Fête de l'Escalade

Last weekend, we attended the L'Escalade festivities. L'Escalade is the celebration of a defeat of the Duke of Savoy's troops in 1602. The name of this festival is taken from escalade, the act of scaling defensive walls. This is an annual event held in Geneva, and it goes from Friday to Sunday night, around the 11th and 12th December. We did not know what exactly to expect, so we read the English brochure on the event, and planned our weekend accordingly. 


We spent most of our time around Place du Bourg-de-Four.  It was very crowded, but we managed to walk around with some friends and check out some of the activities. First, was the parade of soldiers firing muskets: 

Next, we found a stand selling vin chaud, or hot mulled wine. Perfect for walking around on a cold day! We then we went to the Passage de Monetier, a tiny passageway between buildings that is only opened during the L'Escalade weekend. 

We went into a cafe near Place du Fourg-de-Bour and had a coffee. At one point, three children came in, dressed in 17th century costume, playing the flute and telling the story of the 1602 L'Escalade in old-French.
 
When it got dark, the lights really made this part of town look delightful. 

We wandered around some more, ending at Place du Molard and its big Christmas tree:

Sunday was the big parade. We were tipped by someone to go to a small cafe, Cafe Demi Lune, for a drink and snack at least an hour before the parade was to start, then go to the street just before 5pm. It was great advice, as it was the perfect location! 

Children were selling little kids lights in balls for 5 CHF:

This was just before the parade started, so the children who had one felt part of the parade, while the kids without looked on with envy. 

This is looking down to Place du Bourg-de-Four, just before the parade started. You can see the cathedral in the background. 

After the parade passed us, the participants sang the L'Escalade song in the Place. 





















We ended the day with Ryan smashing the marmite, a chocolate tradition of the festival, to represent the act of Mere Royaume throwing a cauldron full of hot soup at a French soldier climbing up the city walls. 

 
This was a wonderful weekend!