Lundi 13 décembre 2010:
Le groupe va visiter l’ONU et la Croix-Rouge à Genève.
We had to be up early to be at the Gare de la Part Dieu to meet the girls at 7am ! The only girl not meeting us there was Jess, as she is staying in Geneva. The girls who travelled from Grenoble had a very early start - 4am I think!
We set off in the coach on the motorway for the 2 hour drive NE to Geneva
Icy snow on the side of the road....
I was excited to see the sign to Annecy, where I had holidayed with my family nearly 16 years ago!
Of course I noticed the tilted sedimentary rocks on the cliff beside the motorway - perhaps the motorway had been cut right through it?
Snow on the distant Alps ....
We arrived at the United Nations!
Some interesting displays in the foyer, I was especially injterested in the Environment information ....
Our eloquent and knowledgeable tour guide ...
We were first shown a meeting of student delegates from 192 countries, the dialogue is translated into the 6 UN languages: chinese, English, Russian, French, Spanish and Arabic.
the ceiling....
I was interested to spot the 2 Aussie delegates - lower centre table...
The complex structure of the UN - set up after WW2.
An example of the amazing art work donated to the UN. As you can see, this one is made of large painted nails!
The remodelled assembly hall for Human Rights meetings .....
The ceiling was comissined to a Spanish ( I think?) artist - it resembles painted stalactites on the roof of a cave - they looked like they may fall or drip on the delegates! The ceiling is symbolic of the way that things can appear differently depending on one's perspective.
Another piece of artwork - this chinese tapestry called Temple of Heaven, is woven so that the staircase always points to the viewer, from whichever directino you view it. it appears to follow you as you walk past - it reminded me of the tapestries in the Vatican museum in the Vatican, inside Rome.
Below: The assembly hall where disarmament meetings are held. The striking huge gold and balck/brown paintings are symbolic of the struggle for world peace ansd the dangers of war.
Below:: the main Assembly Hall - very famous!
A bad photo of me - but at least it show I WAS at the UN!!
A beautiful peacock in the courtyard....
Now it was time to head across the road to the Red Cross and to have lunch before our tour.
I was amused to see the sign Croissant-Rouge - did it actually mean red croissant?
No, the Red Crescent of course!
Gotcha Grace!!
The sculptures represent the people of the world who have no voice and cannot see or hear due to their injury, oppression and disadvantage as a result of war and conflict- these are the people the Red Coss have helped over the last 151 years.
The lovely gentleman who led our tour was a volunteer with an amazing knowledge of the history of the organisation, and an obvious passion for the cause and an empathy both with recipients of the Red Cross's assistance and the wonderful people who give their time to help others. The quality of the displays and memorabilia was very high and the photographs and film footage of Red Cross workers helping and saving lives in battles since the early 1900's was very moving...
An enlarged copy of the letter Henry Dunant wrote about the Solferino campaign in Italy 24 June 1859 urging the setting up of an international society to help those injured in battle - this was the catalyst for the formation of the Red Cross Organization.
Henry Dunant and other wealthy Swiss business men financed the organization.
A 1800's medical kit .........
There were tens of shelves containing hundreds of boxes, each containing hundreds of names and details of soldiers ( 7 million I think?) attended to by the Red Cross in battles since it began. The details of the soliders were written on white cards and enquiries by families were written on green cards and matched up - this ingenious filing system, for the first time enabled Red Cross to assist families to be reunited after the war or at least to inform them of what happened to their loved one.
A cloth snake made by WWI UK prisoners in 1919 using glass beads and thread ....
a tiny tea service - tiny cups, saucers and tray made from animal bones ......
A postcard sent home from the front ....
A medical kit and its contents from the ......
A Red Cross store room - showing the range of items from the around the world that are supplied to people in need as a result of conflict or natural disasters....
Prostehtics legs made out of wood, plastic and other materials for people who have lost limbs as a result of land mines......
Along one long wall of the museum was the Wall of Time - a timeline of world events both natural du=isasters and man-made tragedies. I particularly noticed a couple of entries involving Pakistan - cyclones in 1965 and again in 1970, as we have been studying the recent Pakistan floods in Year 9 Geography.
The boulevard around Lake Geneva....
In freezing conditions - the wind off the lake was icy, we were dropped off near the city centre and given 45 minutes to explore, find a coffee shop, buy some famous Swiss chocolate etc. I made my way up the hill towards the cathedral and came across a place with a small market with Indian handcrafts and a merry -go-round.
I found a warm Pizza cafe and ordered a cappucino - very nice, but I wish I had thought to order a hot chocolate!
The chocolater shop where I bought some truffles for Fabienne's mother ....
Making my way back down in the failing light to the bus by 4.45pm!
I have never seen pink and black christmas trees before!
Pre-Christmas sales
Jess is collected by her host mother ....
Back on the warm bus and back to Lyon, a very long but enjoyable day!!
That's all....
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