School Day in France

Today was a lifelong learning kind of day.  We started with a personal, guided tour of the World Trade Organization with my sister, Susan Hainsworth, who works there.  Well, we actually started with a lesson in the parking system of Geneva - there are blue lines and white lines, and permits, and macarons, and signage.  We decided not to chance a ticket by parking in a blue zone for which we don't possess a macaron; Sam and Sue had to drive a ways down the Route de Lausanne near the Chinese Embassy in order to comply with the various regulations.  Then, into the WTO for our tour - kids were engaged and full of wonder that the WTO website revealed which countries in the world were members and what conflicts they were currently arbitrating at the WTO - Antigua and the US are currently fighting over online gambling...

Sue has a lovely new office overlooking the Japanese garden of the WTO and with more than enough space for 9 people to fit comfortably.

Palais des Nations, Geneva

Thank you for the great tour, Susan.  The consensus from the 4 teenagers was thumbs up - and an agreement that trade was somewhat more fascinating than previously thought.

Then, after an amazing Thai lunch of green or red curry and pad thai of various types, it was off for a tour of the Palais des Nations, the headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva.  The UN in Geneva is more concerned with human rights and refugees.

The tour took us around the older parts of the building including the two large assembly rooms and the meeting room of the permanent council on disarmament.

After a short stroll through les Jardins botaniques to get back to our legally parked cars, we came back to our home in Divonne and chilled.

Dinner discussion centred around what to do tomorrow - a trip across the lake to Yvoire, a drive to Dijon (spiritual home of mustard), another day of skiing, laundry (since tomorrow is the first "non-red" day for awhile).  Hard to choose.