Well said, Sheryl. Well said.
These were my sentiments exactly as I was wandering down an obscure road beside some donkeys in the French countryside, by myself. I couldn't help but giggle because I had no where else to be for the next few hours, so what was the harm in getting a little lost?
For the past month I have been spending my weekends in Grenoble after several weekends in a row of traveling to Belgium, Italy, The Netherlands and Czech Republic. Some of my favorite memories have been made here and I've fallen more in love with this beautiful city after spending time exploring it and bonding with my host family, whom I adore! It feels so reassuring to be comfortable enough to call this place home.
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| window to the world |
Speaking of home...I think my real home is actually on the top of one of these mountains. Sign me up for a little shack and endless supplies of dark chocolate and I should be good for the rest of my life.
The second best day of my semester thus far was going up to Chamrousse for a full day of skiing with some pals in the most perfect weather we could have asked for. My host sister even brought a friend and joined us! (Host) sisterly bonding- check! We had an absolute blast flying down the mountain, falling on our faces and being in complete and utter shock at our surroundings. It was magnificent. Chamrousse is a ski resort that is situated RIGHT above Grenoble so we could turn around on the ski lift and see our little kingdom down below us. Happy, happy, happy day.
So...what was the best day you ask?
Visiting my favorite city that I have been to this semester thus far: Annecy, France.
Wow. It was shockingly beautiful. Just less than two hours outside of Grenoble and twenty miles away from the Swiss border, Annecy is a petite village that has canals running through it and an alpine lake that is known as the cleanest in Europe.
With peaks of the Alps as the backdrop, this lake was just stunning. I literally could not contain my excitement as we skipped through the outdoor food market with eyes bigger than our heads and plopped down au bord du lac for a little picnic lunch. Afterwards, we rented pedalos and maneuvered around the lake. The nice young man renting them tried to tell us that the water was too cold to swim in, but all we heard was challenge accepted, monsieur. Let me be the first one to tell you that the temperature of said water rivaled the icyness that is Taneycomo Lake in Branson, Missouri. But, alas, I survived and it made for one of the sweetest memories.
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| don't let the smile fool you. you know what they say- laugh to keep from crying... okay, maybe that's a bit dramatic. but it was cold. |
Annecy, thank you for a wonderful day trip. We fully enjoyed your vibrant tulips, fresh savoyard cheese, tasty gelato and homemade macaroons.
Pourquoi pas profiter de la nourriture très délicieux?
À Bientôt.
