This weekend we went to Annecy, France, and Geneva,
Switzerland! Annecy was one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been to.
It’s a small, Germanic town on the border of Switzerland and France. It was
very chilly; I needed to wear layers and it was too cold for my Tevas. The town
reminded me of Colorado; it was very sporty, people were running, biking, and
rollerblading all over town. The town surrounds a huge lake- Lac d’Annecy- and
it was so beautiful with the crystal clear water and the French Alps in the
backdrop.
DAY 1:
The first day we got there, Friday, we went paragliding! I
can’t believe we did that. We did tandem paragliding, so I drove up this huge
mountain in a tiny bus and jumped off a mountain with a man named Eddy strapped
to my back. We sailed around the mountain, dipped in and out of the trees, and
sailed over the lake. It was so incredible and surreal. I couldn’t believe it.
At the end, we even did some tricks when I thought my head was going to
explode. After paragliding, we were so exhausted even though we didn’t do
anything. We went back, relaxed, and went to a cheese shop, bakery, and
Monoprix for a picnic in the park. We had delicious rosé and laughed until our
stomachs hurt. After, we walked around the lake for awhile as the sun set, then
went to a bar called “Beer O’Clock”, where you can pour your own craft beers.
DAY 2:
The second day, Saturday, we got up early to take the bus to
Geneva. For some reason, we got the bus ride for free, and we loved the scenic
2-hour ride. When we got there, however, it was very underwhelming. It’s around
a giant lake, Lake Geneva, with the famous Jet d’Eau and a few statues here and
there, and it’s all very pretty. But the city is made for billionaires. We
passed Céline, Prada, Gucci, Rolex, Louis Vuitton. There were barely any stores
even somewhat in our price range. So, we meandered about until lunchtime, when
we went to a recommended fondue place. Besides the fact that I had thick,
creamy dressing literally dumped on
my salad, we asked for fondue for 6 people and were charged 150 SWISS FRANCS!
Which is 150 dollars for melted cheese. We laughed out loud and said no. We
ended up ordering two people’s worth and it was more than enough. It was also
incredible. After our cheese, and seeing some naked old women swimming in the
lake, we walked to the United Nations, which was cool to see but closed. We
also saw UNHCR, Unicef, the Red Cross, and basically every single other
organization. We wanted a water or a coffee after, but small coffees at
Starbucks were 8 dollars. Water, 5 dollars. We ended up getting some
(admittedly great) Swiss chocolate and returning back to our love, Annecy. We
got a FABULOUS dinner of create-your-own stir fry, and then we went back to the
beer bar, where a woman held a kitten next to us and fed it sausage. Ah, the
French.
DAY 3:
On Sunday, I woke up early to go to the markets to get some
fruit. I ended up getting some delicious spice bread, pain d’épices, along with
figs, the best apples I’ve ever had, and some fresh yoghurts. After the
markets, we rollerbladed along the lake, which was so beautiful and fun. After
that, we walked around and got some souvenirs before cleaning up and going
home.
We loved Annecy, and I think it’s going to be hard for other
places to measure up.
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