Photographs and thoughts on photography and camera collecting
This cracked surface appealed to me. At first you don’t really know what it is. It looks a bit like some kind of aerial photograph of a parched landscape, with the cracks representing a series of rivers or gullies. Or maybe I’m reading too much into this and it’s just a bunch of cracks!
The picture demonstrates the value of looking down from time to time. Thinking about this as I write I realized that while I often look down, I rarely look up. I’ll try to look up more in future.
We’d been walking around for a while. I was hot, tired and my feet were hurting. So I decided to stop for a beer (or two). Luckily most Geneva cafés allow dogs. My chosen destination was the Café du Rondeau (Roundabout Café), which is located directly opposite the Reunification Statue.
It was quite full and I got the definite impression that the people there were regulars. They all seemed to know each other, and the Café staff seemed know the customers well. It was a very warm and friendly place.
While preparing this post I came across this quote from a review on TripAdvisor (see Well Worth A Go…): “the clientèle is colourful to say the least, and the patronne herself is worth the journey (I will say no more on that subject, for without seeing for yourself, words fail…).” I can only agree.
Go Players.
A few of the customers. I think she may have noticed me taking the picture.
The trail past the graffiti turns into a pleasant walk along a rocky watercourse – presumably the River Drize. The path was largely flat and shaded by trees. Benches (as seen in the picture above) have been placed along the way in case you need to rest.
According to the French version of Wikipedia (translated from the original French):
8.9 km long, the source of the Drize is at the foot of the Salève, more precisely in the territory of the commune of Archamps. It then crosses the communes of Bossey and Collonges-sous-Salève before entering Switzerland (where it takes its name) by the commune of Bardonnex. It then crosses or borders the towns of Troinex, Veyrier, Lancy, Plan-les-Ouates, Carouge and eventually Geneva to plunge into the Aire at an altitude of 390 meters.
The Drize arises from several tributaries, the main ones being the Tate brook (or Archamps brook) and the Clef stream (or Collonges brook). Thereafter, on the Geneva territory, it still receives three tributaries: the Nant-de-Sac, the Bistoquette and the creek of the Marais.
The first mention of the Drize dates back to 1780, during the construction of the Carouge Canal, which diverts part of the river to feed these factories. Around 1790, the marshes of Troinex are partially drained.
Beginning in 1934, the course of the river was gradually tamed, first by vaulting it at the junction with the Aire, then by several successive drainages in the Bardonnex and Charrot zones (between 1941 and 1945 ) Then Troinex and Croix-de-Rozon (1945 to1983).
In 1967, the industrial wastewater treatment plant in Aïre was commissioned and received waste water from the Drize River in 1970. In 1992, the other waste water treatment plant on the river at Collonges-sous-Salève, is de commissioned.
From 1997 onwards, major works were undertaken to clean up the river banks, to uncover part of the Bistoquette and to create a new tributary (Tatte ditch) with the general aim of revitalizing the river and its banks. As of 2003, these projects have been extended to both sides of the border by signing the cross-border river contract (10 October 2003)
Rocks in the River.
A shady walk
Since we’d brought the dog along with us I had to take him for walks. My first excursion took me to the municipality (town) of Troinex.
Walking along the Route de Troinex I came across this interesting flight of steps descending from the main road. I didn’t go down so I have no idea where it went.
Our daughter lives in one of the villages near to the foot of Mont Saleve (visible in the background as it is from almost everywhere in Geneva. As mentioned in an earlier post (See: Geneva – Introduction) it’s actually in France i.e. the building is in Switzerland, the mountain is in France). The day after we arrived we went for a walk to pick up our grandkids who had been at a friends for a while after school.
As we were returning home I noticed this lovely decrepit old building. As I approached to take the picture I noticed signs of activity so either the building was still in use, or it was being renovated.