On Monday, the group went to Geneva; the weather was grey and damp,
and it was apparent that a trip into the mountains would not yield the
desired results. So we left Faverges at 8:30am and headed for Reignier,
near Geneva, where we saw the 5,000-year-old Pierre aux Fées (Fairy Stone)
which still stands by a remote country lane. While there were few such
monuments in Savoie to begin with, zealots of the Counter-Reformation knocked
down all but this one remaining example of mesolithic architecture in the area.
About contemporary with the oldest parts of Stonehenge in England, it
most probably served as a burial chamber and originally lay underneath a
man-made hill or tumulus. While popular legend associates these
monuments with the Druids, this particular dolmen was already 2,200 years old
when the Druids first came to the area! It was thus older to the Druids
than Jesus Christ is to our civilization!
A short drive took us into Geneva, where we walked into the Vieille Ville (Old City) to visit the Cathedral where Jean Calvin preached the Protestant Reformation in 1536. We climbed into the belltower just as the noon bells began to ring, giving us a real auditory treat.
In the afternoon, we visited the United Nations Headquarters which are located in the old League of Nations compound. Our guide told us of the numerous responsibilities of the UN and showed us some meeting rooms as well as a conference room decorated in gold by the Spanish artist Jose Maria Sert.
On the road back to Annecy, we stopped at the Pont Charles-Albert, better known as the "Pont de la Caille", one of Europe's oldest suspension bridges. It was built in 1838 over a 145-meter deep river gorge (475 ft). The span, 192 meters long (some 625 ft), now accommodates only foot traffic though it was the main road bridge for about a century. In the 1930s, a concrete span was built next to the suspension bridge and carries modern-day traffic. In recent years, bungee-jumpers leapt from the suspension bridge, causing traffic accidents on the road bridge: drivers looking at the jumpers failed to stay in their lanes and avoid oncoming traffic! As a result, bungee-jumping has been banned from the Pont Charles-Albert which was fully renovated in 1995-96.
Tuesday morning, we held our usual morning classes; on Tuesday afternoon, seven of the program participants got a chance to go hang-gliding from the Col de la Forclaz. After a brief lesson (in French!) about what to expect and how to behave in the air, Suzanne, Pearl, Grace, Irene, Laura, Pam and Kelly made the 2,000-foot leap toward the lake with their excellent pilot, Noël Veyrat. All landed safely and in very good spirits.
We are planning another full-day trip on Wednesday. Our destination will be determined by weather, though the trip will end with a visit to the cheese farm at the Col de la Forclaz so that students may see how Reblochon cheese is made.
Next report, perhaps Thursday.
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