Zurich, Geneva and Lyon

Summer holidays is a big thing in Spain (and i think in Europe as a general).

I just took a week off, really a short break by european standards.  Yet i even managed to see three cities and have memorable experience for each.

I kind of centered my holidays around visiting CERN.  Not sure now why I was obsessed with seeing CERN at that time.. was it  because of big bang theory or just to make a couple of friends who were equally obsessed "green". Or maybe its real curiosity to be where at the  LHC, a location for Dan Brown's novel that created controversy.

Anyway, visiting CERN means making a booking from their website. Slots can be reserved for a group/individual and in english or french language, so its like one-in-four chance for me. Once i received my confirmed slot, i made the flight booking. 

Later i would come to know that there'd be not much to see in Geneva, and its not also ideal place to be just idle coz the hotel rates were expensive. So i decided to include Zurich and the neighboring city of Lyon in France.

Zurich - I chose zurich when i realized that i could do a scenic train-journey along Swiss valleys and lakes, almost from zurich to geneva.  What would then be a pleasant surprise was i could time my stay there for the Zurich street parade, which was touted to be the 2nd annual biggest street party in the whole Europe!

It was a real sunny day (its not always like that they say) and there's indeed massive crowd and loud music!! In between dancing, dancing while boozing, dancing while groping others, many even took to jumping and swimming in the lake.  If you want to see how europeans party crazy, this event could be your crash course. 

I didnt stay till late the evening though, i had an early booked train to ride on Golden Pass Line.

Geneva

Even a modest hotel can cost a lot (by my standards) in geneva.  Even more so since i was travelling solo.  What i did was used the opportunity to couchsurf. 

I couldnt asked for more from the experience, aside from the fact that my host was working for CERN, he was quite gracious and did make me feel welcome. He was a bit apprehensive though that the talk i booked for would not be interesting enough. But it would turn out that there'd be an special talk later on the day that would allow me to be down the LHC.  Even he working for CERN, been down to LHC only once.

the cutaway view of CMS, one of LHC's detector

the CERN guide/lecturer

awwts moi and the particle accelerator (a good painting on the wall)

this one's on the real thing though

CERN's official address is in Geneva, but the LHC - a 27 kilometer ring particle accelarator lies in the border of France and Switzerland, and I understood that most of it actually sits on France.

Geneva the City

Lyon - Gastronomic center of France and third largest city.  It's just a decent train ride away from Geneva. 

Andorra in Pyrenees

Andorra is a small country that lies in the pyrenees between Spain and France.  I was not even aware of its existence until i saw those ads about skiing.

I made a bit of research and realized that while it's not part of schengen, visa is not necessary. But then since the country does not have airport the only way to get there is to pass through Spain or France land border.

welcome to andorra
my small town's welcome marker is much fancier than this

The immigration border

Andorra is composed of seven towns or parishes. 

Andorra La Vella is the capital

one of andorra's attraction is the duty free shopping.half of the capital is probably high streets

in another town, perhaps La Massana

At Encamp

one of Andorra's many roman churches

it's a rainy winter day, but this river side is lined with cherry blossoms,
and will look lovely during spring.