In order to get to this beautiful, quaint town our group had to take a bus (which was air conditioned!) for about an hour and a half. The first thing we did once we got there was take a guided tour through the village of Annecy. At this point my feet were not in good shape. In the morning to get to the tram station comfortably I actually took my flip flops off. I felt like Sarah Jessica Parker in some ridiculous situation that only she would find herself in. On the bus my feet hurt so bad that I smothered them in lotion hoping to sooth the blisters that had built over these past few days of getting lost and walking so much that I had worn away some of the skin on my feet. I bought these oven mits, per say at Monoprix. Still to this day I really don't know what they are, they aren't dish rags but instead are like terry cloth mits! Fortunately for me by the time I had arrived at Annecy my feet had stopped throbbing but all the lotion had made my feet extremely slippery. Throughout the tour it was extremely awkward but I had to take my shoes off numerous times, so that I could get some traction. Even the tour guide felt sorry for me and constantly looked at me and kept asking me Ça va? Anna (one of the API directors) verified that the lotion that I was slathering on my feet was in fact stretch mark creme. No wonder it was so soothing and slippery! I was traversing cobblestone and rocky pavement with my bare feet. I told Anna that my feet had never been so tough. She then told me that I had developed elephant feet. Man if only Jodi Jones could see me now! She would be incredibly proud of my blisters, knowing that I had worked hard for them! |
This picture illustrates that a stream flows through this town. So on the tour the guide took us up to this room and was like this is a place where they have weddings. I then proceeded to ask if she knew where Kim Kardashian was married, she had no idea but then Anna reassured me this location was too common for Kim's extravagant taste. For me, if I ever decide to get married, Annecy would be perfect, except that time I'd hopefully wear shoes!
So after we went on the guided tour I decided to stick with my group and this time attempt to not get lost. Well that plan worked for about 10 minutes. At first I started out with this nice group and once we hit a chocolate store it was all over. After about 2 minutes of looking at Gourmet chocolates, they decided that they had enough but not this chocolate obsessed individual! To fully scope their selection I spent about 15 minutes just looking around then I got a whole assortment of things which came to about 14 euros (about $16.50), I guess that was enough to warrant extreme gift wrapping and an escort out of the store. Wow! Once I had made my purchases I realized that the group I was initially with was long gone. Tant pis (too bad), so I did what Michelle does best, I began to wander aimlessly and fortunately I ran into a really nice group of girls from my API program. I met up with them at this Italian Restaurant where we all decided to order our own pizzas. We were all extremely hungry that we all managed to polish off pretty impressive amounts of pizza. We literally walk so much every day that there is no fear of gaining weight here. So after we ate the ample déjeuner (lunch), we all decided to go to the beach. This excursion marked my first severe account of sun burn.
At the beach having a wonderful time, at this point I wasn't burnt and was feeling pretty good. The sun was extremely hot but as you can see it was extremely beautiful here. The water felt absolutely wonderful and when I accidentally swallowed a mouthful when I was underwater, it didn't even have that disgusting, salty taste! #Perfection!
So after about an hour and a half the beach was unbearably hot; I can still remember this nice girl named Allie being like "Oh my gosh girl, you got burnt!" I figured it was ok that I got slightly burnt because at least it would turn into a tan. Well I was far beyond that point. Once I was able to get under some real lights I noticed that I was now 2 distinct colors. Pink/extremely burnt and white.
After we left the beach we all ordered sorbet or ice cream. I must say that I was pretty anti-social for the rest of the trip because I was extremely zapped of energy. Thankfully not long after the ice cream we went in the bus and returned home where I proceeded to sleep.
Later on that night I went to Monoprix and bought some après soleil (after sun bathing) creme. At this point I was experiencing heat stroke so bad that I could barely speak in English let alone in French. I was feeling really lousy so I proceeded to lather on this new creme and go directly au lit (to bed).
After we left the beach we all ordered sorbet or ice cream. I must say that I was pretty anti-social for the rest of the trip because I was extremely zapped of energy. Thankfully not long after the ice cream we went in the bus and returned home where I proceeded to sleep.
Later on that night I went to Monoprix and bought some après soleil (after sun bathing) creme. At this point I was experiencing heat stroke so bad that I could barely speak in English let alone in French. I was feeling really lousy so I proceeded to lather on this new creme and go directly au lit (to bed).