"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!

Visiting the UN

This weekend I went into Geneva again, as has been my tradition so far. I started off in Old Town and walked around the perimeter of Lake Geneva (or Lac Leman, as they call it here), ended up at the UN headquarters, and then walked all the way back to old town to catch my tram and to a little grocery shopping.

On the way to the UN, the first stop was the Brunswick Monument. Apparently, the Duke of Brunswick died in Geneva and left a large sum of money to the city, stipulating that they build a mausoleum in his honor. Here are some pictures:


These are the lions around the steps to get into the mausoleum area.



This is a side view of the monument.

Me in front of the monument.


A statue that I can only assume is the Duke of Brunswick.

After seeing the mausoleum, I stumbled upon a free beach volleyball tournament that was taking place, sponsored by the department store Coop. There was a riveting match going on between a Canadian pair and a Swiss pair. Pictures below:



The Canadians are in green and the Swiss are orange. Canada ended up winning.

Being on the opposite side of the lake meant I could get some pretty good shots of the old part of town from across it. So, I snapped a couple photos.

A cool view of the Jet d'Eau and some of the buildings across from the pier.


A hilly residential area next to the Old Town.


Me walking on water. Residential area in the background.


On the way to the UN, I passed by the President Wilson Hotel and the Palais Wilson.


President Wilson Hotel. Named after Woodrow Wilson


The Palais Wilson, where the League of Nations was founded. Also dedicated to Woodrow Wilson.

Then, finally, I made it to the UN. In front of it there is a nice set of fountains and a large chair with one leg broken that is dedicated to those with physical disabilities.



Stereotypical tourist picture.


The UN!

The actual UN was closed, but I managed to snap this cool picture through the gates.

The last part of the circuit, on the way back to the tram stop, had some very interesting sights.



First, there was a series of interesting contraptions shaped like people set up by the Jet d'Eau.


Then, as part of a clean water campaign for the lake, the Swiss Ronald McDonald was there.


Then, there was this crazily dressed street performer charging 1 franc for a shot on goal. They were set up next to a toy store, so the little kids were loving it. I'm guessing the parents weren't.


And finally, outside the toy store, which is called Franz Carl Weber, I managed to get a picture with someone dressed as the Transformer Bumblebee. I felt sorry for them, because it was a really hot day.

So, that was my trip into Geneva for this weekend. It was pretty fun!

Fete de la Musique

This weekend was the Fete de la Musique in Geneva, where you can walk around and there are basically musical performances anywhere you go. Also, all of the museums are open for free, so its a great time to go around and just explore the city.

But first, we had some particularly nice weather this week, so I decided to take some pictures from the office window to show you my view from work every day!


If I look out my office window and turn left, this is what I see. On the left side of the picture
is the start of a very large vineyard.



This is what I see if I turn right when I look out my window. It is the French town of St. Genis.



This is my main view every day. You can see the Jura Mountains and the town of Thoiry.



These are two of the other people in my office. The one sitting is Jack, the other undergrad here for the summer. The one standing is Alberto, the postdoc that I have been mainly working with.
In the background you can see the whiteboard full of things related to the work we have been doing.

Now, onto pictures from the Fete de la Musique. Jack and I went into town together to check it out, and we started out at the Musee d'Art et d'Historie (Museum of Art and History). Unfortunately, they don't allow you to take any pictures inside. We saw lots of cool Middle Ages armor as well as some very nice artwork (lots of Monet and Renoir in one section). Here are some pictures of the exterior of the museum:


This is the entrance of the museum.



A side view of the museum as you approach it.


A picture of the museum courtyard that I managed to sneak from a second floor window.

Then, came the bands. First, we went to go see a rock band that also snag a couple country songs in French called "Skim".


After that, we went and saw a cellist perform a beautiful piece by Bach at the museum. Outside the museum, there was a reggae band performing. In French. Needless to say, this was the last thing we expected in Switzerland. So, we got a picture:


This is the reggae band "The Green Kingdom".

After this, we went to the Parc de Bastions to see the jazz band "Pepper Funk" play. These guys were the best by far. Each musician was really talented, and we ended up staying through their whole set.
The jazz band "Pepper Funk"


A little pond in the park that I thought looked cool.



One of the buildings adjacent to the park.

On the way back to the tram stop, we went through the Place Neuve and I managed to snap a couple pictures of buildings from afar, though I'm not sure what they are.



This is one of the buildings on Place Neuve. You can also see one of the tents set up for the festival.

Finally, one of the cool things I found out while exploring today is that the water that comes out of the fountains in the city is actually drinkable! So I took a picture of a fountain while waiting for the tram to take me back to CERN.


Finally, I close with a picture of something outside a chocolate shop that I just found really amusing.


And no, you can't just go around buying gold bars in Geneva...