We arrived in Geneva at 8:11am, just a tad bit later than expected because of delays departing the Newark airport.  No big deal, just extra time spent on the plane.  The flight was good, and again, first class rulz. 

We did have a problem picking up our rental car, supposed to be a Peugot 307cc convertible — they did not have it. “It’s too early,” the agent at Hertz told us, meaning the cars are brand new and not even availble in the fleet yet for rentals.  Mind you, I paid extra to rent this specific car and had a confirmed reservation.  Anyway, we ended up getting a Mercedes 170 automatic for the same price, and the agent tried hard to make us believe we were getting a good deal. 

From the airport, we took a short trip into Geneva. As it is May Day, an official holiday, many people were out and about.  Add to it the beautiful sunny weather, the first sun seen here in days, and the lakeside promenades were busy.  We visited some historic gardens and strolled the promenade along with the locals walking their dogs.  Can’t believe how many dogs we’ve seen.

We were starving, so we headed out of Geneva to Lausanne, where I had planned lunch at a local hotspot.  After much ado finding it downtown, it was closed.  Bummer.  We ended up having a good lunch near Vevey.

Getting to Montreux was easy, but again because of the holiday traffic was horrible, at a total stop. Police had blocked off streets for a holiday festival. We were further troubled because I missed the hotel and we had to sit thru traffic again going the opposite direction to get back to it.  But it was worth it, Montreux is stunningly beautiful.  The snow-capped mountains ring the blue lake, and the old-money hotels and buildings add a boat load of charm.  I kind of expect Bellagio, on Lake Como in Italy, will be similar later in our trip.

I am using the hotel computer to write this, as it is the only way to get free internet access.  The Royal Plaza hotel charges an exhorbitant amount to supply internet service to my own computer.  Therefore, I do not have pictures available yet.  I’ll upload them when I get a chance…