Blogs from Annemasse, Rhône-Alpes, France, Europe

Salut! Today, Noah and I have ventured into France to see his old house and neighborhood. Sadly, its been pouring on and off. The past couple days have been packed with activities. We arrived in Genevé, Switzerland two nights ago, staying with Noah's family friend Dag. He has a pretty sweet place with a great view of the mountains and Lac Leman, which divides Switzerland and France. Two days ago, while still in Gies, Switzerland, Noah, Beatris, and I did our second hike. This one was much prettier (surprisingly) and a bit longer. Steeper climb = some good excercise. The elevation at the top was probably about 1500m, one of the smaller mountains in the area. When we got to the top we found this little restaurant and behind it was our reward, this beautiful lake ... read more

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

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

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