The calendar declared it was Autumn and Switzerland, ever efficient and agreeable, complied. The winds of Geneva roared in drying the ink on the calendar crossing out the last day of summer.
Well maybe that’s a bit more poetic than what really happened, but seemingly with the flick of a switch, snap of the fingers, crossing off on the calendar or whatever metaphor you choose, fall came to Geneva and fall means endless roaring winds. Roaring to the point they loosened the metal framework around my window which has resulted in a constant rattling and my subsequent purchase of a large roll of duct tape.
The winds, though, have also lifted the clouds hovering in the valley to the south east and east of Lake Geneva revealing even more blue folds in the wrinkle of mountains in the distance. And even more impressive, the winds revealed the glistening, snowcapped, absolutely gigantic peak of Mont Blanc flanked by a handful of other snowcapped peaks (of less notoriety). Mont Blanc, the tallest mountain in the Alps and western Europe at 15,781 feet, straddles the French/Italian border and is best accessed by snowboard via Chamonix, about 40 minutes drive from Geneva…. yes I brought my snowboard…. and for perspective, Mt. Washington, the biggest in the Northeast US, is about 6,288 ft.
With the wind, of course, also came the cold. And with the cold came an escape to the Italian Riviera, where it is warm.
It actually was coincidental timing that my trip to Savona, Italy to visit my relatives was planned after the first week of the cold Genevan fall. I’ll spare you the boredom of my family history and how it comes to be that I have relatives in such a glorious city along the Mediterreanean coast in a country even more decadently delicious than Switzerland. I’ll just say that I took as many photos at mealtime as I did of the landscapes and family, including the time spent in my cousins slick new BMW convertible with the top down, driving along the coastline of the riveriera.
Jealous?
