One day about a month ago, I was doing some research on beautiful towns in France to visit, and I stumbled upon pictures of Annecy. I fell in love with the town immediately: however, it was nearly 7 hours away by train from Strasbourg--too far for a day trip or even an overnight trip. However, Annecy is less than four hours by train from Paris, and since I had to be in Paris Wesnesday night... a plan was formed, train tickets were booked, and I was on my way--my first adventure alone!
The journey to Annecy on Tuesday morning should have been easy, but of course something had to go wrong. I had to switch trains in Lyon, and it was a tight connection:12 minutes. Of course, my first train was 2 minutes late, which really counts in such situations. I thought I would just have to switch platforms to get on my next train to Annecy, but when I looked at the information screens, my train wasn't given a platform number to go to: instead, there was just a digital square with wheels. I figured out this meant a bus (why switch a train to a bus with no warning?!?) but having never been in Lyon before, I had no idea where the buses were. I found an exit to the train station and ran out, frantically chasing some city buses before realizing they weren't what I wanted. Then I sprinted back into the train station, and with two minutes remaining before the bus was meant to leave, I asked a french couple in a panic, and they directed me to a different exit on the other side of the huge station. And I ran. Luckily, I made it to the bus, the last passenger. Stupid France, throwing me a curveball like that.
The scenery of the bus ride was phenomenal, however. We sped past misty fields, frosted over yet bathed in sunlight--a hauntingly beautiful mix of gold and blue-grey. Next, we climbed into the misty mountains--views that took my breath away. I was annoyed that none of the other passengers seemed to even be noticing the scenery, though.
When I finally arrived in Annecy, I quickly located my hostel and dropped off my heavy luggage, and then I explored. I walked on the numerous bridges that run alog the charming canals (prettier then Venice, although I've never been to Venice) and into town. Then I walked right out of town, and into the public gardens and parks that make up the banks of the lake (Lake Annecy, if you are curious).
I spent a long time walking along the lake and photographing it, along with the mountains that surround it. A few were even snow capped, which made me extremely happy. Annecy was exactly my cup of tea: a charming medieval town on the banks of a huge beautiful lake surrounded by towering, snow capped mountains. Unfortunately, I had arrived pretty late in the afternoon, and was quickly losing the light. The walk around part of the lake had taken a good hour and a half, meaning that by the time I had returned to the town, it was dark.
I must have taken about 100 photos of that lake and those mountains on Tuesday. It was just so pretty, the colors on the water as the sun set. No photo, though, can truly capture the beauty of simply being there, at that moment, experiencing.
After darkness had fallen, I walked through Annecy and window shopped for a bit. There were christmas lights strung across the main streets--though nothing like Strasbourg's--and it was quite merry. However, Annecy is'nt all that large, and by 6pm, I was starting to get chilled. I ate a quick dinner, then happily stumbled upon a cinema, where I saw The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug in French. Afterwards, I headed back to my hostel for the night. I ended up having a private room, actually: it seems no one else had booked a bed for the night, although it was a Tuesday night in December (decidedly the off-tourist season) so it makes sense why Annecy wasn't too crowded.
I will post part II soon! For now, though, I am a bit jet-lagged (just arrived home last night!) so I will end here.
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