Annecy Ici

Annecy, France was my first exposure to French "quaintness". A town set on canals at the edge of a lake, it's picturesque views were not lost on this Rocky Mountain kid.

After a 70-minute bus ride and performing a comedic inquisition of one guy in our party who is studying to be a Lutheran Minister (excerpt: "So are there any strange things they make you do before you become a minister? Like, do they haze you?"), we arrived in Annecy. The old town is a mazework of passages and cobblestone streets that shelters dying boulangeries next to fashionable clothing stores. It is a town where you can run up a mountain for a jog, jump into the lake on the way back, dry off outside at a cafe, eat lunch along the canal, and listen to accordion music until you fall asleep. Although the weather was shi-tay when we there, rumor has it that it's a ridiculously beautiful place in the summer.

We attempted to hike up a nearby mountain, got caught in an afternoon rainstorm, handmade a few sandwiches from a baguette, slices of salami, and wheel of cheese under a rain-sheltering rock, and decided to walk back into town forty minutes later. The only thing that seemed to get us through the hour-long walk back into town was yelling American 80's lyrics from Culture Club, Nelson, and Warrant in crackling, pre-pubescent tones. We somehow married this with Swiss French radio commercials for Carrefour and SBB (the railway system).


Drenched and defeated, we sat at a local cafe to dry next to dry, smoking locals who were laughing (on the inside) at the wet tourists ordering lemon tea. Afterwards, we wandered around a more modern-looking mall to gaze at chocolate creations that apprentices had entered. Some of these kids were only teenagers - amazing.

Towards the end of the day, a large protest walked through the streets of the city, counter-protesting against the student-led CPE protests happening across France. While a majority of the protestors were older (not shocking), a notable few were under the age of 26. The law, if passed, would make it easier for French companies to hire and fire people under the age of 26.

From The San Jose Mercury News: "...the striking feature of the latest protest movement is that this time the rebellious forces are on the side of the status quo. Unlike the rioting youths in the impoverished suburbs, or banlieues, the objective of the students and public-sector trade unions is to prevent change, and to keep France -- with its worker protections and generous social-safety net -- the way it is. Indeed, according to one astonishing poll, three-quarters of young French people today would like to become civil servants, and mostly because that would mean ``a job for life.''"

The shitty pics are thanks to the wonderful disposable Kodak camera. Digital on its way soon! Other people's pics of Annecy are here.

Went to Mt. Salève (France) and Lausanne yesterday. Working on post.