Time is of the Essence

Let's face it, the only thing wrong with traelling is travelling. Human beings were not meant to cross 6 or 8 times zones within a 24-hour period. I left Durango at 7:00 a.m. on a Tuesday morning and after almost 12 hours in an airplane, I arrived in Geneva at 7:00 a.m. the next day. Happly, the Holiday Inn at the Geneva Airport let me occupy my room at that early hour. They even offered the morning breakfast buffet, so I was able to consume a pain au chocolate and collapse in my room for a short nap. It was noon when I awoke and, although still tired, I decided to visit the town. The Geneva Tourist authority provides free passes for local transport to all tourists, so I walked the 2 blocks to a trolly stop and took a clean, speedy trolly to the old town. Geneva has both changed a lot and stayed the same. The population looks much more diverse, and like most places now, it is overcrowded. But, it is orderly, the people are polite, and it is clean. When we lived in Geneva (actually, we lived in a small town called Collex-Bosey on the outskirts of Genveva), we didn't spend much, if any, time in the Old Town. Perhaps we would go there for a dinner or so, but like most residents of a town, we didn't participate much in the tourist areas. We were too busy working, socializing with friends, and driving into the mountains for recreation. I stopped awhile to admire the jet d'eau (water jet) and the expensive shops on the quay and then made my way up the hill. The Old Town is nice, but lots of cobble stones, stairs, and a jumble of small streets. I walked about 3 hours, long enough to make me very tired, which was my main object. Then I headed home to my hotel, had a very light dinner, and succeeded in staying awake until 8:00 p.m., at which point I collapsed. And so to bed! ba