United Nations Tour

It was a bit challenging to get into the UN today.  We tried to make the first 10:00 tour, but were told upon our arrival that morning tours were cancelled, to come back for the 2:00 tour, but to get there at 1;30 to buy tickets.  I arrived at 1:00 while the group went down to the main gate and flags to get pictures, but they would not let me in till 2:00 to buy tickets.  So we waited a long time in line.  We finally got in, went to the tour desk with our ticket and were told that the tour would start at 2:30, so the group went into the gift shops and to the bathroom.  At that moment, an announcement was made that the 2:00 tour was starting.  I tried to gather the group, but several were in the bathroom.  I tried to explain the problem to the guide, but she was short with me.  Eventually it got straightened out and we proceeded with a very good tour.  The guide apologized to me very thoroughly after the tour got underway, and again at the end.  It seemed pretty accurate of the whole UN experience.  Lots of confusion, changes of plans, misunderstandings and apologies.  

She was a great guide and had a ton of good information.  Nothing that was very new to me, but detailed enough to interest my pol Sci majors and leave the non-majors with some snippets of new info too.  

Lots of great posters at the entry to the building.  This was my favorite.

Looking out toward the lake from the Palais des Nations - the oldest part of the complex.  They have over 12,000 meetings/conferences at the Geneva headquarters every year.  The WTO, ILO, WIPO, UNESCO, and Human Rights Council all meet here and are headquartered here.  There was a largest ILO conference in progress while we were here, so for the third time I did not get to see the largest conference room in the complex.  Ah well. 

This was the meeting space for the League of Nations and has some beautiful symbolic paintings by Spanish artists on the walls representing war and peace and hope for the future. 

The UN has its own postal station where you can mail postcards with a UN stamp.  Sign of a new generation:  I had to teach all my students how to address a postcard, where to put the stamp, and how to open the mail drop box to send them!  Very funny to me.