What an awesome time we had. We have a tonne of photos that tell all kinds of stories from the past 6 weeks, but I’m slow at this blog and I have to save a few stories for when we get home. In honour of our departure from this wonderful country though, a few of my favorite things about France (in no particular order):
Baked Goods:
Baguette, Bread, Pastries – all awesome. In general, I’m a big fan of all things that come from from an oven – be it a bakery or homemade. In this regard, Lauren and I have a special bond. On the weekends, we would walk to the local Boulangerie and pick up yummy things for the family for breakfast. By the end of the second week, we got a little out of control and our weekend outing turned into 5 days a week! Needless to say, we had to rein in our outings back to just weekends, but it was our special outing where we enjoyed the stillness of the morning, and yummy treats.
Bicycles:
I love riding a bike, I remember riding a bike as a kid and having the sense of total freedom – the ability to control where and when I go places. I still get that feeling when I ride a bike today. At home, our city isn’t set up very well for bikes (though we do have some awesome trails), for the most part they fill a limited role for adults, really only being used for athletic pursuits (road bikes, mountain bikes, etc). In France (home of Le Tour), bikes are simply a way of life. The apartment we rented came with a pair of bikes that we used regularly, we also rented bikes for the kids to join in exploring the bike paths and vélo cafes (cafes made exclusively for access by bikes). In France, bikes are everywhere and enjoyed by everyone young and old.
Cheese:
French cheese is soooo good. If you’ve been to France, you know what I’m talking about, if you haven’t – it’s worth going just for the cheese. By about day 3 in France, my body felt overloaded and I couldn’t eat anymore cheese but then, I acclimatized! After that I found myself seeking out cheese on a daily basis. We had a running joke, “have you had your cheese today”, as if is was a nutrient that one should consume daily. Oh how I will miss French cheese.
Happy, Helpful People:
I took French as a high school credit until grade 11. After that my teacher graciously told me that while conversational french was in my future, keeping the subject on my report card would not bode well for my admission to University! Over the years since, I’ve had a few opportunities to refresh my limited knowledge, but Annecy opened up a whole new world to me. I would say at this point, I have developed a solid foundation in “Survivalist French”. I cannot carry on a conversation, but drop me off on my own in the middle of the country and I will successfully find food, accommodation and maybe even rent a car so I can get lost in the never ending roundabouts. The people of Annecy were simply wonderful in their patience and helpfulness allowing me to keep trying and get a little bit better each time. There is so much value to making an effort, people see it instantly and respond warmly to your show of respect for their culture. Thank you to all the shopkeepers in Annecy.
French Wine:
It goes so well with all of that bread and cheese. It’s cheap too! I had a mission to find the least expensive wine I could and got down to €2.87 for a bottle – that’s around $4.20 Canadian. Bottled water was probably more expensive (didn’t ever check because Annecy has potable water flowing out of fountains all over the city which seems to be disappearing from Canadian cities). I helped an American couple in the grocery store select a wine with simple advice – you’re in France, they’re all good (they walked away happily with their selection, I’m sure it was good).
From here, we head to Italy. The days are getting much shorter and the seasons are changing. We have a busy stretch of travel for the next few weeks, hopefully I get quicker at these posts so I can get more of them out. Until then, Au revoir France!