un mois est terminé, un autre commence

I just arrived back in Annecy after spending the last four days visiting family in Lyon.  I stayed at my lovely cousin Christine's house with her, her husband Dominic, and their fat chocolate lab Milka.  It was a petite pause from my classes, a break between the first and second session.  Before leaving I took my things over to the house of my second host.  Her name is Danielle and her house is located smack in the middle of the commercial district of Annecy.  It is a great location for getting to the lake and to my school.  The only bummer about the house is that my room is located in the attic and has almost zero ventilation...and it has been about 86-88 degrees lately.  But with a fan I should be fine.  With Danielle and I, lives another student from CU Boulder who also happens to be named Katie.  It will be nice to have another in the house but also difficult considering we will probably be speaking english to each other most of the time because she does not know much french.  

Lyon is such a beautiful, green, and artistic city.  I was so happy to have Christine and Dominic show me around the city where my grandmother was born and lived as a child.  The day I arrived we drove back to their house where we met with other family.  Christine's son Nicolas was there with his son Maxime, as well as my cousin Igor and his father (my cousin Jaqueline's widower) Albert.  Last but not least, my great great aunt Zeze, the aunt of my grandmother Simone was there, who for 93 years old is doing so so well.  After an amazing lunch, I showed her pictures of my immediate family back home and she seemed very happy to make my acquaintance.

After lunch, we explored the side of the city closest to Le Rhone river.  The following two days are kind of a blur:  Christine and I went to the Musée des Beaux-Arts; l'Isle Barbe which sits in the second river in Lyon, La Soane; met my cousin Lavandre for lunch (Igor's older sister); and yesterday she showed me the school where my Omi went as a girl, the street and the house (which is now a bank) where she lived, and the plaque at the cemetery where my great-grandparents Esther and Henri Mostovoy have their names.  

I was just telling a friend that the whole experience has helped me in so many ways appreciate my history.  It's as though before, I was missing a part of myself.  And all my family here is showing me photos, telling me stories, and helping me piece together a puzzle that could help strengthen the connection between two distant sides of the same family. 

So below are some photos from the last few weeks.  Two weekends ago now I was in Paris visiting my cousin's Frederic and Florence, their families, and I had the opportunity of meeting/re-meeting Janine (Simone's sister) and her husband Claude.  That sunday was the summer solstice and every 21st of June, all over France, their is a huge party called La Fete de la Musique, where live bands play all day long into the wee hours.  

So enjoy and be well.  Hope you are all having a happy summer!

Grous bisous pour tous...

After the family lunch at Frederic's house, just west of Paris

Walking around with Lauren and friends between live bands

Tyler and Char Helble were in Paris for a couple days and he came out with me for the music. 

With Zeze in Lyon at Christine's

Maxime (Nicolas' son) and Emile (Lavandre's son)

Church and of course I forgot the name

Balcony at Notre Dame de Fourviere in Lyon

Milka

In front of Omi and Janine's old school

The cross streets where Omi lived

Omi's elementary school

La Soane river

This is what he does when he gets too hot

Christine, Lavandre, and I at lunch in downtown Lyon

My great grandparents Esther and Henri.

Annecy magic and towering mountains

Hello all from a magical place called the Alps.  I still have to remind myself where I am.  The all pervading American culture is never too far from my senses, music, food, television, etc.  Yet, it is clear that one can easily escape culture for a day and get lost in the woods or in a petit cafe.  And getting lost is sometimes the only way to truly discover a place.  

This is my longest blog yet.  Sometimes I wonder if it is better to write and try to describe my experiences or just try to show them and hope that the viewer can get some sense of how I might have felt when I pressed the shutter and snapped a precious moment of time.  

The June session of my program is nearly over and I have yet to swim in the lake more than twice, among other things.  I have succeeded at meeting and getting to know some distant relatives, a cousin of my grandmother Simone who lives in St Jorioz, a small town not far south of Annecy.  I also am returning to Paris this weekend to stay with Florence and Demetri and their seven year old daughter Gabrielle for the second time.  Having family so close makes this experience more life changing than it would have been without them.  I love having other American students around but it definitely idles the cultural immersion experience.  Having family to visit makes me work harder to explore this incredibly vast and diverse country.  There is so much to see and I only have one and a half months left!

On to the pictures and commentary, and by the way the pictures are totally out of order in time: FYI you can click on any photo to see it larger!

We have been hiking a lot since the rain has let up and the trails here are lush and easy to navigate.  All of the hiking pictures are taken around or in the Foret du Cret du Maure, an incredible system of trails and look outs that extends to the Semnoz mountains just west of the Lac d'Annecy.  My favorite thing about these trails are that they weave in and out of shade and sunlight, and in many of the sunny spots there are wild strawberries growing all over both sides of the trail.  The taste of sweet tiny strawberries makes the hike that much better. 

This was taken today, 6/18.  That's Christy from Michigan.

Below is from tuesday's hike.  This was our, "we are so happy to be here" picture. Not planned at all obviously.

Strawberries!

Look-out on the city

Christy, Bryn, and I at a look-out spot.

Bryn deciding which way to go...

The lake yesterday, beautiful but very very cold.

Another look-out from last week's hike.

Chamonix/Mont Blanc

At the summit of Brevant 2525meters/aprox. 8284 feet

Les Grandes Jorasses towering over Chamonix

Bryn and I enjoying the sun and views of Mont Blanc (highest peak behind us)

Mont Blanc on the far right

Mont Blanc at 4810 meters

Glacier des Bossons and Mont Blanc above it.

A parapente (paraglider).  This was taken from inside the gondola almost at the top of Brevant just across the town from Mont Blanc.

Emily, Bryn, and I at the first look-out, Planpraz.

Canal in Annecy.

In front of Monastere et Basilque de la Visitation, very near the trails we hike.

La Tournette, taken from Michel (Simone's cousin) and Anne's back porch.  This is one of the largest peaks near Annecy.

The port at St. Jorioz.

Chateau by the lake.

Michel and Anne on our bike ride next to the lake.

Getting our bikes ready.

It was raining but I wanted to capture the craziness of the Animation Film Fest that was taking place last week.  

New friends on my 22nd birthday.

Took one bite, too full of fondue and wine. All in all a good birthday.  

Love you all!

And Happy Summer Solstice!

xoxo

Kate