Switzerland and France, Part 2: The French Alps!

When I last left off, we were just about to embark on our dangerous journey (remember: sheer drops, no shoulder, exorbitant speeds?) to the French town of Entremont, nestled in the alps. This, little did I know (though I should have assumed), would be the highlight of my trip!

It was hard to capture the enormity of the mountains as we made our way up the elevations! I can only imagine how crazy the roads are now that it is winter, and high ski season!

Crazy beautiful! It only gets better!


And we arrived in Entremont. Anyone read french?







And here is where we stayed! Magical, right?





Looking up the drive way!


The home was a converted cow shed. From the front you can tell that it is not a typical chalet, but inside it is spacious and has plenty of charm! This property has been in Ellie's family for years. Her mom popped in to visit over the weekend on her way back to England after a trip in the south of France. Isn't that so fun to say? :)


Front of the house


Laura capturing the beauty!


Views from the house




Breathtaking


It was World Cup fever all over Europe while we were there! We spent some time keeping up with the games!



We also were treated to gourmet feasts while we stayed with Luke and Ellie. We had bread from the local baker, fruits and veggies bought at the green grocer, local cheeses that will never be exported to the US (they keep the good cheese and wine for themselves!) , and one of my favorite specialties: Luke's potatoes fried in duck fat! :) There was also a large supply of chocolate to be had and tea was served, thanks to Ellie's British heritage, frequently throughout the day! They were the most generous of hosts and we loved every minute!












Here we are at the green grocer.










Luke proved to be an eager and knowledgeable tour guide! Poor Ellie was stuck inside most of the weekend preparing to defend her thesis the following week!







The area in and around Entremont is a bustling ski area in the winter and is actually being considered as a host to the winter Olympics.








We went into one pastry shop and saw meringues as big as our heads. :) You slice them like bread.




The weekend in Entremont was lovely because Laura and I got time to relax, process the things we had seen so far, and truly soak in our surroundings.









It was only a weekend, but it was rich with experiences....more to come from the french alps! :)

Switzerland and France, Part 1

Here is the next installment of the European adventure! I am now seeing the blessing in not blogging about these things earlier because taking the time to reminisce in the midst of this cold winter weather is quite therapeutic! :)
My photos from my time in Switzerland and France (particularly the French alps) are my favorite from the trip. Breathtakingly beautiful scenery that is barely captured by the lens...but I must say some of the photos are stunning!
Laura and I took EasyJet from Amsterdam to Geneva. What we learned: When an airline tells you there is a one bag carry-on limit, they mean it. That one carry-on does NOT include a personal item such as a purse or camera bag. At the gate the attendant told us in her pleasant French accent that we would have to condense our already very condensed bags. Well, our bag's contents were laid bare and the trash barrel was filled as we weeded through our things. And as long as you only have ONE bag, they don't seem to mind if you board the plane with your arms loaded with jackets, cameras, granola bars, and other paraphernalia. I truly wish I had a photo to capture the craziness. We were not the only ones to find ourselves in this predicament. One lady tried to pawn her CD's off on us.
Once aboard we sat back and had to laugh at the absurdity of it all and marvel at our fantastic condensing skills.
We also had to laugh at this little sign on the seat backs:


And once we were in the air, the views were stunning!! Flying into Geneva, with the shrouded alps as a background was indescribable. There is something so thrilling about seeing famous mountains! :)










Lake Geneva as we approached landing


We had a few hours to kill while waiting for my friend Luke to meet up with us. We happily walked around the lake front with our condensed suit-cases, embracing our obvious identity as tourists.
Here is the landmark fountain that we later found out was directly across from the street we were staying on. If we could find the waterfront, we knew exactly where home was.


Watches, banks, and jewelry advertisements galore!


We couldn't have asked for a nicer day to lug our suitcases around!






Swans so fit the aesthetic of Geneva.


Another one of my favorite photos from our trip! We were sitting on this bench resting and this man came and sat down by us to eat his lunch. We noticed in Europe that, unlike the US, strangers have no problem joining you on a public bench if there is a seat available. Their concept of personal space is different. This man spoke a few words of English, broken French, but fluent Italian (from what we could tell!). He did his very best to make conversation with us and enjoyed hearing we were from "America". He pointed out a few things in our travel guide, and got a kick out of the black licorice candy we shared with him, which I had brought from Holland. It was the particularly salty bitter kind. He was not a fan but we had lots of fun making faces of disgust together! I will never see this man again, but these smalls interactions with another human being in a country far away are the memories I cherish the most. It's what travel is all about I think!




The lake water had a turquoise hue to it!


We met up with my friend Luke, who I've known since childhood and whose family are wonderful friends of my family, and explored the old city for about an hour or so before packing up the car and heading the French alps, 45 minutes outside the city.




this photo makes me laugh


It's a challenge to capture cathedrals.




Love this little group of preschoolers with their orange hats. What a brilliant idea. :)




The University of Geneva, where Ellie, Luke's wife, was finishing her masters degree.


The gellato line


Outdoor, over-sized chess



After our first day in Geneva, we jumped in the car for our trip to the alps. Ellie was our fearless driver, a necessary constitution for anyone who drives at speeds upwards of 50mph (the marked speed limit is 45), on hairpin, near vertical roads at times, with no shoulder and sheer drops to one side.