Favorite Past Times of the Genevans

Over the past two weeks, I have been taking note of some of the favorite past times of the local Genevans.  I'm sure there are plenty more than this, but here are the top 4 that I have seen so far:


The first and most popular one is smoking. People smoke everywhere they go, while doing everything they do. It's amazing how many cigarette butts are on the streets (although they have people to clean them practically every day). Unfortunately for us, we don't smoke, and every evening like clockwork the smell of cigarettes comes through our living room window. Ugh.


The 2nd most popular one is sitting at a cafe talking to one another. (This can also be combined with the first one of course).  It doesn't matter what time of day it is or what day of the week, Genevans will be sitting in a cafe having a beverage of some sort chatting away with their companion.  We live above and next to two very popular cafes/restaurants, and there are constantly people at these places.  Business meetings over breakfast, coffee before the school day, mid-morning coffee breaks, long lunches, late lunches, happy hours, dinners, after-dinner drinks, you name it and a Genevan is doing it.  Granted, this past time is much more attractive to us than the first, so when in Rome...(or Geneva).


Another favorite past time I've seen is the feeding of the ducks and swans in the lake.  When I take a run along the lake, I will often see someone feeding the local swans and ducks that live in Lake Geneva (also known as Lac Léman).  Sometimes its a mother and child, sometimes its an older man or woman, and sometimes whole families.  I've never understood the attraction to feeding birds, but it seems to be a popular thing to do here, and the swans really are beautiful so maybe I'll give it a try some day. 


Lastly, what we have recently discovered to be a favorite past time of the locals is urinating in public.  Surprise!  That's what we got when we rounded the corner out of our apartment the other night to find 3 men dressed in suits, all positioned in separate corners of the plaza urinating against the walls.  Who would have thought? We definitely didn't. You're probably thinking "Isn't Geneva supposed to be a clean place?" It is and it isn't. Its clean in that there is very little trash (minus the cigarette butts), and very little pollution, but we now walk at least a foot or two away from all the walls when leaving our apartment :-)


There you have it. c'est la vie à Genève.