Chava
Chava Sanderson Joined: July 12th 2007
Logged in: May 14th 2011
Logged in: May 14th 2011
Travel Blog Posts
For those of you who I have not talked to for awhile, I will give a small update on what's been going on in my life since August. I moved to Ambilly, France last August to work as an au pair. Ambilly is just outside Geneva, Switzerland and is a pretty small town that is part of a larger town called Annemasse. It's not the most exciting place in the world, but it has everything you need and there is some beautiful scenery nearby. Driving about 5 minutes from here, you can enter Switzerland and drive through the countryside, which is full of fields of sunflowers and vineyards in the summertime. Looking out my bedroom window, I can see the Alps, and on a clear day, Mont Blanc, Europe's highest mountain. Geneva is about a 20 ... read more
Tivoli
Copenhagen was beautiful, exactly as I expected. Maybe it's because I was on vacation, but it is a city that has the perfect speed..life is not too fast or too slow, but seems to have a laid-back yet big city atmosphere. During my first full day in Copenhagen, we took the train to the center of the city, only about 3 stops and probably 15-20 minutes total (from walking out the door). Central Station, the main train station had shopping and food, and lots of attractions were only minutes away. Literally across the street from Central Station you will find Tivoli, a famous amusement park with rides, food, shows, and shopping. It reminded me somewhat of Six Flags in the US, but decorated more like I would imagine Disney World. The whole place was full of ... read more
Annecy
Annecy is considered to be the "Venice of France" and I know why now. It is such a beautiful city, and once you're there, you can easily forget you live in the year 2007. Annecy is only about 30 minutes from where I live if you take the motorway, which has tolls to pay. I think it's about 6 dollars each way, but you can drive over 80 miles an hour, which is fun. Since we left for Annecy somewhat late in the afternoon (I think around 3pm), we were ready to find somewhere to eat when we got there. Annecy is known for its "Old Town" area, so we found a parking space and walked around trying to find it..which wasn't too hard at all! It was definitely NOT a disappointment and well worth the ... read more
Annemasse
Since I've been in France, I've noticed a lot of differences between here and the US. One of the most obvious differences is the size of cars. Cars in this area, in general, are much smaller than the ones in the US. I always thought of my Saturn as being a pretty small car, but if I had it now, it would seem pretty big. BUT there is a really good reason why cars in Europe are small! There are more people here, which means more cars and less space to drive/park the cars. The lanes here are very small compared to the US, and I'm so glad to be driving a little car. Parking spaces are tiny, especially the parallel parking, and sometimes you have to squeeze through small spaces on the road, so having ... read more
Church in Veyrier
Today I was supposed to go hiking on Le Saleve again, but it took a little longer than usual to convince myself to get out of the bed. So of course, I was late and the group was already gone. At first, I figured I'd just hike it alone and maybe catch up with them, but the route was a different one from the one I took last time, and I got a little lost. So I decided instead to go explore the nearby town a little. I'm not sure if there was much to do there, but it was such a pretty town and it was nice to just stroll around and be the typical tourist. ... read more
Lake Geneva
Well, I'm not doing so great on keeping up with this blog. There is too much going on, and when I finally have time to sit and concentrate on this, I just want to go to sleep! My first three weeks in France have been a whirlwind. I've finally gotten used to the driving (for the most part), and my French classes start next Monday. I can't wait to be able to have actual conversations with people. Since I've been watching Sofia all day during the week, things have been so hectic. We play a lot and trying to figure out how to fix the food that she eats has been fun. It's so easy of course, but it would be nice to be able to read the directions! One day we went to a place ... read more
Today I was alone during the day once again, so I drove to the store and bought some lunch. I thought I was doing good to remember to buy the bag since they don't give free bags to put groceries in, but then when I got to the register, the girl told me that I had to get my fruit weighed by someone in the produce dept..OOPS..then when I got back in line and paid, I only had a 50 euro bill and she had to get change. I felt so bad but she was very nice about the whole thing. And driving is getting better. It's amazing to find out all the small things that everyone takes for granted. Going to the grocery store is such a normal thing to do, yet when I find ... read more
Church in Ville-le-Grand
Today both my host parents worked, and the little girl I will be watching is still at her aunt's house. When I woke up, I instantly had the feeling that I had made the wrong decision in coming here and that I should immediately quit and crawl back to the US. So, I forced myself to explore the area a little. I walked down the street and turned onto the main road, walking towards the grocery store, the only place that I know so far. The area around here is very nice for walking/biking, as most of the way has either a sidewalk or bike path. I walked past the store and came across a very cute little town called Ville-la-Grand. After sneaking a picture (not wanting to really look like a tourist) I walked on ... read more
My first day in Europe brought a huge mixture of emotions. Leaving the US was amusing of course. I was chosen to have a random baggage check, so they sent my luggage through the machine..then dug through my carry-on and patted me down. So much to worry about and I'm leaving the country, not coming in! When I arrived in Frankfort, I didn't need to go through customs, but just walk to the correct gate and have my carry-on checked again. I was scared about the short 1 hour layover, since my last experience with a 2 hour layover in the US made me miss my flight, but I had enough time to take a quick restroom break before boarding the bus to go to the plane..and 15 minutes later, I was on my way to ... read more
