Annecy

Before I start typing about today, I’d like to expand about yesterday and my glorious five hour bike ride. I honestly can’t believe I made it around that entire like, all 50 kilometers of it, the ups and downs, the narrow climbs and falls. My every muscle may have been sore today, but it was totally worth it. For 15 Euros, I thrust myself into the Alpes and saw some of the most picturesque scenery that the Swiss-French border has to offer. And- I only fell once! On my butt, of course, trekking down a rocky slope from the Cascade d’Angon. Oops. But I’m Sharon, so that was to be expected, and no harm done. Anyway, I will definitely be returning one day to Annecy, the Lac, Talloires and everything in that immediate region. Even the hostel I stayed in was fantastic – amazingly clean, showers in the room, strong WiFi connection – worth the hour-long uphill trek from the train station.

This morning, I did that very same trek – but luckily the downhill version – back to the train station at about 5:30 a.m. I wasn’t the only one awake; there were a few street cleaners sweeping Annecy’s pristine streets and sidewalks, and a couple chefs were preparing for the day ahead. But aside from these few, I was only to breathe that deliciously pure Rhone-Alpes air.

My train rides today, which totaled about 6 hours, were largely uneventful, and I slept pretty much four hours straight on the second one. The passenger next to me had to wake me when we finally arrived in Nice, which was luckily the last stop on this train. Anyone surprised here? Sharon falling asleep on command in random places…no way! But I groggily stumbled out of the train and managed to hold onto all my stuff through the seedier area of Nice, enjoying the suddenly Mediterranean weather.

Nice has been nice so far, though I definitely think Annecy was much more beautiful. After checking into the hotel/hostel, I made my way to the Marc Chagall Museum. Yes, where the Jews go, Sharon goes. But in all seriousness, I was really interested to see his works after seeing the movie Varien’s War with my grandmother, in which Chagall is one of the artists escaping Nazi Germany through the hands of some very righteous gentiles. The museum was beautiful, especially the Biblical paintings, but I was slightly disappointed to see almost no mention of Chagall and the Holocaust. Hopefully I’ll find that in different Jewish places in Paris. This museum was great though, even more so because it was relatively small, so I didn’t even have time to get museum-exhausted!

After that, I walked all around Nice, along the main avenue, down to the beach, on the boardwalk, and through Vieux Nice. Staring at the Mediterranean Sea from above and from its rocky shores was incredible as always, yet I wanted to reach out across the water and pull Israel just a bit closer. Luckily, I reminded myself, I’ll be in Israel in 6 days – God willing. I hope that I remain just as enchanted with Israel this time – my fifth time – as I have always been, even though certain circumstances in my life have drastically changed against my favor. Standing at the foot of an ocean or sea always gives me some sort of vague nostalgia, an ambivalence about whatever is going on in my life and a clearer perspective into my own self.

On that note, I think I’ll sign off and go to sleep for the night. I’m going to try and go with one of my really nice new hostel-mates, Sarah, to go see a medieval village called Saint Paul de Vence tomorrow, as recommended by Ruth at The Jewish Week. It’s only about an hour bus ride from Nice, and bus fare apparently only costs 1 Euro. Leave me your thoughts, comments, criticisms as always!

Bonne nuit and love to all.

I never thought I’d say this — but I think I’ve found a place that rivals Israel in its beauty. Israel is still the most beautiful place in the world, but Annecy is certainly a close second at the moment.

I biked a total of 50 kilometers (probably more) around Lac D’Annecy, and it was an absolutely gorgeous ride. This area is also apparently so safe, that I was able to lock my bike to a telephone pole and hike for an hour in the Alpes from Talloires, to see the Cascade d’Angon — waterfall!!! Recommended by Evan, and I’m really, really glad that I listened to him. Here is a map of the bike route, actually taken from the Web site of the place where I rented my bike:

Anyway, I think this may have to be all for the moment — because the two Spanish 40-somethings (yes, I too thought that only 18-26ers were allowed in youth hostels?) seem to want me to stop making noise.

However — be sure to look at my Facebook photo album of Lille and Annecy!

P.S. My butt and legs hurt enormously from all that riding!

P.P.S. I got an amazing, huge mozarella/tomato/basil panini for 3 euro this evening.

Bonne nuit! Getting up at 4:45 a.m. for my 6 a.m. train to … Nice!

Well, my back hurts. But kinda in a good way. I’m typing live right now from my hostel bed, and my roommate — a nice girl from Dijon named Beatrice — just went to sleep. Probably an indication that I should as well. Annecy, from what I’ve seen in the dark, is amazingly beautiful, and the hostel itself is high up in the mountains (the Alpes!), overlooking Lac Annecy. The one small issue was — doing the 45 minute incredibly steep hike in pitch black darkness by myself from the train station (don’t tell Mommy. Hi Mom!). Hey, I wasn’t gonna pay 15 euros for a 2 kilometer cab ride. No thank you.

Anyway, I’m looking forward to a day of biking around the lake tomorrow (I’ve been told by my roommate that it’s approximately 38 kilometers or so), and I’ll also visit the cute little old town of Annecy. I’m really looking forward to all this, especially since @evangoldin recommended Annecy so highly.

Last night was funny — I initially got assigned to a hostel room with this 70-year-old French woman who had half of her head shaved (I repeat, half) and who essentially lives at the hostel. She continually locked me out of the room, so luckily an Australian girl and her boyfriend saved me and helped me locate a new bed. Other than that, all went well last night at L’Auberge de Jeunesse de Lille.

This morning could’ve been better, though I had a really fun time with Rachel again. What happened this morning? Well, last night I went to sleep already feeling a little queasy because I had eaten some french fries — my body seems to reject fried foods, literally. Then this morning I combined that with a double espresso to wake me up. Those two items plus ridiculous dehydration (my fault!) led to one and a half hours of vomiting in the Quick fast food chain on Rue Bethune in Lille. But, thank God, I seem to be better now! I now will forever hold a warm place for Quick in my heart (though I have since reading about it in 8th grade French books), even though I presumably cannot eat any of their food.

Alright, well, I am off to sleep for the night, and will try to report back tomorrow. Love you all.

Sharon

P.S. Pretty much every 15 minutes in all French train stations, they make announcements about H1N1 (aka Swine Flu, La Grippe Porcine). You’re not supposed to get on a train if your fever is over 38 degrees Celsius, and washing your hands is highly encouraged.