Geneva, Switzerland: Luxury In Every Step

Raisa, one of my closest friends and college roommate, grew up in one of the most charming and expensive cities in the world - Geneva. She would often narrate to us how the Gossip Girl lifestyle comes to life in Swiss boarding schools, where she was educated (Sorry na! ;p) Her classmates literally owned summer residences in southern France, few had private planes and one is heir to the Rolex fortune. So when we embarked on our Switzerland-Germany-Austria-Czech Republic Christmas tour extravanganza, it was impossible to miss this luxurious French-speaking metropolis. I will be forever grateful to Raisa for requesting her aunts and her tour guide best friend to accommodate us girls for two days.

Despite getting left behind (again) by the train, we were able to squeeze all the essentials into two days. We were fortunate to have seen Jet D’eau (literally means “Water Jet”) by the Lake Geneva, one of the largest fountains in the world; to have understood the historic intricacies of Protestantism as initiated by Ulrich Zwingli and John Calvin; to have sipped authentic (!) Swiss hot choco and not just cups of Swiss Miss bought from the nearby SM Supermarket; and to have indulged yet again authentic Swiss dinner featuring waldorf salad, raclette, cheese fondue, white wine rhum cake and white-chocolate dipped pretzels. It was tres magnifique! Raisa’s family — damn, they can cook! 

You can’t dismiss the fact that being a diplomatic city, Geneva is home to the headquarters of United Nations, Red Cross and World Health Organization. This city has so much to offer, no wonder Raisa misses it. 

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