Geneva Girl’s Guide: Part II

Picking up where we left off with my first Geneva Girl’s Guide post, our second day in the city dawned gloriously sunny, bright and fresh in the way that only alpine climbs can. It’s easy to understand why all the best spas are in Switzerland, the air quality there is unreal. Said “freshness” was a major blessing on that particular morning as after a thoroughly enjoyable and unexpectedly raucous night before, I was feeling anything but. Once Millie and I had managed to drag ourselves out of bed – despite us all having our own rooms Millie and I, and Carry and Lucy both ended up sharing a room both of the nights – and crawl down to breakfast in our pyjamas, it was time to make ourselves vaguely presentable for day two’s activities. Ok, activities may have been the wrong word. Indulgences would perhaps be a better description of what we’d be getting up to…

Getting my chill on at Insens

Our first port of call was Insens, a spa nestled in the Eaux-Vives neighbourhood where we’d be enjoying full body massages. I take back everything I’ve ever said about an iced latte/hearty run/pyjama clad Come Dine With Me marathon being the only way to combat a hangover. Nothing soothes your temples, soul and everything in between quite like have your muscles expertly rubbed by a trained professional. Had it carried on all day I wouldn’t have been complaining! Sadly the massage did eventually draw to a close but I left the wonderfully scented tranquility of Insens feeling a whole lot better than I had when I’d arrived there.

Coup de Girafe, isn’t this place the cutest!?

Next on our agenda was lunch and after some discussion about location (it had to be photogenic, obvs) we settled on Coup de Girafe, a café suggested by our guide, Pascal, which turned out to be just about the most adorable and delicious thing ever. One thing I was really surprised by in Geneva was the number of eclectic places we experienced. From Bal des Créateurs, where the Girl’s Guide launch was held and the Verre à Monique we caroused afterwards to this sweet brunch-or-lunch spot and the concept store-cum-restaurant we’d be eating at that night, the city is full on unexpected and unique spots to wine, dine and shop at. I don’t mean this in a rude way but I just totally didn’t expect that! The lunch menu at Coup de Girafe was small, mainly consisting of a few quiche, salad and open sandwich options but all were so bursting with delectable ingredients and prepared in front of us by the sweet elderly couple who run the place so that didn’t matter a bit. I opted for a balsamic drizzled duck salad with mango, figs, olives and achovies and, washed down with a glass of Sancerre and finished off with a slice of tarte tartin and a wonderfully frothy cappuccino.

Leisurely lunch over, we continued on or an equally leisurely stroll through the city, stopping off to check out an adorable street food market and a few boutiques on the way. Septième Etage was my favourite and had a great selection of contemporary and luxury brands, including Alice + Olivia. In fact, that’s where I first spotted and fell in love with this dress. The thing about being leisurely is that time seems to fly despite the fact that you’ve really achieved very little and before we knew it, Millie and I were dashing back to the hotel to take a few outfit pictures before getting ready for another evening of fun.

Idiots abroad

Our evening kicked off at Les Vins d’Urbain with an activity I was particularly excited about, wine tasting! It turned out to be more like wine drinking as most of the party were far too busy chatting, laughing and generally having a lovely time to ask particularly insightful questions about the provenance of the grapes they were imbibing but while I may not have greatly improved my knowledge, every sip that passed my lips was utterly divine.

Some hours and several glasses later, it was time to dine and we headed off to L’Adresse, the aforementioned restaurant-cum-concept store. I was slightly surprised to find I was actually quite hungry, given that the trip had thus far largely revolved around eating, with a bit of dancing and slow paced strolling thrown in for good measure, but it was lucky I was. If I ever go back to Geneva I will most certainly be booking a table at L’Adresse! We pretty much all ordered the steak and my God was is absolutely bloody excellent. Served on slates and accompanied by mushrooms and chips unlike any I’ve experienced before, there was nothing I didn’t love about the entire situation.

Ten points to anyone who can decipher what the hell is going on in this picture

Our night continued with dancing at Zoé live bar followed by more dancing at some other club I can’t for the life of me remember the name of. Thank you Tourism Geneva for a thoroughly enjoyable and surprisingly wild girl’s getaway!

Love Ella. X