We travel initially to lose ourselves; and we travel next, to find ourselves: "In order to get the true meaning of the world, you have to move." Geneva, Switzerland (in progress)

After my Pope sighting, I continued my lone wolf adventures and headed to Switzerland. I had been talking about going to Switzerland all semester, and finally, I had the opportunity. I don't know why I wanted to go to Switzerland. The chocolate? The fondue? The U.N.? The swiss? I think my number one reason, was that Switzerland is such a neutral country among other European, and for that matter the rest of the world.

So, of course my first stop was Geneva. My flight was a little late getting in to Geneva, which made the fact that I speak un petit of French that much harder. It was almost 1am and I was wandering the streets of Geneva with a backpack, numerous credit cards, an iPhone and my much beloved American passport. I tried to avoid this small print when telling my parents that I had indeed arrived to my hotel, almost in tears. I am a smart traveler, I'll give myself that, but sometimes, I just slip up. I had gotten in a taxi, after a kind spanish-speaker told me I should watch my stuff on the metro, and I had quickly jumped off the metro and into the closest taxi. For the less than 10 minute ride, 12€, which is roughly $15. Not to mention the fact that I had spent all but five of my euros in Rome. This caused the taxi driver to yell at me, asking why I would get in a taxi without a) any Francs and b) any euros. You can imagine my difficulty in describing how scared shitless I actually was to my new "taxi friend." I was in my hotel finally, and thank got the receptionist spoke ze English. There was a problem with my booking, so they had to put me in an upgrade. Fine with me! Little did I know the upgrade was wood paneling, tv that didn't change channels and a smaller than twin bed. It was a bed, I was safe and I had free wireless for my iPhone, I started to count my blessings.

The next morning started out with breakfast in bed. That's right, breakfast was not only delivered to my door, but I ate it in my bed and it was really good. My next stop was the United Nations. The lone wolf set out, snapping touristy pictures, saying "oui, oui!" whenever I felt necessary and hopped on a metro to the U.N.

I arrived at the U.N. and I was so excited! This is the place that has solved so many problems for the world, but also where the League of Nations started. I went through security to take a tour through the U.N. Unfortunately, the next tour wasn't for another hour, so I headed across the street to the Red Cross Museum.

It was really interesting to see all the great things the Red Cross has done, how it became, all of those goodies. But, for me, what I enjoyed the most were the rooms about the most recent events the Red Cross has been apart of. My favorite was the room filled with pictures. All of the pictures were from Rwanda when children were separated from their parents. The Red Cross took pictures of all of the children, then published pamphlets with the pictures. It was so successful and the majority of the separated children were reunited with their families.

I kind of ran through the Red Cross Museum, but I had to get to the U.N. for my tour, which was one of the main reasons I even came to Geneva. Back through security I went and to a desk to get my I.D. tag. It was so official and so COOL! I had my own badge at the U.N.! Anyway, I headed over towards the tour building, glanced through the gift shop and minutes later the tour started.

I don't know if I expected to see Bahn Ki Moon himself, but the tour was a let down. I am happy I did it, don't get me wrong, but I thought there would be more. I also got a little too excited when I saw the places where the translators sit. If you didn't know, being a translator for the U.N. is legit, my dream job. It would be amazing.

My favorite part of the tour was the conference room of Human Rights, the ceiling was painted by an artist from Spain, which isn't the reason why I loved it and was absolutely floored.

"In order to get the true meaning of the world, you have to move." This is what the artist said when the media asked him about the ceiling. It was impossible to see the entire ceiling without moving throughout the room. It was amazing. It made me think about my life...I thought I knew everything when I lived in the Marin "bubble." There were at least five people in my graduating class that weren't white, I was cultured... Studying abroad and being handed these amazing experiences on a silver platter has made me understand so much more about the world. Anyway, the ceiling was a big hit in my book.

I left the U.N. and headed over to the train station to purchase some train tickets to Interlaken, my next stop, and then to Milan, my final destination. I was a little tired after the train affair and headed back to my hotel room. You know why? Because I was by myself and could do whatever my little heart desired! It was great. I walked around without pants on, took a little nap, did some channel surfing annnnd then I came to the conclusion that I should stop being a Debbie Downer and actually enjoy the city I was in for less than 48 hours. So, I downloaded a walking tour onto my iPhone of Geneva and it was great. It was not only funny, but I could stop and take pictures, stop and buy ice cream, stop and ponder the meaning of life; it was great!

The first stop in the tour took me to the tallest fountain in the world, well, as close to it as you could get without getting wet...

I then weaved through the streets, going to through the shopping center of town, a swan refuge, the birth place of the league of nations, the old town, past the longest bench in the world, etc. It was a really great tour and a great way to see the city with some guidance and not carrying my guidebook and looking too much like a tourist.

I wandered around a little more, more or less waiting until it was a decent hour to go eat dinner. I wandered into this Italian restaurant, for the record, I tried to find fondue, but couldn't find any good stuff. My pizza was delicious to say the least, the only thing I didn't like about it was the 25 franc price tag. I had come to the conclusion that everything cost four times the normal cost in Switzerland, i.e. pizza, taxis, etc. I then headed back to my hotel and curled up in bed reading a book, Dear John. It was SO good! I can't wait to see the movie.

My train into Interlaken wasn't until 11am, so I took a lazy morning, I showered, and made my way over to the train station. I boarded the train and my next stop was Interlaken. The train ride along Lake Geneva was amazing, I wish the pictures could give it justice, and I wish the glare from the window wasn't in ALL of them.