Eating our way through Geneva

You are gazing at absolute decadence.  Melt in your mouth, smooth on your tongue Gelato made at the Chocolate Kitchen in Geneva, Illinois.

I opted for the Bailey's Irish Cream Gelato and did not regret my choice for one second.

It was FABulous!

As were many of the other tasty items that we sampled while walking through the lovely town of Geneva.

We weren't scheduled for departure from O'Hara until evening, so we packed up our bags and made the short drive from our hotel to the downtown area of Geneva.

It appears that we brought an Americanized version of Scottish weather with us.  It poured most of the day, with an occasional break, but no bright blue sky in between the deluges that we had grown accustomed to.

But, being the hearty "we-don't-let-rain-stop-us"travelers, we headed out with me wearing Marty's green rain-proof jacket, and he wearing his standby red one.   Oh, and we had the scottish plaid umbrella.  I wonder if we looked like tourists?

I had this brilliant idea that we would head to the library for info.  One thing that I had learned in Scotland is that the local libraries generally have a map of the town for touring.

Well, the Geneva Library did not have a historic tour map for us to follow, but it did feature a lovely Literary Garden:

And a statue tribute to Midsummernight's Dream looking over the lovely Shakesperean Gardens.

The county building boats an interesting statue of Don Quixote.  At least that's what I interpreted this to be.

The librarians were quite friendly and steered us towards 3rd Street, where the road is bricked and lovely lanterns line the streets.

Within short time, we spotted the Geneva History Center, so we crossed the street and entered the building.  A few tugs on the door made us realize that the place was closed.  We were just contemplating where we should go next when the door opened and a very nice young woman mentioned that the history center was closed, but the business office was open, which was why she was there.  I asked her a few questions, and, quite to our surprise, she let us into the building, unlocked the historical exhibit, and told us to take our time looking through the display.  

How great was that?  We learned that Geneva once had a large Swedish population  and we quickly spotted some familiar items.  On our way out the door, the same woman suggested Stockholm's for lunch.  

But first, we headed down the street to Graham's Fine Chocolates where we could watch the employees making hand crafted chocolates.  Couldn't pass on picking up some of those goodies.

Next stop:  Hahn's bakery where Marty picked up some pretzel rolls.  I spotted some yummy looking scones, but refrained from purchasing them. It was tempting, to be sure.  But I just wasn't in Scotland anymore.

Walking through the town certainly offered some interesting sites.

I wondered if there was some practical purpose behind that blue doggie-halter.  The place was closed on Mondays, so I couldn't check it out closer. 

Nearby there was a gourmet popcorn shop, and a quick trip in resulted in a bag of Caramel popcorn for the road.

By now it was lunch time, so we crossed the street to  Stockholms where we both had the 1/2 sandwich special:   mine with soup and Marty's with a salad.  The food was fresh and quite delicious.

We couldn't leave Geneva without checking out the Chocolate Kitchen where life size creations made from Chocolate enhanced the decor. Well, I'm sure the locals welcomed this edible life like creation.

That's a lot of chocolate, to be sure!

 And, this is where we enjoyed the scrumptious Gelato.   Yummm....

We were all set to head to the airport, but couldn't resist hunting down the Windmill that we had read about in the history building.

We found it in the Fabyan Forest Reserve, and, to be honest with you, it really wasn't that tough to locate.

The windmill was apparently a gift from Fabyan to his wife.  It was not only beautiful, but practical, as he set it up as a working windmill where grain was milled and bread was baked.

Across the river, among the Villa grounds, one can even imagine Mrs. Fabyan gazing upon her gift:

Among the beautiful grounds of the villa there is a  lovely Japanese Garden.

Another amazing site to behold.

The rain had stopped just long enough for us to have a quick walk around the gardens, admiring the beauty and calm.  

That was just what we needed before we headed off on the highways to the airport.  

With treats in hand, we were ready for whatever O'Hara had to offer in the way of delays. Delectable delights sending out signals of temptation.

But, lucky for us, the flight was on time and we landed 10 minutes early!   

And, if you are wondering what happened to those goodies.....not to worry....... All is well.