punchline: We got to the first stop for the train, only to be informed that one of the passengers was feeling 'mal à l'aise' aka 'uneasy' or 'uncomfortable', and that there would be a bit of a delay. Well, a bit of a delay turned into 'a twenty seven minute wait while we call the SAMU (that's an ambulance for you Americans) to come fetch her'. We got to Geneva at 17:00. Pretty much everything is closed. I go to the Office of Tourism to get directions to my hostel. Finally get to my hostel at about 18:00, by which time pretty much everything is closed.
It's just not fair.
On the plus side, in my hostel, my roommates are all nice, and three of them are on my flight to Prague in the morning. So, even if I do have to wake up at 6:30 instead of 7:00 as a gesture of solidarity (and really, it's probably not a bad idea to make sure that I get out the door by 8:00), at least I won't be alone or bugging most of my dorm mates with an early alarm. And that is definitely of the good.
No comments:
Post a Comment