An American in Geneva

Well maybe not a big deal. But it is my first time visiting Geneva, and attending the Vitafoods show, which begins May 18. I’ve come in a few days early to see the sights. Who knows, maybe I won’t be back this way again.

Coming through London via San Francisco, I had the chance to get caught up in the new government that was just a few hours old upon my arrival. David Cameron and Nick Clegg are a bit of fresh air, if only to look at. It feels so in keeping with the United States, no matter how you feel about President Obama. He still looks good. I wish them all well.

On my way from the airport in Geneva, I saw the Pal Expo where Vitafoods will be staged. I was going to the Warwick Hotel in the center of this lovely city. Once at the hotel, I learned my reservation had been screwed up and I was without a room and there were no rooms at the inn. In fact the entire city of Geneva appeared to be sold out because of Vitafoods.

So I had no hotel room. The clerk checked on other locations and nothing could be found. It made for a fun first day. The weather was just like San Francisco: 50s, cloudy and a light rain. I walked the area and one property suggested the Rhone River area and its roster of five-star hotels. I stopped at the Four Seasons first, because they bailed me out many years ago when I visited Seattle for a TSI Health Sciences project. I had accidentally left my suit pants in San Francisco. The hotel loaned me a “house” suit for the day. I was meeting with my client, Larry Kolb, and television actress Linda Evans. I had to look good.

The Four Seasons also had no rooms, but they let me use their business center so I could get online and search for a room. Within 15 minutes I found my home for the next 10 days: the Mandarin Oriental. It was right down the street from the Four Seasons. Retrieving my luggage back at the Warwick, I taxied over to the Mandarin, all the while checking out the sights and little French cafes I want to visit over the coming week.

I’m in a beautiful room, as you can imagine, if you know this hotel chain. I’ve now unpacked, caught up on my sleep and deleted jet lag from my body.

It’s now Friday. I just finished my morning walk through the winding streets of Geneva, as the merchants washed down the sidewalks in front of their shops. This city reminds me a lot of San Jose, Costa Rica; Havana, Cuba; and Paris, France, all rolled into one. I found one of those great little cafes where a coffee and croissant were my breakfast. And wouldn’t you know it; I’ve come all this way just to hear three people at a table across from me talk about golfing at courses in the San Francisco Bay Area. Beyond that, the cafe was very, very French. I’ll go back a few more times during my stay.

I’m looking forward to Vitafoods; I’ll report in throughout my visit in Switzerland. But next, I have to get a little more used to working with this European computer keyboard.