At home day. Packed away a few items because of the upcoming thunder storms in the afternoon. Read books for some of the day. Prepared a lunch of cold green beans / potatoes and a hot beef burger. Finished and washed up before the rain started at around five.
The day was mainly sunny, with some large clouds over the hills behind us. The campsite appeared to have emptied out, most of the children have gone home, the swimming pool is now quiet with no laughter and shouting. School term time was starting.
R announced that the rain is going to increase later in the evening, just as it was quietening down.
Today we drove into Geneva. Stopped at the CERN car park. We arrived 10ish and booked onto a 11.30 tour. Spent a little time checking out the exhibitions, which are highly interactive. We then joined the tour. This was led by a researcher. We were taken into the grounds and shown the old Cyclotron which was started in the 1940s, when CERN was created in 1947. A collaboration of 10 countries working together on physics. Here the history was explained, the creation of the first Synchrotron, and then onto the circular accelerators and finally the 27km one.
Next stop was across the road where the detector was housed. Here you could look into the control room. There was also a set of educational screens showing how these detectors worked. There were two counters, one counting collision events, and another counting the number of Higgs Boson Particles detected.
Collision Event Detector Counter
The hour tour ended.
We then did what we should not do, left the vehicle parked at the visitor centre, and caught a tram into the Geneva. This appeared to cost us 10 CHF for an all-day ticket for both of us. We headed to the main station on the 18 line. Arrived and then walked towards the lake. Hunger and a beer beckoned, so we stopped at a Turkish restaurant and ate 5 tapas between the two of us. They were delicious. Two aubergine, 1 hummus (very sesame seed based), a cheese dish with hot spices. (the best dish), and another vegetable one.
Waiter was very chatty, from Istanbul. Asked where we were from and what we were doing. Thought we were hikers from our footwear. Was very scathing about CERN. Over 3000 scientists were employed there, who was paying for it? What were they all doing? God particles? Load of BS, he declared.
We walked on to the lake and saw the jet spout “fountain”, which I recalled from the title sequence of 1960s tv show (The Champions.). We walked back to the tram. Yes, it was getting very hot.
Tram back was crowded. Arrived at CERN. The carpark was 5CHF.
We drove back to the campsite, but on the way stopped in Gex, and visited the Musée Départemental Des Sapeurs Pompiers a fire fighter museum. Equipment from the 1800s, 1900s and 2000s was on show. Not just from the region but all-around France. Upstairs there were the uniforms and helmets from all the EU countries, from early ages to now. I wonder where the UK uniforms had gone.
It was now terribly hot, and R was suffering.
Back at the campsite, some beers and water. Supper of bread and cheese.
R worked on S’s thesis; I went for a walk into the hills above the village of Divonne-les-Bains. The entry to the walks was a the top of the campsite. Climbed 600 meters and walked 17km. Some walking on roads, some on short cut paths and the rest on overgrown paths. Most of the walk was without anyone around. A couple of cyclists climbing the hills on the tracks.The walk took me into Switzerland, which I realised ony when I came across a house flying the Swiss flag. The day was sunny and warm, some cattle were spotted sheltering from the sun under a tree. I felt quite exhausted and probably dehydrated. Should have taken more than 500ml of water.
A Leisurely break down of the camp today. We had only an hour’s drive to our chosen campsite near to Switzerland and Lake Geneva.
We stopped at a smallish Intermarche on the N5 just beyond the glass frame town of Morez we had visited yesterday. Purchased stocks for the next few days. We continued onwards and upwards, stopping at a ski resort, Col de La Faucille. Here we looked at the views into the valley. So that we could match the displayed maps to the valley floor, a few trees really needed to be removed.
In the resort, some clothes shops were open, but the Hotel appeared closed. There was one small café open where we had a very nice crepe each and a beer. After this I took the luge run. Nine Euro, you get towed to the top of a hill and then are let loose on a captive luge, powered by gravity. You have a brake, to slow yourself down. It’s all safe, you tell yourself! A few screams on the way down, some initial braking because of fear, but no more after that. A fast run, but soon over.
We left the resort and continued to the campsite. We drove down an escarpment, stopping at the viewpoint Belvédère du Pailly.
We then continued to the campsite. The campsite, Camping Huttopia Divonne Les Bains was located, unsurprisingly, at Divonne-les-Bains. A very natural site with some quite wild areas high up. We arrived quite early. 2.30.
Some unusual aspects, there seem to be no loos by the bar. Good Wi-Fi by the bar, but not on the rest of the site
Near us is a very small wash block, but it was very neat and well-designed, quite cute.
Some bats spotted and heard on the bat detector. Probably pipistrelles.
