Annecy

 Annecy, France

This last weekend, a group of us took a trip to Annecy.  It is about a 40 minute trip from Geneva by bus. We drove through the countryside; this time not through vineyards, but tall green pine trees, curving roads, and tunnels through mountains.  Every time I get on a bus or a train, I fall in love with Switzerland even more,

When we got to Annecy, we began walking through the streets of old architecture, flower potted window sills, colorful shutters, and cobble stone streets. Every building was a slightly different color. It was a perfect day outside.  The streets were full of craft tables full of old castle artifacts, records, homemade jewelry, old rosaries, scarves, and every kind of knick-knack you could ever want. The river rain right through the middle of the old part of town.  

We moved closer to the lake and found an art show.  We walked through the paintings, but as I stopped and looked at a painting of the river, I felt a little silly.  We mimic real life because we wish to capture beauty, but here I am, standing right next to the breathtaking river, mesmerized by a painting. How silly, I thought.  But also, its so incredible how people connect through what is beautiful.  We slow down a little bit.  Life becomes a little bit simpler.  Even though there were people everywhere and it was loud and un-peaceful, the artist was smiling at me smiling at her painting, and although we spoke different languages, lived on different continents, and had never exchanged a word, we were both experiencing humanity a little bit differently today because we were sharing it together.  Beauty may be breath-taking and captivating, but it will never truly be beauty unless shared.

After the art show, we ventured out to the park & the water.  The lake was in a valley surrounded by mountains.  It was unbelievably clear and blue. There were probably more than a hundred paddle boats out on the water and people swimming. We ate lunch in the park, then ventured out to find an adventure on the lake.

We ended up deciding to go with a tour guide out onto the lake in a boat (slightly smaller & more intimate than the boat featured in the top picture).  I didn't understand anything through his thick accent, but it was lovely to listen to and French men are also pleasant to look at.

This was my favorite view from Annecy.  It is difficult to see from the photo, but the hills were green, and the mountains in the back were rather jagged and mountainous. The water was calm and clear and the sun was warm on your shoulders. We ate gelato twice, laughed, talked about politics, religion, men, books, and travel, and shared the type of friendship that warms you heart.  Overall, it was yet another perfect day.