Annecy

 November 2019

After a number of train transfers and a brain-hurting but fun conversation in French with my train seat neighbor, I arrived in Annecy. It was all so painfully familiar, in a strange way it was like coming home. I had lived here for 6 months once, and it had always stuck with me.

My friend Emily had come all the way from Paris, and my friend Jennifer and her husband Sebastien were the ones putting us up, so it felt like the old gang all together again, which was really special. With all the snow, they took us straight up the mountains, which was breathtaking. 

I borrowed a waterproof jacket, but my jeans and sport shoes were hilariously unprepared for snow. It didn't matter though, we ran around in it anyway. 

The only regret was they had forgotten to put their toboggans in the boot! One day I will tick tobogganing off my bucket list, but clearly not today. 

Sebastien cooked us snails that night, which were just as delicious as I remembered. They refused to let us pay for any of the food and wine they bought from the supermarket which was so generous considering they were also letting us stay in their house! 

To make up for it, Emily and I took them out to dinner at one of our favourite restaurants the next night, L'Etage, where they do excellent fondue and racelette - perfect winter fare!

Walking around the old town at night with friends felt surreal, I was finally back! Annecy is one of my favourite places that I ever been, and being there made me dream of living there again.

The next day they were kind enough to take us on a driving trip around the lake, it was a misty, chilly day, but that only added to the atmosphere. We tried to go up the mountain again, this time with toboggans in hand, but the snowfall became too heavy, especially without snow chains on the car, so we had to turn around. Thwarted again!

We ended the day with homemade raclette around the table, as they had a nifty home racelette grill. It was delicious and I ate my weight in cheese. 

The weekend over, we bid farewell to Emily, who had to return to work in Paris, and Jennifer and Sebastien also had to go to work (it being a Monday).

 I was therefore left alone for the day, and decided to walk through the old town again, for a trip down memory lane. 

It was almost surreal how little had changed, my favourite bar was gone, but that was about it. Aside from that, no time could have passed at all. I walked past my old street (Rue de la Poste) and stared up at my apartment building. I walked along the lake, and admired the views, unchanged.

And then it was time to take my bus across the border to Geneva, where I would be flying out in the morning back to London. One last long wistful look at the lake, and I was gone. 

A Trip to France

 November 2019

Before we knew it, November had hit, and it was time for us to bid Cardiff goodbye. It had been a wonderful experience and we would miss the city terribly (although towards the end the incessant rain had gotten us down a tad).

 We were off for some family visits before we would finally be heading back to New Zealand. We had no idea how long we would stay, just that we were ready for a change. 

First stop was a quick visit to see dad in France, where we were picked up from the airport and driven through the Gorges du Verdon, which have absolutely stunning scenery. 

We popped into Frejús for lunch, a port town on the Côte d'Azur where I very excitedly ordered Moules frites, something I hadn't had in years. Mopping up the sauce with crusty bread was exactly as delicious as I remembered, and Ben was a quick convert too. I do love France!

We popped to Aix-en-Provence the next day, which was awesome as I hadn't been there before. Playing tourists with family was fun, especially when we stopped for beer and fries!

Ben was heading back to the UK a week before me to spend some quality time with his family in Bristol before we headed to New Zealand, so we dropped him off at the airport, and said our goodbyes. Our next stop was Marseille!

I can never decide if I like Marseille, it's a far cry from my favourite type of French town, which lies more along the lines of Toulouse or Aix-en-Provence. 

Marseille has grit, and maybe a bit too much of it for me. 

The Notre-Dame de la Garde is worth a visit however!

The days had gone far too quickly as always, and I was soon headed for the train station, with a ticket to Annecy. I had decided since I was so close, I might as well spend a few days in my old town, especially as I still had friends living there who had kindly offered to put me up. 

We ran into a spot of bother as the train was delayed hours due to snowfall, but it eventually arrived, and dad waved me off. I was very sad to be leaving (thanks for the lovely holiday dad!) But also excited to see my friends, it had been years!