Food, Beer and Art in Annecy

One of the nice things about my school was how centrally located it was, only five minutes from the town center (and consequently many a time we would wander into town with friends for a beer or two after class) and also surrounded by numerous interesting shops including a fried chicken place that all the super-intensive students who took class both morning and afternoon seemed to invariably end up at. I couldn't comment on its quality as I funnily enough never went. However one of the more interesting shop spaces was a small art gallery opened by a group of local artists which sometimes held local exhibitions. 

The school organised a trip there with Chloe acting as our guide (and translator for the lower level students) and so one Friday evening I found myself being given a tour of an interesting exhibition of Laguiole knives (apparently a very famous and expensive brand). Although I'm not one for modern art, the knives themselves were quite beautiful, and it was fun to see what inventive ways artists had thought to use them.

Considering it was a Friday night we all then traipsed off to my favorite bar in Annecy, 'Beer 'O clock'. Aside from being warm and cosy with a distinctly alpine feel to it (stone walls and wooden decor and thick blankets thrown on the chairs) the entire system was unique! After registering your name at the counter and being given a swipe card (which you then keep as yours to use every time after) you top up the card and then choose your beer (there were many options as you can see below) and then you served yourself! The screens showed how much money was being taken off your card and it was easy to top it up again. This way you could try as much or as little beer as you liked, and the selection of beers (and ciders!) changed every few weeks, although the seemed to focus on French and Belgium (my favourite!). 

Continuing in the food and drinks theme, the same week I also decided to catch up with my french friend Amelie to finally try Raclette, a local specialty, and also to practice my french. Raclette involves a giant wedge of Raclette cheese mounted on a special melting machine, once it has heated enough you scrape the melting cheese on to your plate and enjoy with little potatoes, cornichons and a plate of cold meats. Yum. 

The pepper flavored Raclette at its perfect melting point.

We also heard about a random concert going on at one of the university campus' for free. It was a bit difficult to get to and horribly sign posted (we ended up just following the noise to get there) but we eventually discovered it in an underground basement type area. I soon learned that French reggae is a lot cooler than I thought it would be! My list of new experiences was growing.