Chapitre 3: Daytripping my way around France

Quick stop in Annecy for hot chocolate

Bonjour mes chers amis!  A long awaited (I imagine) update for you all about my adventures and gallivants all over Europe.  Let's begin two weekends ago:

 

Thursday, a few of my friends realized that since we have no class on Friday, we didn't have anything to do.  Thus, we decided to catch a 6:20 am train to Geneva, Switzerland on Friday.  The train ride was lovely, we rolled past Lac Aix-les-bains (maybe you remember this lake from an earlier post) and the beautiful mountainous countryside.  The ride was about 2 hours in total, not bad at all.  We arrived in Geneva just after 8:30, and much to my dismay, didn't have to show our passports or anything.  We did have to change some money into Swiss francs, because Switzerland isn't a member of the European Union, so they don't use euros.  Then we wandered the streets and found a lovely cafe, where I got hot chocolate and pain au chocolat. 

I felt that since I was in Switzerland, I should try to have as much Swiss chocolate as possible.  I continued this trend by stopping at a patisserie on our way from breakfast to a museum for some delicious treats.  After looking around in the Musée d'Art et Histoire, we stopped for lunch, including chocolat mousse for dessert.  The afternoon concluded with some exploring, a tour of the Espace Rousseau, the house where Jean-Jacques Rousseau was born, and some lounging by Lake Geneva.  All in all, it was a great day in a wonderful country.  I had plenty of excellent chocolate, I put the little guidebook I got to good use, and I was able to use clean, public restrooms that Switzerland obligingly provides to its citizens (unlike some other countries I've spent a semester in...).

Marathon weekend continued Saturday, when I roused myself once again before 6 am to go to Avignon and Orange, a trip organized by the CUEF.  Orange is a town in the Provence region of France famous because of its Roman history.  We first stopped at an Arc de Triomphe built by the Romans celebrating their capture of the town, then went over for a tour of the ancient Roman amphitheater, one of the largest left standing in Europe.  It was huge!  It was truly hard to believe that it was built by the Romans, I can't imagine how long it must have taken them.  

From there, we board the bus again and headed over to Avignon.  The name Avignon might sound familiar to you if you've ever heard the song "Sur le Pont d'Avignon" (On the bridge of Avignon).  The Pont d'Avignon is very old and famous, and was quite fun to walk out on and explore.  Sometime in the 17th or 18th century, part of the bridge was swept away by a flood, so it doesn't go all the way across the river, which is kind of funny.  The other major sight in Avignon is the Palais de Papes (Papal Palace?).  Avignon was the seat of the Catholic church during the 1400's, so the Pope lived there in his palace.  It was very cool to walk around and see the some of the ornate paintings still left of the walls and some of the decorations.  I thought it was especially interesting to compare the ornate decor of the Palais with the simplicity and lack of decor at the Abbey we visited; obviously the Pope (at least back then) lived a different lifestyle than the Monks.  

Another interesting thing I saw in Avignon was a feather-footed pigeon.  In fact, it was horrifying.  It appeared to be a normal pigeon, until I noticed that its feet were completely covered with fluffy feathers!  I realize that this description doesn't sound very horrifying, but if you had seen it, you would agree, it was truly disgusting.  The day concluded with a stop at another pont that is actually not a bridge at all, but a Roman Aquaduct.  It was a beautiful place since the sun was setting behind the hills and river as we walked around on this ancient structure.  But I was ready for a nap when we finally got on the bus to go home (about a 3 hour drive) around 8.

But the weekend didn't end there, my friends!  Nope, on Sunday I got up at 7 once more to go hiking in the Chartreuse.  With a few friends, we boarded a bus headed towards St Pier en Chartreuse, a quaint ski town according to my host family.  We got off a stop before St Pier at a monastery.  It was a beautiful day and we hiked around in the Chartreuse Mountains behind the monastery.  After hiking, everyone else headed into the Monastery museum.  Having been to several museums in the past few days, I opted stay on the hill behind the monastery and enjoy nature... and the donkeys that lived in the field.  

I shared my apple with one of them, and enjoyed watching a French family struggle with one.  For some reason, this donkey took a liking to their blanket and would not leave it alone.  My favorite part was when the mother was sleeping on the blanket and the donkey was essentially standing over her, chewing on the blanket.  The father then came over and tried to push the donkey in the opposite direction, while the little children waved dandelions in the donkey's face, to no avail.  It was really funny.  Anyway, I returned to Grenoble thoroughly exhausted, ready for a shower, a big meal and a good night's sleep.  

This past weekend, I stayed in Grenoble on Friday and Saturday, which were adventures of their own accord.  On Sunday I once again boarded a bus at 7 am, this time with Chamonix-Mt Blanc as my destination.  Mt Blanc is the tallest mountain in Europe, and Chamonix is the adorable ski town at its base.  Prepare yourselves for a description that seems fake and impossible to believe:  As we wandered around the most picture-perfect ski town I've ever been to, with the snow-covered mountains all around us, we stumbled across a troupe of alpine folk wearing lederhosen and playing Alp-horns in the town center!  If only we had seen a mountain goat, I would have died from the quaintness of it all.  But since there were no mountain goats in sight, we took a ride up le télépherique d'Aiguille du Midi, a gondola-type contraption that is essentially a giant box with a 70 person capacity pulled up the mountain by cables.  

At the first stop, about halfway up, a bunch of people got out to do parapente, which translates roughly to "running really fast and jumping off the side of a tall mountain with a parachute" so that was neat to see.  We continued upwards to the snow covered peak, and it was incredible!  It was so cool to look out and see all the mountains and countryside and snow and ice below us.  It was definitely one of the most incredible places I've ever been.  As we looked around and commented on how thin the air was and how out of breath we were after walking up some stairs, we saw some alpinists arrive at the top after hiking up.  No big deal, they walked and I rode; only difference was I didn't have to bring my ice pick or crampons.  

After some time spent exploring, we rode back to the halfway point and explored the alpine biome.  It was beautiful there too because the rocks were all covered with bright green lichens and mosses and there were reddish flowers and bushes all over the place that made a really beautiful color scheme.  Eventually we made our way back down with enough time to eat delicious desserts and hop back on the bus to Grenoble.  All in all, 2 wonderful weekends full of interesting and awesome adventures!

Editor's note: I didn't add captions to most of these pictures because it gets really frustrating with the blog formatting, so I'll give a little explanation here.  

1. Annecy, where we stopped for breakfast on the way to Mt Blanc; 

2. Flower clock in le Jardin Anglais, Geneva;

3. Yours truly in front of the lake in Geneva;

4. The amphitheater in Orange; 

5. The Pont D'Avignon; 

6. Mountains and Monastery; 

7. French family vs. donkey; 

8. Chorus of Alp-hornists;

9, 10, 11 are all views from Mt Blanc!