LettresdeLyon: June 22, 2025

It is always significant to listen to promptings. Early this morning I was preparing a little (2 1/2 lbs) pork pot roast for dinner. I wanted to cook it at a very low heat because the high is 94 today and didn’t want to heat up the apt. I had the feeling that I should throw in some extra potatoes, carrots and onions, so I did. No choir today but I noticed our branch president, his wife, and 21 year old son still in the building. Leandre told me they were waiting for his brother and girl friend to arrive on the train from Paris at 3pm. I invited them to come to our house because it was cooler than the chapel. I made a good salad and they brought a picnic of sorts and together we had a great lunch. They had never had pot roast with such tender roasted veggies and Catherine especially liked the gravy.

It has been a busy week of travel, family, friends, and music! It began when Erin and Elizabeth from Texas arrived Monday at the Geneva Airport. Their flight from Austin was delayed due to weather and they were rebooked in Paris to arrive about 9:00 PM in Geneva. It was light just long enough to get a sense of going through the Jura mountains on the way home, but too late to avoid the closure of the autoroute for 40 km due to night construction. The backroads in the dark were interesting but slow and we arrived home at midnight. We did a walking tour of old town the next day and we waited for Ethan and Haley to arrive at 6 pm on the train from Geneva. We had borrowed two mattresses for them to sleep on in our small living room while Erin and Elizabeth had the guest bedroom. Everyone enjoyed beef stew and went to bed at 8 to recuperate. The apartment was at capacity but it worked well.

Wednesday we took them on a ride through the countryside to the Cormatin Chateau, built by the warrior Marquis Jacques du Blé in 1610 to show the favor given him by the Queen Regent Marie de Medici. Parts have been restored and the grounds are beautiful. We learned a bit about the history and customs of the time and subsequent eras. People who have visited there (to stay) include the author and poet Lamartine and the opera singer Enrico Caruso. Thursday our crew flew together from Lyon to Biarritz and then caught the train to St. Jean Pied de Port where they started their trek to Santiago de Compostela on the camino, which will take about 5 weeks and 450 miles. We are happy to not be with them but are cheering them on from here. They will drop in again when they are finished.

Friday we left again for Geneva for the music festival after getting official pictures taken at the Photo Booth at the mall for our visa for the next year. A pretty slick system. The Photo Booth gives you a number which you send to the processor and they pull your photo for their papers.

The drive from our house to Geneva is spectacular: forest, rolling hills, deep valleys, viaducts and then mountains and mountain air. We had only been to the airport and to Zone Conference there. This trip we were visiting friends who worked with us in Nairobi in Family History. Did they ever give us a different perspective of their city! We rode the tram to the lake to see the water spout (jet), the beach, the park where a large screen was being set up for the outdoor 4 hour version of La Traviata the next night. We took a boat ride across the lake (crystal clear water) and hiked to the venues of our three free musical concerts that evening. On the way we saw Reformation Wall in Bastions Park, honoring Calvin and others. The first concert was a carillon accompanied by improv dancing (not from the audience) in the church courtyard. The second, an organ recital at the famous Église de St. Pierre and the third at Église St. Germain - Baroque Français using ancient instruments. The acoustics were exceptional and by that time I was pretty excited.

Next morning the Stafflers introduced us to white peaches and muesli with cream and strawberries before driving us to see the International Red Cross and the United Nations buildings. Then we went to four more free concerts: a cellist, a Ukrainian choir, a harp siesta (she played soft relaxing music while parents and children relaxed on pillows on the floor, some completely laid out) in the Grande Théâtre de Genève, and then a brass quintet with organ accompagné. Sorry I keep flipping into French. These men were superb musiciens. Not only did they play their chosen instruments, but also alphorns. Have you ever heard a Mass played on alphorns?

It was time to drive home. We stopped once just to catch our breath. We were exhausted but what a day of many firsts and memories for more than a life time. Thank you Josette and Karl for teaching us to love Genève.