Wowza. I cannot believe life right now. We drove over to France today for lunch and shopping. Annecy is unbelieveably pretty. It’s as if someone brought a fairy tale to life. It’s all cute old buildings and canals and mountains and loveliness.
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| They even have swans! |
I’d say it took a little less than an hour to drive there. It wasn’t long after we left that we crossed the border into France, which was easier than driving through a toll booth. If I wanted to go to, say, Canada from the US, I’d have to get my passport out and stop at customs and assure them I wasn’t trafficking anything over the border. At the France-Switzerland border, we just… drove through. For the first time in my life, I was in France. I became keenly aware that everything around me was French. That’s French grass, that’s a French house, those are French hills, the sky is French…
We drove through a beautiful, green, hilly region where, during World War II, the people there had provided a hiding place for Allied soldiers and paratroopers. There really is just so much history in Europe. Sometimes I forget how many important events happened in its tranquil countryside. We drove on south, watching France go by (did I mention we were in FRANCE??) and listening to Muse. I wasn’t sure life could get much better.
Except it did, once we reached our destination. I was suddenly surrounded by colorful, old buildings and tables full of shiny antique curios, all lining a canal. It was sunny and warm and for a while we looked at all the old door handles and juice presses and books, though everything was far outside my price range. I did debate buying a French comic book, but I couldn’t decide which one to get.
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| Shiny antiques as far as the eye can see... |
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| For all your juicing needs |
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| I saw lots of wooden clogs there... is there a significance? |
We ate lunch on the canal, and it was amazing. I ordered the knuckle of lamb, and it was very, very good. It was sitting on a bed of couscous and the meat just FELL OFF the bone. Abby and I also tried beer mixed with Sprite, which has a name in French that I have forgotten. It was refreshing and sparkly, perfect contrast to the hot sun beating down on us. In a good way. I’m glad I decided to wear a sundress because it was positively summery.
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| What you mean, you "don't eat no meat"?! That's ok, I make lamb. |
After lunch we did a bit of shopping, and Sara, wonderful person that she is, bought Abby and me matching owl necklaces. They are friendship owls. The only things I purchased were some post cards, one maybe to send and the other as artwork for the apartment. I’ve been buying postcards everywhere I go. They’re cheap and can be sent to people or used as wall decorations, provided you find good frames for them!
We also walked along the lake, which is surrounded by mountains. I really have never seen any views as breathtaking as I have in the Alps. The Midwest needs more mountains, for sure.
The drive back to Geneva was just as beautiful. Back at the apartment we watched some more Perfect Couples. You might wonder why I’d be so into watching TV while traveling, but the thing is, in Madrid, we aren’t able to just hang out on the couch and watch TV or movies, which is something that, while it’s a small pleasure, I enjoy doing. Before dinner we had a bit of Italian ham and white wine, and then headed off to Soupçon for a fantastic meal, which consisted of a brand-new creation not yet on the menu (a zucchini and basil “cappuccino,” essentially soup with a foam on it, in a glass, with a thin strip of bacon sticking out of it. It was delicious), scallops, foie gras (yep, I’ve tried duck liver. It was pretty good actually), and steak tartare; it’s sushi in meat form! What’s not to like?
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| Fois Gras |
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| I couldn't finish it, sadly. It was delicious though. |
Now I’m really full of incredible food and relaxing to the max. Tomorrow is Gruyère, where they make the cheese of the same name, as well as CHOCOLATE. I must digest to prepare for this.
And yes, I realize that this blog is essentially about food.
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