Saturday, October 17, 2009

Hello Geneva!

Well, we made it! We have officially been residents of Geneva for a little over 48 hours. The London side of the move was surprisingly smooth. We dropped Schlopy off at British Airways cargo 4.5 hours before the flight and then proceeded to the terminal where we enjoyed one last breakfast in the UK. Once we arrived in Switzerland, things got a little more interesting. After landing we made our way through customs, collected our luggage, and boarded a bus to collect Schlopy at cargo. Well, after about 5 minutes on the bus we discovered that we were on the wrong bus AND going the wrong direction. So, we quickly got off at the next stop. While we were standing on some random street with way too much luggage trying to figure out how to get to cargo, Jignesh received a phone call. Apparently while we made the flight, Schlopy did not! Schlopy was stranded in London! How is possible that BA could not get Schlopy to the plane on time despite having over a 4 hour window? Luckily, BA was able to get him on the next flight so we found ourselves drinking some wine in the Geneva cargo staff restuarnat while waiting for Schlopy to arrive. Although he was shaken and definietely confused, he was otherwise healthy. Wih our son and all our luggage, we hailed a taxi to our temporary flat where we will be until finding a permanent place to live.

After just 48 hous in Geneva, here are some of our initial observations on our new home!

*The place is bloody expensive! Our bill at an average italian restaurant totaled $65.oo. Yes, $65.00! That did not even include dessert, appetizers, or coffee! We only had one main and one glass on wine each. How are we going to survive here?!

*EVERYTHING is closed on Sundays. If you want to buy anything (milk, clothes, gas) simply forget about it. Hours for stores during the week are not much better. Most businesses close for 1.5 hours during luchtime and lock their doors for the days by 4:30pm or 5:00pm. When do these people actually work?

*Apartments are extremely difficult to find. It is not unusual to have over 20 applicants bid for the same apartment. Most people have to bid on several places before securing something.

*People here love their little, perfectly groomed dogs and you can bring them everything...including restaurants! I think that I may have to bring Schlopy to a professional groomer (no more Mom cuts) if he wants to fit in.

Stayed tuned for some pictures from the move!

Au Revior

1 comment:

Lynne said...

Kat, So glad to hear Schlopy finally made it to Switzerland! You guys must have been really upset (not to mention poor Schlopy!!!) Glad to see by your Facebook comments that you are writing a nasty letter to British Airways...go get 'em, girl!