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