Day 3:Lutry, the IOC and Geneva...

27 Feb 2025 - Day 3... marks my start from the IOC🇨🇭to Ancient Olympia in Greece 🇬🇷 ‼️

After a meeting with Christian and Pierre de Coubertin at the IOC HQ in Lausanne

For memory, I started my day along the lake in Lutry - where I lived for a few years in 2005-08... but never knew Lutry is known as "monkey town"... Who would have thought??? It is Alexis who opened my eyes when I asked why there were monkeys everywhere at the reception of the Hotel. When I asked if I could take a picture she asked with her or the monkey??? Her great humour cheered me up for the rest of the day (and I would later need it :)...

Finding out what people in Lutry are called monkeys (les singes) called for some research... it turns out that during the renovation of the Lutry Temple (the church) around 1570 (!) came from a company in Bern called Zum Affen (meaning monkeys) and most likely incorporated monkeys into the facade... This is how people in Lutry became monkeys!

Olympic Committee HQ in Lausanne

By the time I made it to the IOC it was raining and I was happy to go in hoping the rain would stop... Christian explained some of the challenges on the plate of the IOC including the whole doping problematic, gender issues, sustainability and the olympics, getting kids back to sports in a digital world, the Winter Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo Games in 2026 and Los Angeles in 2028... If it was not enough, we talked about the upcoming IOC presidential elections that would soon announce the election Kirsty Coventry as the first woman and first African at the helm of the IOC:

I was happy that another olympic athlete (Swimming) and medalist was taking over. Thomas Bach had also made history as the first olympic champion (fencing) to head the IOC!

Exciting times for the IOC and the world of sports! Exciting timing for me to be riding from the IOC HQ in Lausanne to Ancient Olympia in Greece!!!

It is under the rain and catching the train in Morges that I continued to Geneva where I had to hurry to the Apple Shop for my appointment to fix (change) my phone.. This would take much longer... hours and hours with mixed results as I struggled for months to transfer some of my esims... After a quick stop at Charlie Ganache with Pierre-Oliver and Anne-Marie and with a chocolate boost I decided to hit the road much later than I should have... I was soon stuck in a storm and rain. It is in the night that I arrived in Valleyry where I was saved by Annie from sleeping in the woods!!! 🤣 ☔️