The Latest

This is going to be a bit long, so read on mon amie...

OR Just Check out my Photos:
http://new.photos.yahoo.com/album?c=lauren.gross&aid=5764607
62391742412&pid=&wtok=ION0B0uUV1pBjAiO0SpIxQ--&ts=1172763025&.src=ph

Though I had some really great times on my little adventure, the whole time I had this constant feeling like I arrived at a party before everyone else showed up and I didn't know anyone. You know, like I really want to have a good time and get to know people, but just feel awkward and out of place instead. I realize that I keep putting myself in situations where I feel like that and keep asking myself what the hell I'm doing, but I just can’t help myself. I have to say it was a bit of a reality check to leave my little English bubble here in Paris and venture out into the country. Yes, many people speak English, but many people also don't. For example, it is a very unnerving feeling when the train ticket taker looks at your ticket (20 minutes into the ride) and gives you a concerned look back. The first thought is, "crap, I'm on the wrong train." When actually, I was just supposed to get it punched before I got on and didn't know. Stuff like that happened to me all weekend. And, even when I did try to say a few things in French, it's a 50/50 chance the intended person will understand my pronunciation anyway. Some people are understanding and gracious and some definitely give a bit of attitude. And now a bit about my adventure...

Well, first, I almost missed my train to get there. I left for the train station right after French class. I got there 20 mins ahead of time (which is usually enough here). I couldn't print my ticket however because I don't have a French credit card. yada, yada, I got my billet (ticket), found the terminal and jumped on the train with two minutes to spare.

Three hours later, I arrived in Annecy (Friday around 6pm). Guilliume, the snowboard/ski instructor that I was staying with picked me up from the train station and we went to the restaurant where he and his friend/fellow instructors Matieu and Ava gave out awards for the week to their students (and parents). The restaurant was this little family owned place on the way up to the mountain and the whole place was filled. We ate raclette and drank wine and danced with the tourists to the sound of the restaurant owner’s son playing the accordion well into the night. Afterwards we went to a bar to hang out then went to another local bar/night club to dance, but didn’t stay long because Guilliume had to work in the morning. Raclette is a local cheese/dish where they melt the cheese on a hot plate until just toasty on the top then pour it over potatoes and cured meat. Hooooly crap it’s good. I love this country. It was actually sunny when I arrived in town, but the rain soon started and didn’t stop until it started snowing Sunday evening.

How did I meet this person and stay at his place in the Alps for free you ask? www.couchsurfing.com. It’s a really great website that connects travelers all over the world. You of course have to sign up, but it’s free and your level of commitment is up to you. I’ve hosted a couple people while living in Portland. One from England and the other from Bend, who was moving to town. I have to say they were some of the best experiences. I wanted to stay in the Alps, but didn’t have a place to stay, so I went on the website and emailed him about a week before leaving. He emailed back (through the website, so no personal info is given) and away I went. The other website I learned about is called Hospitality Club: www.hospitalityclub.com. Good stuff! Anyway, Guilliume is an instructor at Manigod, which is one of 4 main areas to ski in the area. He has been an instructor for 10 years (started when he was 19) and he and his cousin Oliver live/own a little house 10 minutes from the ski resort and about 40 minutes from Annecy. La Cluza is the town and is the main access to the ski lifts, though a skier can traverse back and forth to all four mountains if one wishes. He also hooked me up with some rental boots and skis for three days.

Saturday I was going to go skiing, but it was raining, so I read and slept most of the day. I was actually pretty OK with that since I had the whole place to myself. I did venture out to explore the area a bit, but he lives close to the highway in a neighborhood on the mountain and there isn’t really anyway to get to a hiking spot without transportation. Sat evening G’s friend picked me up to go to a restaurant with a lot of his friends. We went to his other friend Denis’ (Chez Denis in French) house for apertifs, meaning cheese balls, chips, sausage and wine/beer before heading to the restaurant. There was a couple from N. Carolina who were there for the weekend visiting friends. Though I'm trying not to hang with too many English speakers, it was really nice to be able to communicate! After apertifs, we all went to a restaurant in La Cluza (about 10 of us). Oh, the food was amazing! I can’t remember the name of my dish, but it had some green vegetables, three different kinds of cheese, and of course, cured meat and potatoes. I’ve never really eaten ham in the states, but I eat it all the time here. When we divided the bill all up, I think we paid about 30euros each, but that includes 4 courses and wine. They also drink this alcohol after dinner called chartruse. It’s hard to explain, but it’s a bit sweet and kind of has a plant/herb taste to it. I will do some more research, so I can describe it better. J By the time we were finished and ready to leave it was after midnight, so everyone went just went home. It was still raining outside when we went to sleep.

Sunday I was going to ski no matter what. I made it to about 2:30/3 and had to bail. The mountains are open til 5 here, but the snow was so wet and my legs were tired, so I busted out. I was in a crappy mood cause the weather sucked, I was tired, bummed that the snow wasn't very good, and my feet hurt from the rental boots. So, I went to the bar at the base of the chair to have a drink and change shoes. After drinking the best irish coffee I've ever had and getting warm and dry, I felt much better and was ready to face how I was going to get back to Guilliume's house. I ended up taking a bus headed to Annecy for 10 euros. I didn't know that I was supposed to get up before my stop so the driver would know. I just thought he stopped at every stop (plus, I wasn't exactly sure where it was). After passing my street, I went up to the driver, who eventually stopped about 2km away from where I was supposed to be. Ugh. No worries, though. I hitched a ride back up the hill and got inside the house right before it started to downpour. Guilliume got back later in the evening and we were both so tired, we watched the movie Big Fish in English (yeah for giving my brain a vacation) and then went to sleep. It started to snow Sunday night and continued on into Monday.

Monday: Unfortunately, though there was fresh snow, the whole mountain was enrobed in clouds. I went to La Cluza anyway, just in case, but the clouds didn't part and eventually I gave up and went home. La Cluza is a really cute town with a bunch of shops and I did walk around town for a bit though before taking off. There was a little open air market with people selling all kinds of artisan meats and cheese and soap and honey, etc... I would have bought one of each if I could have afforded it, but I settled on some Tomme cheese, which is one of the local cheeses in the area.

Tuesday the clouds parted and I skied all day. What a great day! I spent the better part of the day on Balme which is on the back side and the highest part of La Cluza. I just put my headphones on, turned on some Beastie Boys and rocked it down the mountain. Whatever rain and crap I had to go through up til now, it was all worth it for this. I ended up taking the little bus for 3,60 euros to the other little town down the hill called St. Jean and hitched a ride back to the house. It was much easier and cheaper to do it this way. Plus, it’s fun to meet people. I hitched a couple times up and down the mountain and every single time, though not everyone spoke English, the people were extremely nice and friendly.

Wednesday was my last day there. My train out of Annecy didn’t leave until 17:00, so I had a leisurely breakfast then made my way to town around 1 pm. Annecy is absolutely beautiful and has a lot of cute little streets with restaurants and shops. The lake is amazingly clear and with the Alps lining it, everywhere looks like a postcard. I stopped for lunch about 2:00 and ate tarteflette, which is another local dish. As you can probably guess it contained pomme de terre (potatoes), cream, cheese, and little pieces of ham. I also had a salade and some wine. I just sat and read my book and ate and had coffee for about an hour and a half while it rained outside. It was great. You’d think that I’d have gained 20 pounds by now, but in Paris I walk everywhere and though they eat a lot of fatty foods, all the food is fresh and the portions are not that big. They also don’t really eat a very big dinner, which makes a lot of sense to me. So, eventually I made my way to Gare d’Annecy (the train station) and headed back to Paris. I have to say, I was glad to leave the city and get some fresh air and mountains, but I was very glad to be back home again!! On to planning the next trip… J