"This sandwich tastes like victory"

Yesterday Jack, the other undergrad working with the Harvard group here, and I decided to climb Le Reculet (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Reculet), the second highest point in the Jura Mountains, with an altitude of 1718 meters. I have never been hiking before, so this undertaking was quite a challenge for me. I would say, without exaggeration, that it was probably one of the hardest things I've ever done. But the view was totally worth it. Pictures below!


The first clearing we reached along the trail.



An old treehouse in a tree that was in the clearing.


One of the first good viewpoints we had along the way. Still not particularly close to the top.

A cool picture of the trail.


Me on the trail.

A view near, but still not quite at, the top.


An interesting rocky area we had to traverse on our way to the top.



A completely unexpected yet large grassy area on the way to the top.


The cross at the top of the mountain! Been there since the 1800s.

A view of Geneva from the top!


A closer up view of Geneva from the top!

A view of some of the farms outside of Geneva from the top!


The mountains on the other side, from the top.


Me at the top!

A Long Delayed Update

Sorry for the delay on this update folks. I was having some issues with my camera uploading the pictures, but now I've resolved them.

Two weekends ago I went into Geneva to do some exploring. I went to the Plainpalais area, which I had not been to before. Notable things here include the Grand Theatre of Geneva, which hosts many different operas and other performances. Also, the Parc des Bastions is there, and it is quite beautiful. Below are some pictures:


The Grand Theatre (at least I think. I couldn't find a sign that actually said it. But this is where it was supposed to be, so that's what I'm going with).

A statue of General DuFour, Swiss General who oversaw the first Geneva Convention (where the Red Cross was established).



The gates to the Parc des Bastions.


A beautiful view inside the park. I love this picture.

I thought it was interesting that the University of Geneva was celebrating its 450th anniversary. That's really old.

The other big highlight of the weekend was the Parade du Lac, which took place on streets near Lake Geneva. It was interesting to attend a parade in Geneva on the 4th of July, and I was expecting it to be like a typical American parade, with the mayor waving from a float, etc. That was not the case at all. Apparently the tradition is that people dress up really crazy from this parade, and the actual floats consist of 10 different DJs with people dancing on them, and then the DJs set up at different places around the lake and throw parties all night. Here are some pictures from the parade:


A small blimp advertising the local radio station.


These two guys were dressed up as abnormally large gangsters. They had a suitcase that played music and inflatable tommy guns. This was the best picture I could get.

A picture of one of the floats.

Another float picture.



There was a ridiculous number of people here. You could barely move. This crowd spans all the way down the street.

Another crowd of people waiting further along the parade route.

That's all for now!