When lockdown repeated itself last year, one local entrepreneur decided to make it work for her. Why not propose to small groups of locals themed walking tours around the area? Debra Kinson started All Around Geneva - Creative Guided Tours and has recently launched her website www.allaroundgeneva.com.
The website describes Debra's tour themes from Discover the Secrets of Geneva to Punctuality! 500 years of intricacy and craftsmanship - luxury watchmaking in Geneva. Among the 11 themes currently on offer, many more are in the works so you will always find one to suit your needs. You may sign up for All Around Geneva's newsletter through the website so you will be the first to know when something special is going on.
All Around Geneva also offers tailor-made tours for groups that are the subject of your choice or for a particular museum or château in the area. We caught up with Debra so our readers could get to know her a bit better before booking a tour... and she is offering a pair of tickets for an upcoming tour, read below.
Why did you start?
I started this adventure in 1982 as a novice tour guide in Spain, meeting and greeting and being the general point of contact for my clients abroad. Life is a mystery and in my case has led me full circle to reembrace a career that I began long ago, before marriage, children and moving to Switzerland in 1998. After various careers in my time in Switzerland I realised that my vocation lay in a past career and I just had to find a way of legitimising it.
What has been the inspiration?
My wonderful daughter Victoria arranged a weekend in Rome, during which we booked a guided tour of the Vatican. With no religious connotation, I had a light bulb moment and decided this is what I wanted to return to do!
A series of short videos entitled: What is it? Wednesday, presents an unusual object and asks if you know the answer. Many people are stumped. The answer is always explained at the end of the video. Do you know what these objects are or what they may have been used for?
Sit back and see if you know more than your friends and family. If you like puzzles or riddles, you will enjoy these Follow Lisa videos. Each short video treats a different object in Lisa's collection and may surprise you.
Watch the playlist at the link below.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAdA31shl1Lqwoa1urPBc_-sRFSWoz6I_
How many can you name? Did you know them already? Or did you learn something new?
If you love "junking", then contact Lisa at this link to go on a junking excursion and have an expert on hand to help haggle, bargain, and inform you of the right deals to be had. In addition, if you are looking for something in particular, Lisa can help you find the perfect treasure!
Press release June 2021
Geneva Airport's new public terrace is ready! As of Thursday, 24 June 2021, visitors are able to enjoy this space offering a bird's eye view of the tarmac, with the Jura mountain range in the background. Free of charge until the end of 2021, the "Terrasse Panorama" is accessible after passing a security check.
The "Terrasse Panorama" was originally intended to crown the celebrations of the centenary of Geneva Airport in September 2020. Unfortunately, sanitary restrictions linked to the Covid-19 epidemic have postponed its opening by almost a year. It is therefore with pride and relief that Geneva Airport opened its new terrace on Thursday, 24 June 2021.
Free of charge until the end of 2021 and open to the public, it offers an exceptional view of the tarmac six days a week during the high season, with the Jura mountain range in the background. Spotters will be able to observe the runway from end to end while its orientation will allow them to take beautiful pictures. This non-smoking area is located on the 4th floor of the main building and is accessible after passing a specific security check. A refreshment bar is available on site, offering snacks and refreshments. Visitors also have access to a projection room where films about Geneva Airport and its history are shown.
REMEMBER: Last day is Sunday, 29 August 2021... closing for 2 years.
The year 2020 will be remembered by months of confinement, closures, social distancing, and economic crisis due to the health crisis. Most every domain was effected, including our beloved cable car that lifts you above the city. The Téléphérique du Salève was shut to the public but maintenance operations were organized and carried out by the technical teams during this time.
This will be the last season before the cable car closes for a longer period, to make way for the renovation of the stations. Read our article from 2019 at this link where we show you the new amazing architectural plans.
The schedules between May and June have been adapted:
— Wednesdays and Fridays: 9h30-18h
— Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays in France and Geneva: 9h30-19h
— From 1 July until 29 August 2021, the cable car will be open every day until 19h + Friday and Saturday nights until 23h to take advantage of the combined offer Cocktail + Cable Car "Mont-Salève Sunset".
The Panoramique Restaurant's terrace will offer a combined lunch formula+ticket at €29.80. The offer will also be available for purchase at the lower station from 11h30 on Wednesdays and Fridays at noon (lunch and return trip by cable car).
During the summer season, visitors to the cable car will have the chance to automatically participate in a contest that will draw, each week, the serial number of the cable car ticket published at the cash desk or on the web. The winning number will be posted each week on the website.
We caught up with Paul Stebbings, artistic director of TNT Theatre Britain, who has been chomping on the bit to be able to get his latest production opened. All the theaters and shows are now allowed again with certain restrictions but it is great to get back to some normality.
Why did you start? What has been the inspiration?
TNT was started by actors who broke from an experimental 'physical' theatre company influenced by the Polish Director, Grotowski. We wanted to create our own style that acknowledged that the actor's body and physical training were important but aimed to be more popular and accessible to a wider audience than the usual 'experimental' theatre. We started off making our own plays, using a popular form such as Commedia dell'arte or English Music Hall and eventually moved onto classics such as Hamlet.
Have you been working on this idea forever, or was it something that came to you recently?
TNT have always been a work in progress, an ever-changing experiment. But we do keep productions in repertoire longer than most companies. The difference is to develop rather than revive a production. So this Hamlet was born almost 20 years ago but has grown since! We have had a full month rehearsal period to build on the previous incarnation. One actor was in the original production as the young Horatio and now plays the elderly Polonius. The original Laertes now plays King Claudius - we grow and age with our work.
What is the biggest obstacle you have had to overcome?
The double whammy of Brexit and Covid has been a huge obstacle. But we managed a shortened outdoor Castle tour last summer with Othello and have high hopes that his year's Hamlet will be easier because of the success of vaccinations. Who knows? But if we do not try to tour we will not have a chance of success.
